This was a very informative video. If you’re shooting a larger production with a budget which can support the use of expensive lenses, it only makes sense to go that route. However, the other takeaway from this is that budget gear these days is REALLY good, and you can easily get away with filming shorts and low budget features without breaking the bank.
This Test misses the biggest advantage lenses like the Masterprimes have and that is consistency. Every lens in a Set performs the same and even beyond that. One can rent a set in LA, than move Production to Berlin or whatever and rent another set there and both sets will perform the same. With lenses like the Rokinons every lens has their own quirks. The 35mm might have a magenta tint, the 50mm gets super soft at T1.5 and the 100mm might introduce orange flare.
The Rokinon Cine DS line is apparently colour matched. Obviously that doesn't fix the sharpness, glare, flares, etc. with the optics... but you shouldn't get different colour casts between them.
@@RoccoRichardson i think so, because for two reasons. First: Arri Master Primes aren't Owner Operator Lenses. They are bought by rental houses. And as a rental you want to guarantee quality and not create more work in post for the clients. Second: Sure colour correction can fix it and for a short film that might not even a big deal, but on a 90-120min feature, that creates a lot of pain in the backdoor. I dont wnat to say the Rokinons dont have their place. Heck I even own a 16mm. I just wanted to point out that there is a big part overlooked in the video.
The Rokinons are so cheap that you wouldn't rent them, you'd just buy them. They'd then perform the same every time you use them in Berlin or LA, because they're literally the same. :) edit: get the color matched set of course
I love that they're so comparable. It's such a major blessing that we have access to such gorgeous lenses for such affordable prices. It's never been easier to make a film.
Honestly the fact that the Rokinon performs this well compared to a master prime is kind of mind blowing. Not saying they're comparable side by side, but the difference is far less in a lot of these examples than I expected. I don't think if you've got a compelling story anyone is going to look at a low budget film shot on the Rokinon lenses and lament it wasn't shot on a Master Prime. I have Rokinon and Sigma lenses mostly, and I've been generally very happy with the results I'm getting. Lately been loving the Helios 44-2 for short films because it has a lot of the imperfections of an anamorphic lens even though it's not actually anamorphic. Even though I've got the standard version, not the modified fake anamorphic one, I really love it. One of these days I might try and pick up the new Sirui 50mm t2.9 Full Frame lens, or rent it to see what I think of it.
I built myself an anamorphic contraption from a disassembled soviet projector lens + some 3d printed parts + Helios 44m Massive pain in the ass to use but man did it look freaking gorgeous
No one notices the difference. Its as if a wine conaisseur is trying to sell a chateau lafitte 1968 to an alcoholic. No one notices if it was shot on a scandalously expensive lens or not. And those who do notice, are not important enough to care about anyway. A producer only.looks at what it costs and if the product sells. He could care less for the glass it was shot with.
There is a clear difference even with TH-cam compression. The zeiss contrast level is pretty amazing and the rokinon tens to milky the contrast but for the money it is a lovely little stylised lens.
I just rewatched this a second time. And I noticed you were using the BMPCCK camera for the Rokinon lens. As I recall, the Blackmagic cameras were known for capturing IR pollution in the shadows. Usually showing up in the form of a purple/magenta cast in the shadows. So, I'm wondering if that color cast you saw in the exterior shots in the baseball cap were more from the IR pollution coming from the Blackmagic capture and not the Rokinon lens.
@@KenzoVerseYT Yes, they are using the same cameras. One is getting ir pollution at 7:29 from a lens that isn't as well protected as the other. They are blackmagic camera systems, but they aren't the pocket cinema cameras, both shots are being shot on the 12k cameras. It isn't the camera, it's the lens. Now an IR filter might fix that issue. But it's most likely a coating in the expensive lens that makes the difference, not a testing with different cameras issue because they were all shot on the same cameras (as can be seen at 3:50)
Funny you post this... I just bought some of these 200$ lens two days ago... yes, I love the expensive ones. But these cheap ones work most of the time just fine.
Film Riot is slowly but surely becoming my new Video Copilot. Love the episodes, all the Information that are given in such an entertaining form, compact and fun. PS: That Thumbnail is cursed! :D
Truth of the matter is... the Rokinon is an outstanding lens. In your outdoor comparisons, if you set your aperture higher, 11+ you'll get a much cleaner background, less shallow, thus improving the quality of the shot. The beauty of prime lenses! Also, in doing this very good video, which I appreciate, it is important to include the T-Stops, Aperture and Shutter Speed as reference. I own Samyang and Rokinon lenses. They are wonderful lenses for the price and in all truth, again, what really matter is, what's in the frame. I like your channel and content. Good job.
Honestly found the easiest way to compare the two lenses was in that focal length change between Cam A and B - otherwise really impressed by the Rokinon here - encouraging for filmmakers like myself - who get access to cine lenses on some shoots but wouldn't necessarily be able to afford for personal projects
Love the approach of more natural judgement rather than the scientific one. This was very informative and educational. Thank you! Also, I had never heard of shotonwhat before! Thank you!!
