# Rokinon RF 14mm f/2.8 AF - does focus stay set when on MF?



## JPAZ (Nov 27, 2021)

Pondering getting this lens for use on my R5 or RP. Has gotten some decent reviews (or at least its twin the Samyang has). I know that many use the manual focus RF 14-mm lens for astro work, but seems that the ability to also do AF expands the utility of this glass for landscape and other applications. My specific question, if anyone knows, is if when using manual focus mode on this AF lens (it is focus by wire), will the focus stay set if the camera powers down between exposures or will the focus reset to some baseline range and then need to be refocused for each shot? Back in my EF 14mm days, I could gaffer tape the focus ring once I composed and setup a shot (say Milky Way with a foreground subject) during the daylight hours than take my images after dark without need to refocus. I noticed that the RF 15-35 f/2.8 will not hold the focus when it powers off and wonder if the Rokinon behaves the same way.

Hope that makes sense. Curious to know if any of you have tried this lens.


----------



## JPAZ (Dec 2, 2021)

Follow up.........

Got to try the Rokinon RF 14mm f/2.8 AF on my R5. It actually is pretty nice and focuses quickly on AF. On MF, it handles well but in regards to my question, no it does not retain the focus on manual when the camera powers down or goes to sleep. And, the Rokinon lens does not communicate well enough with the R5 to show a focus distance scale in the EVF like an OEM RF lens does. Then, tried a Canon RF 15-35 f/2.8. At first, this lens did not maintain the manual focus when the camera powered down or when the camera went to sleep. But, a focus scale does show in the EVF using the Canon lens. Then, did more digging.......

A shoutout to @LarsCS who pointed out in another thread that turning off the selection under the Custom Menu to "Retract Lens on Power off" might to fix the issue. Changed tthe setting and now, when the lens goes to sleep, and then when one wakes it up by pressing the shutter button, the manual focus distance seems to be preserved. And, with that menu selection disabled, even powering the camera down preserves the focus distance. The Rokinon did not respond to this maneuver, however. It still would not remember the focus distance after the R5 went to sleep or powered down.

As an aside, just like the reviews say, the Rokinon is pretty good. Handles well and the IQ is not bad although not up to that of the Canon. It is considerably cheaper than the Canon zoom but is a fixed 14mm lens.


----------



## gruhl28 (Dec 2, 2021)

Wow, I'm surprised, and a bit disappointed, that it doesn't maintain focus.


----------

