The fog was thick enough that visibility was about 100 feet. The 12mm f/2.8 ED AS IF NCS UMC Fisheye Lens for Nikon F Mount from Rokinon provides a 180° diagonal angle of view on full-frame cameras for an ultra-wide angle, distorted perspective that is useful for architectural interiors, landscapes and creative experimentation in any photographic application. The f/2.8 maximum aperture is … Below is a shot (at ISO 100) of an interior with wood beams. The lens contrast (without adjustments) looks very good to me. Rokinon 14mm f/2.4 3.  I put a pencil mark on the focus ring at true infinity focus so I can find it quickly without actually having to go through the live view procedure. Obviously there is a considerable amount of focus softness in the extreme corner of the image at F 2.8, and gradually improving thru F 5.6, with little if any more improvement at F 8. It weighs only 8.64 oz (245g). The lens' sophisticated optical design consists of 12 lens elements arranged in 8 groups including three elements made of low dispersion ED glass and two aspherical lens elements to minimize coma and chromatic aberrations. So, yes there was a bit of CA in some stars showing as a slight blue colored “Echo”. You may have to download and expand to get a closer view. However, there is enough clear sky with stars to check for Coma. The Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 UMC Fish-Eye II Lens is a prime fisheye lens specifically designed for mirrorless cameras with APS-C sized image sensors. Above is a quick, hand held shot off my deck using thru the view finder focus (so its a little soft). I’ll await other’s measurement of this parameter. Providing a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 12mm and full 180° angle of view, this lens is well-suited for creative applications as … This is my first experience with a fish-eye lens so there is going to be a learning curve and I’m still climbing that curve. Amazingly, this lens has a much wider angle than the Rokinon 14mm lens which has ONLY a 114 degree field of view. This instantly disappears if you click the box “remove chromatic aberrations” box in the lens corrections section of LR. The first image is shot at F 2.8, ISO 1600, shutter speed 15 seconds and focus set at my infinity pencil mark. Type: prime lens designed for full frame cameras. The Fuji 14mm f2.8 is also smaller and lighter than the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 and besides landscape shooting it makes an excellent travel and walk about lens. I checked infinity focus at a 15 ft distance and found it to be just past the infinity mark on the focus ring (about 1/2 way between the infinity mark and the hard stop). It has huge lens hood and quite wide front lens body area. With hybrid aspherical lenses, you will produce sharply defined images with a minimum of distortion and chromatic aberrations. With the 15 second exposure there is only a slight star trail (motion blur) visible. As previously stated, I don’t really have enough time/experience with the Rokinon 12mm F 2.8 lens to make any sweeping conclusions. And there is a lot of it too! The 12mm is a great match for the latest cameras like the Fuji X-Pro2, X-T2 and Sony a6300. Even at a distance of 8 inches (about 4 inches from the front of the lens), the grid mat did not completely fill the full frame image. The Nikon version does have electronic focus confirmation, but I have not used the Nikon version of the lens (also available in Canon M mount, Fuji X Mount, Sony E Mount and Samsung NX Mount). My conclusion from this shot is that yes there is some noticeable coma in the extreme corners, but its really not bad compared to some other un-named lenses and I can certainly live with it for my work.  As far as I know, there is not any difference between a Samyang marked lens and a Rokinon marked lens. The selected Focus point is at the center of the frame. Here is the order in which they will appear below: 1. I focused on the face of the watch and you can see that the grid background (only 3/8 in behind the watch face) goes slightly soft at this F 2.8 aperture.  I’ve not had the lens very long as this is written, so consider these thoughts as preliminary. If you have any comments about this hands-on review, feel free to contact me via the Contact Form. So, between 3 ft and infinity, estimating distance and setting the focus ring based on this estimate is not going to work well. The top center crop is not showing any visible coma. I like the skinny and “vintage” look of Pergear 12mm f/2 lens – it is all metal and feels quite solid and durable. If you really want to take a look at the CA in the Canon .cr2 RAW image, you can download it here ( Coma / CA  Test Image ).  