I bought one for my D750 and its incredible - the performance versus price is incredible and the amount of light and detail you can capture is amazing - great review and agree with all your pros and cons!
Finally ordered this for myself after everyone in astro photographery groups recomonding it, and all the negatives in your review are not a problem at all, glad I made the choice on this one.
Spot on review James. I have the Nikon 14-24mm and I agree it's an awesome lens too, but WOW what a great alternative to have the Samyang 14mm (never knew it existed to be honest) if you want a more economical version. Yes, you never use auto focus ever doing astro, so that wouldn't be a problem owning the Samyang. Thanks for sharing.
Adrian Alford Photography cheers Adrian! One day I would like to get my hands on the Nikon but for now the samyang will do. It's pretty remarkable for the price really. Do you do much astrophotography yourself with the nikon?
Yes mate I do quite a bit of astrophotography. It's basically the only time I ever use the 14-24mm lens. I used it for the northern lights in Iceland and it worked an absolute treat.
Adrian Alford Photography I'd love to own one of these one day. I've shot with it before briefly and I was very impressed. Quite possibly the best wide angle landscape lens ever made 👍
Fantastic Review! I recently purchased the Samyang 14mm RF mount with auto focus and it has pretty much lived on my EOS R for the last 3 weeks on all my architectural shoots. I ended up reviewing it in real world scenario on my channel.
Gosh - I am excited to grab this baby as a alternate lens option for travelling around Europe next year and starting my adventure onto Astrophotography! Thanks for the review mate :D
Thanks for this. I was wondering how to set infinity focus on this lens for astrophotography, googled it, and you showed up with a how to with same lens, also for astrophotography! Incidentally, Lightroom has a lens profile for it (Rokinon or Samyang, I forget which)--but it's pretty much rectilinear as far as ultra wide angles go. I use it for RE photography in tiny NYC apartments. Absolutely fab lens.
I have literally just taken the plunge with this lens today. Ordered mine and I’m awaiting it’s dispatch. Really good review I’m looking forward to giving this lens run out 👍🏻
I didnt already tried it on astro, tried it on landscape and photos are good. This lens was in my bag about half year without using, i cant wait to use it for astro. Price was about 200E, its very good, if u want buy, check amazon or ebay.
Yeah! I bought the Rokinon one a few years ago on a whim and took a photo which is now featured in the Library of Congress' collection. The distortion can be a little rough but I think they're gems! I've mostly switched to my 16-35mm Canon but I love the build of these. You're inspiring me to check mine out more again. Maybe in a future video! ;)
Great info. I've been wanting this lens for a long time. Even at the awesome price, I never seem to be able to find the money. I'll definitely make it a priority tho after your review. And thanks for the end screen recommendation 😀
Great review. I don't really want to take pictures of stars ... hell I don't even have a DSLR ... but I do want to beat home invaders to death with a reliable blunt object and you sold me it. Cheers!
thanks! This was very helpful, especially your recommendation about making sure where the infinity point is and that it's possible to calibrate the lens.
Right I'm off to buy one, I needed to know if to go chip or non chip and I just want this lens for astro, the difference in price in NZ is $599 non chip and $1100 Chipped!
Great review James. I used to have one of these lenses and your review was bringing back lots of memories. The focus markings on the lens barrel were so wrong they were funny. It was also a terrible lens for wide landscapes because it was too wide. Where it did score highly was when you wanted to get close into a foreground subject and make it loom large. I don't do astrophotography but I can imagine it's great for that also. What I do recall is that the lens was super sharp as soon as you stopped it down. Thanks for doing a well considered review.
Thanks Robin! Yeah totally agree with the lens markings, it's like they have been done by someone blind! It's definitely a very hard lens to use for standard landscape shooting but for astro its awesome. Only worth owning if you're into that really. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 👍👍👍
Great video and review on the Samyang 14mm f 2.8 lens. I recently came across your channel as i also purchased this lens for Astrophotography Milkyway images this works well with my cannon eos 6d camera which still preforms very well despite being twelve years old.
Great review James, thank you. I would just add that most modern Nikon DSLR bodies permit focus confirmation on all manual lenses - including those without electrical contacts - such as the older (but still wonderful) AI/AIS MF Nikkor lenses. They do this by virtue of the phase-detect sensor below the mirror in the camera body. However, since this separate sensor requires light to be reflected off the mirror, it will not operate once the mirror is lifted. Hence this will not work in Live View. Unfortunately. If you are using Live View your best chance of focusing correctly is to use the display zoom-function and zoom in to assess accurate focus.
Nice review James cracking shots too. I’ve had this lens about 6 years love it solid performer agreed re the vignettes I personally like it in my Astro shots. I’m just dusting off my kit for Milky Way season so good to have a reminder how good this lens is cheers
Hey James, i indeed bought the lens after going through your review a year ago but haven't been able to use it for astro even though going all the way to New Zealand, my bad ! Nonetheless it's a great lens for landscapes & very sharp one at that but i think one has to frame really well to get a good pic. Once i have an astro experiment, will come back to you with pics for suggestions. Price is a steal..i agree ! Thanks a ton !
