I find that due to vignetting many lenses only need 2/3 EV slower shutter speed when going from wide open to one stop down to achieve a comparable average exposure.
Apparently it doesn't include the hood (which is sub-standard anyway). "Includes: Opteka 85mm f/1.4 Portrait Lens, Front & Rear Lens Caps, Lens Pouch, 1 Year Opteka Warranty."
You can always cover the label with black tape, if that's a concern. ("Opteka?!!!")
Unfortunately for Canadians, they ship via UPS, and will only take up to $200 via PayPal. A better deal for those south of the border, I suppose.
cogitech wrote:
The Canon mount version is fully manual (both focus and aperture). I'm pretty sure the F and K mount versions offer camera controlled aperture.
Do the aperture and focus rings go "the wrong way" on the Canon version?
NO on the AF confirmation chip, at least for the Sony mount versions. The Sony version, like the EF, is completely stop-down manual - no electronic control of the aperture.
helimat wrote:
If one really wanted the 'blinkies', I imagine they could buy the chip from someone like big_is and glue it on.
Yes, one can do that with the Sony as well. At least with the Sony a900, the really big advantage I see would be the ability to shoot in aperture priority mode as well as a more accurate Steady Shot function.
PSquared63 wrote:
Do the aperture and focus rings go "the wrong way" on the Canon version?
The focus ring goes "the right way" (opposite of Nikon). The aperture ring goes the other way, which isn't really the "wrong" way since no EF lenses have an aperture ring.
helimat wrote:
Unfortunately for Canadians, they ship via UPS, and will only take up to $200 via PayPal. A better deal for those south of the border, I suppose.
Ah, I didn't know that. Very good to know, though. Thanks.
cogitech wrote:
But my priorities have had a bit of a paradigm shift lately. My CV 125/2.5 is also gone, and I've "replaced" part of its functionality with a $60 lens.
Well Daaammn. We want to hear about that! Spill the beans! ;-) that's serious talk, given that your 125 I thought was a '....cold, dead hands' kind of lens for you.
Ed Sawyer wrote:
Well Daaammn. We want to hear about that! Spill the beans! ;-) that's serious talk, given that your 125 I thought was a '....cold, dead hands' kind of lens for you.
Ed Sawyer wrote:
Well Daaammn. We want to hear about that! Spill the beans! ;-) that's serious talk, given that your 125 I thought was a '....cold, dead hands' kind of lens for you.
-Ed
Yes, it was a "cold, dead hands" lens. I'll always miss it. But other things tend to take priority over lenses. In this case, new windows for my home. I've also come to realize that having "the best" lenses makes no difference to my clients or my enjoyment of photography as a hobby. The Rokinon will make it easy to let go of the SSC Aspherical.
There's no real replacement for the CV 125, of course, but I picked up a Rolleinar-MC (Mamiya-made) 135/2.8 (4 element version) for "long portrait" work. It's a damn fine lens as far as I can tell. I'll be posting shots with it in the near future. I was tempted to get another Contax Sonnar 135/2.8, but tests I saw showed the Rolleinar to be basically on par, and it is smaller, lighter and less than half the price.
I don't do a lot of "true macro", so I'm sticking with the EF 50/2.5 CM for now. I might buy the life-size converter for it, or buy an old manual focus 1:1 macro at some point, but it isn't a priority for me at all.
Tariq Gibran wrote:
At the same time I purchased the Rokinon, I also picked up a very nice Super Multi Coated Takumar 85 1.8. While the Tak is sharper closed down and offers more contrast, I think I will be getting rid of it. It's just so nice to shoot the Rokinon between 1.4 and 2.8 and the Rokinon offers better Bokeh to boot.
I was wondering about a comparison: I have that same Tak as well, and I love it. How's the build quality compare between the two? And what suprises me is your comment about shooting the Rokinon wide open - you can't with the Tak? Mine is "Tak" sharp at f1.8:
Marcel VanEerd wrote:
I was wondering about a comparison: I have that same Tak as well, and I love it. How's the build quality compare between the two? And what suprises me is your comment about shooting the Rokinon wide open - you can't with the Tak? Mine is "Tak" sharp at f1.8:
There is no comparison between the Tak and the Rokinon. The Tak is simply beautifully made as you know. The Rokinon is decent but nowhere near the build quality of the Tak.
Wide open, CA is more noticeable with the Tak than with the Rokinon. That was really surprising to me as the Rokinon actually shows worse/more noticeable CA when stopped down one or two stops vs wide open. The Tak acts more as expected in that it shows it's worst CA wide open and improves stopped down. Both perform really will in this respect and issues will only be noticeable under extreme conditions. The Tak is sharp wide open but I can tell that it improves, particularly towards the edges when stopped down. That is on my a900 and under extreme scrutiny. Which camera are you using your Tak with out of curiosity?
The main advantage of the Rokinon over the Tak, beyond its ability to shoot at 1.4, is the Bokeh which is better than the Tak at every F-stop in my opinion. The out of focus areas with the Rokinon seem softer - blend together a bit more and are "rounder". The advantage the Tak has over the Rokinon is richer color, better micro contrast and the ability to pull off more resolving power into the corners when stopped down.
Tariq Gibran wrote:
NO on the AF confirmation chip, at least for the Sony mount versions. The Sony version, like the EF, is completely stop-down manual - no electronic control of the aperture.
Anyone know if the Nikon version of the Rokinon features AiS or auto aperture control or is it all manual stop down only ?
Wonderful shots for such a reasonable lens... thanks for posting.