Did I purchase a bad copy of the Samyang / Rokinon 12mm F2?

You have to actually manual focus this lens. You use infinity for far off subjects.

Your friends are very close to you so you need to adjust focus. Google hyperfocal focusing technique.

Exactly as already said. You just didn't focus on them.. You can use focus peaking or/and magnification assist to help you.

If you do a lot of video I wouldn't recommend using this lens though as it is difficult to manually focus while filming.

I think you should change the video title as it's misleading

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/146655216@N05/

eh? they are not at infinity so not in focus - simple

not sure the female will mind anyway as seemed to be a bit of a creep on her butt

Thanks for clarifying and for your help. Much appreciated

I honestly thought that setting the lens to "infinity" results in being on focus throughout the image and all apertures (from close to wide), and it basically could be, if the aperture was set at F8 or above, but setting it at F2 will results in a shallow depth of field and my friends aren't in focus. Correct?

I'll remove the video, I just uploaded for the purpose of this thread!

brilly said:

not sure the female will mind anyway as seemed to be a bit of a creep on her butt

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That is not very nice...

dani25 said:

I honestly thought that setting the lens to "infinity" results in being on focus throughout the image and all apertures (from close to wide), and it basically could be, if the aperture was set at F8 or above, but setting it at F2 will results in a shallow depth of field and my friends aren't in focus. Correct?

I'll remove the video, I just uploaded for the purpose of this thread!

Click to expand...

Correct. There are marks on the focus ring which show the focus distance, which can be useful if you use a wide aperture. Have a look at this also.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/146655216@N05/

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dani25 said:

I honestly thought that setting the lens to "infinity" results in being on focus throughout the image and all apertures (from close to wide), and it basically could be, if the aperture was set at F8 or above, but setting it at F2 will results in a shallow depth of field and my friends aren't in focus. Correct?

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1. Whether f2 or f8, you should not focus at infinity if your main subject is 3 metres away. You should focus at the distance of your subject. If you want both near and far subjects to be equallly in focus then you should focus somewhere in between them, not at infinity.

2. “Infinity” on this lens, at least on my copy, is nowhere near actual infinity. It is past infinity. Basically don’t rely on the markings on the lens as being accurate focus distance. For example, using “infinity” for astrophotography will result in sub-optimal slightly out of focus stars. The best way is to use focus magnifier to accurately set focus.

3. For “set and forget” focus (sub optimal but OK for most situations) you can probably get away with using hyperfocal distance, although you still may get out of focus images if your subjects get very close.

dani25 said:

Hi guys,

I'm debating if sending back this lens for a new copy as I'm having trouble with setting the lens on infinity when open wide at F2 - F2.8.

As you can see from this clip, my friends are never in focus. Especially in the beginning of the clip, but also when they're walking they are totally blurry, while the rest of the footage is sharp (corners, horizon).

Did I purchase a bad copy of this lens, or "infinity" doesn't focus close to the subject?

Thanks for your help!

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Dani25, setting a lens to infinity and thinking that that would set the focus right until eternity is not what this math sideways lens symbol 8 means. WE, you have to focus a manual lens forever by yourself and set it for the subject we want to see clearly and in focus.

Your (mis-)understanding made my day. Made me laugh so hard, my eyes teared up ...

"Infinity = eternity". That naivety was so wonderful to see! Thanks for posting and keep asking us, please. We all had to learn the hard way. Reminds me of my own goofs and the Marx brothers who had to return a box of nails because they were 'backwards' and - in their comedian minds - only suitable for the "other" wall at their back ...

Oh levity, thank you for lightening up our lives with a good laugh ...