Have you ever wondered why the design, specs, and selling prices of Rokinon, Samyang, and Bower lenses seldom differ from one another? This is because nameplates aside, they’re one and the same. Why? It all has to do with regional distribution agreements. In North and South America, a company named Elite Brands (EBI) distributes Rokinon-branded lenses, though it’s not unusual to find the Samyang and Bower versions, which are technically sold by European distributors, also sold here in the US, including at B&H Photo.
Photographs © 2019 Allan Weitz
Regardless of whose name is on the lens barrel, since 1972 they’ve all been designed and manufactured by Samyang Optical Company, in South Korea. Samyang has also been known to manufacture optical components for products marketed by Opteka, Falcon, Vivitar, Walimex, Pro-Optic, and Bell and Howell.
Rokinon lenses are specifically designed to fill the needs of photographers seeking reliable alternatives to pricier, OEM lenses. Since they began arriving on our shores, Rokinon’s optical offerings have been steadily improving in terms of image quality, construction, and optical technology.
Rokinon offers a growing range of full-frame, APS-C, and Micro Four Thirds-format lenses for DSLRs (Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax, Sony A-mount, Micro Four Thirds), mirrorless cameras (Canon EF-M, Canon RF, FUJIFILM X, Micro Four Thirds, Nikon Z, Samsung NX, & Sony E-mount), and cine applications ( PL, Micro Four Thirds, Canon EF & EF-M, FUJIFILM X, Nikon F, Samsung NX, Sony A & E-mount).
Having honed their skills manufacturing manual focus lenses, Rokinon has more recently been bringing affordable autofocus lenses to the marketplace that deliver impressive results at equally affordable prices.
Over time I’ve had an opportunity to shoot with about a half-dozen Rokinon/Samyang lenses and, for the most part, my experiences have been positive. I’ve particularly enjoyed my time with some of the newer autofocus lenses for Sony E-mount cameras. Included among the lenses I tested were the Rokinon AF 24mm f/2.8 FE, AF 35mm f/2.8 FE, AF 45mm f/1.8 FE, and AF 85mm f/1.4. Though the lenses feel “plasticky,” the lens barrels are, in fact, made of a combination of aluminum and polymer. The bottom line is they are lightweight, they take sharp pictures with excellent contrast and color values, and they typically cost less than their OEM counterparts.
For this product review, I chose two special purpose, manual-focus Rokinon lenses: the Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens for Sony E-mount cameras and a Rokinon T-S 24mm f/3.5 AS UMC Tilt-Shift lens for Sony E-mount cameras. Rokinon’s 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens is a short-telephoto macro lens that delivers high levels of image quality. Capable of focusing down to life-size (1:1) with a minimum focus distance of 12" from the film or sensor plane, Rokinon’s 100mm macro is quite sharp wide open and gains full traction once you stop the lens down two to three stops. Color, saturation, and contrast levels are where they should be.
Something I like about lenses in the 90mm to 105mm range, especially macro lenses in this category, is that they enable you to put a bit of additional space between you and your subject, which is beneficial for the subject and the photographer. When shooting close-ups, the additional camera-to-subject distance makes it easier to light your subject. Shadows of your head and/or your gear falling onto your subject are also less likely to occur when shooting close-ups with longer focal length lenses.
The Rokinon 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens, which is also available for Nikon F, Canon EF, Pentax K, Sony A, Samsung NX, MFT, and FUJIFILM X lens-mount cameras, comes with a soft pouch, front and rear caps, and a bayonet-mount shade.
I’m often asked why I still use tilt-shift lenses when shooting architecture and other applications that require tilting and/or shifting the front portion of the lens to correct distortion and optimize depth of field. My answer? “Because it’s better. I have more and better control of the final image. The pictures are sharper, too!”
Of all the 24mm tilt-shift lenses on the market that can be coupled via adapter to a Sony E-mount camera, only one is available with a native Sony E-mount, and that’s the Rokinon T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC Tilt-Shift Lens for Sony E-mount cameras.
As much as I appreciate having the ability to adapt non-native lenses to my camera, for optimal performance and image quality nothing beats a lens with a dedicated lens mount. Despite having locks and control knobs that are not always as refined as the controls and locks found on comparable 24mm tilt-shift lenses from Canon and Nikon, optically, the lens is quite good. Even when shifted to extremes, once you stop down there’s little, if any, discernable vignetting.
The lens is also quite sharp, not to mention well-corrected for optical distortions. Depending on the degree of tilt and shift, edge details seem to hold up compared to the lens’s OEM counterparts.
Having incorporated Perspective Control (PC) and Tilt-shift (T-S) lenses into my workflow since the 1970s, I know what to look for and what to expect when shooting with these unique lenses, and Rokinon’s 24mm f/3.5 Tilt-Shift lens did not disappoint me. It didn’t take long to figure out which locks and knobs worked together and how much torque was required to secure each of the lens movements as I set up each shot.
Pro tip: For best results, always use a tripod or other camera support when shooting with tilt-shift lenses, especially when shooting architecture.
In addition to the exacting requirements of architectural photography, tilt-shift lenses are also used for producing what is commonly referred to as the “miniature” look, in which the focus axis of the lens is tilted out of alignment, which causes the foreground and/or background to blur out of focus.
Compared to the 24mm tilt-shift lenses offered by Nikon and Canon, Rokinon’s T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC Tilt-Shift lens is nearly identical in size, weight, and tilt-shift abilities. Based on my experience with tilt-shift lenses from each of these companies, I would venture to say Rokinon’s 24mm tilt-shift also comes extremely close to the levels of resolving power one expects from Nikon and Canon lenses. The finish and detail of OEM lenses might best the finish and detail of Rokinon / Samyang / Bower lenses, but at less than half the price, you get a lot of very capable glass for your money.
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