For all except the F 2.8 to F 4 gap,  1/2 stop clicks also are present. The optical performance of the Rokinon 12mm F/2 lens reminds me of the Sigma 19mm F/2.8 reviewed here. I will leave the hood permanently attached as it affords some protection for the bulbous front element bumping against something. Circles around the center of view will remain circles. This is a type of projection often used in map making to project continents on the surface of a spherical earth onto a plane flat map. Most of the focus turning range occurs between about .66 ft (minimum focus distance) to about 4 ft on the scale. Toes and tri-pod legs can also get in the way. Indeed the measurement did not make any sense. ​The ROKINON 12mm f/2.8  Fisheye Lens was designed specifically to provide a 180º diagonal angle of view on full-frame sensors. Manual aperture control with bright markings for aperture, distance and depth of field. At 12mm focal length, any object more than a few feet away is difficult to critically focus through the view finder because detail is so small. Infinity focus is reached quickly after 4 ft. So, this comparison is between the f/2.4 version, Rokinon/Samyang’s higher-end 14mm lens. Also easily corrected. Nano crystal coating and ultra multi-coating on the lens elements improves light transmission and reduces ghosting and flare. To get an idea of sharpness I’m showing crops at the extreme upper left corner and in the center of the image at full pixel resolution. The lens is designed to give a non-rectilinear image mapping so it would be difficult to separate out any unintended distortion. There is a “… Some photographers may wonder why this lens costs $800, while the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 costs just $250-370. This will never become your Macro lens, but it is able to produce sharp images of objects close to the glass. The manual focus ring has an extremely nice feel to the rotation. And there is a lot of it too! You can find it for an average of $300 and it’s worth every penny. Rokinon 12mm F2 SC is about 1/2 times more expensive, however it's massively available on the used lens market. Because of the large depth of field, critical focus won’t be necessary in every situation.  Usually they are in the 2-3 stop range.  There is not any pouch or lens container included. One way to think about the lens projection is that areas near the center of view are somewhat compressed axisymmetrically and areas near the outer edges are somewhat expanded. But my Rokinon lens doesn't focus properly with the viewfinder focus indicators. It is well-suited for architectural, interior, and landscape images, plus its fast f/2.0 maximum aperture benefits working in low-light conditions. Shooting at F 4 did not change things much, except for losing the stop of light. I placed my watch on a 24 x 36 in grid mat. Just for fun, I tried a photo at close to minimum focus distance (about 8 inches). The lens cap provides adequate protection of the bulbous front element of the lens.  if you will not use it. Name: Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 Ultra Wide Fisheye Lens for Canon EOS EF DSLR Cameras. The f/2.8 maximum aperture is effective in low light situations and enables some measure of shallow depth of field control. The closest competitor to the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 was the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8. If you’re in to low light hand-held shooting and like ultra wide angle views, this would be a great addition to your arsenal. Coma is at its worst at the edges and corners of wide angle lens images. It is very compact at only 2.33″ long (59.1mm) with a diameter of 2.85 inches (72.5mm). Vignetting is usually pretty pronounced with UWA lenses at wide apertures.  I had a clear sky on Christmas night. Although it is much harder to focus the lens at an f-stop of 2.8 – it allows enough light in to show the brightest stars, planets, and constellations in a … Still, I would call this very impressive for a 12mm lens. I did not make any contrast or clarity adjustments. The f/2.8 maximum aperture is effective in low light situations and enables some measure of shallow depth of field control. I’m posting some photos for you to decide for yourself if the lens meets your needs. Just like every other 14mm lens, it is an ultra wide-angle beast, perfect for landscape , street , and even astrophotography .  