Rokinon 18mm F/2.8 Lens

Phil Rudin · Issue 119, Mar/Apr 2021 · pp. 30–36

Products mentioned: Rokinon AF 18mm F/2.8, Samyang 50mm F/1.4 AS IF UMC, Samyang 14mm F/2.8 ED AS IF UMC, Rokinon 12mm F/2.8 ED AS IF NCS Fisheye, Zeiss Batis 18mm F/2.8, Sony A7R III, Sony A7R IV, Nikon Z-7, Nikon Z 7 II, Canon EOS R, Canon EOS R5, Nikonos 15mm F/2.8, Nikonos RS Rene Aumann 18mm, Nikonos 50mm F/2.8 R-UW AF, Nauticam housing, Nauticam 180mm optical glass dome port, Inon Z-330 flash, Ikelite housing

Since 1979 Samyang Optical Company LTD, the Korean based company has continued to push the boundaries for innovation and craftsmanship in the camera lens industry. Rokinon is owned and operated by Elite Brands Inc. which is the sole provider of Rokinon, Xeen by Rokinon and Samyang branded products in North America, Central America and South America. Samyang/Rokinon lenses and accessories are distributed in over fifty countries world wide. Samyang has focused on manual focus fixed focal length camera lenses and the XEEN Cinema lens line for years. This review will be the third in a series of lens reviews using third party “budget” lenses for high resolution cameras. The lenses I will be testing cost anywhere from one-half to one-third the price of the camera manufactures proprietary lenses. In addition to third party lenses, bargain hunters can also find many last generation camera bodies…