Shooting weddings as a side gig for the past four years may reveal my affinity for flashy parties, but perhaps that experience is helpful here. I also shoot videos in the Army full time and love all things photography. When shooting video, I started with with Rokinon’s 85mm f/1.4 and 14mm f/2.8 on my Sony full frames which were a boon for me at the time. Later when I upgraded to Sony-Zeiss primes and Tamron SP lenses I realized the Rokinons are more of a gateway lens than a substitute. Under less-than ideal conditions, which is every condition at weddings, on-location shoots, and every day in the army, the differences are enormous. Quality glass gives you options. Quality glass delivers. Quality glass saves you endless hours in editing. Quality equipment saves your ass when you’re expected to produce quality videos without a controlled environment.
I use the Rokinons for work and they are work horses for the price. However, they do get soft under T2.8. It’s not terrible, but I tend to avoid the widest T stops for that reason. I think it’s important to mention more of the aspects where the Rokinon won’t perform in order to convey an accurate performance for price. I agree that they are great for what they are, but they are not everything. Thanks for the video!
Great episode! I need a reference sometimes and this is grounding and thoughtful. The practical thought in this episode always makes me smile. I understand why you chose the master primes now on the last horror film you did. Thanks my peeps.
I just got the rokinon 35 mm for Christmas and it’s amazing! This was my first lens upgrade and I think I made the right choice. Highly recommend the rokinon cine lens 35 mm.
Nice job. What you did not mention though is what they look like wide open, compared to stopped down, or what f-stop you shot these tests in. Having used that Rok 35/1.5, I can say that wide open at T1.5 the image is totally useless for normal shooting. The image is so soft that it looks like a fantasy scene. Yet bring it just a half stop down to 2.0, it is suddenly useful, and by 2.8 it is quite crisp. and impressive. I have confirmed than many - but not all - units of this lens behave this way. A few shooters I've spoken with got better units that they have told me are more normally useable wide open. When I tested the Rok, I mostly did it on a M43, and a lot with a speedbooster that resulted in (roughly) a 25mm T/1.1. The resulting image being very nice, even with a budget booster, and especially if I stop that 1.1 down to around 1.5-2.0. The image was still an APS-C, onto a M43. So the furthest corners, with presumably the softest part of the image, were obviously not seen..
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I did my own comparison years ago between the Rokinon and Canon Cine Primes and what I noticed was you are on, say f1.8, you get more depth of field on your interview subject with the background out of focus on a proper cine prime; this is why I could tell on your first shot the focus was very narrow, the man with his part of his forehead was in focus, but on the second shot he was all sharp but with nice bokeh in background - that's a proper cine prime. So say you want your subject more in focus, so on the Rokinon you would stop-up to say f2.8 to f4 well then you bokeh won't be as much. So this is where proper cine primes give you the edge.
Your channel is so helpful on everything on filmmaking. I learn so much from channels like film riot than I was in film school. Who needs film school that you have filmmaking TH-cam channels.
Suddenly I realized my sensei Ryan is getting old, I'm also getting old, I kinda grew up with film riot, I was a teenager when I used to watch their videos and try to learn filmmaking back in the years like 2012/13, now I'm in my 20s full time dedicated to film making and after so many years still watching Film Riot❤, and there something in Ryan that inspires me to dream big and create something exciting and amazing! I never thanked Ryan and his team for helping indie filmmakers like us with these creations and man you inspire me a lot! thanks, Ryan, thanks Film riot! bless you ❤ (sorry for the bad English🥴)
Clearly the Master Primes were sharper. One advantage with the Rokinon's is that if you're shooting some action piece and you destroy the lens or scratch the front element it's not a big deal. I have (sadly) in the past been at least partially responsible for scratching the front element of a 10mm Panavision lens. If that had been a Rokinon it would not have carried the same weight.
Sorry but I think I may have missed this but were both lens tested on the same camera? I only ask this because there is a list of 4 cameras. If each lens test was not tested on the same camera, how can you compare what would be 'apples to oranges'. I have to think that the different camera chips plays a big part in image quality.
Thank you for the video. I happened to have one of the lenses (not the expensive one😁). The Rokinon can be used for documentary or wedding production. The expensive one can be rented from local camera stores if getting into more serious production.
Hey Ryan! Just wanted to say how much I appreciate everything you guys do, it's really helped throughout the years. I'm starting my first short film and wanted to know your process for wanting to just go out there and shoot. I feel like having too much gear can get me boged down but at the same time I want to maximize my film to the best possible. The short is a solo production since I don't really have anyone to help out. Are their ways to utilize equipment such as a gimbal (I have the Ronin SC) for shots I'm doing by myself? I was hoping to make an action sort of film but am trying to find the best way possible to incorporate as much movement as I can. Thanks for helping out the filmmaking community, Elliot.
its really hard to tell since youtube compressess the video format a lot at the end.. but this video is very helpfull its insane the difference once explained from a trained eye
I played along and got the first 4 pairs correct including the exterior shots, but the last 2 studio shot pairs, I got wrong. Interesting that you said the studio shots surprised you too at how well the Rokinon held up!
That Rokinon looks GREAT! I like the warmer look better ... but that's just my personal preference. On TH-cam, they're both very close. I can't imagine anyone saying the $25,500 price difference is "worth it" (but most people are gonna just rent the MP anyway ... whereas you could OWN the Rokinon.)