I am in the midst of several day of rain and clouds, so a view of the sun is not available to photograph directly. Next I tried shooting into heavy morning fog. With the closeest part of the door about one foot away and the fartherest part of the door about 7 feet away, I was’t sure that light reflected at these extreme angles would give me a good measure. There are no electronics in the Canon version of this lens and no electrical contacts on the rear face. Its internal focus system enables its compact design and keeps the front element from extending during focus. Below the full frame image, I have 3 crops from extreme edges of the top of the frame that are roughly 550 pixels on each side. Photographers can now appreciate high image quality with quiet, silky smooth and … Focus is achieved without any lengthening or rotation of the front lens element, Low Chromatic Aberration: All colors to come into focus in exactly the same place for reduced color fringing and increased sharpness, Helps prevent haze, lack of contrast and artifacts scattered throughout the image from bright source(s) of light, Helps prevent a blur that looks like a comet's tail that can occur at a lens edge, State of the art antireflective technology utilizing ultra-low refractive index Nano particle coatings for optimum contrast, light transmission and control of ghosts and flare. If you have used the Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye, this lens will feel remarkably similar and that’s a very good thing. The design is particularly attractive, with a quality, dense feel. The first is from the upper Right corner, the second is from the upper Left corner, and the third is centered on the upper edge. I enjoy using it so far, and plan to shoot with 12mm more once the weather is warmer and more sunny. I think this is because that is toward the SW where Earth rotation has a more pronounced effect. The lens is promoted as a stereoscopic projection design.  Now look at the Upper Left Corner of the Room image (also some brightness adjustments and same sharpening). The first is from the upper Right corner, the second is from the upper Left corner, and the third is centered on the upper edge. Visit Wikipedia for a more complete description. Lens copy to copy variations may give other results. A removable petal-shaped lens hood is included.  Also, a little sharpening was added in Amount  40, Radius 1.3. There is also a little bit of CA noticeable in some of the Stars of the night shot above. Its tight, but will twist off. The second interesting thing that happened with this sequence of images is that using aperature priority mode on the camera (camera set shutter speed and I manually set F-Stop), the images get brighter and brighter overall moving up from F 2.8. The trees are illuminated from house lights, but the sky is reasonably dark for this test. As a manual focus, manual aperture lens, it offers a wide, easy to grip focus ring and bright aperture, distance and depth of field markings. Aperture setting is fully manual, and the camera will not record the selected setting on Canon EOS models. For night photography, I’ve found that using the pencil mark is quick and accurate for infinity focus. Photographers can now appreciate high image quality with quiet, silky smooth and … The star motion appears somewhat larger in the upper Left corner. The 14mm Ultra Wide-Angle f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens For Canon from Rokinon gives you approximately a 115° view with dramatic results when used with a full frame digital camera or 35mm film camera. Again, it will be interesting to see if others see this phenomena. Thankfully, I’m seeing no discernable focus shift with f-Stop on this fish-eye lens. The lens' sophisticated optical design consists of 12 lens elements arranged in 8 groups including three elements made of low dispersion ED glass and two aspherical lens elements to minimize coma and chromatic aberrations. The new Samyang 12mm F2.8 Fisheye Lens for Full Frame Cameras now makes it affordable to realize dramatic 180 Degree views with exceptional optical performance and Full Frame sensor coverage. There is no depth of field scale, but a 12mm lens has a lot of depth of field (DOF), even at wide aperatures. The aperture ring moves nicely and has well defined clicks for each half step (full stops are labelled on the ring). The f/2.8 aperture is an aspect you would have to pay premium prices for on a fisheye lens elsewhere, such as the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM . Nailing critical focus with this lens requires me to use "live view" at 10X magnification and a Hoodman screen viewer loupe. Update: I've used the 12mm f/2 version of the Rokinon and Samyang for Samsung NX … The Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS Lens is a prime, manual focus wide-angle lens designed specifically for use with APS-C sized image sensors. The fish-eye image mapping can be seen clearly as my trees are not really curved. The Rokinon 12mm F/2 performs very well; especially for the price. I've purchased my sample used for the price of new 7artisans 12mm F2.8. Other than price, the major difference is that the Rokinon is completely manually operated for focus and aperture. Distortion is not likely to be an issue with this fish-eye lens. To me, the