Great informative vlog James👍 I have this lens for my Pentax K-1 and I can say it’s one of the best lenses I have ever brought for my Landscape photography including the Samyang 20mm lens. Cheers Cliff
Great review James I have only done a little astrophotography manly northern lights and use my 20mm f/1.8 Nikon lens. It also can be used with filters. This was a very interesting video.
Nice review James. The lens looks like a really good buy for astrophotography, I liked the shots you showed from using it with the buildings and lighthouse 👍🏻
Great review James. If I was going to get into Astro photography that's almost certainly what I would buy. Re filters, I know that Lee (and some others) do adaptors for the super wide Nikons and Canons that fit over the fixed lens hood, not sure if there's any that fit the Samyang, but even then you do need the special 150mm filter holder and filters so not a cheap option.
Ralph Goldsmith thanks Ralph! I use this exclusively for astro. I think its fixed 14mm is potentially quite limiting for many non astro landscape situations. It's a superb bit of kit though. If you're ever looking to get into astro do let me know and I can give you a load of tips etc to get you started 👍
Thanks for this video. I have been wanting to get a good lens for astro. Since I will be going to Utah, USA in the near future I will need to buy this one since stars are everywhere in the desert. Thanks again :)
Hello James thank you for your review on this lens. I just got it and can't wait for Friday evening to go out and try it.. hope its not cloudy! Cheers again, if OK with you I will post some results of my first shoot.
Hi @@JamesBrewphoto I finally got a chance to take a couple of shots with the Samyong 14mm and love it. I got loads to learn now :) here is a link to the first shot of the Milky Way from close to my town, please do comment if you have any observations. Thanks again for your video's flic.kr/p/2jfFT5d
I got one for 500 PLN which is about £100. And the funniest thing is it's my first native Sony lens, I have two other adopted Nikon mount Samyangs(24/1.4, 35/1.4) and two adapted Canons. I am absolutely amazed with this lens!
Nice review James! I bought one of these a few months ago and have been really impressed so far for the price, but to be honest i haven't had a chance to try it out properly yet! We're off to Iceland in October though and I'm hoping to have a chance to use it on the northern lights so we'll see how I get on! Sam.
This year I've gotten hooked on making time-lapses of clouds. I've been using my Canon 17-40 f4, and while 17mm is great most of the time, if the clouds are low, i've been wishing for more. So, I just got the Rokinon 14mm, used for $150. After just a few test shots and time-lapses, it seems really great. Photoshop's camera raw has a correction profile to straighten the image quite nicely.
@@giorgiorousso The geometric distortions on the lens are fixed regardless of appeture. Architecture photography really isn't my specialty so sorry I can help much
Nice video mate. I have exactly the same setup D850 and a Samyang, been loving it! Been thinking to try a Star tracker also..have you used on before, the results looks phenomenal!
Thank you! I do have a star tracker, recently purchased but I've not actually used it yet. Will cover on a future video when I get some nice dark skies. It looks complicated 😂👍
im thinking of getting the 10mm version of this for a friend. nice review. im going for the 10mm because i can get it from a camera shop second hand for a good deal.
I know it;s not as easy to use as a lens with a higher focal length or a zoom but you could always use your legs and walk forward to narrow the angle to your subject.
Thanks for the video! I use a less wide 24mm F1.4 to get closer to the milky way, but for general night sky shots, I'd still love to get a 14mm - also for landscape time lapses... I don't know yet how high I'd have to crank the ISO when the sun starts to set... I think for landscape time lapses, manual focus is also fine at 14 mm :D
I am concerned about Samyang quality control, I met a photographer who bought one after his friend recommended one.His wasn't that good. He didn't go into too many details other than saying he sold it quickly.I like the Sigma 10-20 mm F3.5 EX DC LENS, filters can be used 82mm
Haggis Eater yeah mine isn't calibrated very well so that kind of fits in with what you are saying. Maybe I've been lucky but mine is fantastic! Not used the sigma but the f3.5 would be a deal breaker for me. Key feature of the samyang is the f2.8. I only use this for astrophotography. I do have another wide angle lens I use for all other types of photography, may do a review of that soon 🙂
I've bought a Sony copy and the infinity point is about 3mm to the left of the 1m mark. I'm still testing but at the moment I'm not happy with the sharpness.
I have that lens also, I used it on my D810 for astro photography also and got great results. I now use it on my D850 for the same and get excellent results. I use the 500 Rule and get pin point results on the stars.
Great review. Really great! Very clear and concise. I was just considering buying one of these and you have convinced me. You should send this comment to Samyang for a commission! 😄
Hi Greg, I have never tried any filters with this lens. I use it exclusively for astrophotography where I don't use any filters. I'm sure there will be filter systems out there that fit round the fixed lens hood, but they are likely to be big and bulky. Cheers
@@JamesBrewphoto Hi James yes your right there are some that do fit to the lens and it make the whole thing huge. I initially meant the filters that fit inside the body of the camera before the lens fits on like the IDAS light pollution reduction filters. These are ideal for lens that have no filter attachments
Hi James. Good review as always. I have a Z6 (bought in 2019) and if I get this lens I would oif course plan to use it with the FTZ adaptor. Could you please clarify the comment you made in another comment below" to someone asking if the lens n[can be used with a Z6... "Newer versions yes - this older version does not get on well with the FTZ adapter at all however". I have sen a used one for sale. How do I know if it is an "older version" or not?