I use both of these lenses pretty regularly and can say for sure that the price difference does not equal the difference in performance. Master primes, of course, win in almost every test but to say the rokinons were destroyed is a bit heavy of a review in my opinion. Destroy would be like comparing an arri 35 to a 2005 1080p point-n-shoot in video mode. These lenses are absolutely both useable to tell amazing stories and I am pretty confident that the untrained eye would never notice the difference between two different films shot on these lenses. If you aren't making tech review videos and if you are just telling amazing cinematic stories, the rokinons are just fine. That said I do love this channel and this video was great!
No audience watching some stupid zombie show on Netflix on a laptop will ever see the difference between these two lenses. Advice: capture the audience with amazing plots, stories and acting and forget about lenses.
That is correct, but here is the rub: the quality of your crew is usually proportional to the quality of your equipment, so your cheap lens zombie will look like a high school theatre production because you don't have a good actor and your makeup person works at the local mall every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, while the cinematographer with the expensive lens has professionals in front of the camera and in the makeup trailer. That is the real problem.
Rokinon/samyang lenses are great despite couple flaws mentioned here. It fully depends on environment condition does these flaws come up in image. Generally I would say you "focus on strengths, not weaknesses", and color grading end results is one the strentghs you can use in this kind of scenarios. (ofc those stripes on bokeh balls can be distracting, but there is ways to get around them by ediiting and focusing=dont use static image with bokeh long duration to draw attention of viewer/pixel beepers :) )
Great vid, long time viewer here- What ever happened to Intercept? It’s 6 years later and If I’m not mistaken we never got word on where it is/why it was scrapped.
Was hoping I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but of course, it was too obvious. The Rokinons seemed to match up well with the Canon Cine lenses in some other videos I found on TH-cam, but I realise now those were also based on tests done under controlled environments. Thanks for the insight.
Most of ultra-high end film equipment is expensive because it's not mass produced. There might be a few hundred ARRI LTs out in the wild. Some cinema lenses only had a few dozen units produced.
I swear I am doing something wrong, I own a BMPCC 6k Pro and URSA G2 and can't get the skin tones to look this good. PLEASE! Do a tutorial on your grading workflow. You seem to pull out the best results of both of these cameras. There are many Pocket users following this channel that I am sure would love to see how you ETTR or ETTL, what ISO you find the cleanest to grade and if you are using a LUT to start or grading from scratch.
Great comparison.pixel peepers will care but the majority won't. Also this is why vintage and uncoated lenses have gotten so popular because having a look is nice and master primes are beautiful but also very clean.
honestly, if your work isnt good and i mean story, cinematography, the talent and edits and whatnot, buying highend glass wont make a single difference at all. its as simple as that
Hello great video, there will always be differences between lenses even if they are of the same price, each brand has good and bad things. It's super obvious that in this case the other one is better, Rokinon or Samyang have a new DSX version that corrects a lot of these problems, above all the contrast ones, try to get one to test them, I'm quite happy with the results for the price I pay
I agree with most of the things said in the video. I would simply remind all of us, that if there is a good story with good characters and good composition, few, if anyone, will care. And we have seen, in recent decades, the budget of movies and technological advances in gear and VFX go through the roof while proportionally good stories and characters and good composition go down the toilet. In the end, we forgot that the camera and lens are recording tools. If we have a boring mind, it will record that. If we have an interesting mind and an interesting story, it will record that.
Hello, there are already film lenses for 500 euros. Can you tell me if they are better for photography as well as film? If so, what are they better at? I want to buy it, but I don't know if it's worth it. Well thank you!
I just want to know where you're getting that Rokinon lens for $200 because the cheapest I've found it was $500. Also the differences (at least on TH-cam with compression) with color and what not are not noticable. They looked exactly the same so unless you have a theatrical release there is no need to spend 26k on a lens or even rent one.
Definitely go for the Rokinon over Prime… everything is going to on-line streaming. So unless your film is going to the big screen AMC theater which is highy unlikely stick with the 500$ lenses
Hey Ryan! Did you ever test out the Sirui Anamorphic lenses, especially with the newer Sirui Mara set out? I know you guys had a pocket 4k which would be great with them. Additionally, thoughts on the Atlas Orion Anamorphic’s?
Hi Film Riot, please I would like to know your 3 sony lens recommendation and also 3 canon lens for shooting interviews and B rolls. I am a beginner and i find that most of my works are shot on canon or sony cameras.. thanks
They're great little lenses for the money. My biggest issue is that they generally get soft wider than around 2.8 or so, and outdoors they're really annoying with the purple fringing and the washed-out look. I've had issues matching a Rokinon outdoors with other sharper lenses, like the Sigma line.
Absolutely prefer the cheap Rokinon. Has more of a film look than the expensive one. Which is crazy but true. You pushed hard to showcase the expensive one as the superior but I couldn't see that justified in these comparison shots at all. Rokinon looked superior in the film look department. We all need to stop focusing on the consumerism BS. 1080p actually looks better than 4k/6K because the sharper the image gets, the more video like it looks. Stop validating price points as a measurement for your creative endeavour and you'll be on the right track folks 👌🏻💫
Thanks for the great review & tbh I believe truly is the best way to rate products. Filmmaking is an artform and one does not analyse chart and scientific tests to measure art. Case and point I literally guessed the opposite in every A->B, because I was deciding which sample gave me the cine magic & in conclusion, for me it would seem that the cheaper lens is the type of glass I would use to film a movie with. Now, that is awesome both because irrespective of how great a lens is on paper or it's price I know which one I would take & yes it helps that it's soooooooooooo much cheaper. Win, Win!!:)).
