Last Updated on 10/21/2020 by Brett Day
If you’re in the market for affordable, quality primes, it’s hard to ignore Samyang and Rokinon lenses.
Over a very long period of time, staff members of The Phoblographer have reviewed countless lenses. Most notably, though, we’ve reviewed nearly all Samyang and Rokinon lenses and the Samyang variants that have been produced to date. We’ve been genuinely pleased with the production quality and overall image quality from these Samyang and Rokinon lenses, so we’ve compiled a roundup of our reviews. If you’re looking for affordable primes with excellent image quality, this guide to Rokinon and Samyang lenses has you covered.
Rokinon 7.5mm f3.5 Ultra-Wide Fisheye Lens (Micro Four Thirds)
In our review, we said:
“This lens exhibits sharpness that is better than many of the native Micro Four Thirds lenses. In fact, Iâm extremely impressed with how this lens performs wide open and stopped down. When you get to around f5.6, there really is no need to stop down anymore. Nearly everything will be in focus.”
Buy now: $219
Rokinon 8mm f3.5
In our review, we said:
“The Rokinon 8mm f3.5âs image quality is exceptional when you nail it. To get the best results, I often needed to underexpose the images a bit and also therefore often shoot in manual mode.”
Buy now Canon EF: $199
Buy now Nikon F: $178
Rokinon 8mm f2.8 (Sony NEX, Fujifilm X)
In our review, we said:
“Though fisheye lenses are generally specialized lenses, this one was such a joy to use that I would keep it on all day and all night. It would inspire me to find skaters in NYC and get up close and personal. Plus, it often did inspire me to try new angles and get my timing better to capture those perfect moments. And overall, itâs just so much fun to use.”
Buy now Canon M: $269
Buy now Fujifilm X: $299
Buy now Sony E: $249
Rokinon 8mm T3.8 Cinema Lens
In our review, we said:
“I had a lot of fun with this lens. Though it took me just a little bit of time to get the focus I wanted, I felt that extra work got me some images that were worth the added effort.”
Buy now Canon EF: Amazon
Buy now Nikon F: Amazon
Rokinon 10mm f2.8
In our review, we said:
“Rokinonâs lenses have always been very high quality when it comes to the optics. For a very affordable price, a user can get a super sharp lens that theyâll need to manually focus. This lens is no exception. But again, what youâll get is some excellent image quality.”
Buy now Canon EF: $399
Buy now Nikon F: $379
Buy now Pentax: $599
Rokinon 12mm F2
In our review, we said:
“The Rokinon 12mm f2 is a nice lens. It has good sharpness when stopped down and balances that with a characteristic film softness when shot wide open. Then thereâs the small size, the effective depth of field scale, and the overall nice feeling in the hand.”
Buy now Canon EF-M: $299
Buy now Fujifilm: $329
Buy now M4/3: $329
Buy now Sony E: $349
Rokinon 14mm f2.8
In our review, we said:
“For the price at around $400, you really canât beat it. Canon and Zeissâs options offer either autofocusing or assistance, but this lens offers essentially the same quality at a much more affordable price.”
Buy now Canon: $449
Rokinon 14mm F2.8 AF
In our review, we said:
“Itâs fast to focus, can deliver bokeh, has a fast aperture, has weather sealing, and is on par with Tamronâs pricing. How can you seriously go wrong?”
Buy now Canon EF: $599
Buy now Nikon F: $569
Buy now Sony E: $499
Rokinon 14mm f2.4 SP Lens
In our review, we said:
“We REALLY, REALLY like the Rokinon 14mm f2.4 SP. It outputs great images on Canon sensors and I can imagine how fantastic it would be on Sony sensors. Rokinon has stepped their game up a whole lot in regards to build quality. The lens is sharp, has nice bokeh and delivers a very cinematic look to it”
Buy now Canon EF: $799
Buy now Nikon F: $749
Samyang 16mm f2
In our review, we said:
“Weâre really not sure if there is anything for APS-C sensor DSLRs that can beat the sharpness of this lens. The detail that this lens is capable of resolving is astoundingâbut Rokinon and Samyang have special things about their elements that make the images look like they have film grain on them. However, you have to really look for it. Otherwise, the 16mm f2 gives quite a bit of pop to your images because of just how sharp it is.”
Buy now Canon EF: $340
Buy now Fujifilm: $329
Buy now M4/3: $398
Buy now Sony E: $298.50
Samyang 18mm F2.8
In our review, we said:
“It delivers solid image quality on the Sony a7r III. The colors and the contrast are lovely. Couple that with the amazingly low price point and youâve got everything the Samyang 18mm f2.8 embodies.”
Buy now: $299
Rokinon 20mm f1.8
In our review, we said:
“Lastly, what Iâm absolutely floored by is how sharp this lens is even wide open. At f1.8 youâll get plenty of sharpness but when you stop down to something like f5.6 youâll be flabbergasted.”
Buy now Canon EF: $449
Buy now Fujifilm X: $392.27
Buy now Nikon F: $449
Buy now M4/3: $499
Buy now Sony E: $449
Rokinon 24mm f1.4
In our review, we said:
“The image quality of the lens is fantastic, though it could be better when shooting wide open. Color rendition depends on what color profile your camera is using. The build quality is also fairly decent, and itâs what you could expect for a lens at this price.”
