noone Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 1 hour ago, HockeyFan12 said: I'll ask about that next chance I get. I have a 24mm f2 with a bit of play in the focus ring that I'm probably going to sell for cheap rather than repairing. I wonder if the SSC Aspherical generation has the same problems. Those look even nicer (a bit more vintage I'm told and better build quality) but the price tags are absurd. I wonder if there's a way to prevent wear. Is it from excess use or from neglect? A shame the 35mm f1.2 is only available with the K35s. From the sound of things the other three are if not identical to very close to K35s. Good to hear the 50mm matches the others, I know the 55mm Aspherical is the classic K35 but 50mm is a better focal length to me. I think they deteriorate just through age, maybe through drying out (someone should do a proper examination of it) ...something in the design and it does not seem to happen to the lower lenses which probably do not have brass bearings with rubber over them but just use plastic or similar. My 50 1.2 never had it and my 24 1.4 doesn't either, only my 85 1.2. The 85 is otherwise in excellent condition while my 24 looks ratty but has good glass. I hate it when good gear gets known issues (I have two of my late Dad's four thirds high grade lenses and they BOTH have known issues that mean they are either unusable or limited in use which is a pity because they are otherwise pro grade lenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HockeyFan12 Posted May 28, 2020 Share Posted May 28, 2020 22 hours ago, Stab said: Hmm, I just read a review of the Rokinon / Samyang 50mm t1.5 cine and it is actually a very, very good lens. The whole set can be had for about € 2500,- and the specs, looks, weight and size are actually pretty damn good. Maybe the 50mm is the best of the bunch, so I will do some more research but it's actually looking pretty good at the moment. Ok, and it doesn't have the 'pro-vibe' that other brands might have, but maybe I should let that go. It's not that I'm working on big feature films anyway. Most Rokinons I've used are nothing special wide open, but fine by f2. They have unusually even resolution across the frame. Some of them I wasn't wild about the bokeh with but it's not bad. The 50mm I understand is good even wide open. They aren't bad. Do you have the option of renting or returning what you don't like? I feel like hipsters would sneer at Rokinon and corporate clients might ask why you're using old lenses their grandfather owned if you showed up with Nikkors. I had both for a while and there is nothing terribly wrong with any of them, except my 24mm f1.4 Rokinon was soft wide open. Unpopular opinion: 28mm f1.8 EF, 50mm f1.4 EF, 85mm f1.8 EF is a really good and really affordable kit, especially used, except for the focus ring. Big but not too big. But a lot bigger than Nikkors and bigger than Contax. Consistent 58mm fronts. Fast. Good center performance. Canon-branded so they look legit. Nice build quality and durability. Not as clinical as Zeiss or Sigma, not super vintage. I don't own the 50mm f1.4, but it's based on the nFD 50mm f1.4, which I think is the best of its kind, and the other two aren't perfect, but they perform better at f1.8 to me than their Rokinon brethren and I like the look more, too. And so incredibly cheap for what they are. Like $700 used for a set of three. The 28mm f1.8 has a bad reputation but it's actually pretty good, center is perfectly sharp even wide open. The 85mm f1.8 is very good. The focus throw is short and they don't have hard stops, and that might be a deal-breaker for you or you might shoot the kind of content where it's not if you're just pulling off the barrel anyway. But other than that they're just great. Absurdly cheap for what you get. Nice and chunky, too. 19 hours ago, noone said: I think they deteriorate just through age, maybe through drying out (someone should do a proper examination of it) ...something in the design and it does not seem to happen to the lower lenses which probably do not have brass bearings with rubber over them but just use plastic or similar. My 50 1.2 never had it and my 24 1.4 doesn't either, only my 85 1.2. The 85 is otherwise in excellent condition while my 24 looks ratty but has good glass. I hate it when good gear gets known issues (I have two of my late Dad's four thirds high grade lenses and they BOTH have known issues that mean they are either unusable or limited in use which is a pity because they are otherwise pro grade lenses. Well, that explains why nFDs have the smoothest focus rings I've ever used. The K35s turn yellow over time, so does the Cooke 75mm, and apparently the rare glass in the Super Baltars degrades over time, too. It's almost like an E60 M5, when