Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 : Specifications and Opinions

Reviews

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The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.

Magnum58

sent on 07 Maggio 2024

Pros: Super fast and silent autofocus, aesthetic simplicity, apparently very solid construction, but above all being AF it transmits all the automatisms

Cons: Blur corners up to and including f 8

Opinion: After having tried and returned the classic MF model, since I could not focus at all and that it had the hyperfocal ring completely deranged, I ventured to buy the AF model (version for Canon EF) in the hope that it would solve the difficulties of use detected with the other model... result: in this respect I would say that the lens is exceptional, it works perfectly like a common Canon lens, moreover with a precise autofocus, very quiet (to the point that I had doubts about whether it worked), super fast, and I did not detect the risk of accidental movement of the focus ring. And that's no small thing, it reports all exif data like a normal AF lens. So I was hoping for an improvement, compared to the manual model, also in terms of definition at the corners, but unfortunately from this point of view things have gotten a lot worse (surely I happened to have one of the worst products), to the point that up to f/8 the result at the corners was unacceptable, just like at f/2.8. It was only starting to be acceptable at f/11, so I was left with no choice but to return it immediately. I suggest, if you buy it without the possibility of return, to test this lens before buying as it could reserve unpleasant surprises.

Gianni Aggravi

sent on 13 Aprile 2024

Pros: Lightness, fast autofocus and excellent performance

Cons: MF bezel to get familiar with

Opinion: Bought a little more than a month ago the first results are definitely interesting and unexpected, especially in terms of color rendering, for now I have only used it to make sunrises and I was very satisfied with it, a bit of distortion but manageable in post and some flares also manageable with a little confidence with PS. The construction is well made and sufficiently solid. The MF Stepper motor is silent and fast, the ring nut is a little more complicated, it must be understood and as already written by those who preceded me it requires a little confidence in management, the risk is to lose focus very easily. Excellent value for money, having bought it in promotion on Amazon at € 466.00, more or less the same price that would have been needed to buy the brother MF, what I don't understand and I don't explain, in my total commercial ignorance, is the huge difference in cost for the version with Canon mount, I am Luckily for Nikon ... In the future I will try it for some night, I hope to find the same quality as I have found so far.

Fileo

sent on 16 Aprile 2023

Pros: Good construction, good yield, great in relation to the price

Cons: a bit bulky, but a 14 mm FF can certainly not be compact.

Opinion: Bought to replace the Samyang MF of the same focal length, which had suffered a serious injury (ended up on the ground with serious damage to the hood and the front lens). The yield is very good, the distortion, sensitive but acceptable for the type of lens, is less annoying than the "mustache" of the Sammy MF, however easily manageable in PP. The AF works well, the flare, considering that with a 14 mm it is difficult not to stick the sun inside the frame, is acceptable. If you love wide angles pushed and you know how to manage perspective aberrations, it is a really tasty lens.

Delio.vernacchia

sent on 12 Febbraio 2023

Pros: General Quality, Flare Management, Sharpness, Colors,

Cons: Fire ring, Firmware update,

Opinion: The best fixed wide angle I have tried so far in my opinion underrated, better than the 14mm of the sigma. I use it to photograph interiors and I had a nice feedback with this Samyang tried also in other circumstances is very good. Needs firmware update otherwise it interacts poorly with the camera body. If updated it will never disappoint you. Excellent yield, colors and flare management manages to make the photos very authentic by bringing out the colors. The focus ring makes the same turn it is easy to change the focus by mistake, this lens was made for professionals, so who already knows all the mechanism of manual focus. It goes step by step thanks to the internal electronic engine once known it will be fun to use it. The autofocus is very fast and accurate among the best. Although on wide-angle I do not think speed is essential. Lightweight, suitable for a wide range of photos including night photographs. VOTE 10!

