Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

Great Lens for the $$

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

I never thought I would purchase a 3rd party lens for my Nikon cameras, but after doing some research for 35mm F1.4 lenses, I found that the Rokinon has quite possibly the best sharpness and bokeh when compared to the Nikon and Zeiss counterparts. Couple that with the fact that it is 1/4 the price and its a complete winner.

I have had it for a weekend now and it is simply one of my sharpest lenses! I would easily say that it has the same sharpness as my 85mm F1.4 and would even say that it is my best lens in terms of usability at F1.4.

I really struggle using images at F1.4 simply because it is so hard to maintain excellent image quality, and I often stop down to F2 just to get where I want to be in terms of sharpness. But this lens is stellar at F1.4, it blows away my 50mm F1.4 at that aperture and matches my 85mm which is widely known as one of the best wide open.

My only draw back is build quality. It seems great compared to a Nikon AF-S plastic lens, and will mostly outlast the typical plastic lens design, but in no way does it compare to the quality of Zeiss. Not that you should expect that though, as you are only paying a fraction of what it costs.

If you are even remotely thinking about purchasing this lens and don't mind manual focus, I would highly recommend it. The image quality is first rate, the build quality is acceptable to modern day standards, but the price is where its at. You can look cool with a Zeiss or a high end Nikkor, but remember that this Rokinon is going to match or beat it in sharpness across the board. Don't waste your money on overpriced lenses!

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

Sharp even at f/1.4 and easy to focus on D3 and hopefully soon on the D800. Considered the Nikon 1.4 but the Rokinon optics seem on par if not better. Already have the ZF35/2 and recently I've been using the Rokinon more.

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

I use this for portraits and video. The focus ring is fat, smooth, and long, so fabulous for video. The DoF indicator is nice, and it focuses well. Do not even try to manual focus on an aps-c camera without using live view, at least not with apertures faster than 2.8. Also, the bokeh is completely out of this world. I own the Nikon trifecta (f2.8 14-24, 24-70, 70-200) and the bokeh, even at f10 is superb, uniform, and marevlous to look at. One last note, I use a 3x viewfinder add on to the lcd to focus at 1.4.

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

Well made, very sharp all the way across. We use it with our D7000 and FS100, it works as great.

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

I have used this lens extensively on a full frame camera since I got it almost two months ago. It is excellent. Sharp wide open and with very pleasing bokeh (better than the Zeiss 35mm f/2). If you can live with manual focus, getting this lens vs. the much more expensive Nikon is an easy choice. The lens hood is decent (much better than what comes with the Rokinon 85mm) but the lens cap is poor. Just plan on getting a better cap (such as a Tamron).

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

I was hesitant in ordering this lens because it is manual focus. However, after shooting with it for 2 weeks now, it might be my new favorite. Images are sharp even wide open at 1.4. Using a tripod helps if you have trouble manually focusing on images. The bokeh is also incredible, one of my favorite things about this lens. Great job Rokinon and looking forward to your 24mm 1.4!

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

For me the Focus Confirmation Chip is a necessity in a manual focus lens for taking pictures. Tho its primary purpose I bought this for is to use for video capture on the Nikon DSLRs and for that this manual focus is excellent with a nice solid and smooth rotation of the ring. It is a really sharp and fast lens that gives me great low light video. I also have the Rokinon 85mm 1.4 with a Chip and I have one body with the 35mm on it and another body with the 85mm on it and I am set for the capture of the day! I need more of these Rokinon manual primes with chips. Samyang of Korea is the maker, rebranded as Rokinon, Vivitar, Bower, and others with slight outer cosmetic changes.

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

This is an unbelievable value. Super sharp manual focus lens that performs in low light. If you're looking for a 35mm f/1.4 prime and do not want to spend close to $2000 for the Nikon/Zeiss version, then this is your lens. I've used this with my D3X and am extremely impressed with the quality of the images. There is a slight vignetting in the corners when the lens is open to 1.4 in low light in my landscape shots. Indoor shots not an issue. I personally like the subtleness of the vignetting in my landscape shots. Lens is not weather sealed, and can only be used in manual focus. No auto focusing. Not an issue, since most of my shots are at the long end. This lens works beautifully with any video you shoot. No noise from focusing, and the focusing ring is very smooth. Only issue with this lens is that the lens hood and cap are a bit flimsy and the box it comes in a bit weak. Otherwise it takes 77mm filters, and feels quite solid when you shoot with it. I do not find the weight to be an issue with this lens. You will be surprised and thrilled with the output quality of this lens.

Comments about Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens for Nikon With Focus Confirm Chip:

The focus confirm chip is great because it allows aperture control automatically on my Nikon D3.

I also use the lens on a Nikon FM2 and it is nice to have that manual aperture ring. I have a F to EOS mount adaptor so I've also used this lens on a Canon T3 / 1100D body for shooting stills/video.

I gave the review 5 stars because it meets my expectations. The image quality and performance is amazing for the price. I don't own the Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 Ai-s so I can't compare image quality. But the price of the Rokinon is half the price of the Nikkor.

I love the stiff, but smooth focus ring. The lens itself is built well and solid. The lens hood, however, is a tad flimsy and cheap plastic. For the price it is what I expected.

I have a ton of 77mm filters so the fact this lens takes that threading is perfect for me when I'm shooting film and want to add a warming filter late in the afternoon.