TillmanB
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Sam 12-24 vs Rokinon/Samyang 12mm
- Thread starter CraigVMN
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Andrea Georgia
Leading Member
What other WAs, if any, do you have?
12 mm is v e r y w i d e.
While it may be much fun to shoot that wide, it takes a good deal of skill to make the image look good, and the exaggeration of the angle can become very tiresome. If you have a 16mm and a 20 mm, then perhaps a 12 mm makes sense. Otherwise I very much suggest the 12-24 mm for much more FL flexibility which for land-and cityscape is more valuable than a fast aperture. The 12-24 is very sharp and has a good micro contrast, resolution and colour rendition. Should the Samyang be a tad better in terms of IQ (I don't know if it really is in any noticeable way), then these differences will be minimal and are much outweighed by the FL limitation especially. The lack of the Samyang's AF can be an issue, too.
As to the subject of zooms vs. primes in general, everyone has their own ideas about it and here's mine, for what it's worth. For portraits, stills and macro I very much prefer primes as I can usually move around sufficiently to get the distance and angle I want and as speed of the lens can be very important here, bokeh and all. For land-and cityscapes I much prefer zooms for their flexibility - not because I'm too lazy to walk around to find the right distance, but because moving about to get closer or further away can change the angle or view (obstruction) in a way which denies me the shot I want.
I can't say anything about the Samyang, but I have the NX 12-24 and I love it. I can also not confirm any reports about the 12-24 falling apart. I've used it extremely heavily since the early summer last year. It has traveled with me for weeks at a time to Greece and to Italy and down the river Rhine with all its medieval castles, and it has taken two really bad falls from a table onto a stone floor while attached to the NX500 without a problem.
Btw, I also have the Samsung 16 mm, and I don't like it as much as the 12-24 for its compression of highlights with a dark-dense colour rendition and very (!) pronunced field curvature. For land- and cityscapes, the 12-24 is my to-go lens on NX.
Just my two cents.
Andrea
12 mm is v e r y w i d e.
While it may be much fun to shoot that wide, it takes a good deal of skill to make the image look good, and the exaggeration of the angle can become very tiresome. If you have a 16mm and a 20 mm, then perhaps a 12 mm makes sense. Otherwise I very much suggest the 12-24 mm for much more FL flexibility which for land-and cityscape is more valuable than a fast aperture. The 12-24 is very sharp and has a good micro contrast, resolution and colour rendition. Should the Samyang be a tad better in terms of IQ (I don't know if it really is in any noticeable way), then these differences will be minimal and are much outweighed by the FL limitation especially. The lack of the Samyang's AF can be an issue, too.
As to the subject of zooms vs. primes in general, everyone has their own ideas about it and here's mine, for what it's worth. For portraits, stills and macro I very much prefer primes as I can usually move around sufficiently to get the distance and angle I want and as speed of the lens can be very important here, bokeh and all. For land-and cityscapes I much prefer zooms for their flexibility - not because I'm too lazy to walk around to find the right distance, but because moving about to get closer or further away can change the angle or view (obstruction) in a way which denies me the shot I want.
I can't say anything about the Samyang, but I have the NX 12-24 and I love it. I can also not confirm any reports about the 12-24 falling apart. I've used it extremely heavily since the early summer last year. It has traveled with me for weeks at a time to Greece and to Italy and down the river Rhine with all its medieval castles, and it has taken two really bad falls from a table onto a stone floor while attached to the NX500 without a problem.
Btw, I also have the Samsung 16 mm, and I don't like it as much as the 12-24 for its compression of highlights with a dark-dense colour rendition and very (!) pronunced field curvature. For land- and cityscapes, the 12-24 is my to-go lens on NX.
Just my two cents.
Andrea
Last edited:
TillmanB
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I agree that the 12mm can be a bit too much wide angle. Ideally, I think 14mm is a good FL for general wide angle shots. I will say that the Samyang 12mm (which I've had in two different mounts so far) doesn't distort much and the edges are nice and sharp even wide open (of course if you stop it down a little it does get better), and the lack of AF isn't too taxing since anything past about 1.5 meters will be in focus if set to infinity or just a little short of it. However, if you can get the Samsung 12-24 via the parts websites, it seems like you can get it for less than you would pay for the Samyang, and you would gain AF and some more versatility, although you would have a couple stops less light gathering ability, so it really comes down to what is needed. I personally don't need an f/2 wide angle 99% of the time, but then I get that bug to shoot the night sky and get the milky way, and then it really comes in handy.
