Rokinon FE14M-C 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Lens for Canon (Black)

Okay look, this lens isn't quite the walk-on-water miracle that many people are making it out to be. However, it is a fantastic little lens that can make a great addition to your kit if you know how to use it. It could also be a dust-collecting monument to buyer's remorse. That's up to you. Using the lens to its fullest capability can be hard. I'm saying that not as a professional photographer, but as an amateur photographer that has had one SLR or another in his hands since 1992. So I've got the experience under my belt, just not the paid gigs. Or some might say, the talent. Still though, I know my way around a camera. And this lens still took me a while to get used to. Especially hard is any type of focus at or around f/2.8, given the all-manual nature of the lens. Live View, even at 10x magnification, on the 5D Mark III sometimes does not provide enough zoom to accurately gauge focus (luckily, it does help when the subject is close to the camera - a situation that is likely if you're shooting at f/2.8). And besides, I'm not a big fan of Live View anyway because it messes up your flow by pulling your eye away from the viewfinder, making you press buttons to zoom, etc. By then the moment may have passed. Where it really shines is in that f/5.6 to f/8 sweet spot, where you can dial in to the hyperfocal distance and just go nuts. I put a chart up a while back that shows for any given aperture, where to set the focus to reach the hyperfocal point, and what the minimum focus distance is at that point (for full-frame and for 1.6x crops). Googling the phrase "Jitterypixel Rokinon" should get you there. Once your aperture and focus is dialed in based on that chart, it will tell you how far away your subjects need to be. For this reason, hyperfocal shooting is a bit backwards from normal lens operation: instead of aiming at a subject and attempting to focus on it, you're setting the focus and then framing the subject accordingly. Until you get accustomed to operating like this, you may find that you have a lot of stuff that looks slightly out of focus when viewed at 100% on your computer, especially if you don't have much experience with fully manual lenses. It can take some practice. Corner sharpness (in full-frame) is not as unbelievably insanely amazing as some have touted, but it is definitely workable. Honestly, the distortion is so bad by the time you hit the corners, sharpness is the last thing you're thinking about. You're thinking that the old lady you accidentally caught in the corner of the frame is melting into the sidewalk. Center sharpness is pretty great, and the lens responds well to the judicious use of sharpening in post. Most of the distortion can be corrected (at the cost of a few pixels around the outer edges) for free using the lens profile available for both ACR and Lightroom (the page that I mentioned above also includes info for how to get that profile, and a couple of before-after photos). Gloss-over stuff that I won't spend too much time on because hundreds of reviews before me have already gone into great detail: The build quality seems excellent, especially considering the price point. The focus is smooth and well-damped, and you won't be able to use a screw-on filter because of the lens shape and the fact that it would have to be HUGE in order to not get in the way of the ridiculously wide angle of view. The solid lens cap attaches to the permanent petal hood, and protects the glass very well. Final word of caution: Do not under any circumstances position any female (ESPECIALLY wife or girlfriend) around the outside portion of the frame when shooting. Doing so will likely jeopardize your permission to ever photograph said female again in the future. Ever.

