Summary

The article discusses the experience of using the Rokinon 12mm F/2 manual lens with a Fujifilm X-T4 camera, detailing its strengths and weaknesses in various photography scenarios.

Abstract

The Rokinon 12mm F/2 lens is evaluated for its performance on the Fujifilm X-T4 camera system. It is recognized for its center sharpness and suitability for real estate, astrophotography, and landscape photography. Despite its affordable price compared to Fujifilm's native lenses, the Rokinon lens requires manual focusing and lacks electronic communication for EXIF data. The review highlights the lens's issues with vignetting, color reproduction, and susceptibility to flares, which necessitate post-processing adjustments, especially when shooting in RAW format. While the lens has limitations, such as the lack of autofocus and challenges in bright light conditions, it is considered a good value for those seeking an ultra-wide prime lens and is particularly recommended for black and white photography.

Opinions

The Rokinon 12mm F/2 lens is praised for its optical performance, particularly its center sharpness and the ability to focus closely.
The lens is deemed excellent for specific photography genres, including real estate, astrophotography, and landscape photography.
The article notes that while the lens is a good performer, it is not without faults, such as vignetting and distortion, which can be corrected in post-processing.
The reviewer appreciates the lens's solid metal construction and its price point, especially considering the potential for price drops in the secondary market.
The lack of autofocus and the need for a lens hood to mitigate glare are seen as drawbacks.
The reviewer concludes that the lens is a good buy for those looking for a cost-effective ultra-wide lens, but also mentions that they have not yet decided to purchase it, as they are considering other wide-angle lens options.
The article emphasizes the importance of research and consideration before purchasing third-party lenses, as quality can vary significantly.

What is it like to shoot with a 3rd party lens?

Photography UX with the popular Rokinon 12mm F/2 manual lens

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system

A camera’s lens is an essential tool for good photography. But they are not cheap. Great quality comes with a price and their value can last a long time. Lenses can be passed to the next of kin, while camera bodies are easily depreciated by newer models. Some lenses, particularly the sought-after vintage models, can be a collector’s fetish and command a high price in the secondary market.

But there are cheaper options by way of 3rd party lenses. A few are very good. They can deliver fantastic results, particularly if they are handled by pros who will know how to maximize their use in creative ways.

However, there are also a lot of lenses that are subpar in quality. These brands will tempt photographers by advertising fast apertures at low prices. Yet their quality is not across the board due to inconsistent tolerances and lack of quality control. With these manufacturers, it is best to be cautious because, most often than not, the saying “you get what you pay for” rings true.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system | Photo feedback: In post-production, this photograph showed vignetting. The JPEG file shows a more muted hue. However, the RAW file, which is the image above was able to be tweaked with minor saturation and contrast.

Fortunately, in this day and age when there is a massive proliferation of information on the internet, from photography blogs, Amazon reviews, and YouTube videos, there are a variety of ways to do prudent research before committing to buy a third-party lens.

In the Fujifilm X-system, one particular lens is quite popular among many users. This is the Rokinon 12 mm F/2, an ultra-wide prime lens that delivers images with center sharpness and having the ability to focus close to 8 inches. It costs a fraction of a regular Fujinon lens of the same focal length and f-stop, because of a couple of caveats — manual ability to autofocus and lack of electronic sensors to read the EXIF data.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system | Photo feedback: This final image is edited from its RAW file. It requires a few tweaks in saturation, contrast, and shadows. Vignetting is also fixed.

I have an opportunity to try this Rokinon lens to see if I should add it to my kit. And because I have a strict curation process of keeping a minimal number of lenses that I can own, I am quite stringent in my analysis. The criteria, at a minimum, is that the lens must be excellent an performer and can be used in the variety of photography styles that I like to do.

So far, the overwhelmingly positive feedback of the Rokinon 12mm F/2 is that it is an excellent lens for:

Real Estate photography
Astrophotography
Landscape photography

I decided to see for myself.

The photographs below are the results of my trial:

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system | Photo feedback: This showed the ultrawide capability. I end up cropping this photograph due to flaring issues with the lens. I did not place the lens hood since this photograph is taken indoors. Minor tweaks in saturation, contrast, and vignetting are also done using Capture 1 Express for Fujifilm.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system | Photo feedback: I wanted to test the focus distance capability of this lens, which is about 8 inches. It shows the ability to focus at the center while it begins to fade at the sides. There is also evidence of distortion.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system | Photo feedback: The wide-angle is really fantastic in showcasing the full view on indoor settings. This is tweaked using Capture 1 for Fujifilm in vignetting, saturation, sharpness, contrast, and shadows.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system | Photo feedback: I tested this for product display shots. While there are sharp areas at close focus, the image does show distortion and vignetting.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T4 | Lens: Rokinon ultrawide prime 12mm F/2 for the Fujifilm X camera system | Photo feedback: This is my favorite shot showing the close focus distance of the lens. To capture this requires RAW editing to tweak the sharpness and fix the vignetting. Distortion, however, is quite apparent.

The Verdict

The lens lives up to its reputation for having a very good quality built with mostly a solid metal construction. And the images I am able to capture are sharp, especially when focused at the center.

However, I do notice problems with:

Strong glares when using it on a sunny day. Using the plastic hood it comes with is a must.
Vignetting is apparent and will require post-production editing if using the RAW file.
Colors appear darker compared to a regular Fujinon lens.
Challenge with focusing because it is a manual lens.
The sweet spot is actually the F/2.8 and not the F/2 for sharp images.

My conclusion is that this lens can be challenging to use in the following scenarios:

Street photography when capturing images that has a lot of movement.
Shooting only in the JPEG mode due to the vignetting. To fix this, the file must be RAW.
Focusing at short distances with an unsteady hand. This will definitely cause a lot of photo blur. However, it can be fixed when the camera is on a tripod.
Middle-of-the-day bright light, especially when not using the lens hood will result in a lot of flares.

Do I recommend this?

This lens is a good buy, particularly if one is looking for a cheaper third-party lens that is ultra-wide and can deliver sharp results. It is also an excellent choice for black and white photography.

And because I have seen the price fluctuate in the 15% to 20% range and discussion groups have mentioned price drops in the secondary market, one does not have to pay the full retail if waiting for a good deal is an option.

In my case, I did not end up making a purchase. I still want to give other wide-angle lenses a try. But the Rokinon 12mm F/2 remains on my radar. I have not crossed it off the list yet.

Disclosure: This is not a paid or sponsored post.

However, if you are interested in the photography gear I use, I invite you to use my links below. I earn a referral commission for every completed sale, but it is at no extra cost to you.