CA was easy to eliminate and therefore not an issue. Coma manifests as a distortion of points of light. The stereoscopic projection is conformal and retains angles but not areas. I have started some hands-on testing of this new UWA fish-eye lens from Korean Manufacturer Samyang. The Samyang (aka Rokinon) 12mm F2.8 ED AS NCS Fisheye lens gives a huge field of view, 180 degrees from corner to corner on a full frame (35mm) sensor. Two times more expensive Rokinon 12mm F2 or four times more pricy Fujinon XF 14mm F2.8 will definitly deliver significantly beter image results. An ultra wide-angle fisheye lens with a 12mm focal length on full-frame cameras and a 19.2mm equivalency when used on APS-C format cameras. The Samyang / Rokinon 12mm f/2 is a good example of how a lens can be a good investment, no matter how old it is. This lens provides a full frame (FF) wide angle view in spades! Polarizers often don’t provide good results with UWA lenses because of the wide variation is sky density that is produced over a wide angle. The Rokinon 14mm Ultra Wide-Angle f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens is a great piece of glass. It feels rather dense for its size, presumably from the 12 element design. Laowa 12mm f/2.8 2. If extreme corner sharpness is important, then shooting at F 5.6 or F 8 will produce outstanding image sharpness over the entire frame. I was able to get a gray patch of fog that fit from center frame to a corner, and the spot light meter was telling me that there was only about 1/3 of a stop of brightness difference in the fog over the expanse of interest. Stars appear as a winged object (some call them bat wings) rather that a distinct point. Pixel peepers may see some star softness but no one else will. The compact and lightweight Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS prime wide-angle lens for Canon M series APS-C cameras provides a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 19.2mm with a broad 95.7° angle of view. I suppose I should mention I've a Samyang 8mm f/2.8 and a Rokinon 12mm f/2, both black in X mount. Notice how the beam through the center is straight, and others are are curved. My Web Host may get hostile. I checked this lens at 3 ft (measured from sensor plane to target plane) and at 1 ft. I’ve also put this mark on my other Rokinon lenses. Using filters will be problematic for this lens as there is not a simple way to attach a filter. Focus ring position is same, but 7artisans has more comfortable aperture… I first tried my grey garage door, but I had to be within about 1 ft to almost fill the frame. I found that I had to be careful when holding the focus ring with one hand so that part of that hand was not in the frame. For some reason, particularly below F 8, the camera tends to underexpose by up to 1 stop. Testing for Coma Rokinon 12mm F2.8 Shot at F2.8, © Ronald Brunsvold 2014, All rights reserved, Canon EF 400mm f4 DO II Lens Review (BIF), Rokinon 12mm F2.8 ED AS NCS FishEye Lens Review, Wide Angle Lenses for Night / Low Light Photography with Stars. You will see a lot of curved lines and bent shapes in images but that is the intended image mapping for this lens. The Rokinon 12mm f2.8 fisheye for Nikon is definitely sharper than my manual focus Nikon 16mm f2.8 fisheye. Irix 15mm f/2.4 Since the Irix and Rokinon lenses are f/2.4 rather than f/2.8, I’m including photos at both apertures rather than just wide open or just f/2.8… My preliminary assessment is that the lens is imminenly useable even in its all manual configuration. It's priced affordably and offers a bright aperture and fast autofocus, but it cuts some corners when it …  Practically, this means that almost everything in front of the camera will be in the frame. The lens has such a broad DOF that it is difficult to tell where focus is sharp when looking through the viewfinder. Where do I find a uniformly lighted surface that will fit within the frame. Another question is how accurate are the markings on the focus ring? The lens appears to be solidly constructed with a metal body and metal mounting plate. For a Coma test I made the shot below from my deck, and yes their are a lot of trees. My Web Host may get hostile! To my eye, the center frame expansion of the Room image looks quite sharp from F 2.8 thru F 8 will little discernible difference. Samyang 14mm f/2.8 (same company as Rokinon, under a different name) 4. I don’t have quantitative test equipment to be able to tell you exactly the resolution of this lens. The diagonal angle of coverage is 180 degrees. The last printed number on the focus ring before infinity is 3 ft. If you can adjust to their quirks, the image quality can equal or even exceed that from lenses several times their price. As a manual focus, manual aperture lens, it offers a wide, easy to grip focus ring and