Samyang ??

I have recently joined the forum, and on my wishlist was a wide angle prime (14 -15mm). I had thought I might try and find one of the old manual lenses of this type, but in another discussion Pentaxophile mentioned a 14mm by Samyang (Korean). I checked it out on Lenstip.com where it gets a good recommendation - link, so for a budget item it looks quite attractive.

I would love to hear if any Pentax user has any experience with this lense. It apparently has an 'A' setting for Pentax, which would be most convenient. Its manual focus, but I doubt that this matters at this focal length. Any comments or user feedback would be much appreciated!

Quite a few of us have the samyang 85mm f1.4 which is such a good lens I would have no hesitation in buying any of their lenses

I've 'nearly' bought the 8mm fisheye more than a couple times...

I have never understood the appeal/interest in samyang and similar lenses. People seem to rate them but if you then go read reviews they mostly mention very extreme distortions and I've always come away wondering where the appeal lies.

also one of their lenses, don't recall focal length, sported an f1.4 max aperture (might be the 85mm thinking about it) yet reviews point pretty much at it being unusable unless you stop down a couple of stops minimum .... surely that removes one of the things that makes it interesting - f1.4

Maybe I'm missing something(s)

Not sure about that Mike. The 85/1.4 is usable at f1.4, but the focussing issues with such wafer thin DOF go with the territory. Liveview and now focus peaking can help a lot.

The 14mm does have some barrel distortion (especially on FF) but the sharpness - according to every review I have read, and every sample picture I have seen - is great right from f2.8. Nice set of images shot on Pentax here: http://stefanlc.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/blog-post.html

I haven't actually seen a bad review of a Samyang lens tbh.

Regarding the 14mm - which I sorta played around with the idea of considering.

from photozone

"The biggest weakness of the Samyang is the rather extreme amount of complex barrel distortion (mustache style) which is difficult to correct during post-processing. If you're into architecture photography this will produce headaches. Another problem is the rather hefty light falloff at f/2.8-f/4 although that's rather typical for an ultra-wide angle lens. Our sample had a rather strange focus characteristic but once we were aware of the infinity focus setting (see the introduction) the real world results matched our lab findings."

from Ken Rockwell ... yes I know it's Ken Rockwell but still:

"Optically the worst 14mm FX lens sold today, but much better than nothing at all."

he goes on :

"The Samyang 14mm f/2.8 has loads of weird-looking and complex distortion.

It will not correct with simple tools like Photoshop's lens distortion filter"

Heaven help you if you use this on anything other than full-frame, in which case the bloated center will result in even stronger barrel distortion in DX.

the 14mm f/2.8 is possibly the softest non-toy lens I've ever tested.

Thanks everyone. I'd better read a few more reports. The lenstip.com review makes the distinction between a 1st and 2nd generation of the 14mm, and they say that there is a big improvement over the first released models. In fact they make pretty impressive claims about the lenses sharpness and resolving abilities compared to top Nikon kit, althought the barrel distortion is still present in good quantites. Maybe some people have experienced the earlier models?

Based on what we were saying in the other section (on lens corrections in camera and with raw converters) if I get this Samyang I had better learn more about processing distortion corrections.

I didn't understand the quote from Ken Rockwell when he says it will be worse if not on full frame. Surely on full frame the edge distortions will be more apparent than on APS-C where you will be only seeing the image from the best parts of the glass? The graphical depictions of the lens distortions on the lenstip.com article show a marked increase in the distorions at the very edges right the way around, and a smoother gradation in the centre. On APS-C I don't think you'll be viewing these outer parts of the image.

I'm still tempted.

I think that's right, and that's exactly what Photozone.de says too.

Samyang are certainly an interesting company. going from the sublime to the well you know..

AP did a test of the 85mm F1.4 and it more than matched the Nikon F1.4.
Yet, other reviews don't rate some other Samyang lenses (possibly the 14mm)
the 8mm is another one in the same class as the 85mm.

Best thing is, try before you buy. Take some photos and then decide.

I started this, so just for general interest I'll update now that I have actually got the Samyang 14mm. No shots ready yet as its just been 2 days.

First impressions are very positive, certainly from a build and handling point of view. This is a serious piece of kit, solid and professionial in feel. It is dominated by the large bulbous head and front element with fixed hood, and it comes with a very solid clip-on cover that protects it right down to the barrel.

It has a short body length, which means it still fits into an average DSLR case, despite the large front dimensions. The focusing ring is large and has a huge 'turning circe', making adjustments very fine and precise, and it is smooth but tight in movment. There are DOF scales, and an aperture indicator.

Importantly, this Pentax version includes an A setting on the aperture ring, with a locking position, giving full P and Av functionality. This appears to offer greater auto operation than on other camera brands, according to the instruction booklet. Initial test shots show a great deal of contrast, very accurate metering and good life-like colours, so all together first impression are excellent.

It all bodes well for the new Tilt/Shift lens from Samyang, which could be very exciting. Anyone heard about a price for it yet? I did think that 24mm might be a bit long for practical use on APS-c though??

Hi Nigel,

I'm reviving a year or so old thread here, but I'm curious to see what your thoughts are long term on this Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f2.8 lens, now you and others have owned them a while?

I'm looking to add a wide angle lens to my kit and frankly this costs a lot in the APS-C world. I don't mind manual focus, nor manual aperture if required (although I see the A settings works on the Pentax mount, which is very cool ) This lens seems a good compromise for me to achieve wide angle coverage, and with a wide aperture ability also.

By all accounts there are two versions, with the second definitely being the one to get, and this distortion seems more linear in the centre crop body region of the lens.

What price would you expect a 2nd Hand version of this to go for these days? They seemed pretty cheap when they came out, so I'm hoping to find a good condition second hand version I think...

Much thanks for the feedback.

Richard, I'm always happy to revive positive reports on the Samyang 14mm - I must be the most vocal advocate of the lens on this forum

I've used it now for nearly 18mths, and build quality and robustness have proved every initial impression to be correct, and more - its my most used lens and honestly, on close inspection I don't think anyone would believe it had ever been out of its box!

It has given me all I wanted - a great practical field of view and edge to edge resolution that is needed for composing wide angles with tight framing and foreground detail under the nose.

It is totally reliable in operation and metering is perfect using the 'a' setting. Most discussions here about wide angles invariably tend towards strong recommendations of the various zoom options available, and they all have their passionate supporters - but I am one firm believer in the wide angle prime, and this one get my wholehearted thumbs up.

Here's a few images I've taken over the months :









































The lens was a bargain, in my view, new at £289 - there's another thread here where a member is looking for Samyang lenses, but there's really very few available secondhand - must be plenty of contented owners!

+! for the Samyang 14mm -- I used it for about a year on my D800 with great results, ultimately selling in favor of the classic Nikkor 14-24mm. While I never evaluated the two lenses side-by-side, by analysis of the images produced by both lenses at 14mm are nearly indistinguishable when processed via DxO Optics Pro. This didn't surprise me as when I was shooting with the Samyang my experiences was that it was a great lens -- the mustache distortion is controllable entirely by DxO and almost entirely by other lens conversions out there. I "might" even consider buying another just for those situations where I need the ultimate in lightweight kits.

YMMV

Michael

You have me convinced. Now i just need the money.

Nigel, that second image is a real stunner.

Yes very nice shots Nigel, the lens seems excellent but also shows the K7 is up to the job too!