Oly 12mm f2 stepped manual focus?

fishpix wrote:

Is the Roki 12mm a particularly strong MFT offering from Rokinon?...
Are their 7.5mm and 8mm fisheye's also a strong offering and did the 8mm basically replace the 7.5mm?...

The Samyang 12mm (branded as Rokinon in the US) is an exceptional optic. Actually better than the overpriced Oly 12mm. It is a bit bigger and heavier however and can't AF. And make no mistake, even at 12mm, when shooting wide open you will need precision focus.

Depending on your intended usage, you should only be considering the Oly if you know you'll be needing its AF capabilities or if the extra 100g of weight would make a difference.

As for the fisheyes, the 7.5mm is made specifically for MFT so it offers a full 180 degree diagonal fov and is very small and light. It's yet another great Samyang lens that rendered the Panny 8mm fisheye obsolete pretty much.

The 8mm Samyang fisheye is an APS-C design that also comes with a MFT mount option. It's significantly larger and heavier and has a limited fov of 140 degrees or so. It's a rather unique fisheye though that uses a stereographic projection rather than the typical equisolid found in most other fisheyes these days, including the 7.5mm. The stereographic projection combined with the limited fov when mounted on MFT gives it a very interesting, panini type of look, that can be appealing for certain uses.

Either way I've got nothing but praise for Samyang lenses and I believe that's a common sentiment around here. Whenever AF isn't a requirement, their offerings should be near the top of your list.

Appreciate all the input -- thought I'd provide a bit of an update:

Mshot, Stejo -- you caused me to take a closer look at the the Roki 7.5mm -- just got delivered. Gorgeous little lens with very nice handling... focus ring is just a bit stiff but very smooth so I expect it will free up a bit over time.

Update re 12mm -- Mulling the 12mm options in a part based on Olympus Black Friday pricing...
Also looking at the Oly 9-18mm as part of B/F pricing -- looks like it's may be comparably sharp @12mm, though obviously not as fast as the 12mm f2.