Is my new 14mm rokinon junk?

Psyko · 05-11-2019, 07:44 AM

I just bought a new rokinon 14mm f2.8 for my KP for astrophotography. I have not had a chance to use it for that purpose due to the weather. Yesterday i needed to take a photo of a blueprint at work and realized that i couldn't get it in focus, I had to use my 50mm f1.8 pentax lens to get the shot. So today i took 4 shots, 2 indoor, 2 outdoor, at 2 and 5 foot from the image sensor. My question is.... am i dumb or is this lens dumb and in need of returning?

i feel like i need to clarify, im not using the graduation on the focus ring im using live view and zooming, this is literally the sharpest it gets. also i didnt edit anything, straight out of the camera.

heres 2 foot full sun

heres 5 foot full sun

heres 2 foot indoor

heres 5 foot indoor

pschlute · 05-11-2019, 07:54 AM

A return trip to the shop is in order I think.

**Madaboutpix** · 05-11-2019, 08:14 AM - **1 Like**

Welcome to the forum, Psyko.

A little more information would certainly help before making a final call - what F stops are we seeing? centre, border, corner crops? The outdoor shots look overexposed to me. Also, it seems you are a bit off the perfect optical axis with your shots.

That said, what I can see doesn't exactly look promising. Pretty soft, a fair amount of CA. But then again, wide open an ultrawide of its kind will likely not be an IQ demon in the first place. Does it get better when you stop down two or three stops? Do the sides and top vs. the bottom of the field differ?

Bottom line, you may have to refine your testing method a little if you want valid results.

Scout · 05-11-2019, 08:45 AM

Hello,
maybe it is not bad,
you could try with a hood or not under direct sunlight, with live view focusing (maybe the couple camera lens is average), or smoothly manual (don't always trust the red dot witness of the autofocus, it is a wide angle and I guess this kind of test is not efficient short range).
Try hyperfocal and infinity (landscape, at f8 for example).
No high ISO, ...
your test conditions don't seem appropriate (side light).
Don't forget it is a very wide angle, hard to be confortable with at the beginning.
personally I don't trust these tests short range (lenses set for normal distances) above all with a wide angle.
Hope it can help you,
bye

Ontarian50 · 05-11-2019, 09:05 AM

Something seems seriously wrong there. I know the 14mm Rokinons aren't perfect, but they shouldn't be that bad.

The colour fringing isn't subtle at all. Actually pretty gruesome!

pschlute · 05-11-2019, 09:11 AM

The colour fringing can be explained away by photographing wide open in harsh sunlight. Lack of anything in focus indoors or out is a serious problem.

Psyko · 05-11-2019, 09:59 AM

i read all the responses so far and i took a few more shots. indoor this time.

these are all center crops, 5 feet from the image sensor, i see no issues on one side or the other, its just soft everywhere when its wide open. im still a beginner so i dont know what i should expect from it.

this is f8 1/8 iso400

this is f4 1/25 iso400

this is f2.8 1/40 iso400

btw its killing me right now because i cant get a clear night sky to see how it looks there. i mean i bought the lens with the intention of shooting the stars wide open.

Scout · 05-11-2019, 10:54 AM

Your shutter speed is a little bit too slow in my opinion, speed can make blur. You could try on a tripod, mirror up, your first outside shot shows some accuracy, it is over exposed though (high iso probably).
Can you take an outside photo at 100-200 iso, from f4 to f8 ?, with no spyder lens cal (sun in your back), just to see ?

**interested_observer** · 05-11-2019, 11:03 AM

Personally, I would return it for yet another chance at the Samyang/Rokinon lottery. The QC is not that good, but I have read quite a bit (and almost bought one), that once you get a good one, it's a very good lens. Years ago, I picked up a Sigma 8-16 lens and it was off, everywhere, all the time. I did the fine focusing adjustment and it did get a tad better. I took it down to the Sigma repair center (along with the body). They found that it needed yet another 40 units of adjustment. They aligned and setup it up against my body - and its been perfect ever since.

At f8, hyperfocus is working in your favor - however with this copy, nothing really is in sharp focus. Even if your focus is a bit off, something in the frame should be in focus, especially with such a wide angle lens.

The Milky Way is gone for this month (the Moon is now up), so you have another 3 weeks to get this replaced and be setup for June.