Buy now Canon EF: $499
Buy now M4/3: $449
Buy now Nikon F: $499
Rokinon Tilt-Shift 24mm f3.5 ED AS UMC
In our review, we said:
“When you consider what Rokinon has accomplished with their lens and delivered it for under $1k, I find that to be pretty astonishing personally. Also, for the first time, Sony now have a tilt-shift option which should be cause for great rejoicing!”
Buy now Canon: $715
Buy now Nikon: $729
Rokinon 35mm f1.4
In our review, we said:
“In its time at my disposal, I had a lot of fun. It won me over and convinced me manual focus lenses are brilliant especially the Rokinons. After shooting with this lens I find myself using manual focus much more. This lens is well worth the price. The quality of this lens is absolutely ferocious.”
Buy now Canon EF: $399
Buy now Fujifilm X: $399
Buy now M4/3: $599
Buy now Nikon: $399
Buy now Pentax K: $466.84
Buy now Sony E: $399
Rokinon 35mm f2.8
In our review, we said:
“The Rokinon 35mm f2.8 is a pretty awesome lens. Youâre getting an arguably sharper lens than the Sony Zeiss version. But youâre not getting the faster autofocus or the weather sealing. Additionally, you may like the Sony Zeiss colors more. For that price point though, there isnât a whole lot to complain about with the Rokinon offering.”
Buy now Sony E: $229
35mm T1.5 Cine
In our review, we said:
“If you are looking for an affordable option for a cine-like lens, this is a one to consider. You have a sturdy build for the barrel, nice color, although in my use, this depends on what profile you use, and sharp images at f5.6 .Aesthetically this lens is handsome.”
Buy now Canon EF: $349
Buy now Nikon F: $349
Buy now Sony E: $349
Samyang 45mm F1.8
In our review, we said:
“The Samyang 45mm f1.8 is a great lens that gives you quite a bit for a small price point. For $329 youâre getting a lens that delivers on image quality and delivers well enough on autofocus performance. What youâre mostly paying for here is the lens character. Itâs very stark and very signature to Samyang in the same way that Zeiss and Leica lenses have a particular look to them.”
Buy now: $329
Rokinon 50mm f1.4 AF FE
In our review, we said:
“Rokinonâs optics have always been top-notch and this is no exception. The colors are bold, the contrast is there, the images are sharp, and the bokeh is gorgeous.”
Buy now Sony E: $399
Samyang 75mm f1.8 AF
In our review, we said:
“The bokeh from the Samyang 75mm f1.8 is smooth. Because itâs a fast telephoto lens, itâs also very creamy when shooting wide open. This is thanks to the 9 aperture blades. Portrait photographers will love this. And if youâre using it casually, then youâll like the minimum focusing distance. At 2.26 feet, the bokeh will really stand out for a food photographer.”
Buy now: $399
Rokinon 85mm f1.4
In our review, we said:
“Overall, the quality of the Rokinon 85mm is very, very good and I actually believe that wide open, itâs better than my Canon 85mm F/1.8. The lens has some of the best skin tone renderings Iâve seen to date and also renders other colors very well. In contrast to my Canon lenses, the colors are a bit more muted and less punchy but there is a bit more contrast to the images. Most users overall will be very pleased by what this lens can accomplish, but the ones that will most benefit are portrait photographers and videographers.”
Buy now Canon EF: $349
Buy now Nikon F: $281.14
Buy now Pentax K: $254.67
Rokinon 85mm f1.2 SP
In our review, we said:
“The Rokinon 85mm f1.2 SP lens is an almost perfect lens. For portrait photographers, it encourages us to sit there and create rather than capture and collaborate necessarily. If youâre a medium format film shooter, then youâll get this perfectly. Itâs a brand new lens in a digital world that abides by digital standards but that is designed to be used by a higher end shooter. And I genuinely appreciate that aesthetic.”
Buy now Canon EF: $799
Rokinon 85mm F1.4 AF FE
In our review we said:
“The Rokinon 85mm f1.4 AF FE is a very nice lens for what it is: a more affordable version of the Sony G Master with fewer features designed to be a mid-way point between Sonyâs two options. The photographers who will go for it will arguably do so for the colors and because it means that theyâll need to do less post-work. If that sounds like you, then the Rokinon 85mm f1.4 AF FE lens is for you.”
Buy now Sony E: $599
Rokinon 135mm f2 ED UMC
In our review, we said:
“The Rokinon 135mm f2 is a lens that belongs in the hands of every aspiring portrait photographer. It will teach you things about composition, focusing on details, being very careful with the elements of a scene, etc. Plus, itâs pretty affordable. Itâs a beautiful lens and itâs highly capable of delivering beautiful images.”
Buy now Canon EF: $599
Buy now: Fujifilm X: $459
Buy now Nikon F: $549
Buy now Pentax K: $599
Buy now Sony E: $499
Rokinon 300mm f6.3 ED UMC CS
In our review, we said:
“This lens is unlike any Iâve used, primarily in the way it renders images. Itâs a super-telephoto for a super-low price, and if you want a lens this long in traditional construction, youâll have to shell out a lot more. If youâre a paparazzo looking for something affordable, and replaceable in the event of a fisticuff, youâve found your answer in this lens. This could even work for astrophotography if youâve got the time and ideal location”
Buy now Canon E-FM: $299
Buy now Fujifilm X: $299
Buy now Sony E: $302.16