Cool video. It might matter more in the theater, but for modern streaming as your output, I don't think the difference between the two sets of lenses would change my enjoyment of anything as a viewer.
I shot with the Rokinon and wide open they become really blurry and the bokeh starts to have weird glow or something. Also the difference in focus breathing should be more than noticeable. Sill great to have the options nowadays! Especially for YT etc. you can get away easily with these lenses
The Zeiss is cleaner, purer. I have a vintage zeiss 50 1.4 Contax. Try this... focus on a hard edge white and black. then focus beyond and closer. they'll have purple fringing when focusing 1 direction and green when going the other direction. In other words, a buggered boketh. My vintage did that. the Arri does not. Focus breathing is non existent in Arri. The precision is astounding. Does it matter? Depends, but if it does, then Arri is the way to go or any lens that can deliver.
im very inpresswed with the rokinon. because i really didn't see much of a difference. only you no because you work with these lenes. as for me i like the compare with the expensive lens. So i will be buy the Rokinon len
Hey great video! That helped a lot! Now for a question, is it possible for you guys to look into doing an effect for shooting an arrow into somebody? We are gonna be doing a pretty big short film in the summer with this effect, and we don't know how to do it, especially since it'll probably be handheld and showing the arrow penetrating him full on. (were not trying to glorify violence) I also think we won't be using AE, most likely Hitfilm express. So if you guys did that, that would be extremely helpful! Thanks for the great content!
Hi! FXhome Ambassador here! Note that in stock Express you'd be using a 2D image of an arrow, which has multiple limitations. Consider looking at the 3D model pack add on, or start learning Blender to set up a render you can export from Blender to import to Hitfilm. If you go the "Hitfilm 3D model" add on route, then this tutorial will help. It's for Hitfilm 2, so the interface is quite different from current versions of Hitfilm, but the techniques are the same. th-cam.com/video/R1wNqsKIU6A/w-d-xo.html You'll want to look at Hitfilm Masking tutorials as well. You'll need to mask/roto to make an arrow appear to be stuck into a body. Hitfilm's masks have changed over the years with HF 15 being the last update. Given a choice, stick with masking/roto tutorials made in the last 2 or 2 years to avoid learning too many things that got changed.
The glass and the coating thats where most of the money goes,after its the casing materials and the gears Are you gonna do some Surui FF Anamorphic lens test? Those are the best Anamorphic poor men's lens
Buy the $200 Rokinon and save the $25,800 for more important things, like catering.
😂
this made me chuckle in the future
hell jeah. NEVER forget the food! without good food, even the best lens will not work well with me behind it 😀
>you actually think that people buy lenses like master primes instead of renting
Lol, lmao
@@zebius4157 It was a joke, bro. You must be a producer. LOL!
This was a very informative video. If you’re shooting a larger production with a budget which can support the use of expensive lenses, it only makes sense to go that route. However, the other takeaway from this is that budget gear these days is REALLY good, and you can easily get away with filming shorts and low budget features without breaking the bank.
This Test misses the biggest advantage lenses like the Masterprimes have and that is consistency. Every lens in a Set performs the same and even beyond that. One can rent a set in LA, than move Production to Berlin or whatever and rent another set there and both sets will perform the same. With lenses like the Rokinons every lens has their own quirks. The 35mm might have a magenta tint, the 50mm gets super soft at T1.5 and the 100mm might introduce orange flare.
Supposedly fixed with the Xeen line.
The Rokinon Cine DS line is apparently colour matched. Obviously that doesn't fix the sharpness, glare, flares, etc. with the optics... but you shouldn't get different colour casts between them.
@@RoccoRichardson i think so, because for two reasons.
First: Arri Master Primes aren't Owner Operator Lenses. They are bought by rental houses. And as a rental you want to guarantee quality and not create more work in post for the clients.
Second: Sure colour correction can fix it and for a short film that might not even a big deal, but on a 90-120min feature, that creates a lot of pain in the backdoor.
I dont wnat to say the Rokinons dont have their place. Heck I even own a 16mm. I just wanted to point out that there is a big part overlooked in the video.
The Rokinons are so cheap that you wouldn't rent them, you'd just buy them. They'd then perform the same every time you use them in Berlin or LA, because they're literally the same. :)
edit: get the color matched set of course
@@veryboringname. yes. One wouldnt rent the Rokinons, as one wouldnt buy the Master Primes.
I love that they're so comparable. It's such a major blessing that we have access to such gorgeous lenses for such affordable prices. It's never been easier to make a film.
Thanks for this video. I love stuff like this. Now i want some master prime lenses...