bright aperture, distance and depth of field markings. Note: I bought both Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lenses from Amazon new. Samyang is known for putting a lot of value into their lens line. Covers over 180º Angle of View / Field Of View. I’m going to include full images, center crops, and corner crops for all five lenses below. I made multiple shots of this image from a tripod at multiple f-Stops using aperture priority (letting the camera set shutter speed and I manually set aperture). I have made a few shots to help me see how the lens performs. As time permits I’ll try to reply. ​The ROKINON 12mm f/2.8  Fisheye Lens was designed specifically to enable a 180º diagonal angle of view on full-frame sensors. Keith has been trying out the Canon EF version on a 50MP Canon 5Ds body. The front lens cap slides over the outside of the petal style lens hood. Providing a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 16mm and a broad 105.9° angle of view, this lens is ideally suited for interior, architectural, and landscape photography applications. Super excited to open my fresh Rokinon / Samyang 12mm f2.8 Ultra Wide Angle Lens for the Canon EF mount. DOF is important at these close distances as you can see in the watch photos. An ultra wide-angle fisheye lens with a 12mm focal length on full-frame cameras and it can provide a 118º diagonal angle of view on Canon APS-C sensor cameras. When checking the shutter speeds selected by the camera in “aperature priority” mode, the brightness differences are explained by the camera’s non-linear shutter time settings. For now, its just something I will be aware of when using wide aperatures. The version that I have is marked as a Rokinon lens. Sturdy metal barrel with removable petal-shaped lens hood. For astrophotography, coma is an important parameter and one that Rokinon (and lately Sigma Art Lenses ) has excelled at in the past. The Canon compatible version that I have weighs 515g, and balances nicely on my Canon 5D III Camera Body. A removable petal-shaped lens hood is included. The manual aperature ring works nicely with clicks at all full stops from f 2.8 - f 22. The focus indicators always back-focus a lot. I am on the learning curve for finding the best subjects suitable for this lens and I plan to have some fun playing with it to find out what works best. You're welcome. Here is the Pergear 12mm f/2 lens size comparison to two other alternative options for Fuji X mount: Rokinon/Samyang 12mm f/2 (to the left) and Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 lens (to the right). Its distorted perspective is useful for interiors, landscapes, group shots and many creative wide-angle applications. The Rokinon 12mm F2.8 ED AS NCS Fish-eye Lens provides a 180º diagonal angle of view on full-frame cameras for an ultra-wide angle, distorted perspective that is useful for architectural interiors, landscapes and creative experimentation in any photographic application. I've tried this Rokinon lens with three different Nikon camera bodies and the problem is the same. ​The 12mm f/2.8 ED AS IF NCS UMC Fisheye Lens from Rokinon provides a 180º diagonal angle of view on Canon full-frame cameras for an ultra-wide angle, distorted perspective that is useful for architectural interiors, landscapes and creative experimentation in any photographic application. The fast optics are a big reason why this lens is so handy for filming at night. Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 5. The markings are more accurate than they were on my other Rokinon lenses, but still a bit off (about 6-9 in off at 3 ft, and 2-3 in off at 1ft). I also checked to see if focus shifted with a change in f-Stop as this has been an issue for me with the Rokinon 14mm lens.  It would be difficult (maybe impossible) to make a custom filter holder because the field of view is so wide, but there’s probably not much demand for a filter on this lens. For astrophotography, shooting at F 2.8 will possibly still be acceptable (More on this later). Interior Architecture is a potential use for an UWA lens; however, Fish-eye lenses are not going to be a hit for architectural photographers because of the extreme distortion. The Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 is an APS-C lens, meaning it was designed to provide a 35mm (full frame) equivalent focal length of 18mm. Format: full frame fisheye; works well on APS-C sensor cameras as an 18mm lens. Samyang/Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 ED AS IF NCS UMC Fisheye Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 at a glance: EF Mount/Full-Frame Format Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22 Three Extra Low Dispersion Elements Two Aspherical Elements Nano Crystal and UMC Lens Coating Manual Focus &… Some slight flare can be