The Rokinon 35mm f1.4 showed up this morning. If the brand Rokinon doesn’t sound familiar, you might have seen it under the label Bower or Samyang but all of them are basically the same lens with slightly different branding. At a price of less then $500, it was designed to be a less expensive alternative to the Canon 35mm f1.4 L and a step up from the Canon 35mm f2.

Even though the lens is made out of plastic, the build quality feels good . The focus ring turns smoothly and provides about 115 degrees of travel. The Rokinon 35mm f1.4 is taller (less then an inch) and feels slightly heavier then the Canon 35mm f1.4 L.

Part of the difference in price between the Canon 35mm and the Rokinon 35mm is due to the Rokinon’s lack of electronics and focusing motor. The lens is 100% manual so there wont be any focus assist information or exif data sent back to the camera from the lens.

One other odd thing I noticed while messing around with this lens is that the front glass element moves in and out about 1/2 an inch while operating the focus ring. The filter threads stay stationary and the glass doesn’t rotate so it shouldn’t be a huge issue.

I’m working on a full review and comparison to the Canon 35mm f1.4 and Sigma 30mm f1.4.  Thanks for your input on testing. I’ll keep you posted on the results once I’ve spent a little more time with the Rokinon 35mm f1.4 lens.


 

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Canon 5d Mark II, Canon 5d Mark III, Canon 7d, Canon t2i, Canon t3i, Canon t4i, Filming, Follow Focus, Lenses