Samyang 12mm F 2 0 NCS CS Review | 54 Data compared

The LensTip Samyang 12 mm f/2.0 NCS CS Review highlights this manual ultra-wide-angle prime lens as a unique, highly affordable instrument for mirrorless cameras with APS-C sensors. The review praises its high-quality casing, solid build, and the smooth mechanical operation of all physical components. Optically, the lens delivers excellent, sharp image resolution in the frame centre, which easily competes with or outperforms much pricier alternatives from Zeiss and Fujifilm. Furthermore, the lens achieves a fantastic quality-to-price ratio while managing to flawlessly correct astigmatism, properly handle spherical aberrations, and maintain a very moderate, commendable level of distortion (-1.88%) given its ultra-wide 99.5-degree angle of view. However, the lens falls short in a few critical optical areas, most notably its weak performance when shooting against bright light, which triggers significant, multi-coloured flares and ghosting artifacts. The LensTip Summary notes a conspicuous drop-off in performance on the edges of the frame compared to the superb centre sharpness, alongside noticeable vignetting and somewhat high lateral chromatic aberration. From a handling perspective, the lack of electronic contacts means the lens cannot communicate with the camera...

The Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS MFT lens is rated Highly Recommended by ePHOTOzine for delivering outstanding center sharpness, excellent build quality, and very low distortion at a competitive price. This manual focus prime for Micro Four Thirds offers an effective 24mm field of view and, despite lacking electronic communication, provides exceptional value. While center performance is high, the lens exhibits soft corners at f/2, moderate barrel distortion, and significant vignetting (1.64 stops) at its maximum aperture, requiring stopping down to f/5.6 for peak edge-to-edge sharpness.

In this review, photographer Gary Perlmutter evaluates the Samyang 12mm f2.0 NCS CS lens using a Fujifilm X-T1 camera, testing it as a budget-friendly alternative to pricier native Fujifilm lenses for a commercial real estate assignment. Priced under £300, this ultra-wide manual lens requires specific menu adjustments because it lacks electronic communication with the camera body; users must enable the "shoot without lens" option and manually select a 12mm focal length in the "mount adaptor setting" to ensure the focal length logs properly in EXIF data. Perlmutter notes that while the selected aperture does not transmit and defaults to f1.0 in editing software, Adobe Lightroom users can apply the Zeiss 12mm Touit profile to effectively correct any lens flaws. Despite the manual operation, focusing is straightforward on Fujifilm bodies by leveraging built-in assists like focus peaking or focus zoom. The reviewer highlights several prominent pros, including the lens's exceptional value, a robust metal construction, small size, excellent contrast, smooth focus and aperture rings, and great sharpness—especially when stopped down, though it remains highly usable wide open at f2 for low-light...

The Samyang 12mm f2 NCS CS is a compact, lightweight manual ultra-wide-angle lens designed for mirrorless APS-C and Micro Four Thirds cameras, offering a full-frame equivalent focal length of approximately 18mm on Fujifilm X-mount systems. The reviewer notes that the lens has excellent build quality, utilizing an aluminium alloy chassis with a smoothly dampened focus ring and a clicking aperture ring. In real-world performance, it delivers exceptional sharpness from edge to edge, highly vibrant colours, and strong contrast. Thanks to its nano-coating, low-dispersion glass, and aspherical elements, it successfully resists ghosting, flare, and chromatic aberrations. The lens offers distinct advantages and a few minor drawbacks based on its completely manual design. A standout feature is the fast f2.0 aperture, which gathers twice as much light as standard f2.8 lenses, making it a powerful choice for astro-photography, aurora shooting, and time-lapse capture without video flicker. Key pros include very well-controlled comatic aberration (low coma) for sharp stars, minimal barrel distortion for an ultra-wide focal length, and a 67mm filter thread that easily accepts screw-on and square filter systems. On the con...

This review highlights the Samyang 12mm F2 NCS CS lens as an exceptional, budget-friendly choice for landscape astrophotography, particularly when paired with compact camera bodies like Fuji X-series CSCs. Its primary strengths include its ultra-wide 98.9° field of view, which adds drama to compositions, and its highly impressive edge-to-edge optical performance. Unlike more expensive alternatives, this lens expertly controls off-axis coma and astigmatism, ensuring stars remain sharp and tight near the borders rather than bloating or distorting. Furthermore, its short 12mm focal length allows for longer exposure times of 15 to 20 seconds without producing noticeable star trails, effectively compensating for its slower light-gathering speed. These optical traits, packaged in a highly compact, lightweight, and mechanically solid manual-focus design, make it a perfect, portable travel companion for hiking to dark sky locations. Despite receiving a "Best Buy" recommendation, the lens has a few notable downsides. At F2.0, the maximum aperture is slightly slower than ideal for standard astrophotography needs, requiring a rely on higher camera ISO settings between 2500 and 3200. The lens also suffers from visible corner darkening due...

