photo:samyang14mm
Samyang 14mm full frame lenses
introduction
these are affordable super wide angle manual focus lenses for full frame cameras giving a field of view of 115.7° but also comes in cropped sensor mounts giving field of views 93.9° on DX, 89.9° on APS-C, and 76.24° on
Micro Four Thirds system
fixed petal lens hood
NO ability to use filters!
the f/2.8 UMC lens is popular for
astrophotographic landscapes of the Milky Way as photographers like its field of view on full frame, wide aperture, and don't need AF, and it gives nicer edge-to-edge star images with minimal coma/astigmatism, better than Canon or Nikon branded very expensive alternatives, BUT the original version has been criticised for not being as sharp and for having more distortion, and it only has 6 straight diaphragm blades
original version released late 2009 Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical
it was soon released as an updated version Samyang 14 mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC which is similar design but has the UMC lens coatings, is sharper, better into the light, less coma and astigmatism (only 1% not 10%), a little more CA and distortion
a newer AE version adds electronic contacts for EXIF, and AF confirm on dSLRs
the T3.1 VDSLR II lens is a a touch more expensive, with different optical design, much heavier, and is designed for Cine/video use but has 8 rounded blades for nicer out of focus image shapes stopped down, and presumably nicer star burst imagery stopped down.
specs compared
| Samyang XP 14mm f/2.4 | Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Asph lens | Samyang 14mm T3.1 VDSLR II lens |
price on Amazon.com | $US799 | $US299/359 ($US500 Mark II) | $US399 |
build | | plastic/metal | aluminium alloy |
aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.8 | T3.1 |
diaphragm blades | 9 rounded | 6 straight (9 rounded in Mark II) | 8 rounded |
stepless, quiet aperture ring | No ring | No (Yes in Mark II) | Yes |
Cine gearing | | No | Yes |
close focus | 0.28m | 0.28m | 0.28m |
MF gearing | | slow, more precise than needed (improved in Mark II) | |
focus lock | No | No (Yes in Mark II) | No |
filter thread | None! | None! | None! |
rear filter slot | None! | None! | None! |
infrared marker | No | No | No |
DOF scale | No | No | No |
electronic contacts | Yes | No/Yes AE version | No |
optical design | 18 elements in 14 groups, 2ASPH, hybrid, 2ED, 3HR | 14 elements in 12 groups, ASPH, UD, hybrid, 2UD, 3HR | 14 elements in 10 groups, ASP, hybrid ASPH, HR ED |
coating | | UMC | UMC |
resolution | sharp, best at f/4-5.6 | sharp centres best at f/5.6 but soft edges improve marginally stopping down | |
distortion | 3.8% simple barrel | severe, 7% weird barrel centrally, pincushion at edges | |
vignetting wide open | | strong 2.3EV | |
lateral CA wide open | minimal | well corrected, better than the Canon 14mm II | |
coma wide open | low | | |
weight | 791g | 424g | 620g |
length | 109.4mm | 94mm | 96.1mm |
weathersealed | No | No (Yes in Mark II) | No |
reviews
Samyang XP 14mm f/2.4
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minimal CA, some minor simple barrel distortion, good flare control, minimal coma, moderate vignetting
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Samyang 14mm f/2.8 MC version
Samyang 14mm f/2.8 UMC version
Mark II version
announced May 2020
adds:
new weather sealed design
a convenient switch that lets you de-click the aperture without taking apart the lens
a new rubberized “micro pattern” grip on the focus ring
focus control has also been dampened for a smoother, longer throw
focus lock
9-blade circular aperture
Samyang 14mm T3.1 version
photo/samyang14mm.txt · Last modified: 2020/05/27 08:20 by gary1