Three Lenses With Same Specs, Which Would You Choose?

Though they’ve each been a player for some time, Samyang, Bower and Rokinon have each grown in popularity over the course of the last year or so. Recently releases by Samyang and Rokinon in particular have garnered a lot of attention from gear heads. But unlike mainstays like Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Tamron, consumers generally aren’t as familiar with Samyang, Bower and Rokinon. So I ask you, which would you buy?

So let’s take three very comparable lenses in the Rokinon, Samyang and Bower 85mm f/1.4 lenses for a Canon full frame DSLR:

Bower: $299

Samyang: $299

Rokinon: $279

So tell us Fstoppers… which of the three strikes your fancy? Tell us why in the comments below.

Gear

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http://twitter.com/martlet Julien Martlet
Hmmm…is that a joke? You know those three lenses are all the same, all manufactured by Samyang and branded under three different names depending on the market. There’s no difference between them apart from the branding.
http://twitter.com/martlet Julien Martlet
Hmmm…is that a joke? You know those three lenses are all the same, all manufactured by Samyang and branded under three different names depending on the market. There’s no difference between them apart from the branding.
http://www.facebook.com/hiroschneider Jaron Schneider
;)
http://www.facebook.com/hiroschneider Jaron Schneider
;)
jorgetamez
Hmm… Interesting, I didn’t know that. Is that the same for their wide angle one (I forgot the actual focal lengths)? I was looking for one and those three brands came up
jorgetamez
Hmm… Interesting, I didn’t know that. Is that the same for their wide angle one (I forgot the actual focal lengths)? I was looking for one and those three brands came up
http://www.facebook.com/people/Piotr-Tymcio/100000265906068 Piotr Tymcio
Actually I’ve seen some tests that showed that Samyangs are a bit better than re-branded versions of the same lens.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001971536134 Chris Malley
I think that was the point Julien, to see if branding is as big a player in the industry when it comes to cameras/lenses and accessories. There’s a lot of connotations when it comes to certain brands such as manufacturing, quality of the products, customer services and so on. This just seems to be a little experiment on the topic.
the_pro_amateur
I don’t get the “experiment”. Why would you ask which someone would buy, and just show a picture and a price? I guess if someone gets a kick out of posting an update tomorrow saying “HAHAHAHA They’re all the same!”
the_pro_amateur
I don’t get the “experiment”. Why would you ask which someone would buy, and just show a picture and a price? I guess if someone gets a kick out of posting an update tomorrow saying “HAHAHAHA They’re all the same!”
http://www.facebook.com/people/Günter-Matthias-Wallmoden-Gimborn/100000994976326 Günter Matthias Wallmoden-Gimb
pretty much figured that’s the case. so for me, based on:
the fact that they all look (near) identical (so far as I can tell anyhow)
they’re three names I know little to nothing about
there’s no info what so ever provided on any of them…
I simply went for price for my choice
http://www.facebook.com/people/Günter-Matthias-Wallmoden-Gimborn/100000994976326 Günter Matthias Wallmoden-Gimb
pretty much figured that’s the case. so for me, based on:
the fact that they all look (near) identical (so far as I can tell anyhow)
they’re three names I know little to nothing about
there’s no info what so ever provided on any of them…
I simply went for price for my choice
http://www.facebook.com/bamurfey Brooks Murfey
All lenses sold under the Samyang, Rokinon, Bower and Vivitar brands are the exact same lenses. The original manufacturer is Samyang, and the lenses are sold to the other 3 companies and re-branded. There isn’t a thing about them that’s different other than the brand name on the lens and a slight variation in pricing.
http://www.facebook.com/bamurfey Brooks Murfey
All lenses sold under the Samyang, Rokinon, Bower and Vivitar brands are the exact same lenses. The original manufacturer is Samyang, and the lenses are sold to the other 3 companies and re-branded. There isn’t a thing about them that’s different other than the brand name on the lens and a slight variation in pricing.
Simon Jerina
Yes…in Germany these lenses are branded Walimex (pro). I´ve got the 8mm Fisheye for about 250€; great lens for the low price. So in this case I would buy the cheapest one cause they´re all the same..
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1337933334 Fred Mad-Dog Guenther
I’d pick the Rokinon and buy lunch with the saved $20 over the other 2.
http://www.facebook.com/foreverfire Daniel R. Chang Acat
What about Rokinon’s “Cine” series lens?
Stephen Hunt
The Bower’s photographed at a nicer angle, thus it is nicer!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001971536134 Chris Malley
The Cine lenses are still shared between them all.
http://www.facebook.com/tinneyphoto Matt Tinney
LOL
http://www.facebook.com/max.ocampo1 Max Ocampo
they are all the same; so, the one with the lowest $$ tag
http://www.facebook.com/max.ocampo1 Max Ocampo
thought you’d trick us with the photos of the lenses in slightly different angles? :-P
http://profile.yahoo.com/LHAE57F5C4XBB2C5HICPW2AID4 Paul