seen on the back side of the tree trunk near the blown-out clouds. https://www.rokinon.com/lenses/digital-photo-lenses/12mm-f28 It clicks firmly against the lens mount with no noticeable side to side play and only a slight amount of rotation play, no more than any of my other lenses. Its internal focus system enables its compact design and keeps the front element from extending during focus. ND filters may not see many straight horizon lines on a fish-eye lens. But, the watch face itself is very sharp. The new Rokinon 12mm F2.8 Fisheye Lens for Full Frame Cameras now makes it affordable to realize dramatic 180 Degree views with exceptional optical performance and Full Frame sensor coverage. The Zeiss came in at $999, whereas the Rokinon was available for $375. I have two other Rokinon lenses (14mm and 35mm) where the markings are pretty far off from the true distance. Samyang markets their lenses under multiple names. I noticed immediately that focus could be an issue. This is a beautifully designed little lens. Some exposure adjustments were made in Adobe Light Room so the brightness was fairly close in each expansion. I think this 7artisans 12mm F2.8 is a great lens if properly learn and get used to its limitations. The stops at both ends of focus are slighly soft, like coming to a stop against a compliant pad. Its distorted perspective is useful for interiors, landscapes, group shots and many creative wide-angle applications. The lens is well built and can produce very sharp images. The Rokinon 18mm F2.8 AF Sony E ($399.99) is a svelte lens with a big, wide view. Ofereço serviços fotográficos de precisão em http://instagram.com/marcellomirandafoto. I’m finding it’s not easy to get a quantitative measure of vignetting with a lens that has a 180 degree field of view. Rokinon is the same company as Samyang, above, but they brand some of their lenses differently than others. The lens is not complety free of these aberrations as looking at maximum magnification in light room (3:1), I can see just a hint of magenta/green CA on the edges of the fan blades in the room photograph above. Highly effective nanocrystal anti-reflection (NCS) coating applied together with UMC coatings improve light transmission and reduce ghosting. Testing for Coma Rokinon 12mm F2.8 Shot at F2.8 Below the full frame image, I have 3 crops from extreme edges of the top of the frame that are roughly 550 pixels on each side. Extra low dispersion and aspherical lens elements reduce aberrations for sharp, color-accurate imaging. The focus ring is marked in feet and meters. Manual focus lens with an internal focus system and wide, rubberized focus ring. Highly effective nanocrystal anti-reflection (NCS) coating applied together with UMC coatings improve light transmission and reduce ghosting. Rotation is damped just right and has consistent resistance throughout its travel. The body is the typical mix of metal and engineered plastics, but it has a very handsome finish.  I’m not sure I believe this, as it is much smaller that all other UWA lens measurements I’ve seen. Although specifically designed for crop sensors, this lens can be used on full frame sensor and micro 4/3 cameras, but with a different effective focal length.  It’s probably too soon to make a sweeping conclusion here, but so far, so good. The lens hood also snaps in place with a … The petaled lens hood is not permanently attached, even though I initially thought is was. I have been very happy with mine. The lens is somewhat smaller than I expected for a F2.8 UWA.  The Lens diameter is just over 77mm and is about 73mm long. The Rokinon 12mm lens arrives in a box with a front lens cap, rear lens cap, lens hood, a fold-out manual of sorts, and a warranty card. The Rokinon 12mm fisheye lens takes us to another level of lens performance and user experience. Price: $450 – $600. The former because an attractive pricing dip in Amazon's demand steering happened to occur when I was looking, the latter because one turned up used as a good buy on eBay when I was looking to pick up that lens. The first result was a measured vignette from center to corner of about 1 1/2 Stops at F 2.8 and gradually improving to about 1/2 stop at F 8. I can’t explain why this is happening. Looking back at the room photo above in this page, the extreme corner crop was fairly soft, but as you can see here, in a star field the softness doesn’t hurt the image much (or practically at all). It was kindly loaned to us by Intro 2020, the UK distributers. Straight lines in the world (view) that pass through the center of a frame remain streight in a fish-eye view, but other straight lines have some curvature. I am not going to have an issue shooting at night with this lens at F 2.8. Perhaps is has something to do with the way the camera light meter works with an UWA lens?