Is the Rokinon 12mm F2.0 Lens Compatible?

Aerial-Pixel · Oct 12, 2016

Does anyone know if the Rokinon 12mm F2.0 Lens Compatible? It has decent reviews and is half the cost of the Olympus M.Zuiko 12mm. http://amazon.com/dp/B00JDGB94S

Has anyone used it? If so how are the optics and is it easy to balance?

Joola · Oct 12, 2016

It's a manual lens so you have to set the focus and aperture before your flight. No changing it mid-flight.

I use a Rokinon 24mm f1.4 for astrophography and it's a steal at the price point. I imagine the 14mm would be just as good.

Aerial-Pixel · Oct 12, 2016

Joola said:
It's a manual lens so you have to set the focus and aperture before your flight. No changing it mid-flight.

I use a Rokinon 24mm f1.4 for astrophography and it's a steal at the price point. I imagine the 14mm would be just as good.

Thanks for the reply, I missed that it was a manual lens :/ no wonder it was so cheap.

InterMurph · Oct 13, 2016

It's interesting that neither the Amazon nor the B&H site specify it as manual-focus only. But Rokinon is well-known for manual-focus lenses, and the first two reviews I found mentioned it.

AeroMirage · Oct 13, 2016

If the hood is an integral part of that lens, that could present a problem.
It could create drag that could put stress in the gimbal motors and wipe out the gimbal.

Joola · Oct 14, 2016

AeroMirage said:
If the hood is an integral part of that lens, that could present a problem.
It could create drag that could put stress in the gimbal motors and wipe out the gimbal.

Valid points. Luckily this hood is removable.

Jerdog3 · Aug 7, 2017

I don't think manual focus is an issue. Infinity is at just a little over 1 meter. I'm pretty sure you're not going to be flying that close to anything. As far as the manual aperture you could easily set that before flight with the histogram. You would still have control over shutter speed and ISO thru the remote. I would be more concerned about image quality than anything else. IMHO.

Dr. Ifly Drones · Aug 8, 2017

I've looked at this carefully and the biggest issue is weight. I think the Rokinon is about 7oz vs the Oly 12mm @ ~ 3oz.

Jerdog3 · Aug 8, 2017

I guess I will see as I ordered one from Amazon and it is returnable. After I test it, I will post the results.

Dr. Ifly Drones · Aug 8, 2017

Jerdog3 said:
I guess I will see as I ordered one from Amazon and it is returnable. After I test it, I will post the results.

If you check out the specs what you find is the Rokinon comes in at a whopping 9.6oz versus 4.64oz for the Oly 12mm (I just double checked the numbers). That's a) almost double the payload weight and b) a hell of a lot to counterbalance on a gimbal...

Jerdog3 · Aug 8, 2017

Interesting as the specs I saw said .43 lbs which would put it in the 7oz range. Like i said I will see when it arrives if it is too heavy and cannot be balanced or stresses the gimbal motors I will return it and save up for the Oly.

Dr. Ifly Drones · Aug 8, 2017

Jerdog3 said:
Interesting as the specs I saw said .43 lbs which would put it in the 7oz range. Like i said I will see when it arrives if it is too heavy and cannot be balanced or stresses the gimbal motors I will return it and save up for the Oly.

I certainly hope you're successful with this and do share your findings. Olympus has always made some good kit but, ~$600 for the 12mm M-Zuiko seems steep.