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| Box and contents |
The Sony NEX-C3 was used for this review. For a
better understanding of terms and methods used in this review, go here. The usual center, mid-section and corner crops are located at the very bottom
of the page.
Introduction.
The diminutive Rokinon 8mm F/2.8 fisheye (for NEX) is a special purpose lens, and is made
for having fun, so go to the Sony 16mm fisheye review to learn more about how to use this lens, so I don't have to rehash the same material here. On
the outside of the lens is an aperture ring, manual focus ring and built-in hood.
It has a bulbous front element, and as a consequence, will not accept filters, nor is there a gel slot in back. Build
quality is actually very good, with a nice fit and finish, although there is a little paint
over-spray on the hood tips. It comes in either silver or black to match your camera, however, the silver is not quite
the same as the Sony silver used on NEX camera bodies. Rokinon claims the use of one aspherical element and two 'ED'
elements in the design of the lens. Lens hood is stenciled with 'made in Korea'.
Use.
Make sure you select "enable" for "release
W/O lens" on your camera, otherwise, the camera thinks
no lens has been mounted, and won't release the shutter.
This is a manual lens only, meaning there is no communication with the camera, you must
use manual focus, and choose an aperture. Don't worry though, it meters pretty well in most situations, although
I've noticed the white balance is more likely to be off than exposure, so check that often and set as necessary. The
best method for daylight use would be to set the lens aperture to F/8-11, and simply set
the correct exposure with exposure compensation, or use program auto mode. At night,
set to F/2.8 with a shutter speed of around 1/15sec and use ISO's to get the appropriate exposure. Check and review
for best results. The aperture settings are marked in one
stop increments from F/2.8-22. There are half stop clicks between apertures except from F/16 to F/22. EXIF
data reads 0mm for focal length, and F/1 for aperture. The LCD will read F-- with no aperture.
In
the box is the lens, front and rear caps, a black vinyl carrying bag and owner's manual.
Focusing. Manual focusing only, and it's damped quite well,
almost too much for my taste, but that way it won't turn accidentally. Focus ring travel is a little over a 1/4 turn
form close-up to infinity. At F/8-11 and beyond three feet or one meter you won't have to focus
this lens at all, just crank it over to infinity, and forget it.
Requisite product shots.
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| Bulbous front element with built in hood |
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| Back side, no contacts |
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| Mounted on Sony NEX-C3 |
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| Rokinon X-ray view |
General information and specifications.
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Lens
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Box contents
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Front cover, rear cover, vinyl carrying case and users manual.
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Cost
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Build quality
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Good
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Additional information
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Introduced in 2012.
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Specifications below
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Optical configuration
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10 elements in 8 groups.
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Angle of view
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180°.
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Aperture
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6 blades, semi circular.
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Full frame and APS-C
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For NEX only.
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Depth of field and focus scales?
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Focus distance in feet and meters.
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Minimum focus, image plane to subject
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About 11" (280mm)
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Minimum focus, end of lens barrel to subject
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About 8" (203mm) distance is from longest hood protrusion.
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Hard stop at infinity focus?
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No
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Length changes when focusing?
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N/A
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Focus ring turns in AF?
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Manual focusing only.
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Filter size
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Will not accept filters.
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Filter ring rotates?
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No
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Distance encoder?
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No
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Max magnification
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N/A
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Min. F/stop
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F/22
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Sony teleconverter compatible?
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No
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Length changes when zooming?
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N/A
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Dimensions WxL (my measurements)
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2.4" x 2.2" 60mm x 56mm. Widest at end of hood.
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Maximum extended length (my measurements)
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N/A
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Weight bare (my scale)
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7.6oz (217g)
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Optical qualities summary. Lens
flare/ghosting. Fair control. I see some small multi-colored ghosts and dots when the sun is near or
inside the image, and sun flare extending well into the frame, but it depends on aperture and light intensity. Vignetting
or light fall-off is not an issue. Due to the massive coverage of this lens, you'll experience natural light
fall-off when the sun is in the sky.
Color fringing (CA). Lateral color
fringing control is excellent. I notice a tiny amount of axial type, which goes away as you stop down.
Bokeh. Awful if you can get it. Don't worry about background blur with this lens, unless you focus on something very
close with a large aperture. Color. Similar to Sony lenses.
Close
up filter. N/A Coma. Very small amount
in the extreme corners.
Regular filters cannot be used, and there is no
rear gel slot. Filter size. N/A
Distortion,
color fringing and ghosting/flare image below.
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| Full resized image, F/5.6 |
Along with the obvious fisheye distortion, I see some sun flare and a few tiny ghosts, although it's
not too noticeable at F/5.6 with a tree covering the sky.
Color fringing.
This 100% crop comes from the red outlined area from the whole image. There isn't really any color fringing
to see, and that's great.
Conclusion The Rokinon 8mm F/2.8 fisheye lens performs superbly; there's nothing negative to say about it other than sun flare is strong at times, but that may enhance
your image depending on the feeling you want to present to the viewer. This fisheye is very small, lightweight, has
almost no color fringing, and is very sharp from F/2.8-8. It would make a nice low light lens too as it performs great
at F/2.8! If you're outdoors in daylight, set the aperture around F/8 and focusing to
infinity and shoot! At night, keep it at F/2.8 with a shutter speed of around 1/15sec
and use ISO's to adjust exposures. If you're really close to your subject, say within a yard or meter, you may want
to stop down the aperture and focus using the distance scale to make sure you have everything in focus; (focus peaking is
not all that effective with this lens due to the massive coverage and depth of field, but that's really a plus in this case).
As I explained in the introduction, you may want to check and adjust your white balance and exposures by reviewing your shots;
that's no big deal, don't be scared by the all manual operation. Fisheye lenses are fun to use,
just remember when shooting with this type of lens; good results are predicated on good
composition, with lighting a distant second. Check out my boring Sony 16/2.8 fisheye review for ideas, or Flickr for interesting fisheye compositions, some good, some bad. A fisheye lens is not for 'getting it all in' in a general
sense, it's for unique perspectives. Optically, this fisheye lens is the best I've ever tested,
and is stunningly sharp at F/2.8! I'd highly recommend it for NEX people.
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