I absolutely have to begin by saying how proud I am of my wife. I have often said that she is the real talent in the family and this will show you why I say that. She shot 327 photos today and 204 of them are very solid keepers. This rate is far higher than she ever achieved with her EF 85/1.8 and the AF system.

I was going to post these in the "3 85s Compared" thread, but these Rokinon samples deserve their own thread, I'd say. All shot on the 5D, at apertures between f1.4 and f2.8, ISO 200, hand-held, all natural light, not even any reflectors.

Sorry for so many samples, but I had so many great shots to choose from, I got carried away. There are 4 whole series that are not even represented here because I haven't got to processing them yet.

I hope you enjoy the shots and, if anything, I hope this encourages anyone on the fence to just go out an buy one of these lenses. It is incredible value.

**EDIT**: It seems I didn't quite make it clear that my wife shot these photos. The model is a friend of ours. All I did was grab some samples, batched them out and posted them. My wife deserves all the credit.

Great shots
Nice separation from the bg
The natural lighting is working well

Whoever says "Manual Focus is hard!" needs to be shown this thread. Amazing series!

Adam, my wife says, "thanks!"

bluetsunami, my wife says, "what are you trying to say? You think this is easy?" (but, thanks!)

very talented.
I just received the Rokinon. Initial built quality is a joke compare the the Zeiss 85mm, but I can't wait to shoot with it

Kudos to your wife, Paul, it is an impressive set. That Rokilux looks to be a fine unit.

Well done ! Great color and Bokeh
-Jim

Nice lens and great DOF control.

If I may comment on the model and images themselves (if not pm me and I'll take this off), it seems like the model is a wee bit uncomfortable and not really connecting with the series. It gets a lot better towards the end where the expressions and poses start to change and the model starts connecting.

I would work on making the model very comfortable and your posing.

That being said, you've got some really awesome stuff right now and I would be proud of your wife and if your wife reads this... you've got some kick ass stuff

Evan

Nice lens -but I think you make it look better. Your model is absolutely wonderful in your choice of the gray sweater in the red lipstick really makes things jump out. The poses are great.

nice work

Great stuff!

I have to say the thing that has surprised me most is the colours out of the Rokinon.

Previously I very much disliked the colours in all sample images I had seen but these are just great! Rich without being 'saturated'. Perhaps you just have great PP skills

Thanks everyone (from my wife).

Empire. My PP skills are almost non-existent. These are straight from my RAW converter (Bibble Pro) with some exposure and fill light tweaking. They didn't even get my usual custom tone curve quick fix. I too was amazed at the colours. I usually have to make more of an effort to get results like this.

Nice work. I also agree, this is the best color and light response I have seen from the Rokinon. Is the f/1.4 aperture a true f/1.4? I remember a previous FM'r claiming that it was closer to F/1.8?

cogitech wrotebluetsunami, my wife says, "what are you trying to say? You think this is easy?" (but, thanks!)

hahaha, that is true. She's definitely making it look easy in these shots though (focusing is spot on!) I also really need this lens

adamM wrote:
Great shots
Nice separation from the bg
The natural lighting is working well

+1

+ I'd just like to add you are one very lucky jammy... As your wife is absolutely georgeous!

Is this the same lens as the Vivitar 85mm f/.4 (or I should say from the same parent company Sakar?)

She's made great use of this autumns colour. Too bad that in the Netherlands everything has been foggy, at least in the harbour where I live.

(very off topic: I seem to have trouble choosing between colour/harbour versus color/harbor )

Very Nice! Your wife has some talent there Paul. I really like #8. Nice portrait which makes the subject look very confident due to her pose.

Alf Beharie wrote:
adamM wrote:
Great shots
Nice separation from the bg
The natural lighting is working well

+1

+ I'd just like to add you are one very lucky jammy... As your wife is absolutely georgeous!

Alf, my wife is behind the camera, not in front

AbramG wrote:
Is this the same lens as the Vivitar 85mm f/.4 (or I should say from the same parent company Sakar?)

Same lens. All made by Samyang Optical. Sold under various brands, including Samyang, Rokinon, Vivitar Series 1, Falcon, Opteka...

biotar wrote:
She's made great use of this autumns colour. Too bad that in the Netherlands everything has been foggy, at least in the harbour where I live.

(very off topic: I seem to have trouble choosing between colour/harbour versus color/harbor )

colour/harbour works in every part of the English-speaking world except USA, were "it aint kosher"

Tariq Gibran wrote:
Very Nice! Your wife has some talent there Paul. I really like #8. Nice portrait which makes the subject look very confident due to her pose.

Thanks Tariq.

I have to confess that I chose these samples really quickly, based on their technical merit and display of the lens' attributes. I was looking at colour, bokeh, etc. more than poses. Going over them again, I see many stronger shots with respect to the model herself. I'm such a gearhead

These shots also demonstrate why the Rokinon is such a good portrait lens. While it is sharp, it also has this "softening" quality that helps to minimize blemishes. Contrast, both macro (overall) and micro (local) is also softer and flater. This is the exact opposite of typical Zeiss rendering which can be harsh in a situation like this by emphasizing every wrinkle and blemish.

cogitech wrote:
I'm such a gearhead

Ha ha. We all suffer that disease around here I guess!

The lens looks very good indeed, but I doubt I'll ever take pictures as well as your wife.
Just wonderful....

Not bad, though web-sized images are hard to judge for real details. but the background looks nice. Agreed re: Lumen's post - the model definitely gets more comfortable in the later shots, and it shows. (first two - ugh, the blue background....and it's too close to her...)

Did you sell the 85/1.2 SSC? Seems like you probably could if this rokinon is good enough. If I didnt' already have EF85/1.2L I'd look closely at the Rokinon.

-Ed