First off, let me state that I am not a "professional" in that I do not perform photography for my career. I suppose you could say I fall into that (seemingly) ever-growing "prosumer" market point. I love to have nice, quality items, but at the same time I do not like to break the bank. I have always (and always will be) a very money conscious person that always looks to get the most for what money I am willing to spend. This lens by 14mm Rokinon (Samyang) is a great value when it comes to the always important image quality to cost ratio. The sharpness and performance of this lens is great, and I am thoroughly impressed. Comparing this lens to my Canon 24-105L (which is roughly 2.5x the cost) as far as sharpness, clarity, and color reproduction is outstanding. The sharpness especially is just as good if not better than the Canon. . .but obviously all of this comes at a cost. What cost is that, you may ask? The cost of luxury. . .pure, plain, and simple. This lens does not have any auto-focus, any image stabilization, any electronics period. Now to someone like myself who thrives on the technical aspects of most anything out there (engineer for a reason I guess, haha), this lens answers a call of the minimalistic nature - one where you have to take the time and think about what you are shooting with respect the environment (lighting conditions, subject matter, etc) you find yourself in. If you do take your time, are willing to work through a fully manual lens to match your shooting environment, you will be fully rewarded with your results from this wonderful lens. A point of note, and something that I took into account and kept in the back of my mind before purchasing this lens. . .there is apparently somewhat of a quality issue with improperly focused (de-centered) lenses, i.e. soft focus on one side or the other of the lens. I will admit that my copy is ever so slightly (and I do mean a very small amount) softer on the bottom right of the frame. Is it enough for me to notice? Not really. . .and I am a very analytical individual when it comes to scrutinizing just about anything (especially my pictures). The ever so slight de-centering was only noticed when testing specially for this. In real world testing, the de-centering is non-existent. Overall though, just something to keep in mind. Also, this lens does have some distortion - all of which can be fixed very simply with a program/plugin such as PTLens or other various lens profiles floating around out there on the internet for programs such as Lightroom or Photoshop. Summary? I don't think you can get a better lens in the $400 or below range. If you are wanting a lens for a walk around/point and shoot type, well this is obviously not your choice. If you like to shoot landscapes, or put emphasis on a subject with a larger background in view, well then this lens is definitely worth a look. On a scale of 1-10 I would give this lens about a 9/10. The one knock to me is the lack of ability to use a standard filter (i.e. circular polarized filter for landscapes). I will definitely keep other Rokinon (Samyang) products in mind on (seemingly inevitable) future lens purchases! Side Notes: I am shooting with this lens on a crop sensor, not full frame. & Look for my images watermarked "Down Scope Photography" in the sample photos for examples. *Edit* After viewing lens on full frame body, more de-centering is evident in lens (not noticed really on my crop sensor body). Just re-ordered a new copy to come while I send this one back. If I wasn't so particular, it would not be an issue. I still leave this lens at 5 stars for the moment, pending on how the new lens looks.

A couple months ago, I picked up the Canon 6D. I love wide-angle photography and I'd always wanted a full-frame DSLR, but until recently they'd been priced well outside my budget. I understand the importance of good glass, and in the past I've stuck almost exclusively with Canon L lenses, seeing it as an investment as much as anything — and considering I got almost 100% of my costs when I sold all of my photography gear a few years ago, I was right. Now that I'm rebuilding my gear set, I'm trying to be pretty methodical. I just don't have the money to be frivolous. With the 6D, I got the Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS, which is a great middle-of-the-road range. Recently, I added the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS to cover the telephoto end of things. That leaves the wide angle, and I'm happy I chose the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 for it. I was initially VERY hesitant to purchase this lens, due to the fact that it's entirely manual. No autofocus, no automatic aperture. I'd never used a manual focus lens before, and I was worried that I'd either end up with consistently out-of-focus shots... or I'd be so turned off by the hassle of manual focus, that I'd never use it. The truth is, at 14mm, focus is extremely forgiving. Sure, I could switch to live view, zoom into 10x and focus like that, but I've discovered that I'm able to eyeball it through the optical viewfinder and achieve perfect focus for landscapes pretty much every time. Focusing on something very close would require more precision, but the infinity point is reasonably close at 14mm, so it's tough to be truly out of focus. So, once my fears about manual focus were allayed, I was able to (ahem) focus on image quality. It's impressive. Center is absolutely razor shop, and the corners are as sharp as my 24-105L is in the center (and that's still really freaking good). Impressive, especially for full frame. There's pretty significant distortion in the corners, some vignetting as has been mentioned in other reviews, and I see a bit of chromatic aberration in the corners... but it's all easily correctable in post processing. I really can't speak highly enough for this lens. I would say "especially at this price," but I think it's great quality, regardless of price. Canon's 14mm offering is over six times the price and, sure, you get autofocus, but ultimately, image quality is paramount. I'm sure the Canon is a fine lens, but I'm skeptical that the resulting images are six times better.

