jcolwell
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My advice to Allan, the OP, is simple - get the Rokinon.
I'm currently shooting with the Contax CZ Planar 85/1.4, Rokinon 85/1.4 and Leica Summicron-R 90/2. I've been comparing them in a variety of ways on my 1DsIII and 5D, with the goal of keeping "the best" one of them. Of course, some of you have already figured out that I'm keeping all of them. IMO, the Planar definitely has the best "3D" rendering, you can see the difference for some subjects, but certainly not for all subjects. The Rokinon is King of Bokeh, and the 'Cron is a wonderful combination of the above, plus I really like it's colour. The Planar often has harsh bokeh when there are bright highlights and/or distracting patterns. I really haven't found any situations where the Rokinon bokeh is harsh. The 'Cron bokeh is rarely harsh, and its bokeh renders features more compact in size than the same features in an image from the Rokinon (which is sometimes desirable, other times not).
In controlled resolution tests with the USAF 1951 chart, all of them are excellent lenses. On the 1DsIII, with max. resolution of about 78 line pairs per mm (lpmm), their center resolution wide-open starts around 63/64 lpmm. The Rokinon stays at this resolution as you stop down (I tested f/1.4, f/4 and f/8), while the Planar and 'Cron both sharpen up to 71/72 lpmm at f/4 and f/8. In the corners, the Rokinon is slightly sharper wide-open (57 vs. 50/51 lpmm). The 'Cron sharpens a bit faster at f/4, and they're all at 64/63 lpmm when you get to f/8.
It's worth noting that the 'Cron really doesn't loose anything in terms of bokeh at f/2, to the others at f/1.4 - the 85's have slightly slimmer DOF, but the 'Cron bokeh and subject 'separation' are at least as good as the 85's. I've noticed the same when comparing my Summicron-R 50/2 with a number of 50/1.4 lenses.
Now that I have these three lenses, I think of them as three different paint brushes in the tray of my optical tool box. When bokeh is actually a significant part of the image that I'm trying to take, then I'll use the Rokinon. I use the Planar for still life, landscapes and etc., especially stopped down. I use the Summicron for people, general walking around stuff, wide open shooting of colourful things, especially when I want to make a slightly 'impressionist' statement, and for travel, as it's relatively small (but not relatively light).
BTW, the lowly Mamiya M645 C 80/2.8N is as sharp as any of these lenses in the centre, and actually sharper at f/8 in the corners than all of them. The M645 has a slightly 'clinical' look, which is perfectly suitable for some subjects, but also undesirable for other subjects. Of course, the 80/2.8N can't provide the DOF control that you get from an 85/1.4 or a 'Cron, but it's an incredible capability when you stick it on a Mirex tilt-shift adapter (sorry for the diversion).
YMMV
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