Thanks for the video, James. I'm just considering getting started in photography beyond the general photos everyone takes on vacations and such. Very interested in astrophotography. Looking for a good camera body to use with this lens. Any suggestions?
Thanks! I assume you have no brand preferences. I use Nikon and to be honest my knowledge doesn't go too far past them. The D750 is a fantastic astro camera. It's been out a few years now so it's price has come down quite a bit and you would be able to get great second hand deals. That would be my recommendation
It's based on the 500 rule for astrophotography. The wider your focal range the longer you can shoot before star trailing (movement of the earth) becomes noticeable 👍
its cinda weard. i got this lense in the mail today. it got the same name and specs but looks totaly not alike. is thers a difrent model shiping to europe?
Hey James, I saw you using some heating wrap for the lens to prevent night water on the glass of the lens. How well is it working? Any other tricks? thanks.
Hi Jerry - works very well. I would definitely recommend if doing long night time shoots. Just make sure you get a good sized power bank to power it! Cheers
After my first night shoot with my Samyang I had some fogging issues so purchased this www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075XJCKD1/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Izi.EbQNPM99V
Hey James, thanks for the vid. I have been considering getting this lens for a while to try out some astro photography but already have the DX Nikon 16-80mm f2.8-4 for my D7500. Would this lens be good enough or could I still justify purchasing the Samyang?
The lens you have would probably be good enough but difficult to say for sure as I don't have knowledge or experience of that lens. I'd stick with what you've got and see how it works for you
@@JamesBrewphoto Hey James, just rewatched this video as just bought the Z mount version of this lens. Upgraded to Z6ii some time ago. I noticed from the vid that you are getting in camera aperture control from the F mount version, however I am not getting any aperture readings from my z mount version. Any idea if this is normal? Thanks in advance
@@rippetomedia Hi Corey, yes I got this lens a few week ago and I have been using on my Nikon D610. It is a great lens but does have issues typical with wide angle lenses. I am using an older version of photoshop and lightroom, so I had to find a lens profile on the web to fix the warping. I will post a video with a few before and after pics on my channel shortly to give you an idea what it looks like. Cheers.
Hi James!. I have the same lens for about 2 years and my problem is how to confirm the focus in the screen of my Nikon D750, not just in the viewer. For me that's a problem because sometimes I need to put the camera very close to the ground and I can't see through the viewer if is in focus or not. That's why I'm thinking about the "new" AF model. Do you know if I'm able to see the focus confirmation in my screen? Thanx a lot, and great video, as usual. ;-)
Thanks Sergio! That's a great point. I haven't used the new AF model myself so cannot say unfortunately. I would assume you would be able to see confirmation in your LCD however :-)
Hi again James, thanx for your comment, but I was referring to my current Samyang MF. I mean, my D750 doesn’t have focus peaking. Do you know any trick in order to view any kind of focus confirmation in the LCD display? At the end I will buy the new AF, but meanwhile... 😉. Thanx again!
@@sergioc.p.7845Oh right, I suppose you can view the image zoomed in at 100% and look for sharpness in areas of detail. That's a method I use quite commonly to focus with many lenses 👍
James - have bought this lens for astrophotography (i am a complete beginner) ....how will i find where infinty point is? and for first shots what do you recommened as settings for somethign like a 30s exposure?....i havr tripod and remote shutter operation...so will be steady....the milky way shots are simply stunning!
A good starting point is to manually move the lens to the infinity marker. Move from there until you find sharpness in your images. I do have a separate video on my channel dedicated to this. Shoot wide open at f2.8, 20-30 seconds, 4000-6400 ISO, 14mm. You'll be getting great shots in no time. Good luck Paul
Need a lens for landscape stills...I have the opportunity to buy this lens for 150 euros and I wanted to know if it is recommended for this type of photography
Nice review in a greatly choosen location 🙂 I've always been interested in this lens but I would have to adapt it to my M43 camera so I'd only have 28mm field of view. For everyday use that's wide enough for me (the widest I can get with my current lenses is 12 = 24mm which I rarely use), but for astrophotography it might not be wide enough... Next purchase will be a drone though, so the Samyang would have to wait at least a year, thus time for me to think about it 😅 Cheers
Trembich Moving Moments thanks very much Sören! Not sure why I went to this location, probably because it's nice and quiet. Still struggle with an audience haha. I'd love a drone but I'll have to wait a while longer for that. Just got myself a star tracker so some content will be coming soon on that...once I get some clear skies 🤞
James Brew Looking forward to that content 🙂 My plan was to get a drone next year in the summer since I'm getting married and have to save for that at the moment. But yesterday I learned that a friend of mine wants to sell his barely used DJI Spark so I might buy that.
Will this fit right onto a Nikon D3200? Interested in it for some astrophotography but I can't for the life of me wrap my head around compatibility outwith camera makes.
Hello James, is this lens suitable for full-frame camera bodies. And would you recommend it for landscape photography where you wish to get something close very close to the lens?
Great review. I've been wanting to get into Astrophotography for ages now but some of the lens prices are just stupid. Will give this lens a try. There's a Mk2 on Amazon - anyone know what the difference is?
Are you able to say what size of front lens cap you need for this lens? I bought one but it didn’t come with a lens cover and I can’t seem to find one online
I no longer own the lens so difficult for me to say. You're best bet would be to find someone selling a broken version of it for spares and repairs, and hope you can get the cap off that probably.
Hi Gabriel! I have a tutorial on taking star trail images, many of the settings for that are exactly what you would use for general astro shooting. Check it out here ua-cam.com/video/PoYTX0eKsUc/v-deo.html 👍
Loved your video ...My friend has one and i'm trynna buy it from him ...he says that it has some micro scratches on the front element ...will that effect the night sky shots?
I bought one for my D750 and its incredible - the performance versus price is incredible and the amount of light and detail you can capture is amazing - great review and agree with all your pros and cons!
Just bought this lens for my EOS R. Specifically for milkyway shots. Can’t wait for next clear night. Thanks for a great honest review
Came to watch the review and see this comment. I picked up an eos r a few days ago and have just ordered this lens 😂
@@jamesmetcalfe9554 lol. Well you will be happy as they work well together.
i just bought this lense based on your review, cheers mate, Grant (Australia)
Finally ordered this for myself after everyone in astro photographery groups recomonding it, and all the negatives in your review are not a problem at all, glad I made the choice on this one.
Yesterday saw your introduction, today i bought it from Amazon. Btw, my wife says your accent is so mind-soothing.
😂 mind-soothing - thanks for watching
Spot on review James. I have the Nikon 14-24mm and I agree it's an awesome lens too, but WOW what a great alternative to have the Samyang 14mm (never knew it existed to be honest) if you want a more economical version. Yes, you never use auto focus ever doing astro, so that wouldn't be a problem owning the Samyang. Thanks for sharing.
Adrian Alford Photography cheers Adrian! One day I would like to get my hands on the Nikon but for now the samyang will do. It's pretty remarkable for the price really. Do you do much astrophotography yourself with the nikon?
Yes mate I do quite a bit of astrophotography. It's basically the only time I ever use the 14-24mm lens. I used it for the northern lights in Iceland and it worked an absolute treat.
Adrian Alford Photography I'd love to own one of these one day. I've shot with it before briefly and I was very impressed. Quite possibly the best wide angle landscape lens ever made 👍
Fantastic Review! I recently purchased the Samyang 14mm RF mount with auto focus and it has pretty much lived on my EOS R for the last 3 weeks on all my architectural shoots. I ended up reviewing it in real world scenario on my channel.
Gosh - I am excited to grab this baby as a alternate lens option for travelling around Europe next year and starting my adventure onto Astrophotography! Thanks for the review mate :D
Thanks for this. I was wondering how to set infinity focus on this lens for astrophotography, googled it, and you showed up with a how to with same lens, also for astrophotography! Incidentally, Lightroom has a lens profile for it (Rokinon or Samyang, I forget which)--but it's pretty much rectilinear as far as ultra wide angles go. I use it for RE photography in tiny NYC apartments. Absolutely fab lens.
I have literally just taken the plunge with this lens today. Ordered mine and I’m awaiting it’s dispatch. Really good review I’m looking forward to giving this lens run out 👍🏻
Good luck with your purchase. Thanks Jamie
James Brew thanks James really looking forward to it’s arrival so I can get to try it on some of the dark sky areas we have here in wales 👍🏻
I didnt already tried it on astro, tried it on landscape and photos are good. This lens was in my bag about half year without using, i cant wait to use it for astro. Price was about 200E, its very good, if u want buy, check amazon or ebay.
Good honest straight forward reviews - great stuff!
Thanks for re-inspiring me about this somewhat neglected lens in my collection :)
Just ordered this lens, its been on my to buy list and this review sold it for me, hoping to start my Astro journey with this beaut :)
Yeah! I bought the Rokinon one a few years ago on a whim and took a photo which is now featured in the Library of Congress' collection. The distortion can be a little rough but I think they're gems! I've mostly switched to my 16-35mm Canon but I love the build of these. You're inspiring me to check mine out more again. Maybe in a future video! ;)
Yeah awesome bit of kit for a really great price. Dust it off and get shooting with it 👍
I'm not into astr photography myself. I just bought the lens for interior real estate videography. It's a great choice for my camera.
Great info. I've been wanting this lens for a long time. Even at the awesome price, I never seem to be able to find the money. I'll definitely make it a priority tho after your review. And thanks for the end screen recommendation 😀
NWG Photography thank you! Glad you founds this useful. No problem on the recommendation, thoroughly deserved! 👍
Great review. I don't really want to take pictures of stars ... hell I don't even have a DSLR ... but I do want to beat home invaders to death with a reliable blunt object and you sold me it. Cheers!
hahaha!
thanks! This was very helpful, especially your recommendation about making sure where the infinity point is and that it's possible to calibrate the lens.
Absolutely awesome review, helped me a lot. Thanks!
Right I'm off to buy one, I needed to know if to go chip or non chip and I just want this lens for astro, the difference in price in NZ is $599 non chip and $1100 Chipped!
Good luck! You won't regret getting it
if you only use it for astro, I hope you got the non chip version :) otherwise you would just give away 500$, no need for chip for astro in my opinion
Great review James. I used to have one of these lenses and your review was bringing back lots of memories. The focus markings on the lens barrel were so wrong they were funny. It was also a terrible lens for wide landscapes because it was too wide. Where it did score highly was when you wanted to get close into a foreground subject and make it loom large. I don't do astrophotography but I can imagine it's great for that also. What I do recall is that the lens was super sharp as soon as you stopped it down. Thanks for doing a well considered review.
Thanks Robin! Yeah totally agree with the lens markings, it's like they have been done by someone blind! It's definitely a very hard lens to use for standard landscape shooting but for astro its awesome. Only worth owning if you're into that really. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 👍👍👍
Great video and review on the Samyang 14mm f 2.8 lens. I recently came across your channel as i also purchased this lens for Astrophotography Milkyway images this works well with my cannon eos 6d camera which still preforms very well despite being twelve years old.
Great review James, thank you. I would just add that most modern Nikon DSLR bodies permit focus confirmation on all manual lenses - including those without electrical contacts - such as the older (but still wonderful) AI/AIS MF Nikkor lenses. They do this by virtue of the phase-detect sensor below the mirror in the camera body. However, since this separate sensor requires light to be reflected off the mirror, it will not operate once the mirror is lifted. Hence this will not work in Live View. Unfortunately. If you are using Live View your best chance of focusing correctly is to use the display zoom-function and zoom in to assess accurate focus.
Thank you - excellent point 👍
Nice review James cracking shots too. I’ve had this lens about 6 years love it solid performer agreed re the vignettes I personally like it in my Astro shots. I’m just dusting off my kit for Milky Way season so good to have a reminder how good this lens is cheers
Hey James, i indeed bought the lens after going through your review a year ago but haven't been able to use it for astro even though going all the way to New Zealand, my bad ! Nonetheless it's a great lens for landscapes & very sharp one at that but i think one has to frame really well to get a good pic. Once i have an astro experiment, will come back to you with pics for suggestions. Price is a steal..i agree ! Thanks a ton !
Great informative vlog James👍 I have this lens for my Pentax K-1 and I can say it’s one of the best lenses I have ever brought for my Landscape photography including the Samyang 20mm lens. Cheers Cliff
Clifton Ticehurst thanks Cliff! Yeah it's a great bit of kit. Quite amazing it's as cheap as it is really. Absolute bargain!
Great review James I have only done a little astrophotography manly northern lights and use my 20mm f/1.8 Nikon lens. It also can be used with filters. This was a very interesting video.
Thank you Bruce! Much appreciated 👍
Nice review James. The lens looks like a really good buy for astrophotography, I liked the shots you showed from using it with the buildings and lighthouse 👍🏻
Thank you Wayne! It's a beautiful bit of kit 👍
Great review James. If I was going to get into Astro photography that's almost certainly what I would buy. Re filters, I know that Lee (and some others) do adaptors for the super wide Nikons and Canons that fit over the fixed lens hood, not sure if there's any that fit the Samyang, but even then you do need the special 150mm filter holder and filters so not a cheap option.
Ralph Goldsmith thanks Ralph! I use this exclusively for astro. I think its fixed 14mm is potentially quite limiting for many non astro landscape situations. It's a superb bit of kit though. If you're ever looking to get into astro do let me know and I can give you a load of tips etc to get you started 👍
Thanks for this video. I have been wanting to get a good lens for astro. Since I will be going to Utah, USA in the near future I will need to buy this one since stars are everywhere in the desert. Thanks again :)
I'm considering buying it with a Z5 for this summer.
Hello James thank you for your review on this lens. I just got it and can't wait for Friday evening to go out and try it.. hope its not cloudy! Cheers again, if OK with you I will post some results of my first shoot.
Sure no problem 👍
Hi @@JamesBrewphoto I finally got a chance to take a couple of shots with the Samyong 14mm and love it. I got loads to learn now :) here is a link to the first shot of the Milky Way from close to my town, please do comment if you have any observations. Thanks again for your video's flic.kr/p/2jfFT5d
@@SteveUKITphotos Very nice!
Super helpful stuff. Thank you, mate.
Thanks for watching
I got one for 500 PLN which is about £100. And the funniest thing is it's my first native Sony lens, I have two other adopted Nikon mount Samyangs(24/1.4, 35/1.4) and two adapted Canons. I am absolutely amazed with this lens!
There's a fairly cheap contraption to mount standard filters on this lens and for the Sony 14mm F1.8 as well...