For the past six months, I have debated on this lens. For one, its a Samyang lens rebranded to Rokinon, Bower, Bell & Howell to name a few (and thus, keep an eye on the various prices as you will find one lower than the other) but the Rokinon price dropped for a few days and it was time to strike. As I have a good number of prime lenses for portrait, macro and zoom...I wanted a lens where I'm able to capture scenery but also real estate. One that was ultra wide and one that was not a fish eye lens (although you can get a slight fisheye curve using this lens). So, here is my review: A. UNPACKAGING I am familiar with Rokinon products, one of the lenses for my Canon A-1 that my father gave me had a Rokinon 28mm from the late '70s. And perusing the various photo sites and reading about how the Samyang lens that were rebranded is a newer lens that gives a solid performance, I had to give it a try. It comes in a box, well-packed with styrofoam and comes with instructions. Inside is the lens, which is heavy and built like a tank and comes with a pouch, lens cover and cap. B. TEST I tested this lens on a Canon T3i and at first, I went out and took a picture of my house and the neighborhood. I was happy to see how the ultra-wide lens is what I needed but it's important to know that the lens is controlled not through the camera but the lens. So you need to turn the lens to access the aperture and the focus ring. Although I prefer manual focusing over auto (and this is a manual prime lens), I'm so used to focusing on an object and getting what I need. But each time I turned the ring, I couldn't tell if the picture was good. I had to look on my viewfinder, increase the size to see if it was right or not and it wasn't. It was blurry. I was a bit frustrated because I couldn't get any good photos until I went to a Samyang forum and those who owned Rokinon, Bowers and Bell's were talking about how they have their aperture set at 5.6 as they found that to be "the sweet spot". So, I went back out...set the aperture from 2.8 to 5.6 and sure enough, I was taking clear pictures with this lens. A few weeks later, I decided to take this lens out for another test as I was traveling to the Bay Area. Scenery, buildings....they turned out great. But I wanted to try this on people. Of course, some people are freaked out when I'm like a foot away from their face but yet, on the viewfinder I'm actually getting their whole body. But I was able to get a few good pictures. Once again, I can't tell if it's going to be clear enough because each time I manually focused, everything look the same. So, a lesson I learned is to take many shots because it's so wide that it's not easy and I have to advise, if you have an iPad or laptop nearby, it's good to see your photos and see if what you are getting is right. Or use the viewfinder and constantly increasing the size to see if its blurry or not. I have only kept at f5.6 and a few others for aperture as many have recommended but have not been able to get great shots at f2.8. But I'm still learning this lens... For those trying to take pictures of objects or people close-up, here are some test results: f/4 - If distance is about 6.5 feet f/5.6 - If distance is about 4.9 feet f/8 - If distance is about 3.2 feet f/11 - If distance is about 2.5 feet f/22 - If distance is about 1.6 feet JUDGMENT CALL: First, the build and presentation of this lens is great. As mentioned, it's built like a tank and I was quite pleased. Especially that it came with the two caps and the pouch, which was a nice addition. Second, I was able to get really nice shots with this lens (which I will post test shots on Amazon). Third, you'll need to spend time with this lens. It's not as easy as a Canon 50 mm prime lens and focus and you get it right via viewfinder or screen. This one, you'll need to take a few pictures, view the photo to see if its blurry or not and you also want to have good lighting. As mentioned, like others who used the Samyang and were able to get great pictures at 5.6 aperture but this is a lens that really does challenge you in someways. This is my first ultra wide and not sure how the more expensive ones perform compared to this lens but the good thing is that I was able to take really good photos but I would like to get better photos at 2.8 rather than keeping things at 5.6 all the time. Overall, it's a solid lens and for its price, it's definitely worth it if you are a photographer on a budget.

HIGHLIGHTS: manual lens with excellent image quality, ultra wide coverage and affordable pricing, but with few concessions in durability and performance. BUILD: The Rokinon FE14M-C 14mm F2.8 looks striking with its large bulbous front element and integral petal hood. Most EOS users will be surprised to find a manual aperture ring with click-stops. Construction is robust: metal EF mount, sturdy plastic barrel and black matte finish. At 1.2LB it has serious heft for a small lens. The EF mount fits both full frame and APS-C (1.6x crop) Canon cameras, e.g., Rebels and 5D series. This lens has no mechanical or electronic linkage with Canon cameras and, thus, focus and aperture are manually set. There are no filter threads or rear filter gel holder. IMAGE QUALITY: The diagonal field of view is 115.7° on Canon full-frame and 89.9° on APS-C. Coupled with a fast F2.8 aperture, is ideal for landscape and astro photography. Wide open it's sharp center frame but corners are softer and darker (light falloff). Corners sharpen and brighten considerably by stopping down and are shockingly sharp by F5.6. CA and coma are well controlled and better than most of my primes. It's weakest point is mustache distortion, so not a good choice for architecture, but easy to correct with software in post production. MANUAL FOCUS is reasonably smooth but stiff compared to my old manual Nikkors. I can't focus well with the viewfinder as depth of field is vast and everything looks in focus. I normally stop down to F5.6 or F8, prefocus with the distance scale and everything from a few feet out to infinity is sharp when I look at the files on a big monitor. The infinity mark is one notch off on my lens. Distant objects are sharpest when focus is set to the 3m (10') mark. Test your focus scale accuracy for best results. METERING: I shoot in aperture priority mode on a 5D MKII and 6D and metering is a little whacky, tending to overexpose a stop in Evaluative metering. The partial and center weighted patterns are dead on as long as mid-frame falls on a medium toned area. GOTCHAS: The red dot for aligning the lens with the camera mount is hidden on the underside of the lens mount. It should be on the side of the barrel so you can actually see it. FINAL BLURB: The Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 provides an extremely wide field of view and excellent image quality at reasonable cost. The weak points are light falloff wide open and distortion. If you make a living shooting architecture, dish out two grand for the better corrected Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM . However, for weekend warrior photogs, this Rokinon hits the sweet spot with a perfect balance of performance and cost.

