Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Ultra Wide Angle Fixed Lens w/ Built-in AE Chip for Nikon

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An interesting lens. I got this as a potential low-cost option to the name brands, not expecting much but was willing to be surprised on the upside. Wow. What an upside. First, its sharp. Second, its bright. Third, it has a nice feel and quality to it. Im a semi-professional, meaning I sell my work but its not my day job. But Im fussy about sharpness. This delivers. Theres plenty of pin-cushioning but that can be corrected pretty easily in LR. I took off a star because Ive noticed that - while it doesnt fisheye, it can slightly curve a landscape if youre not careful. It can be corrected, but you have to be aware. Would I recommend it? Duh. A great buy.

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In March (0f 2018), I purchased the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Ultra Wide Angle Fixed Lens w/ Built-in AE Chip for Nikon. So far I have been extremely pleased with its performance, and will update this post as needed. (For background on this review, I use this lens with my Nikon D5100 purchased in 2013.) It is extremely versatile in what I am able to photograph. I can easily shoot any situation for a real estate agent or a property rental owner. I am able to shoot very dramatic portrait session photos when I want to include large buildings, etc. It is also helpful when doing a large family session during a family reunion or wedding, but I would caution that you leave enough space around the edges of your frame to account for the fall off (discussed below). As with many wide angle lenses I have used, there is always fall off on the clarity around the perimeter of your photo. You can see it in the examples above. The center will be very clear, so long as you get your focus correct, but there really isn’t much that can be done for the edges of your photos. With that said, given you know that will happen you can make the necessary adjustments to compensate for that by cropping later on if needed.

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This is my 3rd Rokinon lens and I am very please with their products overall. This glass performs so well! The AE chips works great on my D7200 and is pretty accurate in terms of showing me focus confirmation in the viewfinder. (You will still need to turn the focus ring manually, but with the chip, you get the indicators in the viewfinder) The manual focus ring is smooth and the construction of the lens feels Rock Solid. It produces awesome images. My copy is pretty sharp from the center to the corners.I use the built in Lightroom lens profile to correct the vignetting, which honestly, I dont find bothersome at all. But if I need to remove it its beyond simple in post.

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I bought this for a Nikon D3400 and the auto exposure/metering or focus confirmation did not function. I knew it was manual focus, which I was okay with, but the AE chip for Nikon did not work. It was supposed to have auto exposure/metering which means that in Aperture or Shutter priority, the metering would work allowing the automatic ISO to still function, but it did NOT. Any mode I would choose other than full Manual mode, the camera would flash "incompatible lens" and I could not use that function. The lens itself seems to be just fine, the glass was great and pictures come out very well when in focus. But the focus confirmation was also not functioning. Much like your camera will *beep* once the lens focuses, this lens did not when you manually had it in focus. Perhaps I had a defective lens, but I just ordered a different with autofocus and one that I knew for a fact worked on my camera body.

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I am an amateur Nikon shooter... that is to say, I dont make any money off of it and it is just a hobby. This is my 3rd Rokinon lens (I also have a Tamron, and many Nikon lenses both DX/FX and pro lenses). When I received this lens I thought the same 3 things I thought when I got my other 2 Rokinon lenses.... 1) It really feels like a quality lens in my hands. 2) What an incredibly sharp image such a "cheap" lens takes... and 3) Worst/cheapest lens cover ever. The first 2 are so good, I end up forgiving the 3rd. These wider angle lenses really let you capture things typical lenses cannot. When shooting in situations like street shots and especially for things like inside museums... they always end up getting my best shots that I just couldnt get with any other lens. These Rokinons are manual... but honestly, that really helps teach you how to take a good picture and once you learn the nuances of focusing yourself, it is quite easy and sometimes even preferred over an auto focus lens. Did I mention this thing is sharp? The price for Rokinons are also incredibly reasonable, and at times kind of a steal, largely because they do not have some of the functions like autofocus. This particular 14mm doesnt provide a drastic "fisheye" effect that the 8mm and lower does.... so if youre looking for that strong effect go for a lower mm lens. But this one provides excellent wide angle abilities with out an intense distortion... especially on a DX. Its f2.8 which really makes lower light situations easier as well... again, for inside places like museums and building photography this really comes in handy. I really cant say anything bad about this lens... the only things people will typically complain about is the lack of autofocus, size, weight... but all of that is done on purpose to keep a product that creates a really high quality image while keeping the cost of the lens down... and Rokinon seems to really have that concept down successfully. Dont let the fact that its not a "brand" name lens deter you... take a little time to get to know it and itll prove itself to be a more than capable lens in your kit.

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After countless hours of reading and watching reviews all arrows for my budget and purposes pointed only to this lens. I am at best a spirited enthusiast with a decent budget. I use many Nikkor lenses, acquired when they made the most logical sense to me and Ive been very happy. Some of their lens arent at all in my price point and it isnt for the sake of not buying excellent glass, it because of use vs price. I love prime lenses and use them to fill out my arsenal of zooms which can be cumbersome and for my needs always having a zoom for me isnt an issue. So, what to get? Spend $2,000 on an Nikkor 14mm? Not going to happen.... For less than three hundred and spare a little performance? It wasnt difficult to decide. My first impressions after 200+ shots is more than I expected. I cant rate this lens to any other brand so its really not a tech review. I have a 14mm 2.8 for my D750 for under $300 and Im pleased. Yea theres a slight bit of vignetting...and yes the focus is cumbersome and manual focus is something some might purely hate. As an old-school film, darkroom guy and as a hobbyist, is there really anything you cant correct/live with in LR/PS, (except sharpness lens wise) that you cant justify a huge savings over a name brand lens? Try this lens. Return it if you think you overspent.

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Not a ton of time with this lens but so far so good. Seems to be sharp even near the edges. Ive used it for architectural shots of large buildings for work and some astronomy shots. Easy to focus with confirmation chip on a Nikon. I ended up using this lens more than my auto-focus Tamron while backpacking in Utah due to its wide angle and smallish size compared to the 24-70. Highly recommend.

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I guess I was one of the unlucky ones that received a bad copy. Tried do astrophotography, but the corner coma was horrible. Took some landscape shots with it, but the corners were way too soft and things just never looked to be in sharp focus. Going to save my money for a good 14mm lens.

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Okay. 5/5 stars. Really? Lets break it down. Pros: * Price (wow!) * Image quality (especially on a crop sensor) * Camera controls aperture * Built well Cons: * No autofocus * No vibration compensation Ive been using this lens for Milky Way images and I am *very* happy with it. For this application, the lack of autofocus and VC arent problem. For that matter, because of the short 14mm focal length, the "cons" havent been much of an issue for other applications either. For the price, this lens is **very** tough to beat. Excellent value!

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My first non-Nikkor lens is now a favourite. I really didnt know what to expect when I bought this lens - I read many reviews and wondered how it would work with my D800e. I bought it with the intent of using for milky way shots and astrophotography. I read of the good to excellent coma correction that was lacking in my Nikkor 20mm lens. Since receiving it, Ive used this lens for landscapes, close up photography, and even astrophotograhy on a cold December night. It has exceeded my expectations each time. Im looking forward to using this lens a lot in the coming year. The lack of autofocus is a non-issue even for someone like myself who has been spoiled by a decade of autofocus. Update: I am still loving this lens. At f8, it is the sharpest lens I own (including pro Nikkor glass) - nice contrast and colours. I use this a LOT.

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