Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8

[hendrb01]

Last month I bought the Rokinon AF 14mm f2.8 lens for the Canon EF mount.

rokinon_io14af_e_af_14mm_f2_8_full_1275065.jpg (444.53 KiB) Viewed 22362 times

This weekend I got a chance to take the lens out and play with it!

What are my first impressions?

Compared to the weight of my other L Series Canon glass, this lens is feels pretty light, though the build quality is nice. This is an AF and AE capable lens, and the AF was very responsive. I had no problems auto focussing even when I had to make some quick shots such as these South Korean riot police.

Korean Police - Protest MED.jpg (1.81 MiB) Viewed 22362 times

You don't want to be standing too long in front of riot police, no matter how accommodating they seem.

How wide is 14mm? Wide enough that I was able to get my feel in the picture while sitting on the ground and holding the camera level.

I bought this lens to take star photos while I am camping, but may have made a slight mistake when ordering the AF version. The lens does not have any manual focusing markings, though I will try and make do with using live view.

So far I am happy with the lens, and will blog a complete review once I have used enough.

[hendrb01]

Since I have now had the opportunity to try my hand at star photography, I can share the pros and cons of the Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8.

While the 14 is a GREAT lens and the autofocus is a plus for my normal everyday photography, which is travel blogging. I found it cumbersome to use in manual focus mode. For 2 reasons. it does not have a manual focus scale and the lens must have power in order to operate the focus. You must hold down the focus button while turning the manual focus ring.

So if your primary purpose of purchasing this lens is for star or astro photography I would recommend saving the money and purchasing the manual focus model.

Here are a couple of the star photos that I took (Yes I need some work on my star photography, but I was happy with the shots I got).

Stars - Low.jpg (988.33 KiB) Viewed 22278 times

Stars GD - low.jpg (352.5 KiB) Viewed 22278 times