Readers ask me about my photography set up and camera gear quite frequently. I’ve written reviews on my standard kit of a Sony a6000 paired with the Sony 10-18mm wide angle lens. The Sony 10-18mm is an incredible wide angle lens for moments with lots of available light, but I found myself wanting more options for low light situations. I searched through just about every available E mount lens and settled on the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0. The closest competitor to the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 was the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8. The Zeiss came in at $999, whereas the Rokinon was available for $375. Other than price, the major difference is that the Rokinon is completely manually operated for focus and aperture. I thought this would be a big deal at first, but I’ve actually grown to enjoy the process of shooting with a manual lens. I’ll discuss this more in my review of the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0. I have the E mount version of this lens for Sony mirrorless cameras, but it is also available for Canon, Fuji, Olympus/Panasonic (MFT), and Samsung.
**Note that the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 can also be found listed as the Samyang 12mm f/2.0. There is no difference with these two lenses as they are exactly the same and differ in name only. **
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Lens Construction And Build Quality:
The Rokinon 12mm is a crop sensor lens made for APS-C sensor cameras giving it an effective focal range of what would be 18mm on a full frame sensor. The aperture range goes from f/2 to f/22. The fixed 12mm lens has a minimum focusing distance of 7.9 inches. The glass uses a Nano Coating System (NCS) to improve the transmission of light, reduce lens flares and ghosting, and provide more contrast. This lens takes a 67mm filter. The Rokinon 12mm is built like a little tank using a combination of metal and plastic. Coming in at 8.64oz (245g), this lens is not the lightest, but it handles very well.
As I mentioned above the Rokinon 12mm is a manual focus lens that requires user manipulation for aperture and focus. The aperture ring is solid and has a nice clicking feel with each turn. The focus ring is smooth and firm, with the perfect amount of stick.
Focusing:
For those new to a manual focus lens, the new process can seem a bit daunting. In the new age of digital photography, it’s easy to get used to just aiming a camera and snapping away. There was a time not too long ago that auto focus cameras and lenses didn’t exist. Having a manual focus lens has brought me back to this age of photography, and in a lot of ways, has helped me hone my craft as a photographer. That being said, I use the built-in focus peaking technology of my Sony mirrorless camera to ensure my exposures are not out of focus. This is especially helpful when taking photos around f/2.0 with a shallow depth of field. Missing focus at this aperture usually means a blown shot. My a6000 allows me to set the focus peaking color to yellow, red, or white, and then highlights the focused parts within the viewfinder to let me know I’m locked on. When I first started using this lens, I’d have a few shots from every outing that were out of focus, but with a little practice, I’ve improved quite a bit.
Image Quality And Performance:
For me, the most important thing to see in a camera or lens review is the ‘real life’ image quality. In this section I’ll talk about and show pictures to demonstrate the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0’s abilities in low light, flare, bokeh, vignetting, distortion, it’s ability to ‘get close’, and it’s performance while hiking outside.
Low Light
The main reason I purchased the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 is so that I could shoot more handheld shots in low light. I almost never travel with a tripod, so getting quality handheld shots in low light is a must for me. There is no substitute for a tripod, but below you can see the kind of shots I’ve been able to get while walking around in low light situations. My a6000 handles very well up until about ISO 3200, with noise levels very manageable below that. Having an f/2.0 lens allows me to keep my ISO below 3200 in almost all low light situations.
Flare
While shooting outside, I haven’t had too much of an issue with flares. The Rokinon 12mm comes with a lens hood that I don’t use due to the constraints of my hiking camera bag. You can see what the flares look like in the image below. They are very easy to remove in post processing.
Bokeh
For those that aren’t familiar with the term, bokeh is the blurry out-of-focus area in a photograph. As you can see below, the bokeh of the Rokinon 12mm is quite pleasant, but not as nice as what you’d expect with the Sony 35mm or 50mm offerings.
Vignetting
Vignetting is the light falloff, or dark corners, found in an image. The vignetting on the Rokinon 12mm is strongest at f/2.0, but falls off considerable as I approach f/8. You can look at the corners at some of the photos in this review to see the vignetting on the 12mm. Most of the time when I’m shooting at f/2.0 I’m composing a shot in low light so the dark corners are hardly noticeable. This is another exposure issue that is very easy to correct for in post processing.
Distortion
One of my favorite components to play with in photography is perspective. The presentation of perspective can really separate a good photo from a great photo. A wide angle lens like the Rokinon 12mm is going to exaggerate perspective due to the fact that there is more distance between the object being photographed and the lens. This is why people or objects in the foreground of a wide angle exposure will appear larger than objects further away. Having a wide angle 12mm lens really allows me to play with the depth of scale on landscapes. The one issue on wide angles that can cause problems with perspective is distortion. Distortion is when a lens presents an image with curved lines even though the lines are actually straight. The two most common types of distortion are barrel distortion (for wide angle lenses) and pincushion distortion (for telephoto lenses). With barrel distortion, straight lines will bend outward from the center of an image, like a ball is pushing towards you from behind the photo. There are time when distortion makes a photo more interesting, but in architecture shots distortion can be a distraction. Luckily, distortion is easy to fix using lens profiles in Lightroom. Here are some examples of distortion in the photos below.
