I have been doing some research on this lens. I am interested in getting it for for shoot portraits and still life. I have a Nikon D7000 and D70s that I would be using it with. I also thought about the Nikon 85mm 1.8. I haven't used a MF lens in years. I have read that many people like this lens and it is a great bang for the buck. The version I was interested in was the chipped version that they sell for Nikon cameras. One question I had was how hard it was to achieve focus? I am leaning more towards the Rokinon because I believe that shooting in MF will cause me to think more about setting up my shots and slowing down. Any thoughts and feedback are most appreciated! Thanks!
Be careful to specify what it is that you are talking about. I have read your post several times and I am still not sure which Nikon 85mm you are referring to.
There are:
85mm AF f/1.8
85mm AFD f/1/8
85 mm f/1.8 Nikkor-H·C
85mm AI f/1.8
85 mm AIS f/1.8
@ galenpass - Sorry about that. I was referring to the Nikon 85mm 1.8 AF since they are close in price. Thanks for the link!
@Uzay - I have read a lot of good things about the Sigma 85 1.4. It's just a tad bit out of my budget. Or at least I would have to save up for it for a few months!
The Sigma is worth saving for if you think you could get to it that quickly. I had the Rokinon 85 for awhile and sold it to fund some medium format gear. It is a great lens that produces beautiful results. I don't have much trouble with it on the D700. It will be tougher to focus on the D70s but should be perfectly manageable on both of your bodies with some practice.
I'm not certain how the D70s handles non-CPU lenses or for that matter how good the viewfinder is for shooting manual focus. Quite a few folks hanging out on the Manual Focus Nikon Glass thread are shooting MF with the D7000 with excellent results. It may be that this decision has as much to do with the camera you will be using than with the lens.
I've certainly heard excellent things about the Rokinon 85 f/1.4 and it surely represents a great value for money. The recently released 85 f/1.8G is a bit more expensive but will likely be a fine lens at a reasonable price. Yes, you can buy an older AF lens in that range which would still be very useable.
I agree with Galen that Bjorn Rorslett's site is an excellent resource for assessing lenses, especially some of the older AI and AI-s lenses. I've had outstanding experience with the modestly priced 85 f/2 AI-s that, like its brethren, is a stunning piece of craftsmanship. These older MF lenses put new lenses to shame in terms of construction and feel while being used. But that may beg the question of whether it makes any sense for you to be going MF when you're shooting with a camera, the D70s that doesn't handle the lens as easily as later cameras.
Of course, buying the Rokinon, especially at a good price, is one way to find out both how well the camera can handle an MF lens and how you enjoy using it. Personally, I love MF shooting. However, if that is not your experience, and you buy the lens right, you should be able to turn it over for little or no loss. Whatever you do, enjoy yourself.
I didn't like the Nikon 85/1.8D on my D700 at all. Thought it was very soft wide open and took a long time to sharpen up, which defeated the purpose of having f/1.8. I had the non-chipped Rokinon 85/1.4 and thought the IQ was great even wide open, rivalling the Nikon 85/1.4D. MF on the D700 was not too bad, but hitting moving subjects below f/2 was tough. I also had the magnified eyepiece which helped. MF on DX would be even more tricky if you want to shoot wide open.
Honestly I would wait and save up for the new Nikon AF-S 85/1.8. I expect it will be much improved and $499 is not a bad price compared to your current options.
I had the D70s and I sold all of my MF Nikon lenses because of it. They don't play well together. Now I use a pair of D300 bodies and I started getting a few MF lenses again.
What is wrong with the 85mm F1.8 AFD? It worked for me on the D300 but you might do better with the new G version. You have AF when you want it and MF too. I used the 85 F1.8 AFD for years. I also used the 85 F2 Ais for years on a pair of F3 bodies. Very nice and with 52mm filter threads. If you are shooting rapidly, forget MF, IMHO.
Wonderful Alan. Glad you chimed in with some photos taken with the Rokinon. It is not a bad place to begin. Of course, the 85 f/2 AI or AI-s wouldn't be too bad either...
The Samyang/Rokinon is currently my favorite lens. I also like (and own) the Nikon 85mm f/1.8. This is one of Nikon's underrated lenses IMO. However, the only issue that I have with it is that the bokeh is not great, and looks a little nervous. See a review here:
As far as sharpness, my copy is VERY sharp, even wide open (which agrees with the review I linked). You have to be careful of people who say an AF wide lens is not sharp wide open. This can only be assessed if the lens/camera AF is correctly calibrated or if the shot was accomplished in Live View.
The Rokinon is very hard to focus and you should take that into consideration. It is likely that you may want to buy a focusing screen.
Sample Rokinon shot, not the best but it what I have a 100% crop of at hand.
Wow those are some nice shots that I have seen with the Sigma 85mm 1.4 lens. I like the Rokinon shots as well. I have much to think about. Thanks for all the feedback! I do like the idea of trying out some MF glass as well. May just have to invest in both when I have the funds. Each lens looks like it would be for a portrait shots.
I have read through that thread. There are some beautiful shots in there! That thread kind of got me wondering about investing in some quality MF glass!