Honestly the fact that the Rokinon performs this well compared to a master prime is kind of mind blowing. Not saying they're comparable side by side, but the difference is far less in a lot of these examples than I expected. I don't think if you've got a compelling story anyone is going to look at a low budget film shot on the Rokinon lenses and lament it wasn't shot on a Master Prime. I have Rokinon and Sigma lenses mostly, and I've been generally very happy with the results I'm getting. Lately been loving the Helios 44-2 for short films because it has a lot of the imperfections of an anamorphic lens even though it's not actually anamorphic. Even though I've got the standard version, not the modified fake anamorphic one, I really love it. One of these days I might try and pick up the new Sirui 50mm t2.9 Full Frame lens, or rent it to see what I think of it.
Its more gear freaking, I use a smartphone or action camera and make content.
@@AFuller2020 you want a cookie
Anamorphic lenses for the win! I’ve been more and more drawn to those imperfections
Nice to see you out here studying the craft captain, greatness is coming.
I built myself an anamorphic contraption from a disassembled soviet projector lens + some 3d printed parts + Helios 44m
Massive pain in the ass to use but man did it look freaking gorgeous
If you're a DP, don't show this to a producer. This is way too honest, he won't care about the haze and he won't get you those sexy master primes.
hahahahahah
if it was up to the producer the film would be shot on a single prime lens
No one notices the difference. Its as if a wine conaisseur is trying to sell a chateau lafitte 1968 to an alcoholic.
No one notices if it was shot on a scandalously expensive lens or not.
And those who do notice, are not important enough to care about anyway.
A producer only.looks at what it costs and if the product sells.
He could care less for the glass it was shot with.
@@Milan-cf1xe would be shot on a EF 50mm they found on a flea market for $10 with fungus inside
Great compaire! The ‘purple haze’ looks more like IR pollution, especially compared to the greenish look the rokinon has in a studio enviroment 😅
There is a clear difference even with TH-cam compression. The zeiss contrast level is pretty amazing and the rokinon tens to milky the contrast but for the money it is a lovely little stylised lens.
I just rewatched this a second time. And I noticed you were using the BMPCCK camera for the Rokinon lens. As I recall, the Blackmagic cameras were known for capturing IR pollution in the shadows. Usually showing up in the form of a purple/magenta cast in the shadows. So, I'm wondering if that color cast you saw in the exterior shots in the baseball cap were more from the IR pollution coming from the Blackmagic capture and not the Rokinon lens.
yes its definitely IR pollution
They are on the same 12k cameras... Not pockets. timestamp 3:50
@@thenightninja13 they are using blackmagic cameras tho, they could have the same issue.
@@KenzoVerseYT Yes, they are using the same cameras. One is getting ir pollution at 7:29 from a lens that isn't as well protected as the other. They are blackmagic camera systems, but they aren't the pocket cinema cameras, both shots are being shot on the 12k cameras.
It isn't the camera, it's the lens. Now an IR filter might fix that issue. But it's most likely a coating in the expensive lens that makes the difference, not a testing with different cameras issue because they were all shot on the same cameras (as can be seen at 3:50)
I've spent HOURS looking for what gear certain films have used so shotonwhat is a lifesaver, thank you!
Funny you post this... I just bought some of these 200$ lens two days ago... yes, I love the expensive ones. But these cheap ones work most of the time just fine.
Film Riot is slowly but surely becoming my new Video Copilot. Love the episodes, all the Information that are given in such an entertaining form, compact and fun.
PS: That Thumbnail is cursed! :D
Truth of the matter is... the Rokinon is an outstanding lens. In your outdoor comparisons, if you set your aperture higher, 11+ you'll get a much cleaner background, less shallow, thus improving the quality of the shot. The beauty of prime lenses! Also, in doing this very good video, which I appreciate, it is important to include the T-Stops, Aperture and Shutter Speed as reference. I own Samyang and Rokinon lenses. They are wonderful lenses for the price and in all truth, again, what really matter is, what's in the frame. I like your channel and content. Good job.
Honestly found the easiest way to compare the two lenses was in that focal length change between Cam A and B - otherwise really impressed by the Rokinon here - encouraging for filmmakers like myself - who get access to cine lenses on some shoots but wouldn't necessarily be able to afford for personal projects
Love the approach of more natural judgement rather than the scientific one. This was very informative and educational. Thank you!
Also, I had never heard of shotonwhat before! Thank you!!
Shooting weddings as a side gig for the past four years may reveal my affinity for flashy parties, but perhaps that experience is helpful here. I also shoot videos in the Army full time and love all things photography. When shooting video, I started with with Rokinon’s 85mm f/1.4 and 14mm f/2.8 on my Sony full frames which were a boon for me at the time. Later when I upgraded to Sony-Zeiss primes and Tamron SP lenses I realized the Rokinons are more of a gateway lens than a substitute. Under less-than ideal conditions, which is every condition at weddings, on-location shoots, and every day in the army, the differences are enormous. Quality glass gives you options. Quality glass delivers. Quality glass saves you endless hours in editing. Quality equipment saves your ass when you’re expected to produce quality videos without a controlled environment.
Loved this episode and the comparison on what you can pull off with each lens
The only cheap vs expensive video I trust.
I use the Rokinons for work and they are work horses for the price. However, they do get soft under T2.8. It’s not terrible, but I tend to avoid the widest T stops for that reason. I think it’s important to mention more of the aspects where the Rokinon won’t perform in order to convey an accurate performance for price.
I agree that they are great for what they are, but they are not everything. Thanks for the video!
Soft wide open applies to nearly every lens, to some degree.