Nice review James! I bought one of these a few months ago and have been really impressed so far for the price, but to be honest i haven't had a chance to try it out properly yet! We're off to Iceland in October though and I'm hoping to have a chance to use it on the northern lights so we'll see how I get on! Sam.
Thanks sam! This will be superb for the northern lights. Very jealous! Out of interest where is the infinity point on your model?
I'm curious about it's distortion. Heard it's pretty bad... but I'm really into this lens for its price.
This year I've gotten hooked on making time-lapses of clouds. I've been using my Canon 17-40 f4, and while 17mm is great most of the time, if the clouds are low, i've been wishing for more. So, I just got the Rokinon 14mm, used for $150. After just a few test shots and time-lapses, it seems really great. Photoshop's camera raw has a correction profile to straighten the image quite nicely.
I would look into getting this lens if I did more astrophotography. I have just used my 16-35mm Zeiss lens, and it has worked great for it.
Yeah probably not worth purchasing if you don't do much astrophotography. Thanks for commenting Javier
Amazing video James, really
thank you!!!! Do you recommend this for real estate photography???? interior / exterior
I don't really do any photography like that so it's very difficult to say. It probably would be OK but keep in mind the heavy distortions 👍
@@JamesBrewphoto Thanks for your comment. So you think that i have heavy distortions? When exactly? on F2.8?
@@giorgiorousso The geometric distortions on the lens are fixed regardless of appeture. Architecture photography really isn't my specialty so sorry I can help much
Nice video mate. I have exactly the same setup D850 and a Samyang, been loving it! Been thinking to try a Star tracker also..have you used on before, the results looks phenomenal!
Thank you! I do have a star tracker, recently purchased but I've not actually used it yet. Will cover on a future video when I get some nice dark skies. It looks complicated 😂👍
im thinking of getting the 10mm version of this for a friend. nice review. im going for the 10mm because i can get it from a camera shop second hand for a good deal.
Good luck with your purchase! Thanks for watching
I know it;s not as easy to use as a lens with a higher focal length or a zoom but you could always use your legs and walk forward to narrow the angle to your subject.
Amazing review! thanks!
My infinity point on the lens was just under the 2 m Mark! Full marks for the video and channel
Thanks Bob :-)
A great review James. I would I calibrate my lens?
I have this lens for my Sony a7, a7ii. For my Fujifilm XT-20 I have the Samyang 12mm. Both for Astrophotography. They work great.
Do you have some experience with Samyang 18mm f/2.8?
Xakor 20 I only have the 14mm and the 12mm. They are both good lenses but I don’t know about the 18mm one.
Thanks for the video! I use a less wide 24mm F1.4 to get closer to the milky way, but for general night sky shots, I'd still love to get a 14mm - also for landscape time lapses...
I don't know yet how high I'd have to crank the ISO when the sun starts to set...
I think for landscape time lapses, manual focus is also fine at 14 mm :D
I am concerned about Samyang quality control, I met a photographer who bought one after his friend recommended one.His wasn't that good. He didn't go into too many details other than saying he sold it quickly.I like the Sigma 10-20 mm F3.5 EX DC LENS, filters can be used 82mm
Haggis Eater yeah mine isn't calibrated very well so that kind of fits in with what you are saying. Maybe I've been lucky but mine is fantastic! Not used the sigma but the f3.5 would be a deal breaker for me. Key feature of the samyang is the f2.8. I only use this for astrophotography. I do have another wide angle lens I use for all other types of photography, may do a review of that soon 🙂
Great review. Saaay... It'd be nice if you included exifs of each astrophoto, that'd be a nice touch. But anyway, thanks a lot.
I've bought a Sony copy and the infinity point is about 3mm to the left of the 1m mark. I'm still testing but at the moment I'm not happy with the sharpness.
Interesting, thanks for sharing your thoughts
Samyang Optics are not good !
I have that lens also, I used it on my D810 for astro photography also and got great results. I now use it on my D850 for the same and get excellent results. I use the 500 Rule and get pin point results on the stars.
Richard Higgins yeah it's a great bit of kit. I also shoot on the d850. For the price I think it's an absolute steal really 👍
Great review. Really great! Very clear and concise. I was just considering buying one of these and you have convinced me. You should send this comment to Samyang for a commission! 😄
Augmented Reality Images haha thanks very much! You won't regret getting one of these. Such good value 👍 *notasamyangemployee
Q. Why two aperture rings?
Btw samyang have adapted for square filters pretty cheap
How much does this lens weigh?? Trying to figure out if I could balance it on a gimbal for real estate videography.
Great review.
great vid, would this lens be good for real estate photos or would I be better with something different?
Thanks Jaus. Difficult for me to say as I don't have any experience in that area I'm afraid
Thanks for a great review! Is it compatible for nikon d3500?
Hi James, great review, how is this lens on stitching panoramas ?
Thanks Mick - I've never tried it for stitching panos so cannot say unfortunately
Hi James, great review, I found this when researching the lens. I was wondering as you can't fit filters can you use the body mounted filters instead?
Hi Greg, I have never tried any filters with this lens. I use it exclusively for astrophotography where I don't use any filters. I'm sure there will be filter systems out there that fit round the fixed lens hood, but they are likely to be big and bulky. Cheers
@@JamesBrewphoto Hi James yes your right there are some that do fit to the lens and it make the whole thing huge. I initially meant the filters that fit inside the body of the camera before the lens fits on like the IDAS light pollution reduction filters. These are ideal for lens that have no filter attachments
Great review thanks James. For astro, is it worth spending extra for the one with the AE chip? or is that unnecessary?
If using for astro, not worth it as you will only be using manual focus. Thanks for watching Craig 👍
Hi James. Good review as always. I have a Z6 (bought in 2019) and if I get this lens I would oif course plan to use it with the FTZ adaptor. Could you please clarify the comment you made in another comment below" to someone asking if the lens n[can be used with a Z6... "Newer versions yes - this older version does not get on well with the FTZ adapter at all however". I have sen a used one for sale. How do I know if it is an "older version" or not?
Thank you! I believe Samyang have actually released a Z mount version of this lens now. I'd recommend getting that and cut out the FTZ altogether
Thanks for the video, James. I'm just considering getting started in photography beyond the general photos everyone takes on vacations and such. Very interested in astrophotography. Looking for a good camera body to use with this lens. Any suggestions?
Thanks! I assume you have no brand preferences. I use Nikon and to be honest my knowledge doesn't go too far past them. The D750 is a fantastic astro camera. It's been out a few years now so it's price has come down quite a bit and you would be able to get great second hand deals. That would be my recommendation
Excellent review. Great lens for the cost.
Thanks Gary! 👍
Is the AF version as good by any chance?
3:40 James, if exposure is 30 secs at 14 mm, why it will be 20 secs with 24 mm, please......
It's based on the 500 rule for astrophotography. The wider your focal range the longer you can shoot before star trailing (movement of the earth) becomes noticeable 👍
@@JamesBrewphoto grateful for this insight. Regards
its cinda weard. i got this lense in the mail today. it got the same name and specs but looks totaly not alike. is thers a difrent model shiping to europe?
Hey James, I saw you using some heating wrap for the lens to prevent night water on the glass of the lens. How well is it working? Any other tricks? thanks.
Hi Jerry - works very well. I would definitely recommend if doing long night time shoots. Just make sure you get a good sized power bank to power it! Cheers
After my first night shoot with my Samyang I had some fogging issues so purchased this www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075XJCKD1/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_Izi.EbQNPM99V
Hey James, thanks for the vid. I have been considering getting this lens for a while to try out some astro photography but already have the DX Nikon 16-80mm f2.8-4 for my D7500. Would this lens be good enough or could I still justify purchasing the Samyang?
The lens you have would probably be good enough but difficult to say for sure as I don't have knowledge or experience of that lens. I'd stick with what you've got and see how it works for you
@@JamesBrewphoto Hey James, just rewatched this video as just bought the Z mount version of this lens. Upgraded to Z6ii some time ago. I noticed from the vid that you are getting in camera aperture control from the F mount version, however I am not getting any aperture readings from my z mount version. Any idea if this is normal? Thanks in advance
Great review, love your photos! Keep up the great works on youtube. Cheers.
Thanks very much Vincent 🙏
Nice review. Looking at getting this for real estate photography....just can't afford those $1800 Nikon lenses!!
Did you end up getting this lens for RE photography? I’m curious to know how it performs for that purpose myself
@@rippetomedia Hi Corey, yes I got this lens a few week ago and I have been using on my Nikon D610. It is a great lens but does have issues typical with wide angle lenses. I am using an older version of photoshop and lightroom, so I had to find a lens profile on the web to fix the warping. I will post a video with a few before and after pics on my channel shortly to give you an idea what it looks like. Cheers.
@@rippetomedia ua-cam.com/video/X1L9mZ8dkHs/v-deo.html
Thank you james !
brother what is better auto focus or manual i plan to buy Samyang 14mm f2 8 pls give me sugestion
If you have the choice I'd get the auto focus version but I guess it depends on the price difference
Hi James!. I have the same lens for about 2 years and my problem is how to confirm the focus in the screen of my Nikon D750, not just in the viewer. For me that's a problem because sometimes I need to put the camera very close to the ground and I can't see through the viewer if is in focus or not. That's why I'm thinking about the "new" AF model. Do you know if I'm able to see the focus confirmation in my screen? Thanx a lot, and great video, as usual. ;-)
Thanks Sergio! That's a great point. I haven't used the new AF model myself so cannot say unfortunately. I would assume you would be able to see confirmation in your LCD however :-)
Hi again James, thanx for your comment, but I was referring to my current Samyang MF. I mean, my D750 doesn’t have focus peaking. Do you know any trick in order to view any kind of focus confirmation in the LCD display? At the end I will buy the new AF, but meanwhile... 😉. Thanx again!
@@sergioc.p.7845Oh right, I suppose you can view the image zoomed in at 100% and look for sharpness in areas of detail. That's a method I use quite commonly to focus with many lenses 👍
@@JamesBrewphoto Thank you! :-)
This lens is attracting me, but I also would like to use it for landscape pictures. Do you think it can be useful for that?
