Foodgressing

Vancouver Food, Travel, Lifestyle & Photography Blog

  • About
    • Who I Am
    • Why I Blog
    • Featured In
    • My Photography Gear
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure Policy
  • Cuisine
    • Australian Meat Pie
    • Afternoon Tea
    • Bagels
    • Baked Goods
    • Bubble Tea
    • Burgers
    • Chinese
    • Coffee
    • Dessert
    • European
    • Fast Food
    • Greek
    • International
    • Japanese
    • Nepalese/Tibetan
    • Korean
    • Malaysian
    • Mexican
    • Pacific Northwest
    • Pizza
    • Poutine
    • Ramen
    • Sandwiches/subs
    • Seafood
    • Smoothie
    • Sushi
    • Tacos
    • Thai
    • Vietnamese
  • Neighbourhood
    • Cambie
    • Coal Harbour
    • Downtown
    • Gastown
    • Granville Island
    • Kitsilano
    • Mount Pleasant
    • Robson Street/West End
    • Waterfront
  • Travel
    • Canada
      • Alberta
        • Banff
        • Calgary
        • Lake Louise
        • Red Deer
      • British Columbia
        • Abbotsford
        • Kelowna
        • Golden
        • Harrison Hot Springs
        • Merritt
        • Osoyoos
        • Penticton
        • Revelstoke
        • Victoria
        • Whistler
      • Ontario
        • Toronto
        • Ottawa
        • Niagara-on-the-lake
      • Quebec
        • Montreal
    • Europe
      • Belgium
      • France
      • Germany
      • Italy
      • United Kingdom
    • USA
      • California
        • Los Angeles
          • Beverly Hills
        • San Diego
        • San Francisco
      • Massachusetts
        • Boston
      • New York
      • Oregon
        • Portland
      • Tennessee
        • Nashville
      • Washington
        • Seattle
        • Tulalip
      • Washington DC
  • Recipes
  • Product Reviews
  • Giveaways
  • Contact
    • Work With Me
You are here: Home / Archives for Photography

Rokinon AF 35mm F1.4 for Sony FE Mount [Review]

May 22, 2018 by foodgressing 2 Comments

I recently purchased the newly released Sony a7iii as a long overdue upgrade to my Sony a6000.   My a6000 setup had included a Zeiss 24mm f1.8 E-mount APSC lens.  This lens is particularly useful when I need to photograph food that I hold in the air myself.  Naturally, I would need an equivalent lens for my a7iii.

 

Rokinon AF 35mm f1.4 for Sony FE Mount Review

Disclosure: The links below are affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase.  While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up.  Thanks for the support!

Rokinon versus Zeiss

At the time when I was looking to make a lens purchase, there were two 35mm f1.4 lens choices to satisfy my needs.  There was the Sony/Zeiss Distagon 35mm f1.4 (model SEL35F14Z) which retails for $1500 on Amazon.com or $2100 on Amazon.ca.  There was also the budget alternative: the Rokinon 35mm f1.4 (model IO3514-E) which retails for $700 on Amazon.com or $940 on Amazon.ca

Based on reviews comparing Rokinon versus Zeiss 35mm f1.4, Rokinon received favourable responses.  Furthermore, the Rokinon was priced favourably at less than half the price of the Zeiss.  I managed to score an extra $100 off for the Rokinon when there was a sale; it was $800 at the time of purchase.  I ordered the lens directly from Amazon.ca.  The lens was shipped from Kentucky and took 4 days to arrive.

Unboxing

Here’s a look at a brief unboxing video of the Rokinon 35mm f1.4 which included a lens hood, lens caps, lens pouch, instruction manual and warranty.


Rokinon AF 35mm f1.4 for Sony FE Mount Amazon 2018 Rokinon AF 35mm f1.4 for Sony FE Mount Amazon 2018

On Weight, Lens Hood

Upon taking the lens out of its box, I immediately noticed its hefty weight.  This is a good sign that the lens is made with a significant amount of glass and metal.  You can’t always equate weight to build quality, but I definitely felt that it was well made.

During my initial handling of the lens, I was unable to fully lock the hood on to the lens.  I went back to it at a later time and discovered that I had to twist the hood with much greater force before it finally clicked in.  Nothing is wrong with it; it was just something new that I had to get used to.

One of the major selling points of mirrorless systems was the size and weight savings compared to traditional DSLRs.  I have benefited greatly from this in the past couple years of owning the a6000.  However, with a full frame body and f1.4 lens, the size and weight advantage quickly reduced.  The Sony a6000 with Zeiss 24mm f1.8 weighs in at just over 600g.  My new setup, the Sony a7iii with Rokinon 35mm f1.4, weighs more than double at 1344g.

Rokinon AF 35mm f1.4 for Sony FE Mount Review

So far, I’m happy with the purchase.  The pictures taken with my new setup are certainly more tack sharp than my previous setup.  While I am very happy with my new Rokinon lens, it is not perfect.  The nitpicky part of me noticed that the shape formed by the 9 aperture blades is far from regular, and this problem is less apparent at f8.  This is certainly no deal breaker for me as I will generally not use this lens with aperture setting below f5.6.

Bottom Line

In general, I am satisfied with Rokinon 35mm f1.4 based on photo quality and pricing.  I would recommend the purchase to others as a cheaper alternative to the Zeiss.  Check it out on Amazon.com or Amazon.ca.

Filed Under: Blogger Life, Photography, Product Reviews

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Upcoming Events

Vancouver Intl Wine Festival 2019

vancouver food blogroll

Search

About Me

Foodgressing is a blog that highlights the food adventures of one hungry Vancouverite. Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Sephora Rewards: Get Skin Fit Rewards Box Review
  • National Love Your Pet Day 2019: February 20
  • Fairmont Waterfront Hotel Package: Talking Trees
  • Hydrating Face Mask: Fresh Rose Mask Review
  • Hot Chocolate Festival Vancouver 2019: East Van Roasters Review Part 2
  • Spiritea launches Brown Sugar Peach Jelly
view my food journey on zomato!

Copyright © 2019 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress