Reading mode: Light Dark

First reviews are coming for Samyang 14-24mm f/2.8

Go to last post
ZodiacPhoto

ZodiacPhoto

Senior Member
Messages
3,735
Solutions
4
Reaction score
3,353
Location
Middle of Nowhere, NY, US
Christopher Frost is one of the reviewers I trust, and his review of 14-24mm is mostly positive. The lens is available now on Ebay from sellers in Europe and China, but, because of the tariffs and warranty, I would wait for USA availability.

I am planning on replacing my Tamron 17-28mm, to pair with 28-200mm for a lightweight 2-lens travel kit. Interesting to compare it to Sony 16-25mm.

--
flickr.com/photos/zodiacphoto1
"The function of art is to hold the mirror up to nature" - Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
 
Last edited:
I've stopped watching Christopher Frost reviews, but I'm still curious about the lens, looking forward to more reviews. I've said in the past the system could use another smaller/lighter 14-xx, a fast one ending in 24mm wasn't my preference but this one is lightweight enough that it's indeed still worth looking at vs some of the other smaller UWA zooms.
 
Impulses said:
I've stopped watching Christopher Frost reviews, but I'm still curious about the lens, looking forward to more reviews. I've said in the past the system could use another smaller/lighter 14-xx, a fast one ending in 24mm wasn't my preference but this one is lightweight enough that it's indeed still worth looking at vs some of the other smaller UWA zooms.
Click to expand...
I am not watching all his videos, only the reviews of equipment I am considering, like this lens. Same about Dustin Abbott and Gordon Laing.

24mm is short, but 14mm is more important to me, I often feel limited by 17mm in Tamron. I can leave with 24-28mm gap between lenses.
 
ZodiacPhoto said:
Christopher Frost is one of the reviewers I trust, and his review of 14-24mm is mostly positive. The lens is available now on Ebay from sellers in Europe and China, but, because of the tariffs and warranty, I would wait for USA availability.

I am planning on replacing my Tamron 17-28mm, to pair with 28-200mm for a lightweight 2-lens travel kit. Interesting to compare it to Sony 16-25mm.
Click to expand...
I’m not really in the market for this, although normal filters on a 14mm is interesting. But that flare and ghosting performance against bright lights would be a dealbreaker for me.
 
Who's Christopher Frost?
 
ZodiacPhoto said:
Impulses said:
I've stopped watching Christopher Frost reviews, but I'm still curious about the lens, looking forward to more reviews. I've said in the past the system could use another smaller/lighter 14-xx, a fast one ending in 24mm wasn't my preference but this one is lightweight enough that it's indeed still worth looking at vs some of the other smaller UWA zooms.
Click to expand...
I am not watching all his videos, only the reviews of equipment I am considering, like this lens. Same about Dustin Abbott and Gordon Laing.
Click to expand...
Gordon has been at it a long time and a decade ago he graciously answered questions I had when I first got into ILCs, I bought his book and one of the shirts to support him. I wasn't exposed to Dustin until I started shooting Sony some 4 years ago but he does a great job too, very useful reviews in the same vein as Gordon's. Two of my favorites tbh, I'll actually read/watch anything they put up just out of curiosity.

Bastian K at PhillipReeve probably rounds out my top 3, Gerald Undone is useful too, and Optical Limits & Lenstip are the best for hard data and bench tests. I used to watch Christopher Frost's reviews of lenses I was interested in, but seeing some of the books he features (as props) in the videos made me realize I'd rather not support him at all, that's all. The other reviewers were always more useful (to me) anyway.
ZodiacPhoto said:
24mm is short, but 14mm is more important to me, I often feel limited by 17mm in Tamron. I can leave with 24-28mm gap between lenses.

--
flickr.com/photos/zodiacphoto1
"The function of art is to hold the mirror up to nature" - Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Click to expand...
I hear ya, that makes a lot of sense, I'm more concerned with the long end because I never tend to carry a 24/28-xx zoom at all, I'm usually pairing my UWA zoom with primes or a 50-400. I've been carrying an 11mm f4.5 alongside my 17-xx Tamron zooms but I'm still interested in something that goes wider.
 
Last edited:
Hi,

Thanks for the link - I watched the whole thing. I didn't know SK partners with Samyang in lens development. Their new 14-24 looks like quite a good UWA zoom - sealed, sharp, very low coma, no CAs, good sunstars, and lighter than most. Where the contrast issues occur one could address them in post but the flare seems very noticeable.

Cheers, R
 
Last edited:
Rod McD said:
Hi,

Thanks for the link - I watched the whole thing. I didn't know SK partners with Samyang in lens development. Their new 14-24 looks like quite a good UWA zoom - sealed, sharp, very low coma, no CAs, good sunstars, and lighter than most. Where the contrast issues occur one could address them in post but the flare seems very noticeable.