It could certainly be used for normal landscapes however I find the super wide 14mm quite difficult to shoot with
James - have bought this lens for astrophotography (i am a complete beginner) ....how will i find where infinty point is? and for first shots what do you recommened as settings for somethign like a 30s exposure?....i havr tripod and remote shutter operation...so will be steady....the milky way shots are simply stunning!
A good starting point is to manually move the lens to the infinity marker. Move from there until you find sharpness in your images. I do have a separate video on my channel dedicated to this. Shoot wide open at f2.8, 20-30 seconds, 4000-6400 ISO, 14mm. You'll be getting great shots in no time. Good luck Paul
Is it good for Nikon DX bodies or it only works for Full Frame cameras? If not, what other lens would be a good choice??
It would not be a 14mm lens on a dx body, would be more like a 21mm. I would personally suggest a dx specific wide angle fast lens.
do you think there's a huge difference between Samyang 14mm f2.8 and f3.1 ?
Need a lens for landscape stills...I have the opportunity to buy this lens for 150 euros and I wanted to know if it is recommended for this type of photography
How do you focus with this mechanical lens at nighttime? Any tips and tricks?
Zoom into a bright star and adjust focus via liveview until the star appears at its smallest
Nice review in a greatly choosen location 🙂
I've always been interested in this lens but I would have to adapt it to my M43 camera so I'd only have 28mm field of view. For everyday use that's wide enough for me (the widest I can get with my current lenses is 12 = 24mm which I rarely use), but for astrophotography it might not be wide enough...
Next purchase will be a drone though, so the Samyang would have to wait at least a year, thus time for me to think about it 😅
Cheers
Trembich Moving Moments thanks very much Sören! Not sure why I went to this location, probably because it's nice and quiet. Still struggle with an audience haha. I'd love a drone but I'll have to wait a while longer for that. Just got myself a star tracker so some content will be coming soon on that...once I get some clear skies 🤞
James Brew
Looking forward to that content 🙂
My plan was to get a drone next year in the summer since I'm getting married and have to save for that at the moment. But yesterday I learned that a friend of mine wants to sell his barely used DJI Spark so I might buy that.
Trembich Moving Moments next summer is a long way away. I reckon go for the second hand one from your friend. Sounds like a good opportunity 👍
James Brew
Yeah it is the favorable option.
my friend....i like you! Thanks for review!
Thanks :-)
James do you think I could do interior work with that lens - does it have much distortion
You probably could but it does distort somewhat so I'm not sure it would be the very best choice for you
Can I use this Lens on a NIKON D3300?
I believe that the d3300 is an f mount camera so yes it will fit although it wont be 14mm on a dx body👍
Will this fit right onto a Nikon D3200? Interested in it for some astrophotography but I can't for the life of me wrap my head around compatibility outwith camera makes.
It will fit but this lens is designed for full frame cameras. I would recommend getting a wide fast lens designed for your crop sensor camera
How are you dealing with coma?
Hello James, is this lens suitable for full-frame camera bodies. And would you recommend it for landscape photography where you wish to get something close very close to the lens?
Yes I shoot on a full frame body. I think it excels at astrophotography, I personally wouldn't use it for anything else imo
What’s the secret to setting this lens to infinity focus during the day so it doesn’t have to be done at night?
i have one problem can you help me
Great review. I've been wanting to get into Astrophotography for ages now but some of the lens prices are just stupid. Will give this lens a try.
There's a Mk2 on Amazon - anyone know what the difference is?
Are you able to say what size of front lens cap you need for this lens? I bought one but it didn’t come with a lens cover and I can’t seem to find one online
I no longer own the lens so difficult for me to say. You're best bet would be to find someone selling a broken version of it for spares and repairs, and hope you can get the cap off that probably.
I have the 35mm 1.8g, and im currently saving for this lens do you think i can get some good night sky shots with the 35 mm
Donkey Doge 35 1.8 is another fantastic Astro lens
Hey I'm probably getting this lens. But I'm unsure about how to find the infinity point? Could you explain how that's done?
I actually have another video on my channel for that exact topic - take a look :-)
I have this lens but im a begginer. Do you have a tutorial of how to take photos of astrophotography?
Hi Gabriel! I have a tutorial on taking star trail images, many of the settings for that are exactly what you would use for general astro shooting. Check it out here ua-cam.com/video/PoYTX0eKsUc/v-deo.html 👍
Thank you very much already seen it and I’ll put toy new knowledge in practice
Loved your video ...My friend has one and i'm trynna buy it from him ...he says that it has some micro scratches on the front element ...will that effect the night sky shots?
It depends how micro they are I guess, very difficult to say without seeing it
I have canon 80D is this going to work with this lens?
Yes I believe there are Canon mounts for this lens
I bought it for real estate
I hope i will not regret it
Thanks for the advice! I want to buy this for my husband, will it be compatible for his Nikon D750? Thanks
Yes if you buy an f mount version 👍