Sharpness of my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 on 5D4

happysnapper99 · May 19, 2017

Hi all,

I've just received a Samyang 14mm f/2.8 for Canon and i was wondering if other owners could asses the quality of my images.

This is my first experience with Samyang and Third party lenses so i'm being very cautious, particularly as I've read there is some amount of variation in copies.

Centre sharpness seems fine to me, i am a little concerned about the left and right corners however. This could be down to distortion though and perfectly normal.

Is this acceptable or should it be going back to the shop? The images were taken from f2.8 to f5.6 and are converted straight from RAW with no sharpening applied.

Many thanks in adavnce.

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happysnapper99 · May 28, 2017

Hi all,

I thought i'd report back having had some time to shoot my Samyang for its intended purpose. I'm happy to say that the replacement copy performs as i expected and i'm very happy i decided to pursue an exchange.

Here's a couple of shots from the last couple of days. The quality isn't perfect as i'm still honing my Astro skills.

6 shot stack of Clavell's Tower in Dorset.

Single shot just West of Weymouth - Dorset. Milky Way just before some crazy thunderstorms rolled in.

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ageingphotonewbie · May 29, 2017

Hi,

I am new to this forum and I am not sure if I should have asked my question as a new thread or if it is okay to add to this thread. I have just purchased this lens for my D750. The first copy received had what I perceived to be a right hand side out of focus, so I sent it back to Amazon and have now received a replacement. However I think it is the same. I would appreciate any comments as to whether I am just being paranoid, due to reading lots of posts about issues with these lenses or if what I have is okay and as good as it will get. I have attached a brick wall test shot.

D750 ISO100 2.8 1/200

Many thanks

DAVID MANZE · May 30, 2017

ageingphotonewbie said:
Hi,

I am new to this forum and I am not sure if I should have asked my question as a new thread or if it is okay to add to this thread. I have just purchased this lens for my D750. The first copy received had what I perceived to be a right hand side out of focus, so I sent it back to Amazon and have now received a replacement. However I think it is the same. I would appreciate any comments as to whether I am just being paranoid, due to reading lots of posts about issues with these lenses or if what I have is okay and as good as it will get. I have attached a brick wall test shot.

D750 ISO100 2.8 1/200

Many thanks

I"m sorry to confirm your fears .....it looks softer on the right side of the image!

--
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Robert Tolputt · May 30, 2017

It also looks as if you were not square to the wall....

DAVID MANZE · May 30, 2017

Robert Tolputt said:
It also looks as if you were not square to the wall....

Could be! Better doing a test on a distant horizon......that way you can't be off square!

ageingphotonewbie · May 30, 2017

Thank you for the replies. I tried another brick wall and then a landscape test and the right hand edge was blurred on all.

Lens now returned to Amazon and another lens is on the way, although Amazon initially took the stance that as I had returned 2 they wouldn't sell me a third. They relented after a short live chat discussion and the replacement is on its way.

Hopefully third time lucky.

breivogel · May 30, 2017

I had to buy 3 of the 14 - 2.8 to get a usable one. This a case of getting what you pay for. This lens (even good copies) has a lot of distortion, terrible vignetting, and field curvature. It is really only suitable for (budget) astrophotography. When focused to infinity using live view the resolution is decent for such use. Unfortunately, due to field curvature, it is really hard to use normal depth of field rules. Also, the distance scales on the lenses I tried were all far off (infinity focus is actually around 2 meters), showing poor quality control or design.

After a couple of years, I have recently bought a Tamron 15-30 2.8. This is a far superior lens optically and in terms of usability ( having AF and VR is really nice).

Robert Tolputt · May 30, 2017

Fortunately in the UK where the OP lives, Amazon cannot refuse a total refund or replacement. I am looking to replace my stolen Rokinon version of this lens, but not until I return to the UK this Summer. At least I can exchange / refund without hassle.

I agree that it is far from optically perfect and takes some getting used to, but there is simply nothing else available at a reasonable price point and the moustache distorsion and vignetting are a two-click fix in Lightroom.

ageingphotonewbie · Jun 13, 2017

I thought I would update and say that the third lens is spot on. Very sharp with an even focus. It just shows that you need to keep returning the lenses until you get a good one. Thank you to all who replied to my earlier questions.

DAVID MANZE · Jun 14, 2017

ageingphotonewbie said:
I thought I would update and say that the third lens is spot on. Very sharp with an even focus. It just shows that you need to keep returning the lenses until you get a good one. Thank you to all who replied to my earlier questions.

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Glad you finally got what you payed for! My first copy was a good one (although I had to calibrate infinity focus). My first Tamron 150-600mm and many other OEM lenses had to be returned as did the D500, in this current world the lens tester is the buyer.

I still think the Samyang 14mm is a good lens as long as you are either shooting astro or using the appropriate lens corrections in PS or whatever..........

...........FF gives you very wide, APSc gives a moderate wide 21mm with hugely reduced distortion...and for 4K on the D500 you get 31.5mm (2.25X crop) with almost no distortion at all.... very useful indeed!

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Sharpness of my Samyang 14mm f/2.8 on 5D4

happysnapper99

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