For me 12mm isn't too hard to manage, but it is wider than I would pick if given the choice with everything else being the same as far as size, aperture, etc.
H
Hoogoose D Moose
Guest
[ATTACH alt=" Samyang 12 mm.. really like the lens. works well on the little NX500.. i got the samyang for $250 on a amazon lighting sale and family members got me $125 of amazon gift cards so it was a no brainer.. got the NX500 on holiday sale for $497 and sold the 16-50pz lens for $100.. just comes down to what you need said:1275213[/ATTACH]
Samyang 12 mm.. really like the lens. works well on the little NX500.. i got the samyang for $250 on a amazon lighting sale and family members got me $125 of amazon gift cards so it was a no brainer.. got the NX500 on holiday sale for $497 and sold the 16-50pz lens for $100.. just comes down to what you need, the versatility of the zoom or the lower light capability of the samyang.. i dont think id pay retail for the 12-24 though. if you can get it for the price they are asking on that parts site id say its a steal!
TillmanB, post: 57127531, member: 1212336"]I agree that the 12mm can be a bit too much wide angle. Ideally, I think 14mm is a good FL for general wide angle shots. I will say that the Samyang 12mm (which I've had in two different mounts so far) doesn't distort much and the edges are nice and sharp even wide open (of course if you stop it down a little it does get better), and the lack of AF isn't too taxing since anything past about 1.5 meters will be in focus if set to infinity or just a little short of it. However, if you can get the Samsung 12-24 via the parts websites, it seems like you can get it for less than you would pay for the Samyang, and you would gain AF and some more versatility, although you would have a couple stops less light gathering ability, so it really comes down to what is needed. I personally don't need an f/2 wide angle 99% of the time, but then I get that bug to shoot the night sky and get the milky way, and then it really comes in handy.
For me 12mm isn't too hard to manage, but it is wider than I would pick if given the choice with everything else being the same as far as size, aperture, etc.
Attachments
I do have the 16mm and really like it. I’ve taken some really great pictures and video with it. I wanted fast primes when I switched over to the NX system, so I have the 16, 30 & 45. Like you pointed out, there are times when I want to include more in the shot but can’t move to a location that allows this with the 16. And yes, I can get the “part” for less than the 12mm Rokinon/Samyang, the decreased aperture doesn’t really bother me, and I have all the automation. I would use it mostly at 12mm.
I ordered one on the 6th and it hasn't shipped yet.
BaeckerX1
Forum Enthusiast
markyboy81
Senior Member
This is a good question as with many of the lenses, there is no 'hard stop', the focus ring just rotates and rotates so there is no way of knowing whether you're focusing at infinity. With the 85mm lens there is a distance scale, so you do know with that (though not sure who is taking photos at infinity with that lens anyway..) and with the 60mm there is the distance graph on the display (though I haven't tested if this works on the NX1).
Maybe someone else knows if there is another way of focusing to infinity?
thomasphoto1
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What do you mean by this? Are Samsung quiting camera business anyway, like the rumors told in November? I have already considered this lens, but if there's no future in the NX system, I will get rid of all my camera gear from Samsung.
Take a look around on the forum, but that seems to be the case.
markyboy81
Senior Member
They may be quitting, they may not. But even if they are I would think twice about getting rid of all your kit.
By focusing on the most distant object in your scene. Almost all modern lenses (except some very expensive ones) focus a bit past infinity. Even among manual lenses it is difficult to find ones with even a nearly accurate infinity mark. Part of the issue is that as lenses expand and contract, the infinity point changes and the lens makers still want you to be able to focus to infinity.
BaeckerX1
Forum Enthusiast
What if you're shooting stars or something and you can't even see your focal point?
BaeckerX1
Forum Enthusiast
That's lame. I had no idea that was an issue. I haven't been a photographer since the film days and we just set to infinity. Seems super dumb you can't do that on modern digital cameras, but that would explain why I'm having sharpness issues in some of my shots since I got my NX1.
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