New Rokinon 16mm f/2.0 Wide-Angle Lens for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds

Rokinon has announced a new 16mm wide-angle manual-focus lens for DSLR and mirrorless cameras in both the APS-C and Micro Four Thirds formats. As a standard wide focal length with an f/2.0 maximum aperture, it is bound to please APS-C and Micro Four Thirds shooters who have been looking for just such a fast and versatile optic.

 

 

The 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS lens is available for Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Sony Alpha APS-C DSLRs and Canon EF-M-mount, Fujifilm X-mount, Sony E-mount and Samsung NX-mount APS-C mirrorless cameras. It is also available for Panasonic and Olympus mirrorless cameras with the Micro Four Thirds mount.

On Canon cameras it provides a 35mm equivalent focal length of 25.6mm and on the other APS-C format cameras, both DSLR and mirrorless, 35mm equivalency, as mentioned, is 24mm. This is the first design of such a lens from Rokinon, and a 24mm equivalent f/2.0 for APS-C format should certainly be appreciated by landscape and interior shooters or anyone who would like to utilize the extra speed and shallow depth of focus that the f/2.0 maximum aperture provides. On the Micro Four Thirds mount, the 35mm equivalent focal length is 32mm; still well within the wide-angle classification.  

The minimum focus distance of the lens is 7.87”, ideal for perspective-bending close-ups. Its optical construction comprises 13 elements in 11 groups, including two aspherical elements and one extra-low dispersion element to help minimize chromatic aberrations and produce sharper overall imaging. Rokinon’s UMC lens coating is applied to reduce reflections and minimize flare and ghosting. A petal-shaped hood is included to help deflect stray light.

Approximately 4.5” long for the mirrorless versions and 3.5” for the DSLRs, and weighing a bit more than a pound, it’s no pancake but the build is solid. An all-metal mount sits stably on the camera, its wide, rubber focusing ring has a nice feel and rotates smoothly, and the distance scale and aperture are clearly marked. The front filter diameter is 77mm. 

Below are a few sample images taken with the 16mm f/2.0. However, I am looking forward to having some quality time with this lens so keep an eye out for our complete hands-on review in the near future.

Click image to view slideshow

 

	Canon EF-S	Nikon F	Pentax K	Sony Alpha	Canon EF-M	Fujifilm X	Samsung NX	Sony E (NEX)	Micro Four Thirds
Focal Length	16mm	16mm	16mm	16mm	16mm	16mm	16mm	16mm	16mm
35mm Equivalent Focal Length	25.6mm	24mm	24mm	24mm	25.6mm	24mm	24mm	24mm	32mm
Image Format	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	APS-C	MFT
Angle of View	79.5º	83.1º	83.1º	83.1º	79.5º	83.1º	83.1º	83.1º	67.6º
Aperture Range	f/2-22	f/2-22	f/2-22	f/2-22	f/2-22	f/2-22	f/2-22	f/2-22	f/2-22
Minimum Focus Distance	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)	7.87" (20 cm)
Lens Elements Groups	13/11	13/11	13/11	13/11	13/11	13/11	13/11	13/11	13/11
Aspherical Elements	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
ED Elements	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Filter Size	77mm	77mm	77mm	77mm	77mm	77mm	77mm	77mm	77mm
Maximum Diameter	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)	3.4" (86mm)
Length	3.52" (89.4 mm)	3.42" (86.9 mm)	3.46" (87.9 mm)	3.5" (88.9 mm)	4.54" (115.3 mm)	4.55" (115.7 mm)	4.25" (107.9 mm)	4.54" (115.4 mm)	4.5" (114.2 mm)
Weight	1.29 lb (583 g)	1.26 lb (571 g)	1.27 lb (574 g)	1.27 lb (575 g)	1.35 lb (613 g)	1.36 lb (615 g)	1.33 lb (605 g)	1.35 lb (613 g)	1.34 lb (610 g)