i have recenlty bought samnyang set. I was almost buying diferente set from slr magic and voigtlander and a other brand...finaly i thought all lenses would not match the glass and coatings and matching would be dificult. Breathing can be seen when you let it be seen. If you have that issue you better plan another way of resolving the shot. I trade if for the price/value they have. And im waiting for the 50mm and the 100mm or bigger.

8 ,14,24,35,(soon 50)and 85 from same manufacturer at low price for me seem good choice. For peronal use and not rental i would buy the voigtlander and the SLR magic lenses.

yes

So I picked up one of the 8mm T3.8 lenses just for shits and giggles. Interesting thing I found. Maybe I've never dealt with an extreme wide or fisheye lens but it seems after T8, the aperture is useless. Meaning that it stops closing down if you go to T22. And likewise, opening up from 22 to 3.8, nothing happens from 22-8, then it opens up. Is this normal for a lens like this? If not I''l shoot some video of the screen and me opening up the iris with my other GH2.

We where surprised, how close the Zeiss and Samyang lenses are, just looking at the optical aspects, like color fringing, chromatic aberration and overall sharpness. The coating of the Zeiss lenses is definitively better though, as you can see at the game console on the first picture.

Also though the Zeiss seems to be a bit warmer and more contrasty, the look and overall impression seem to be also quite similar.

Regarding the bokeh, there is quite a difference. The Zeiss have this famous triangle bokeh on highlights – something that isn’t a good or bad thing per se, just something that comes down to style and taste like the oval shaped bokeh of anamorphic lenses. The blurry part of the bokeh is a bit more creamy, than the Samyang, but nothing to write home about.

When it comes down to mechanics, the Samyang (of course) can’t hold a candle to the Zeiss lenses -but that was something to be expected, just look at the price difference.

Zeiss sports oil dampened iris and aperture rings, it’s full metal from top to bottom and feels like a swiss clockwork of precision and sheer lens porn.

The coating id famous and it’s build to be overhauled and serviced for decades of use. Also the focus throw is almost 360 degrees, something your focus puller really appreciates.

http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/blackmagic-cinema-camera-vs-red-scarlet-zeiss-vs-samyang-part-2/

Samyang/Rokinon 16mm T2.2

Following the launch of the 16mm photo lens announced earlier this year, Samyang have just released information about the addition of the 16mm V-DSLR T2.2 ED AS UMC CS for cinema. The model will have a maximum aperture of T2.2 and the remaining optical parameters similar to the photo version.

This new lens will be available from September.

The new Samyang 16mm V-DSLR is a wide-angle, bright lens for cameras equipped with an APS-C sensor. Its optics comprise of 13 elements arranged in 11 groups, including an ED lens element, aspherical element and hybrid-aspherical lens element. Like all other Samyang models, all lens elements are covered with anti-reflection UMC coatings to ensure good light transmission. In the video version the indexes are arranged in parallel with optical axis of the lens to facilitate reading on the focus and aperture scale.

The lens will be released in the following mounts: Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Sony E, Canon M, Fujifilm X and Olympus MFT.

Based on what the regular version costs and their usual markup for the cine versions, I'd say $649-$699. Kind of expensive but on par with the 24mm. Looks like it might be a bit sharper than the 24mm and the breathing looks much more contained. Similar to the 85 if not better.

Just ordered one to try it out on a shoot next week with some BMCCs. I'll let you know how it goes.

What really has me looking at a set of Samyang CINE primes is the ability to use a Metabones speed booster with them on the GH3 and basically double the set:

10mm T/3.1 -> 7mm T2.2

14mm T/3.1 -> 10mm T2.2

16mm T/2.4 -> 11mm T1.7

24mm T/2.4 -> 17mm T1.7

35mm T/1.5 -> 24mm T1.1

50mm T/1.5 -> 35mm T1.1

85mm T/1.5 -> 60mm T1.1

Andrew Reid tried the 85mm with Speed Booster with good results.

One could buy the Speed Booster and the 16, 24, 50 and 85 and cover a huge range for under $3k. My main fear is softness in the corners wide open with the booster.

Thoughts?

The 10mm and 50mm are in the pipe (rumor has it).

I'm interested in the 16. With the BMCC and MFT crop, that might make a nice space filler.

That Tokina has kinda been getting its ass handed to it a lot lately. It kinda makes you wonder how it got so popular.

@vicharris ah, makes sense.