Great episode! I need a reference sometimes and this is grounding and thoughtful. The practical thought in this episode always makes me smile. I understand why you chose the master primes now on the last horror film you did. Thanks my peeps.
I just got the rokinon 35 mm for Christmas and it’s amazing! This was my first lens upgrade and I think I made the right choice. Highly recommend the rokinon cine lens 35 mm.
An average person watching a movie made with the Rokinon lens would not even notice.
Crazy how close they are given the drastic price difference!
Nice job. What you did not mention though is what they look like wide open, compared to stopped down, or what f-stop you shot these tests in. Having used that Rok 35/1.5, I can say that wide open at T1.5 the image is totally useless for normal shooting. The image is so soft that it looks like a fantasy scene. Yet bring it just a half stop down to 2.0, it is suddenly useful, and by 2.8 it is quite crisp. and impressive. I have confirmed than many - but not all - units of this lens behave this way. A few shooters I've spoken with got better units that they have told me are more normally useable wide open. When I tested the Rok, I mostly did it on a M43, and a lot with a speedbooster that resulted in (roughly) a 25mm T/1.1. The resulting image being very nice, even with a budget booster, and especially if I stop that 1.1 down to around 1.5-2.0. The image was still an APS-C, onto a M43. So the furthest corners, with presumably the softest part of the image, were obviously not seen..
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😭 I've seen a lot of recommendation about Mr Grey Smith , Please can I have his info? I want to invest 2,000usd with him.
Get him on Wats app 👇
I think u can fix the fogging look in Rokinon by adding curves and make it similar to Master Prime. Right?
I did my own comparison years ago between the Rokinon and Canon Cine Primes and what I noticed was you are on, say f1.8, you get more depth of field on your interview subject with the background out of focus on a proper cine prime; this is why I could tell on your first shot the focus was very narrow, the man with his part of his forehead was in focus, but on the second shot he was all sharp but with nice bokeh in background - that's a proper cine prime. So say you want your subject more in focus, so on the Rokinon you would stop-up to say f2.8 to f4 well then you bokeh won't be as much. So this is where proper cine primes give you the edge.
Your channel is so helpful on everything on filmmaking. I learn so much from channels like film riot than I was in film school. Who needs film school that you have filmmaking TH-cam channels.
Suddenly I realized my sensei Ryan is getting old, I'm also getting old, I kinda grew up with film riot, I was a teenager when I used to watch their videos and try to learn filmmaking back in the years like 2012/13,
now I'm in my 20s full time dedicated to film making and after so many years still watching Film Riot❤, and there something in Ryan that inspires me to dream big and create something exciting and amazing! I never thanked Ryan and his team for helping indie filmmakers like us with these creations and man you inspire me a lot! thanks, Ryan, thanks Film riot!
bless you ❤
(sorry for the bad English🥴)
Clearly the Master Primes were sharper. One advantage with the Rokinon's is that if you're shooting some action piece and you destroy the lens or scratch the front element it's not a big deal. I have (sadly) in the past been at least partially responsible for scratching the front element of a 10mm Panavision lens. If that had been a Rokinon it would not have carried the same weight.
Sorry but I think I may have missed this but were both lens tested on the same camera? I only ask this because there is a list of 4 cameras. If each lens test was not tested on the same camera, how can you compare what would be 'apples to oranges'. I have to think that the different camera chips plays a big part in image quality.
Thank you for the video. I happened to have one of the lenses (not the expensive one😁).
The Rokinon can be used for documentary or wedding production.
The expensive one can be rented from local camera stores if getting into more serious production.
Hey Ryan! Just wanted to say how much I appreciate everything you guys do, it's really helped throughout the years. I'm starting my first short film and wanted to know your process for wanting to just go out there and shoot. I feel like having too much gear can get me boged down but at the same time I want to maximize my film to the best possible. The short is a solo production since I don't really have anyone to help out. Are their ways to utilize equipment such as a gimbal (I have the Ronin SC) for shots I'm doing by myself? I was hoping to make an action sort of film but am trying to find the best way possible to incorporate as much movement as I can.
Thanks for helping out the filmmaking community,
Elliot.
Ryan been following you guys since I was a kid. Learned a lot from you too. Isnt it time for you guys to make a feature? I’d love to see it!
its really hard to tell since youtube compressess the video format a lot at the end.. but this video is very helpfull its insane the difference once explained from a trained eye
I played along and got the first 4 pairs correct including the exterior shots, but the last 2 studio shot pairs, I got wrong. Interesting that you said the studio shots surprised you too at how well the Rokinon held up!
That Rokinon looks GREAT! I like the warmer look better ... but that's just my personal preference. On TH-cam, they're both very close. I can't imagine anyone saying the $25,500 price difference is "worth it" (but most people are gonna just rent the MP anyway ... whereas you could OWN the Rokinon.)
I use both of these lenses pretty regularly and can say for sure that the price difference does not equal the difference in performance. Master primes, of course, win in almost every test but to say the rokinons were destroyed is a bit heavy of a review in my opinion. Destroy would be like comparing an arri 35 to a 2005 1080p point-n-shoot in video mode. These lenses are absolutely both useable to tell amazing stories and I am pretty confident that the untrained eye would never notice the difference between two different films shot on these lenses. If you aren't making tech review videos and if you are just telling amazing cinematic stories, the rokinons are just fine.
