Lens Review: Rokinon 14mm f2.8

Aurora image made using the Rokinon 14mm f2.8.

A year ago, I’d never heard of Rokinon. But, like wildfire, the Rokinon (and their lenses marketed under other brand names) spread across the internet. Statements like “extremely sharp”, “great for the price”, “solid”, and other affirmations caught my attention. I’ve been looking for a fast wide-angle for aurora photography for a number of years, but have been consistently kicked down by the outrageous price tag of comparable Canon lenses. Not wanting to invest money in a substandard lens, I kept putting off any purchase. However, when a friend and respected photographer told me about the Rokinon he’d recently purchased, I was intrigued.

(Photo from Rokinon.com)

Turns out, at $386 it wasn’t too painful to pull the trigger on the 14mm. And in the few months I’ve been shooting with it, I feel like I’ve got enough experience to draw some conclusions.

First, the lens is fully manual. Meaning no autofocus, no auto-aperture. The aperture is controlled by a ring near the base of the lens, and is quick to shift back and forth. Because the aperture is a mechanical feature in the lens, if you adjust it down, the viewfinder will darken substantially. Wide open, no problem to focus and compose, but stop it down to f11 and it will get tricky. This means that you must compose and focus wide open, then stop it down to reach the depth of field you want or the exposure you need. This isn’t a lens that can used quickly.

That said, slowing down is not a bad thing. In fact, I like it about this lens. It brings me back to my early days in photography when I shot with an old manual, film, Minolta SLR. The Rokinon forces me to think about things like aperture and manual and not just trust the camera to make the right decision.

The lens is sturdily constructed. It’s hefty in the hand, and seems durable (though I’ve not yet banged it around enough to know this for certain). It has a fixed, petal style, lens hood that protects the curved objective lens from bumps when the lens cap is off. The lens cap itself, is cup shaped to protect that bulging lens. I suspect replacing it might be a hassle, as your local camera store is unlikely to stock them, so don’t lose it.

The only physical aspect of the lens that has shown some weakness is this small, black plastic protector near the mount. I presume this piece keeps dust from the inner workings. This little plastic ring has fallen out a couple of times, but was easily replaced. Still, I wish it would stay put.

Optically, I’m going to fall back on the words of other reviews I’ve read: It’s great for the price. There is a slight loss of sharpness, light distortion and darkening towards the edge of the frame. But at 14mm, I would expect this of any lens at any price. The sharpness loss is not enough to cause problems in the image overall, the distortion is minor (see the detail shot of the stars below), and the darkening can be easily adjusted in post-processing if a vignette look is not desired for the final image.

Night sky. Notice the dark vignette around the outside of the frame.

I’m not an expert in optics and I’m not going to present a bunch of optical tests. I’m much more interested in how the product performs in the field. I’ve now used it on more than a dozen shoots of the aurora. It is fast enough at f2.8 to allow quick shutter speeds in dark conditions, and the center of the frame is as sharp as any lens I own, including several Canon L series. The narrow band of vignetting at the edges is tolerable and correctable, but I’ve rarely found it necessary to correct. (If you shoot with APS-C size sensor, I suspect that you won’t even notice the vignette).

Detail from the upper left corner of the image above. Optical distortion stretches the stars into lines instead of points. This is not generally noticeable except when viewed at 100%.

Stock agencies have accepted my images made with this lens without question, and I’ve had several accepted for publication in national magazines. Editors, do not seem to flinch despite the very affordable price tag.

In summary I recommend the Rokinon 14mm f2.8, as an affordable alternative to comparable lenses offered by Canon and Nikon. I like it enough that I may add another Rokinon to my lens quiver in the future. If I do, I’ll be sure to let you know if it lives up to my expectations.

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