Scout · 05-11-2019, 11:22 AM

Beginning with wide angles is the most difficult, if the lens is new, it can be a problem of methodology (over exposure, high iso, shutter speed, tilted from the cal, I mean not perfectly centered from the target, ...), all this leads to unsharpness.
A bad manufacturing stays possible ... (but rare)
The exercice of lenscal is difficult on the other hand

mee · 05-11-2019, 11:54 AM - **1 Like**

Is this on a tripod or hand held? If hand held take you out of the math and set the camera on a sturdy tripod. If you don't have a tripod set the camera on a counter or a table.

DISABLE image stabilization
Focus in the sharpest you can get (not sure if your camera has a 100% zoom in but it if does do that -- might be double tap of the middle button in the D-pad)
Set the camera to timer mode (even 3 seconds is fine)
Gently press the shutter release button to take a shot and let the camera count down and take the shot

Review the shot

if it is still that soft, it is a garbage copy and you'll need replacement imo

Personally, I'd just return it.. there is no way that lens is supposed to normally be that soft. Even at f/8 it is unacceptable imo.

Psyko · 05-11-2019, 12:15 PM

all the shots were on a tripod, 2 second shutter delay, electronic shutter, and all the camera features(clarity, stabilization, ect) were off.
i was using live view zoom and all these shots were as sharp as i could get it.

Scout · 05-11-2019, 12:37 PM

It might be tilted, so you should send it back ...

mee · 05-11-2019, 12:46 PM

Originally posted by Psyko

all the shots were on a tripod, 2 second shutter delay, electronic shutter, and all the camera features(clarity, stabilization, ect) were off.
i was using live view zoom and all these shots were as sharp as i could get it.

Just return. That's a junk copy.

quant2325 · 05-11-2019, 05:21 PM

Bad copies happen. Send it back. Samyang stands by their products so the dealer should have no issue taking it back.

05-11-2019, 07:44 AM	#1
Psyko New Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: delaware Posts: 4	Is my new 14mm rokinon junk? I just bought a new rokinon 14mm f2.8 for my KP for astrophotography. I have not had a chance to use it for that purpose due to the weather. Yesterday i needed to take a photo of a blueprint at work and realized that i couldn't get it in focus, I had to use my 50mm f1.8 pentax lens to get the shot. So today i took 4 shots, 2 indoor, 2 outdoor, at 2 and 5 foot from the image sensor. My question is.... am i dumb or is this lens dumb and in need of returning? i feel like i need to clarify, im not using the graduation on the focus ring im using live view and zooming, this is literally the sharpest it gets. also i didnt edit anything, straight out of the camera. heres 2 foot full sun heres 5 foot full sun heres 2 foot indoor heres 5 foot indoor

05-11-2019, 08:14 AM - 1 Like	#3
Madaboutpix Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: North Rhine-Westphalia Posts: 1,445	Welcome to the forum, Psyko. A little more information would certainly help before making a final call - what F stops are we seeing? centre, border, corner crops? The outdoor shots look overexposed to me. Also, it seems you are a bit off the perfect optical axis with your shots. That said, what I can see doesn't exactly look promising. Pretty soft, a fair amount of CA. But then again, wide open an ultrawide of its kind will likely not be an IQ demon in the first place. Does it get better when you stop down two or three stops? Do the sides and top vs. the bottom of the field differ? Bottom line, you may have to refine your testing method a little if you want valid results. Last edited by Madaboutpix; 05-11-2019 at 08:23 AM. Reason: precision

05-11-2019, 11:22 AM	#10
Scout Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 583	Beginning with wide angles is the most difficult, if the lens is new, it can be a problem of methodology (over exposure, high iso, shutter speed, tilted from the cal, I mean not perfectly centered from the target, ...), all this leads to unsharpness. A bad manufacturing stays possible ... (but rare) The exercice of lenscal is difficult on the other hand Last edited by Scout; 05-11-2019 at 11:28 AM.

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05-11-2019, 07:54 AM	#2
pschlute Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Surrey, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,215	A return trip to the shop is in order I think.