What a really stupid thing to put up. I’m now stopping all fstoppers posts. I hate my time being wasted by this kind of useless rubbish.
dosels22
Rokinon. Just like the perceived brand better. Especially since the Cine lenses.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=764949361 Gavin Wakerell
All the same lens, I will pay less when ever I can. Providing it’s value for money.
mark hoy
Or buy the Canon 85mm f/1.8 for $359? Reviews of the Samyang at f/1.4 are poor so defeats the object of a cheap f/1.4?
http://www.facebook.com/andy.the.awesome Andy Kerr
I’ve heard of Rokinon, and it’s cheaper.
http://www.thomaslawn.net/ Thomas Lawn
They’re all the same…so I’d buy the Rokinon, which happens to be slightly cheaper.
http://www.facebook.com/stefan.parol Stefan Parol
Its so funny thats theres always that one guy who gets totally pissed:-)
http://www.facebook.com/antlvk Anthony Lam
This is what we call OEM. In Malaysia we only have Samyang. No other brand.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=577756956 Shi Zheng
yes, because that is the kind of silly things Jaron Schneider wants to waste everyone’s time on, i find quite a of his posts to be…. time wasting
everyone else at fstoppers isn’t so bad
http://www.facebook.com/gabriel.mingorance Gabriel Mingorance
I noticed they all look exactly the same except the the rokinon comes with a rear lens cap for a cheaper price :P
aaronchuck
Crap crap and crap.
http://www.facebook.com/vmathisen Vidar Mathisen
samyang, i got a fisheye lens from samyang and its awesome and NOT crap like one moron commented above
http://www.facebook.com/vmathisen Vidar Mathisen
Samyang has been making lenses for decades
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=761519607 Jason Wilkie
Rokinon as it is the cheapest of the same lenses :)
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=761519607 Jason Wilkie
Someone give Paul a hug.
fahfah
I’d get the Rokinon because I already did – yesterday!
http://twitter.com/darrenkwilliams Darren Williams
but this is a waste as a post though… no specs on lens, no MTF charts for each of the lens… nothing
http://www.facebook.com/arturo.mieussens Arturo Mieussens
Then why waste more time commenting?
http://www.facebook.com/arturo.mieussens Arturo Mieussens
They are the freaking same. This post is all about what reactions a brand name provokes. Those who know they are the same choose the cheaper one, those who don’t react on their perceived value of the brand, which is interesting since these, the vivitar and the walimex are all exactly the same lens, all made by samyang. Any difference in reviews is sample variation.
Crap?, these are very good performing lenses, better than the nikon 85 1.4D and on par with the G. The greatest bang for the buck you will see anywhere.
http://twitter.com/Jensthetraveler Jens Marklund
FAIL.
razvanamarandei
i got the samyang 85mm, f 1.4 for video recording with nikon d800. excellent lens. For photo i will get the Nikon 85mm because of auto-focus. i can’t wait to do some tests …
Sieg Martil
do you really need the specs and mtf chart for each lens? they would all be the same across the board as they are the same exact lens.
Sieg Martil
From these three, I’d pick the the Rokinon. It’s cheaper than it’s triplet siblings and I’ve used Rokinon for years and they’ve been great.
http://twitter.com/Too_Creative Lorenzo P
I personally own the the Rokinon 85mm. I paid $230 and this lens kicks A…… This is is extremely sharp!!!
Rick Massie
I own the Bower version, but would choose the Rokinon since it seems to have a mounting alignment marker (the white dot) to help me change lenses when it’s dark. Much easier than looking on the mount for a dark red dot!
http://www.facebook.com/arek.rajtar Arek Rajtar
There is no such a thing like “same” in the branding business. There are always some differences, some of them not very obvious. It is a common sense “tradition” that anything which is a subject to the brand-engineering is NOT EXACTLY as good as the “parent” brand. Usually, this is reflected in the price, without undercutting the market position of “parent company”. GMC Vibe is Toyota Corolla in a different skin, but it is different than Matrix and Scion. Lenses are less complex, but still offer an opportunity to play the brand-engineering game.
http://twitter.com/JoeMcDonaldSays Joe McDonald
Anybody know the name of the company in japan that acts as a middle man for tech companies where they exchange ideas, resources, labor. End result is companies like Tamarac, Nikon, Canon, etc. end result appears that they all end up with the same same product. I heard about this from an American lens designen engineer who works for a lens manufacture, but I can’t remember the name of the company.
Spy Black
Actually, there is an answer. Buy the Samyang. Besides the fact that your lens would bear the name of the actual manufacturer of the lens, the Bower and Rokinon lenses are typically repackaged returned lenses that Adorama and B&H re-sell as new. There are others as well (J&R come to mind), but these two are top dog at this. Not that this kind of stuff can’t happen with the Samyangs, it can, but typically only if you order it from Adorama or B&H, both which are notorious for re-selling returned goods as new.
So the answer is buy the Samyang, and don’t order it from either of these two distributors. They give a whole new dimension to the term “resellers”.

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