That said I do love this channel and this video was great!
I'm curious to see the uncompressed versions of these videos. Even a version with less compression than youtube would be great.
No audience watching some stupid zombie show on Netflix on a laptop will ever see the difference between these two lenses. Advice: capture the audience with amazing plots, stories and acting and forget about lenses.
That is correct, but here is the rub: the quality of your crew is usually proportional to the quality of your equipment, so your cheap lens zombie will look like a high school theatre production because you don't have a good actor and your makeup person works at the local mall every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, while the cinematographer with the expensive lens has professionals in front of the camera and in the makeup trailer. That is the real problem.
All the tips and advice you have given me over the years I’m hoping to work with you one day Ryan 🙏🏽
i wanted to see this with Gmasters
Thank you! I desperately wanted to try this exact experiment for myself and you guys did it for me!
Rokinon/samyang lenses are great despite couple flaws mentioned here. It fully depends on environment condition does these flaws come up in image. Generally I would say you "focus on strengths, not weaknesses", and color grading end results is one the strentghs you can use in this kind of scenarios. (ofc those stripes on bokeh balls can be distracting, but there is ways to get around them by ediiting and focusing=dont use static image with bokeh long duration to draw attention of viewer/pixel beepers :) )
Great vid, long time viewer here-
What ever happened to Intercept? It’s 6 years later and If I’m not mistaken we never got word on where it is/why it was scrapped.
OT but Id love to see your green screen process. There was a step right at the end of your quick sample that completely sold it.
9:07 I’d still use the rokinons for bigger screenings too
Was hoping I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but of course, it was too obvious. The Rokinons seemed to match up well with the Canon Cine lenses in some other videos I found on TH-cam, but I realise now those were also based on tests done under controlled environments. Thanks for the insight.
I wonder how the Rokinon Cine DSX lenses would do?
For the Exterirors, did you shoot with matte boxes? could the Hazing be reduced with a matt box on the Rokinnon? Great Video!
Hey, this is a cool video. Can you tell me what brand of glasses are in 3:21?
3:00 before we actually get to the point.
Most of ultra-high end film equipment is expensive because it's not mass produced. There might be a few hundred ARRI LTs out in the wild. Some cinema lenses only had a few dozen units produced.
I swear I am doing something wrong, I own a BMPCC 6k Pro and URSA G2 and can't get the skin tones to look this good. PLEASE! Do a tutorial on your grading workflow. You seem to pull out the best results of both of these cameras. There are many Pocket users following this channel that I am sure would love to see how you ETTR or ETTL, what ISO you find the cleanest to grade and if you are using a LUT to start or grading from scratch.
I would love to see you working with Hawk Anamorphics. There's an office in LA
How do you fine ziess cp 3 lenses? Are they good jump to cinema lenses?
You just keep providing the knowledge, thank you!
WHEN COMPARING PRICES AND SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'RE DOING I BELIEVE THE ROKINON STACKS SHOOTING IN RAW.. GOOD CONTENT IS GOOD CONTENT
Is there a Film Riot discord? If so, where could one find a link?
At 8:00 ... Lens hood anyone?...
Great comparison.pixel peepers will care but the majority won't.
Also this is why vintage and uncoated lenses have gotten so popular because having a look is nice and master primes are beautiful but also very clean.
sheesh thank you for having this up cause I was looking up a kit of rokinon lens
honestly, if your work isnt good and i mean story, cinematography, the talent and edits and whatnot, buying highend glass wont make a single difference at all. its as simple as that
Hello great video, there will always be differences between lenses even if they are of the same price, each brand has good and bad things.
It's super obvious that in this case the other one is better, Rokinon or Samyang have a new DSX version that corrects a lot of these problems, above all the contrast ones, try to get one to test them, I'm quite happy with the results for the price I pay
Curious about a Xeen line comparison. Still 80 - 90% less expensive.
Simple fact is if Hollywood used these Rokinons on a film no one would blink an eye lid.
I agree with most of the things said in the video. I would simply remind all of us, that if there is a good story with good characters and good composition, few, if anyone, will care. And we have seen, in recent decades, the budget of movies and technological advances in gear and VFX go through the roof while proportionally good stories and characters and good composition go down the toilet. In the end, we forgot that the camera and lens are recording tools. If we have a boring mind, it will record that. If we have an interesting mind and an interesting story, it will record that.
Hello, there are already film lenses for 500 euros. Can you tell me if they are better for photography as well as film? If so, what are they better at? I want to buy it, but I don't know if it's worth it. Well thank you!
I just want to know where you're getting that Rokinon lens for $200 because the cheapest I've found it was $500. Also the differences (at least on TH-cam with compression) with color and what not are not noticable. They looked exactly the same so unless you have a theatrical release there is no need to spend 26k on a lens or even rent one.
The outdoor differences are obvious, but I honestly thought the Prime under controlled lighting looked a little flat.
Great overview. Nice to see your video!!!