Getting Closer
Many people assume that the sole purpose of a wide angle is to allow the photographer to capture more of what they’re seeing. This is true, but my favorite part of what wide angles offer is their ability for me to get closer. When shooting with lenses higher than 18mm, I often find myself having to step far away from an object to capture it. With a wide angle, I’m able to stay close and capture everything that my eyes are seeing. This is especially important when I’m indoors and don’t have the option of creating more space with my feet.
Hiking Outdoors
When hiking outdoors, I still prefer to use my Sony 10-18mm, as I almost never feel limited by it’s range of f/4. Still, the Rokinon 12mm has proven to be a very serviceable hiking lens, too. I’ve used the Rokinon on a number of hiking outings and the results are on par with my Sony 10-18mm.
Closing Thoughts:
The Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 is an excellent lens choice for those looking to shoot in low light. I wouldn’t suggest the Rokinon 12mm as a starter lens for newcomers to photography or as the sole lens in a photographers kit, but instead as a low light tool for those looking to improve their images when light is scarce. At under $400, this lens is a bargain compared to the competition.
Rokinon 12mm F/2.0
$300.00
Your timing is impeccable. I’ve been thinking about adding a new lens to the collection.
I’m glad this post was timely! I’ve been sitting on this post for a while and finally got around to finishing and publishing it this weekend!
It certainly was. I spent way too long making my credit card scream this weekend.
Drew — thanks for this review. Couple of questions — when using this lens, how often do you miss the 18mm provided by the Sony zoom lens? Also, do you ever use circular polarizers with your wide angle lenses (and why/why not)?
Hey Chris,
I shoot with my Sony 10-18mm most of the time for ease of use with autofocus and auto aperture. When I look at my EXIF data, I’m almost always in the 10-14mm range. If I want to get closer to an object, I tend to do so with my feet since I’m so used to shooting with primes. This isn’t always possible when in the mountains, so I occasionally shoot at 18mm. The problem is that 18mm is still very wide and not ideal for getting close to things that are far away.
For people like me, the Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 is a nice option if price is not a consideration. I thought about getting one before I purchased the Rokinon 12mm, but the $600 difference just didn’t make sense to me. Optically, the Rokinon is pretty close.
I ended up spending more for the Sony 10-18mm and Rokinon 12mm combined, when the Zeiss Touit 12mm would have been the better choice for me and my needs from the beginning. It wasn’t available at the time of my first purchase though. All three lenses are great options for the Sony mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors.
I’ve also been using the Sony 16mm prime lately. It’s super soft and not good for high quality prints, but very serviceable for ‘web use only’ photos on my hiking trip reports.
I use polarizing filters quite a bit. On days in the mountains when I encounter lots of granite and snow, they do a great job of minimize my post processing work.
Hi Drew,
I just purchased the Samyang 12mm f2.0. Was reading about polarization filters, but saw that many recommended they not be used on wide angle lenses due to the curved nature of these lenses. Which polarizer do you have, and do you recommend?
Thank you!
Brad
Hello, Brad. When I do add a polarizing filter on the Rokinon 12mm, I go with a Hoya (http://amzn.to/2qx7wqD). Those that recommend not using one on a wide angle due so for good reason. This article does a good job of explaining the effects: https://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/polarizing-filter-wideangle-lens. I just use as needed and fix some of the listed issues in post processing.
Drew,
Thanks for the additional information. I’m a backpacker, got my A6000 in December ’16 and have been drooling over the Sony 10-18 since I read your great review of it. Based on this review of the Roki 12mm, and other reviewers noting that it has an edge over the Sony for astro-photography, I think I’ll go with it to begin with. But I will have the Sony one day! Happy trails and thanks again.
That’s great to hear, Chris! I’ve read the same things about the Roki 12mm in regards to astro. I’m going to try some astro shots at the summit of a few local mountains this summer.
Good review overall. This lens begs for astrophotography, low light subjects and creative DoF applications, so if it doesn’t seem to be the best for general imagemaking, don’t feel bad. It’s great anytime but making use of a tripod or monopod will extend its capabilities remarkably. The IQ and use of nearly all its apertures is something many lenses can’t seem to provide. I shoot mine on an a6300 and was able to purchase at a discount recently.
Thanks for the comment, Bstrom. I agree, this lens is best suited for tripod use and astro.