you tune something as far as you can tune it, it's not built to last. Master Primes fail in extreme cold. The Iscorama plastic parts are all apparently a mess, too. Anything bespoke or over-engineered seems to have issues, but those are always the most fun and most special. Aren't M43 lenses still serviceable at least? And if rehousing changes the focus mechanism, is there a market for your 85mm? I'll ask about this issue next chance I get, but it sucks. Panchros and K35s fail too, though. And virtually every cinema lens gets haze or stiff focus rings. I have some museum quality vintage lenses and it sort of hurts just to use them or to put focus gears on them that will scratch the barrels or whatnot. Stab 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stab Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 Ok so I just came accross a very good deal on the Samyang (Rokinon) 50mm t1.5 cine DS (or Mark II) on Amazon. Got it for only 320 euro's incl VAT (280 without VAT). It was the last one in stock. After I ordered the price went up again to € 550,- So, after the good reviews I want to give it a try. The specs are good, the weight and size are good for me as well. And the lastest versions of their 'cine' line all have new coatings for better performance and makes colors more even accross the various lenses. The other lenses that I would be interested in are also affordable. The 24mm f1.4 is apparently the 'worst' one, especially at wide apertures but they recently released a 20mm f1.8 which is supposedly very good. So I might go for that one in stead of the 24. Anyway, I think I will first wait for the 50mm to arrive to see if I like it. The only thing I'm thinking about now, is if I should have gone for the 'non cine' version. I am often shooting without a follow focus, especially on weddings, and I'm wondering if the focus gears would be harder to focus than a regular rubber focus ring when one is not using a follow focus. Also, probably more uncomfortable? You can always add focus gears to a photo lens but not the other way arround Anyone has any experience with those or other lenses without using a follow focus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Sewell Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 I used to have the 24, 35, 50 and 85mm Samyangs. The 24mm was so awful that I never used it. The 35 was serviceable, the 50 and the 85 were - for the price - stellar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Freeze Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 I have the same Samyangs/Rokinon/Walimex Lenses. What was so awful with your 24mm? Besindes the focus ring having not enough resistance for my liking, it is a nice lens. Just curious why you didn´t like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homestar_kevin Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 I believe the 24mm is known to have a pretty big swing in sample variation between lenses. Seems like most of these Rokinon/Samyang ones do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Freeze Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 I know that it is softer wide open, compared to other primes of the set. Still, stepped down a bit it is great. At least my sample is. Overall, they deliver great value for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heart0less Posted June 18, 2020 Share Posted June 18, 2020 12 minutes ago, homestar_kevin said: I believe the 24mm is known to have a pretty big swing in sample variation between lenses. Seems like most of these Rokinon/Samyang ones do. Yeah, I've experienced this myself. Got a new Samyang 24 mm T1.5 Cine for Sony A (to be used with Sony E Mount) and it was totally unusable below T2.8 (had a very glowy and soft look to it), whereas many people report that their copies are tack sharp wide open. Fortunately, I could return it but the seller couldn't offer me any replacement, so I took the cash and forgot all about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Sewell Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 21 hours ago, Mr. Freeze said: I have the same Samyangs/Rokinon/Walimex Lenses. What was so awful with your 24mm? Besindes the focus ring having not enough resistance for my liking, it is a nice lens. Just curious why you didn´t like it. The one I had was soft below f8. Compared to the others, even once sharp, it was pretty lifeless too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Freeze Posted June 19, 2020 Share Posted June 19, 2020 That´s really bad. Even though I don´t use mine wide open, at f2.8 it is quite sharp and captures lots of details. If I´d had to set it to F8 to reach usable sharpness, I probably wouldn´t use it. Seems like they vary a quite a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.