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Samyang / Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8 RF - Lab Test / Review |
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Lens Reviews -
Canon EOS (Full Format)
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Page 1 of 2
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published August 2021
Introduction
As of the time of this review, Samyang has been the only third-party manufacturer offering AF lenses in Canon RF mount - namely the Samyang (Rokinon) AF 14mm f/2.8 RF & AF 85mm f/1/4 RF ... but their status is unclear. Canon R-mount is a closed ecosystem with Canon obviously not willing to issue mount/protocol licenses. But it seems as if there's even more to it. Samyang appears to have reverse-engineered the protocol but, at least according to messages on social media, they are about to stop manufacturing AF lenses for R-mount (because Canon threatened them?). The future of these lenses is therefore foggy at best. However, you can still buy the AF 14mm f/2.8 RF for as little as 650USD/EUR making it an attractive alternative to the superb but expensive, native Canon RF lenses. The lens is also available in Sony E-mount using the same optical formula - with Sony's blessing apparently.
The build quality of the AF 14mm f/2.8 FE is very good. The lens body is made of metal including the smoothly operating focus ring. Weather-sealing is not provided although there is at least a mount-gasket. The metal part of the barrel has a satin finish which is a little slippery. As you can see below the front element is slightly protruding so it's not possible to mount front filters. Typical for such lenses, it features a built-in, petal-shaped hood also to protect the vulnerable front element. The lens cap clamps to the lens hood which is the common approach for such lenses as well. The cap doesn't scream quality though.
The AF motor is fairly quick and noiseless. Manual focusing works by-wire thus you are driving the AF motor when turning the focus ring. This works quite well. The lens is also compatible with the RF version of Samyang's (Rokinon) "Lens Station" which allows AF fine-tuning as well as firmware updates.
| Specifications |
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| Optical construction | 14 Elements in 10 Groups including 3x aspherical,2x ED elements |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 (rounded) |
| min. focus distance | 0.20m (max. magnification ratio 1:8.3) |
| Dimensions | 86x95.3mm |
| Weight | 523g |
| Filter size | - (rear-filter slot) |
| Hood | barrel-shaped, built-in |
| Other features | - |
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