I was debating between this lens and Sigma's 12-24, as I needed a wide angle I could use on either full frame or crop. I am very happy with the decision to go with this lens. Not only is it cheaper (half the price), but the image quality is absolutely excellent all the way to the pixel level. This is even more true at F/5.6 to F/8. Now while I can list more con "bullet points" than I can pros, the con points that I have are all very minor, and the pros are very significant. All in all, to me, the con points combined don't outweigh a single star on my rating. As stated elsewhere, there is a very significant distortion, but I did know this before I purchased it and PT Lens was able to correct it very well- when it is needed. Unless there are straight lines, the distortion isn't noticeable. If you are planning panoramas, correcting the distortion is very necessary or things won't line up. Chromatic aberration is very well managed, which is fantastic for a lens of this focal length. There is some vignetting at wide open, but it is manageable and drops off greatly when stopped down a little. Another huge plus for me, which probably isn't applicable to most people, is that this lens performs just as well in infrared as it does in color. With a 14mm lens, it's hard to avoid the sun... and there is some lens flare, but far less than I expected. This lens is full manual, both focus and aperture. Given the huge depth of field and the typical subject matter for wide angle of this magnitude, this just isn't an issue at all. So far the biggest con is that the focus ring turns probably about 270 degrees, about 3/4 of the way around the lens. A vast majority of this is the close-in focal range, so it's usually not a problem, but it does mean that there's a lot of turning to do if you need to focus in close, or need to go from close to far and back again. Still not enough for me to drop a star though. Build quality seems very good. It has a solid feel to it, and the metal mount attaches to the camera body firmly. Focus ring is just slightly on the stiff side for my taste, but only by a small margin, and feels very smooth. Final thought: I have never purchased a lens in this price range that I was so happy with. The only lens that compares in price vs. happiness is the 50mm f/1.8 II. I do imagine that the Canon L 14mm would be better in some of the cons and slightly better in IQ and distortion, but at 5 times the cost... no thank you, I'll take this lens.

So when I saw all the positive reviews, I wasn't sure if it was about the value or the lens itself. Here is my take: 1) Construction: I would give the construction a 4 star. It feels solid and was a nice surprise. It didn't look weatherproof or anything nor was I expecting it to be. 2) F2.8 and aperture: A lot of vignetting at 2.8 in low light situations (indoor). There is an aperture ring around the lens and you will control aperture from there not the camera which is actually cool because you will see in real time how lower/higher aperture would impact your light. But that means you can only use Manual mode which didn't bother me. I would give it a 3 mainly for vignetting. 3) Filters: No front-side filters... which means I can't use any of my existing filters. Annoying but not a deal breaker by any means. 4) Focus: This is where this lens gets a 0 star. Yes I was aware that this is a manual focus lens when I purchased it. And yes I am a pretty serious hobbyist so manual focusing is not a challenge for me, and yes you can produce semi-sharp photos with this lens. In reality, the combination of manual focus and less than sharp photos (maybe I just got a bad copy), and wrong distance metering on the lens kills this for any real professional use. Problem is when manual focusing, you will never get a confirmation from the camera that you have the correct focus which means you have to rely on the little viewfinder to make sure you have a right focus. Now since digital cameras don't have the split image in viewfinder anymore (Now I miss my AE1), and since at 14mm you can hardly see enough details thru the viewfinder, it is almost impossible to be sure about a razor sharp focus at the time of taking the shot. I tried with tripod and was able to get sharper shots using digital zoom in live view, but that makes the use case much more limited. So what are you going to do as a safe bet to avoid blurry objects in your image? you are going to step down from f2.8 to 5.6 or more just to give yourself more cushion (which defeats the purpose of being a F2.8 lens) and you are going to take many shots and review one by one in the playback to finally settle on one only to be later disappointed when you see it on a large screen. I'd love to think that I got a bad copy but I am not convinced to give it another shot. In all fairness, the sharpness and focus limitations may not be as much of an issue if you are printing 8x11 or smaller, but will show itself for large canvas prints! That to me makes this an unusable lens for any serious photography. If you are doing milky way shots and such, it may not be as much of an issue. Overall, I decided to return this and will just stick to my 16-35mm to do the job. I thought I had found a good solution to go wider than 16mm without breaking the bank but I was disappointed. Overall, I would give the lens 2.5 star as a lens but gets a 1 star from purchase perspective.

I have been shooting exclusively with this lens for around two months now, doing fine art landscapes, nature, and some artistic architectural images as well. This lens is fantastic. It is built like a tank. When you pick it up for the first time, it simply oozes quality, with extremely precise construction and movements, a buttery smooth and crisp focus ring, and a very nice heft. This lens absolutely does not feel or work like a budget lens. It feels and shoots like premium professional glass, playing in the same league as Carl Zeiss and Canon L. Do you get what you pay for? No, I would say in this case you actually get quite a bit more. The image quality I've been getting from this lens is absolutely superb. Mine is razor sharp across the frame in most shots, especially stopped down. You get creamy bokeh and some vignetting at 2.8. This is normal and desirable, and it looks great in real life. I seriously do not understand people who whine about these perfectly normal features that are essentially inherent to any ultrawide lens when shot wide open. They add a nice emphasis to the subject in most real-world images. As for the perfectly normal mustache distortion, it is only notable in images where you have a straight line crossing through the middle of your frame, such as a sea horizon at sunset. In most normal photos you will not see any distortion. You really need straight lines for it to be noticeable. Either way, this is easily corrected with one click in Aperture, Lightroom or Adobe Camera RAW with any one of the many free and excellent lens profiles available as a simple download online. Also note that moustache distortion is inherent to virtually all ultra-wide angle lenses, including Canon L glass. Overall, I love this lens. It is currently my favorite lens I have shot with in over 7 years of serious and professional photography, and I would highly recommend it to those who know how to shoot with ultra-ultra-wides (see Ken Rockwell's article on the subject, but disregard his inaccurate review of this lens which was based on a bad copy of the ProOptic version he got from Adorama). Basically embrace the stylistic nature of the lens, and do not merely use it to cram more stuff into your frame. It really is a majestic lens to have in your arsenal. The only reasons to consider the Canon L lens are USM autofocus and the electronic control of aperture (which enables program mode). You can shoot in Aperture Priority and Manuak modes just fine with this lens. If you just want AF confirm you can get a chip for that for about $10 or less on eBay. For doing landscape work, this lens will do the trick. If you are shooting people, you may want to consider an autofocus lens. Lastly, I will leave you with a quick tip: when shooting with this lens, it is best to shoot on a tripod if possible, and to check your focus zoomed in 10x on the magnifier in live view (tripod or not). Otherwise you may be blaming the lens for soft shots that were due to an easily avoidable user focusing error. If you focus properly, this lens will nail the shot every time. It's an incredible buy.

Exactamente lo que quieras después de esperar mucho tiempo, excelente acabado y calidad suprema. Excelente trámite de envío

Very nice sharp lens, great value for money. Fits well on my EFs mount.

I have two of these lenses - one with the chip and one without. I love them both! The chip isn't necessary because this is a lens that focuses to infinity without much difficulty. I accidentally dropped my lens with the chip and thought it was damaged beyond repair, but not so! A friend was able to fix it for me although the F-stop is now permanently set at wide-open, which is fine for night shooting. These lenses are tough. Still, I don't recommend dropping them. It might not be a high-end Canon at three times the price but it works well for what I do, which is astrophotography. This is a staple among many of us who like to shoot the night sky. It takes beautiful Milky Way images.

The lens was the incorrect model of Rokinon. Retirurned for a refund. Awaiting Amazon to confirm.

No doubt very good lens for astrophotography