The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM and the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses. Rokinon 14mm f2.8 is the longer of the two lenses at 96mm. The Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM with a length of 52mm, is 44mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 also has a larger diameter of 87mm compared to the Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM's 70mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM weighs 170g, which means it is 382g (69%) lighter than the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 which has a weight of 552g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Wideangle Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for size comparison purposes.
Wideangle Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM and the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 has the same Sony Alpha lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony Alpha lenses are Sony A68, Sony A77 II and Sony A58.
Rokinon 14mm f2.8 is also available in Canon EF , Nikon F (FX), Four Thirds, Pentax KAF and Samsung NX mounts.
Focal Range
Sony DT 35mm F1.8 SAM is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 35mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 52.5mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera. Rokinon 14mm f2.8 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 14mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 21mm.