05-11-2019, 08:45 AM	#4
Scout Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 583	Hello, maybe it is not bad, you could try with a hood or not under direct sunlight, with live view focusing (maybe the couple camera lens is average), or smoothly manual (don't always trust the red dot witness of the autofocus, it is a wide angle and I guess this kind of test is not efficient short range). Try hyperfocal and infinity (landscape, at f8 for example). No high ISO, ... your test conditions don't seem appropriate (side light). Don't forget it is a very wide angle, hard to be confortable with at the beginning. personally I don't trust these tests short range (lenses set for normal distances) above all with a wide angle. Hope it can help you, bye

05-11-2019, 09:05 AM	#5
Ontarian50 Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 530	Something seems seriously wrong there. I know the 14mm Rokinons aren't perfect, but they shouldn't be that bad. The colour fringing isn't subtle at all. Actually pretty gruesome!

05-11-2019, 09:11 AM	#6
pschlute Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Surrey, UK Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,215	The colour fringing can be explained away by photographing wide open in harsh sunlight. Lack of anything in focus indoors or out is a serious problem.

05-11-2019, 09:59 AM	#7
Psyko New Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: delaware Posts: 4 Original Poster	i read all the responses so far and i took a few more shots. indoor this time. these are all center crops, 5 feet from the image sensor, i see no issues on one side or the other, its just soft everywhere when its wide open. im still a beginner so i dont know what i should expect from it. this is f8 1/8 iso400 this is f4 1/25 iso400 this is f2.8 1/40 iso400 btw its killing me right now because i cant get a clear night sky to see how it looks there. i mean i bought the lens with the intention of shooting the stars wide open.

05-11-2019, 10:54 AM	#8
Scout Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 583	Your shutter speed is a little bit too slow in my opinion, speed can make blur. You could try on a tripod, mirror up, your first outside shot shows some accuracy, it is over exposed though (high iso probably). Can you take an outside photo at 100-200 iso, from f4 to f8 ?, with no spyder lens cal (sun in your back), just to see ?

05-11-2019, 11:03 AM	#9
interested_observer Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tumbleweed, Arizona Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,707	Personally, I would return it for yet another chance at the Samyang/Rokinon lottery. The QC is not that good, but I have read quite a bit (and almost bought one), that once you get a good one, it's a very good lens. Years ago, I picked up a Sigma 8-16 lens and it was off, everywhere, all the time. I did the fine focusing adjustment and it did get a tad better. I took it down to the Sigma repair center (along with the body). They found that it needed yet *another* 40 units of adjustment. They aligned and setup it up against my body - and its been perfect ever since. At f8, hyperfocus is working in your favor - however with this copy, nothing really is in sharp focus. Even if your focus is a bit off, something in the frame should be in focus, especially with such a wide angle lens. The Milky Way is gone for this month (the Moon is now up), so you have another 3 weeks to get this replaced and be setup for June.

05-11-2019, 11:54 AM - 1 Like	#11
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Is this on a tripod or hand held? If hand held take you out of the math and set the camera on a sturdy tripod. If you don't have a tripod set the camera on a counter or a table. DISABLE image stabilization Focus in the sharpest you can get (not sure if your camera has a 100% zoom in but it if does do that -- might be double tap of the middle button in the D-pad) Set the camera to timer mode (even 3 seconds is fine) Gently press the shutter release button to take a shot and let the camera count down and take the shot Review the shot if it is still that soft, it is a garbage copy and you'll need replacement imo Personally, I'd just return it.. there is no way that lens is supposed to normally be that soft. Even at f/8 it is unacceptable imo.

05-11-2019, 12:15 PM	#12
Psyko New Member Join Date: May 2019 Location: delaware Posts: 4 Original Poster	all the shots were on a tripod, 2 second shutter delay, electronic shutter, and all the camera features(clarity, stabilization, ect) were off. i was using live view zoom and all these shots were as sharp as i could get it.

05-11-2019, 12:37 PM	#13
Scout Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2018 Photos: Gallery Posts: 583	It might be tilted, so you should send it back ...

05-11-2019, 12:46 PM	#14
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Originally posted by Psyko all the shots were on a tripod, 2 second shutter delay, electronic shutter, and all the camera features(clarity, stabilization, ect) were off. i was using live view zoom and all these shots were as sharp as i could get it. Just return. That's a junk copy.

05-11-2019, 05:21 PM	#15
quant2325 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Photos: Gallery Posts: 205	Bad copies happen. Send it back. Samyang stands by their products so the dealer should have no issue taking it back.