Cheers, R
Click to expand...
The contrast / flare issue is visible when there is a very bright light in the otherwise absolutely dark frame. Was not noticeable in sunstars tests, for example, when the rest of the frame was not dark. Looks like a very isolated issue to me, something I may never experience.

--
flickr.com/photos/zodiacphoto1
"The function of art is to hold the mirror up to nature" - Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
 
Last edited:
ZodiacPhoto said:
Rod McD said:
Hi,

Thanks for the link - I watched the whole thing. I didn't know SK partners with Samyang in lens development. Their new 14-24 looks like quite a good UWA zoom - sealed, sharp, very low coma, no CAs, good sunstars, and lighter than most. Where the contrast issues occur one could address them in post but the flare seems very noticeable.

Cheers, R
Click to expand...
The contrast / flare issue is visible when there is a very bright light in the otherwise absolutely dark frame. Was not noticeable in sunstars tests, for example, when the rest of the frame was not dark. Looks like a very isolated issue to me, something I may never experience.
Click to expand...
I suppose if you never shoot towards the sun or other bright light sources then fair enough, it may not be an issue,, but for a lot of people in a wide angle lens that's going to be a massive limitation.

I’m not really sure where you get isolated from either. We only saw it against a dark frame because that's how Frost does his flare test. I'd be astonished if you didn't also see something similar shooting towards the sun. I've never seen a performance like it in his reviews. His sunstars test gives an indication of the shape of sunstars, but the sorts of light sources he uses aren't really indicative of what happens when the sun is in the frame.
 
Looking at a number of reviews of otherwise excellent third party lenses from various makers , flare resistance seems to be a bit of a weakness. Though given the progress of particularly the Chinese makers such as Viltrox in recent years I imagine they will be working on this
 
James Stirling said:
Looking at a number of reviews of otherwise excellent third party lenses from various makers , flare resistance seems to be a bit of a weakness. Though given the progress of particularly the Chinese makers such as Viltrox in recent years I imagine they will be working on this
Click to expand...
Viltrox has already stepped up their game in that regard, it was a weakness of their 16/1.8 PRO compared to the Sony 14GM & 16G, yet their newer 135/1.8 LAB seemed somewhat better than the SY or GM, and the even newer 35/1.2 LAB seems better than the Sigma 35/1.2 DN and about as good as the 35GM when it comes to flare handling... That's a huge breakthrough for a third party tbh.

Even Sigma isn't really consistently good with flare handling across all their primes, I dunno if other 3rd parties will achieve the same breakthrough in the near future or if most future Viltrox lenses will follow suit, but it seems to be happening to some extent. Samyang has always been inconsistent in that regard, some of their primes flare less than others but none were as good as Sony's best.

Still seems to be an Achilles heel on recent Air series lenses for Viltrox tho (50/2's only real weakness)... OTOH the 40/50G weren't quite as good as some other G/GMs either.
 
Last edited:
James Stirling said:
Looking at a number of reviews of otherwise excellent third party lenses from various makers , flare resistance seems to be a bit of a weakness. Though given the progress of particularly the Chinese makers such as Viltrox in recent years I imagine they will be working on this
Click to expand...
Everything in lens design is a compromise. Perhaps, it is possible to improve on contrast and glare, but the resulting lens will be almost twice heavier and could not accept front filters (e.g., Sigma 14-24).
 
James Stirling said:
Looking at a number of reviews of otherwise excellent third party lenses from various makers , flare resistance seems to be a bit of a weakness. Though given the progress of particularly the Chinese makers such as Viltrox in recent years I imagine they will be working on this
Click to expand...
Agree viltrox has been doing impressive looking things, although worth noting that their otherwise very well reviewed 50/2 air suffers in terms of flare as well.
 
ZodiacPhoto said:
James Stirling said:
Looking at a number of reviews of otherwise excellent third party lenses from various makers , flare resistance seems to be a bit of a weakness. Though given the progress of particularly the Chinese makers such as Viltrox in recent years I imagine they will be working on this
Click to expand...
Everything in lens design is a compromise. Perhaps, it is possible to improve on contrast and glare, but the resulting lens will be almost twice heavier and could not accept front filters (e.g., Sigma 14-24).
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

ZodiacPhoto
Travel Tripod Trifecta (long)
Replies
13
Views
6K
Marie Meyer
M
ZodiacPhoto
Benro CyanBird Carbon vs PD: Not a Carbon Copy
Replies
8
Views
18K
ZodiacPhoto
ZodiacPhoto
E
Elliott's Saved Setup Text: 2021, 2022, 2023
Replies
16
Views
8K
marlyd
M
joger
135 mm battle, Leica APO-Telyt M vs Canon EF 135 vs Samyang 135
2 3
Replies
45
Views
3K
Krich13
K

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top