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.
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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) |
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4 Comments
This is great. There are very few wide primes for aps-c. And this one looks very good.
It would be interesting to see a (macro) shot at about 7.9 inches and f/2.0. Also, an indoor architectural shot. In my work those are the two things I want a short lens for. That is, where I want a broad area, but there is no place to move back to, in order to get more in the picture and were I want excellent definition at close range.
Is there a depth of field scale on the lens? I miss hyperfocal focusing (without consulting a chart)!
It's great to see this 16mm prime lens for APS-C sensors. When your hands-on review is published, I am interested in seeing examples of flare and ghosting control while shooting into the sun. Also, is this an 8 blade diaphragm? Curved blades? What can we expect for a sun-star in a landscape photograph? Also, I would appreciate seeing good examples of out-of-focus specular highlights in a variety of lighting conditions, and from f/2 to f/5.6.