What do you think of the IRIX cine (prime) Lens, such as the 21mm 35mm 45mm all T1.5
Definitely go for the Rokinon over Prime… everything is going to on-line streaming. So unless your film is going to the big screen AMC theater which is highy unlikely stick with the 500$ lenses
Hey Ryan! Did you ever test out the Sirui Anamorphic lenses, especially with the newer Sirui Mara set out? I know you guys had a pocket 4k which would be great with them. Additionally, thoughts on the Atlas Orion Anamorphic’s?
Hi Film Riot, please I would like to know your 3 sony lens recommendation and also 3 canon lens for shooting interviews and B rolls. I am a beginner and i find that most of my works are shot on canon or sony cameras..
thanks
Was this the cine, ds or dsx versions?
They're great little lenses for the money. My biggest issue is that they generally get soft wider than around 2.8 or so, and outdoors they're really annoying with the purple fringing and the washed-out look. I've had issues matching a Rokinon outdoors with other sharper lenses, like the Sigma line.
you need to add an IR filter. black magic cameras dont have IR filter on the sensor like panasonic ones
Did you use UC filter in both lens?
Hi there, I have rokinon 35mm micro lens I got blackmagic 6k pro, but mft lens is not fitting on it,,,can you please guide,,which adapter I can use!
You have to sell your MFT lens and get a Rokinon EF mount
Was the rokinon the mark 1 or 2?
Absolutely prefer the cheap Rokinon. Has more of a film look than the expensive one. Which is crazy but true. You pushed hard to showcase the expensive one as the superior but I couldn't see that justified in these comparison shots at all. Rokinon looked superior in the film look department. We all need to stop focusing on the consumerism BS. 1080p actually looks better than 4k/6K because the sharper the image gets, the more video like it looks. Stop validating price points as a measurement for your creative endeavour and you'll be on the right track folks 👌🏻💫
Thanks for the great review & tbh I believe truly is the best way to rate products. Filmmaking is an artform and one does not analyse chart and scientific tests to measure art. Case and point I literally guessed the opposite in every A->B, because I was deciding which sample gave me the cine magic & in conclusion, for me it would seem that the cheaper lens is the type of glass I would use to film a movie with. Now, that is awesome both because irrespective of how great a lens is on paper or it's price I know which one I would take & yes it helps that it's soooooooooooo much cheaper. Win, Win!!:)).
Cool video. It might matter more in the theater, but for modern streaming as your output, I don't think the difference between the two sets of lenses would change my enjoyment of anything as a viewer.
Are Rokinon cine DS the same as Samyang vdlsrmk2?
Have you guys used the dzo film lenses?
I shot with the Rokinon and wide open they become really blurry and the bokeh starts to have weird glow or something. Also the difference in focus breathing should be more than noticeable.
Sill great to have the options nowadays! Especially for YT etc. you can get away easily with these lenses
You should do this comparison to Canon L lenses instead of Rokinon lenses.
The Zeiss is cleaner, purer. I have a vintage zeiss 50 1.4 Contax. Try this... focus on a hard edge white and black. then focus beyond and closer. they'll have purple fringing when focusing 1 direction and green when going the other direction. In other words, a buggered boketh. My vintage did that. the Arri does not. Focus breathing is non existent in Arri. The precision is astounding.
Does it matter? Depends, but if it does, then Arri is the way to go or any lens that can deliver.
Wow. Amazing video, and VERY encouraging for filmmakers starting out on a tight budget (like me)! Thanks, Ryan! :-)
im very inpresswed with the rokinon. because i really didn't see much of a difference. only you no because you work with these lenes. as for me i like the compare with the expensive lens. So i will be buy the Rokinon len
Master Prime is just provides a sharper look that's commonly seen in big budget films.
I’d be interested to see a comparison with something like the sigma 35mm 1.4.
Can you do a review on the meike rf cine lenses for Komodo
Hey great video! That helped a lot! Now for a question, is it possible for you guys to look into doing an effect for shooting an arrow into somebody? We are gonna be doing a pretty big short film in the summer with this effect, and we don't know how to do it, especially since it'll probably be handheld and showing the arrow penetrating him full on. (were not trying to glorify violence) I also think we won't be using AE, most likely Hitfilm express. So if you guys did that, that would be extremely helpful! Thanks for the great content!
Hi! FXhome Ambassador here!
Note that in stock Express you'd be using a 2D image of an arrow, which has multiple limitations. Consider looking at the 3D model pack add on, or start learning Blender to set up a render you can export from Blender to import to Hitfilm.
If you go the "Hitfilm 3D model" add on route, then this tutorial will help. It's for Hitfilm 2, so the interface is quite different from current versions of Hitfilm, but the techniques are the same.
th-cam.com/video/R1wNqsKIU6A/w-d-xo.html
You'll want to look at Hitfilm Masking tutorials as well. You'll need to mask/roto to make an arrow appear to be stuck into a body. Hitfilm's masks have changed over the years with HF 15 being the last update. Given a choice, stick with masking/roto tutorials made in the last 2 or 2 years to avoid learning too many things that got changed.
compare 7artisans cine lens and meike cine lens difference
You do what you can with what you can afford. And don't apologize or make excuses.
Thank you for this video and that been written, i am buying the Rokinon 35mm.
The glass and the coating thats where most of the money goes,after its the casing materials and the gears
Are you gonna do some Surui FF Anamorphic lens test? Those are the best Anamorphic poor men's lens