Used Rokinon Auto Focus 50mm f/1.4 FE Lens for Sony E-Mount

2020-12-08T04:10:31

This isn’t the fastest focusing lens or the quietest. As a matter of fact, it sounds more like an old Canon EF micro motor lens like the 50 1.8 or 1.4 than any of the more “modern” silent lenses, so it’s likely a no-go if you want to use it for video. If you can get past those drawbacks, it’s a pretty great lens. It’s plenty sharp enough and has nicely rendered bokeh IMO, better than some lenses that are much more expensive in some cases. The 50mm focal length is probably my least used, but I do find it useful occasionally, so I looked hard at getting a good value lens.

JOSHUA S.

2020-02-25T07:31:31

It's a lens that shoots like something twice its price (or more!) Opened all the way up at f/1.4, it has a beautiful bokeh and can shoot in near dark. When the aperture is at 5.6 it is super sharp with a wide depth of field. The negatives are: it's pretty heavy and the autofocus is somewhat loud. If you are willing to deal with those two things, you get an amazing lens for the price.

John C.

2020-01-09T11:15:58

Before buying the lens I knew it has focus problems but some of the recent reviews mentioned that it is fixed for newer version/updates. I got the lens in early Dec 2019 and I faced the focus problem very first day of the use. I tried the lens on Sony a7iii and focusing worked for few shots and then stopped focussing completely.

Tanmay T.

2019-04-11T16:46:20

Photos are crisp and sharp lens performs well in low light.

Brett L.

2018-12-26T10:30:44

So it's a great lens for bokeh and it's quite sharp but I never use the autofocus and I recently had to get the main board on the lens replaced because it went bad after only a couple months.

Dakota G.

2018-08-14T16:09:03

As my title states- Be aware of the shortcomings of this lens at this price point and you will be a happy customer. This is not going to be the same build quality as a G-Master or Sigma Art lens. But at this price point and at f1.4 the image quality will get you 90% the aforementioned if image quality and price is your bigger concern. Not to say that it is not built well, I think it is in fact built just fine. It doesn't feel flimsy or feels like it's about to fall apart. ALSO be aware video shooters; this is not the lens for you. If you've owned any FE-mount sigma lenses or e-mount sigma lenses the focus motor noise is about 2 1/2 times louder than those lenses. It is noticeable in quiet environments. But on a show floor or outside where there's a crowd you wont notice it. I would have given this 5-stars but I did experience an issue with focusing once where I was on single point focus and took multiple fast shots and it seemed to lock up the focus and shut my A7III down. I powered back up and did the same and seemed to be fine for the rest of my shoot.

SAMNANG P.

2018-07-24T12:12:04

So I needed a budget portrait lens and 1.4 fast aperture sounded perfect, but the Sony Zeiss version is about 3 times pricer. I decided to go this version, and without a doubt it may be a good option for the price, but don't think big about it, it's almost unusable bellow 1.8 and this F is just for close ups, not sharp enough even in 2.8+ apertures, for video it can reproduce some beautiful images, but autofocus is auful considering the great A7III system.

Francisco R.

2018-06-07T08:52:43

Auto focus is extremely loud. Pictures are not sharp at 1.4. Auto focus is slow and is unreliable. you are better off using DMF and letting the camera focus itself and then make the minor adjustments to get perfect focus. For the price this lens is a great buy but for me I need something more reliable and sharp at 1.4. Will end up trading this lens in and getting the sony 55 1.8.

Shahbaz K.

2018-06-01T13:36:56

Not the greatest ever 50mm. However, it stays on my camera. It just gives me that little more than I expected. It's not for everyone. There are sharper lenses. However, they are twice as expensive without being two times better. I let a friend shoot with mine and now he owns one of own.

WILLIAM H.

2018-05-22T12:11:33

I purchased this lens as my first native Sony-E Mount lens for a7iii. I only have one complaint and that relates to the focusing being hit or miss. The lower the light the more it hunts. I'll say that the issues with the lens hunting are not bad enough to make me want to return it because of the great results I've achieved in good light. 8.5/10

James L.

2018-05-16T19:14:12

Long story short, if you're strictly a stills shooter, this lens is an absolute must-have. After researching as much as I can about it, I decided to pull the trigger on it since I very rarely shoot as wide as 50mm for my portraits. I'm just blown away by the value of this lens. I couldn't imagine spending so much more for the Sony Zeiss. Sharpness wide open is very good, adequate enough for portraits. CA can be there, but if it's bad, a click on Lightroom will fix it, the best part of this lens is the bokeh. Stunning. I couldn't believe the quality of the bokeh. As one reviewer found it even smoother than the Zeiss, Now one big CON. If you're into video, you're only going to use this in manual focus. If you own or heard the AF of the Sony 50mm 1.8 fe, then you'll know the clicking, grinding, mechanical sounds that this creates. If you're shooting portraits, then it's fine, AF speed is great (including continuous eye-af) with enough light. But it can hunt a little bit of you're in pretty low light. I bought it on sale at $ which made it the deal of the century. Regardless of the price, it's a steal.

Angel T.

2017-06-21T09:09:58

I was surprised with the IQ of this lens given the so-so reviews. I thought it was sharp in the center at 1.4 and edges improved by F2.0. The focus, however, was a little slow.

SMITS P.