Rokinon, also branded as Samyang, released another lens for their Sony FE lens lineup today
Out of all the third-party lens manufacturers that have jumped onto the Sony FE ecosystem over the past year or so, none have released as many affordable, high-quality AF options as Rokinon. The company continues that trend today with the announcement of their new ultra-compact, wide-angle Rokinon 24mm f2.8 AF; a lens that is sure to get some attention from street photography enthusiasts.
Designed for Sonyâs full-frame A7 cameras, the Rokinon 24mm f2.8 AF is incredibly compact and features a design of 7 glass elements in 7 groupings with 7 aperture blades. It would be perfect, in our estimation, for anyone looking for a small, lightweight lens for street photography or travel photography where you donât want or need a big chunk of glass weighing you down.
Rokinon 24mm f2.8 AF Highlights
- Non-Rotating 49mm Filter Mount
- Internal Focusing
- Low Distortion, Coma, flare, ghosting, and CA
- UMC Coating
This lens will pair nicely with something like [amazon_textlink asin=’B07B43WPVK’ text=’Sonyâs A7 III’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’80838f34-6a7a-11e8-8f17-8dbd9fd902c3′], or even something like an [amazon_textlink asin=’B01M586Y9R’ text=’A6500′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’87df9095-6a7a-11e8-a041-a9e253c1d0e5′] (though at that point you would need to take the crop factor into account). The lens does come with a hood as well, which is removable. Often, affordable compact lenses like this can have undesirable compromises with their design; a rotating filter mount, external focusing, or a loud AF motor. In this case, Rokinon has managed to put together an excellent little lens that seems to avoid many of the shortcomings that you can see in lenses like this.
The only real point on this lens that will give anyone some pause could be the number of aperture blades. The f2.8 minimum aperture on this lens, combined with its wide-angle focal length, means that bokeh on this lens would be somewhat disappointing. But the choice to only use 7 aperture blades means that bokeh fanatics may not find the out of focus areas on this lens to be quite as creamy or smooth as they would like.
But the lens appears to hit the mark in almost every other way, and again, given its f2.8 aperture and the wide-angle field of view, itâs not likely many bokeh snobs are going to be seriously considering this lens anyway (but it is something to note if you are interested in the lens).
Rokinon has priced the 24mm f2.8 AF well too, dropping it into the Sony ecosystem with a price tag of just $399. If youâre in the Sony system and have been on the lookout for something small and lightweight with AF, then this very well could be the lens for you.