Valekhr

sent on 29 Ottobre 2021

Pros: Construction, compact size, overall quality

Cons: MF bezel, no correction profile for Lightroom

Opinion: I was lucky enough to find it on Amazon at 480 new, during a period of discounts. After 5 months I can be satisfied, the quality is so much. I used it a few times for landscaping and a lot for night with the Milky Way. The chromatic aberrations are there, but manageable: in comparison with the sammy 24mm f1.4 and 12mm f2 it is easier to correct them. The thing that amazed me is the focus: for me it is the first lens with fully electronic af. Accustomed to canons and sammy mf, it seemed uncomfortable not to have a ring that would adjust the focus physically. Here, in fact, everything takes place through an engine electronically controlled by the ring, and focusing on the stars you can see how the change takes place in small steps. In fact, during the night I had to identify the precise position well, since the adjacent positions were out of focus. The compact dimensions are against any anti-condensation thermal bands: they can be put covering part of the ring and part of the hood, but you risk sending out of focus at the slightest movement. Luckily this year I always had a bit of wind and I didn't need the thermal bands. The sore point of this lens is the absence of the correction profile. I know there is for some camera bodies, but the Ef version used on Eos Rp is not included. Consequently, the correction of the vignetting must be done manually.

Riccarbi

sent on 31 Gennaio 2020

Pros: Construction, sharpness, autofocus

Cons: Very sensitive manual focus ring, docking station for firmware update

Opinion: Bought to replace the Sigma 10-20 in the switch from Sony a58 to A7II. Used for architecture photos. What I like: solid construction, weight and reasonable size, great sharpness (even at the edges, closing a little), colors. What I like less: in manual focus, the focus ring is very sensitive and moves too easily, the firmware update is only possible with an expensive and difficult-to-find proprietary docking station, difficult to mount filters. The distortion is there but it is quite moderate, much much better than the manual version 2.8 but a little more than the Voigtlander 15 and the Laowa 15, however more than acceptable and totally correctable in Lightroom. Pretty content vignetting (much better than the Voigtlander). Always sharp in the middle, drops slightly at the edges, but stopping a little you always get incomparably better results than the Sigma 10-20. I had doubts about the "variable" quality of the Samyangs, but my copy is great. In general I am very satisfied, For the price paid (390 euros half-new) is a great goal. I don't use autofocus often, but having it at the time is still a great convenience.

Giampaolo Masserano

sent on 05 Ottobre 2018

Pros: Optical yield, High-level finishes, solid Construction.

Cons: Focus Ring Little "braking", lack of any indication of distances on the barrel, lack of a "bottom-stroke" signal.

Opinion: Purchased to replace the well-known (and already GOOD) manual version, you immediately realize that you are in front of a professional object. The price for CANON is almost double but I think the money is well spent: the optical scheme has been modified and enriched with "glass" Valuable. The appearance is solid, the finishes are of a high standard, the coupling bayonet is perfect (with rubber gasket). The front cap no longer has the rudimentary appearance of the old one and fits perfectly on the lens hood. The yield on the whole frame is very good and was corrected the distortion to "whisker" present on the previous model. The autofocus is very fast and practically silent. In my opinion, the only faults concern the focus ring: 1) on my specimen, it is totally "wild" and does not oppose any resistance to Rotation. It may seem like a merit, but it is not because you can inadvertently change the focus simply by supporting the lens with your left hand. 2) is missing any reference on Distances. In daytime photos This is not a problem, but for astrophotography (where it is in manual because the automatism often does not work properly) know where the infinity would not Spoil. Tried for a few hours in the "real world" I understood better what is wrong: missing a "signal" indicating that they have reached the MAF maximum or minimum. In other words: in the CANON rotating the focus ring you come across a kind of "step" that warns us to have arrived at the extremes of the focing for that Objective. On the samyang, This step is not there: in practice you can rotate the ring infinite times in both directions without warning any signal to have arrived at the Bottom-ladder. If with the autofocus in daylight the thing can be irrelevant, with low light/at night and focuser in manual is rather annoying not knowing what we are doing...

Ippolito.l

sent on 04 Luglio 2018

Pros: Lightweight, small, excellent construction, yield up to the corners, improved distortion compared to old, fast AF

Cons: Distortion very contained but CMQ still present

Opinion: After a year in the company of the old model, used mainly for interior and landscape photography, I decided to move to the new version. They finally eliminated the annoying distortion of a whisker, now distorts a little but it is a whole other world, I hope in a suitable profile as soon as possible on camera raw, for the moment in fact adopts automatically that of the premium version with some small Imperfection. The AF is not ring but it is fast and accurate, you feel the noise but really limited. Improved then the other problem of the old version: the surrender. Now it's really great up in the corners (on 5d MKIII). In short a must have!!