msshea wrote:
This may be a little off-topic, but I\'m wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how the Samyang 35 compares to the Rokkor MC HG 35mm 2.8. I have a chance to pick up a good copy of the latter and might get it adapted for EOS.
Merrill
99% likely that the Rokinon would clobber the Rokkor on FF optically, particularly with regard to across the frame sharpness at bright F stops, starting even at F2.8. Quite amazing given that you also enjoy beautiful bokeh and contrast and color at least the equal of some fo the best Minolta lenses ever made.
If you missed it, here was a test I did comparing the Rokinon to the Minolta Maxxum AF 35/2, along with commentary (Makes sense it should be in this thread as well I guess):
Well, yesterday while putting the Minolta 35 AF F2 through some testing, I decided to do a quick and dirty comparison against the Rokinon 35 1.4 I was thinking about returning (due to size and lack of AF). That was a mistake because now I realize there is a reason for the size of the Rokinon - amazing corner performance even at fast F-stops. Below is a quick comparison, hand held at fast shutter speeds so framing is not exact, though part of that is also due to the fact that the Rokinon is not quite as wide as the Minolta. I will add some observations and notes as well which you can take or leave.
Overall shot with 100% crops to follow. Minolta always on the left, Rokinon on the right. All taken with a900.
F2 Center. Note the Minolta is sharper even though it is wide open at F2 and the Rokinon is one stop down form 1.4.
F2 Mid Zone. Strange the Rokinon is sharper here than in the center.
F2 Right Corner. Note that the Rokinon is showing the extreme right corner and the Minolta is not quite showing the extreme corner. This will always be the case when showing crops of the right corner.
F2 Left Extreme Corner for both.
F2.8 Center.
F2.8 Mide Zone.
F2.8 Right Corner.
F2.8 Left Extreme Corner.
F4 Center.
F4 Mid Zone.
F4 Right Corner.
F4 Left Extreme Corner.
F5.6 Center.
F5.6 Mid Zone.
F5.6 Right Corner.
F5.6 Left Extreme Corner.
F8 Center. Note, at F8 the Minolta is already starting to show softness yet the Rokinon is still tack sharp.
F8 Mid Zone.
F8 Right Corner.
F8 Extreme Left Corner.
Conclusion. Both lenses are exceptional. If you require ultimate extreme corner sharpness on FF, particularly at brighter F-stops, I doubt there is a better lens available than the Rokinon at this focal length. The Minolta requires F5.6 for decent corner performance. The Minolta is sharp over about 60% of the frame wide open at F2 and, in the center, it is sharper at that f-stop compared to the Rokinon. So, no free lunch as usual. Minolta: compact/ light lens, though very well made, very fast to AF, great central sharpness wide open but border/corner performance requires stopping down. Rokinon: Large, bulky and slow to focus but you get very good F1.4 performance (not shown) and quite amazing across the frame performance even at very bright F-stops. Also note color and contrast is remarkably similar with both of these lenses. One knock against the Rokinon is that it tends to underexpose on my a900 in A mode for some reason (I corrected exposure for posted samples, no additional sharpening beyond default ACR).
msshea wrote:
This may be a little off-topic, but I\'m wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how the Samyang 35 compares to the Rokkor MC HG 35mm 2.8. I have a chance to pick up a good copy of the latter and might get it adapted for EOS.
Merrill
99% likely that the Rokinon would clobber the Rokkor on FF optically, particularly with regard to across the frame sharpness at bright F stops, starting even at F2.8. Quite amazing given that you also enjoy beautiful bokeh and contrast and color at least the equal of some fo the best Minolta lenses ever made.
If you missed it, here was a test I did comparing the Rokinon to the Minolta Maxxum AF 35/2, along with commentary (Makes sense it should be in this thread as well I guess):
Well, yesterday while putting the Minolta 35 AF F2 through some testing, I decided to do a quick and dirty comparison against the Rokinon 35 1.4 I was thinking about returning (due to size and lack of AF). That was a mistake because now I realize there is a reason for the size of the Rokinon - amazing corner performance even at fast F-stops. Below is a quick comparison, hand held at fast shutter speeds so framing is not exact, though part of that is also due to the fact that the Rokinon is not quite as wide as the Minolta. I will add some observations and notes as well which you can take or leave.
Overall shot with 120% crops to follow (for some reason, this site enlarges my images by 20%!). Minolta always on the left, Rokinon on the right. All taken with a900.
F2 Center. Note the Minolta is sharper even though it is wide open at F2 and the Rokinon is one stop down form 1.4.
F2 Mid Zone. Strange the Rokinon is sharper here than in the center.
F2 Right Corner. Note that the Rokinon is showing the extreme right corner and the Minolta is not quite showing the extreme corner. This will always be the case when showing crops of the right corner.
F2 Left Extreme Corner for both.
F2.8 Center.
F2.8 Mide Zone.
F2.8 Right Corner.
F2.8 Left Extreme Corner.
F4 Center.
F4 Mid Zone.
F4 Right Corner.
F4 Left Extreme Corner.
F5.6 Center.
F5.6 Mid Zone.
F5.6 Right Corner.
F5.6 Left Extreme Corner.
F8 Center. Note, at F8 the Minolta is already starting to show softness yet the Rokinon is still tack sharp.
F8 Mid Zone.
F8 Right Corner.
F8 Extreme Left Corner.
Conclusion. Both lenses are exceptional. If you require ultimate extreme corner sharpness on FF, particularly at brighter F-stops, I doubt there is a better lens available than the Rokinon at this focal length. The Minolta requires F5.6 for decent corner performance. The Minolta is sharp over about 60% of the frame wide open at F2 and, in the center, it is sharper at that f-stop compared to the Rokinon. So, no free lunch as usual. Minolta: compact/ light lens, though very well made, very fast to AF, great central sharpness wide open but border/corner performance requires stopping down. Rokinon: Large, bulky and slow to focus but you get very good F1.4 performance (not shown) and quite amazing across the frame performance even at very bright F-stops. Also note color and contrast is remarkably similar with both of these lenses. One knock against the Rokinon is that it tends to underexpose on my a900 in A mode for some reason (I corrected exposure for posted samples, no additional sharpening beyond default ACR).
