Rokinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens Review
If you have a Nikon camera, the next thing you may want to look for is a nice lens. That is because you can only make your photographs eye-catching and high-quality if you are using a good lens.
In addition, if you want to add more creativity to your images, a good option is to use fisheye lenses that allow you to take images with natural curves. These are niche lenses that make an excellent addition to your camera bag.
Fortunately, there are a lot of good options available for Nikon cameras, many from the Nikon brand while some from third-party manufacturers. Nikon lenses are often expensive, even more, when it comes to fisheye lenses. However, the third-party options are often more affordable and almost have the same features, design, and quality.
If you are on the lookout for a good quality but an affordable lens for your Nikon camera, read ahead. We have reviewed the Ronkinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens in detail for you to determine whether this is the right one for you or not.
Rokinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens
Ronkinon is a well-known, USA-based manufacturer and a subsidiary of Elite Brands Inc. that offers a wide range of lenses and other digital photography accessories under their brand names Rokinon and Xeen. The Rokinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens is amongst their top sellers, so we have looked into its features, benefits, and drawbacks.
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Features
The Rokinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens is one of the company’s latest and most popular lenses for Nikon cameras. It is compatible with Nikon DX and Nikon DX /35mm film, while the camera mount type is Nikon F. Likewise, it is designed to be used with APS-C format DSLRs.
This metal lens comes with ultra-wide, eight-millimeter focal length, a maximum aperture of f/3.5 and a minimum aperture of f/23, and a 167-degree angle of view. The minimum focus distance is one feet or 30.48 cm. Additionally, it is a manual lens with no autofocus feature, but it comes with 11 elements in seven groups that also include one spherical lens.
Available in black color, the dimensions of the lens are 3x3x3 inches while its weight is approximately 15 ounces. It is a fisheye lens that allows you to capture distort images. It also uses HD optics for sharper and high-quality images.
The fisheye lens will produce rounded images, unlike other lenses. It also features a multi-layer coating to reduce ghost images and flare. Lastly, the package comes with a petal-style lens hood that can be removed with ease before use.
Pros:
- Lightweight and durable
- Comes with a large-sized focusing ring
- Produces high-quality images
- Offers exceptional color rendering in images
- An excellent option to shot landscape images
Cons:
- Need to be focused manually
- Doesn’t give information about the depth of field
- Not zoomable
Summary
An extremely easy-to-use lens, the Rokinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens is a great option for those who want to work with manual lenses. That is because the large and well-designed manual focusing ring allows you to focus with ease.
It is a wide-angle fisheye lens that captures rounded images, so it is not for everyone. If you are interested in getting creative, this is a good option. It is also a good choice for outdoor photography without flash because of its high-quality color rendering and HD optics.
With its ultra-wide angle, you can use the exaggerated perspective to add dramatic effects to your images. The lens is also made of hybrid aspherical elements to produce high-quality images.
However, keep in mind that it is a manual lens with no autofocus feature. It is also not a zoomable lens, and it doesn’t offer you the depth of field when taking images.
Comparison
The fisheye lenses are not used by every photographer out there but allow you to add creativity to your images. You can find some excellent options from other brands that you can compare with the Rokinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens. One product that we have found is the Nikon AF DX Nikkor Fisheye Lens.
The primary difference between the two models is the price. To be specific, the Ronkinon lens is three and a half times cheaper than the Nikkon fisheye lens. With such a drastic difference in price, you also have to sacrifice a little on features and picture quality.
Another main difference is that the Ronkinon lens is a manual lens, while the Nikon lens comes with an autofocus feature. That said, they both are fixed zoom lenses, but Nikon has an angle of view of 180 degrees as compared to the 167 degrees offered by the Ronkinon lens.
Similarly, the close range focusing is 5.5 inches in Nikon, while it is 12 inches in Ronkinon. The image quality is also better in Nikon since it uses advanced Innovative Close-Range Correction (CRC) technology.
On the other hand, Ronkinon lens comes with larger and well-designed focusing ring. It is also made of metal that makes it safer to use. All-in-all, it all comes down to how much you can spend on the lens.
If you can spend more than $700 on a camera lens, you can buy the Nikon fisheye lens, but if your budget does not allow you to spend more than $200 on a lens, there is no better option out there within this price range than the Ronkinon.
Verdict
Fisheye lenses are considered as the most expensive lenses out there, but this is not the case with the Rokinon HD8M-N Fisheye Lens. It is among the most affordable fisheye lenses out there from a well-known brand.
Unlike many others, this one is made of metal instead of plastic, which makes it long-lasting and sturdy. As a specialty lens, it will be an excellent addition to the arsenal of professional photographers who truly want to get creative with their photography. Keep in mind though that you need to have some experience with well-rounded lenses before using this one.
Overall, this one is an affordable and high-quality fisheye lens that offers you a great result, especially for outdoor landscape photography. When it comes to value for money, it is one of the best options out there.