The Rokinon 12mm f/2 NCS is a beautifully designed, compact manual prime lens engineered specifically for mirrorless cameras, providing an ultra-wide angle of view that is excellent for landscapes, architecture, event photography, and astrophotography. Weighing just 245g and sporting a premium metal and plastic construction, it balances perfectly on smaller bodies and includes a smooth, well-damped focus ring along with a clicked manual aperture ring. Optically, the lens delivers outstandingly sharp images across the frame, even when shooting wide open at its maximum f/2 aperture. Unlike its larger full-frame sibling, it features surprisingly low, easily correctable distortion and utilizes a standard 67mm filter thread, making it incredibly easy to use traditional screw-on ND and polarizing filters for long exposures. Furthermore, its excellent control of coma makes it a phenomenal choice for nightscapes, as star points remain crisp and precise wide open. Despite its high-quality optics, the lens comes with several drawbacks primarily rooted in its completely manual design. Because it lacks electronic coupling, no EXIF data is reported to the camera, and using Manual mode can result in inaccurate screen...

The Lonely Speck review identifies the Rokinon 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS as an excellent, budget-friendly manual lens for astrophotography, praising its sharp imaging, fast f/2.0 aperture, and impressive coma control. Key pros include its compact, lightweight design, and a wide 99° field of view, making it ideal for capturing the Milky Way. Conversely, the review notes the lens is strictly manual, lacking autofocus and electronic communication, which can limit usability. The primary cons highlighted are inaccurate distance markings on the focusing ring and a lack of depth-of-field scales, requiring a learning curve to achieve perfect focus.

The Samyang/Rokinon 12mm f/2 NCS CS is a compact, lightweight manual-focus lens designed for mirrorless APS-C and Micro Four Thirds cameras, offering a 35mm-equivalent 18mm focal length (24mm on m4/3). It features an all-metal construction with a plastic finish, lack of weather sealing, and no electronic contacts, which prevents focal length and aperture data from saving to EXIF files. Optically, the lens delivers excellent sharpness at the center of the frame even wide open at f/2, achieving peak sharpness between f/4 and f/5.6. While the reviewer could not test it for astrophotography due to weather, the fast f/2 aperture makes it a highly regarded, budget-friendly option for landscapes, architecture, and night sky photography. The lens has distinct advantages and drawbacks. On the positive side, it is highly portable at just 260g and provides superb central sharpness across all apertures, alongside good corner sharpness starting from f/4. Its slightly stiff focus ring is also praised for preventing accidental shifts during landscape or star photography. However, negative points include its lack of electronic communication with the camera and a missing hyperfocal scale....

The Samyang 12mm f/2.0 is a lightweight, fast, wide-angle prime lens designed specifically for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera systems. Evaluated over six months on a Fuji X-T1, the lens boasts an impressive build quality for its budget price point, featuring a smooth but slightly stiff focus ring and a plastic outer barrel that does not feel cheap. Its standout features include exceptional sharpness in the center of the frame even when shot wide open at f/2.0, well-controlled flaring, and an attractive background blur (bokeh). This fast aperture provides a crucial extra stop of light, making it highly effective for wedding photography, low-light club environments, and astrophotography. However, the lens does come with specific drawbacks, most notably its lack of autofocus capabilities. While the reviewer notes that focusing a wide-angle lens manually is relatively easy using zone focusing or distance scales, it still demands extra effort. Optically, the lens suffers from noticeably softer borders when wide open, requiring the user to stop down to f/5.6 to achieve peak edge-to-edge sharpness. Additionally, because it features only six aperture blades,...

The Rokinon 12mm f2.0 NCS CS is an ultra-wide angle, manual-focus lens that offers exceptional image quality and a solid plastic-and-metal build at an affordable price point. Tested on a Fujifilm X-T3, this highly compact and lightweight 260-gram lens is designed for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds systems, making it highly discreet and comfortable for street or cityscape photography. It features a smooth, slightly tight focus ring and a solid clicking aperture ring, and it comes packaged with a useful, reversible petal-shaped lens hood. Despite lacking autofocus, critical focusing is straightforward using focus peaking or magnification, though users can easily stop down the lens to leverage its naturally wide depth of field. Optically, the lens delivers impressive center sharpness even wide open at f2.0, with a performance sweet spot found between f5.6 and f8. Its core pros include excellent color rendering, punchy contrast, a fast maximum aperture, and a form factor that matches the performance of significantly more expensive rivals. On the downside, the cons include decent but soft corners at f2.0, minor instances of flare, and noticeable vignetting. While...

The Rokinon (Samyang) 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS is a manual wide-angle lens designed for APS-C crop sensor cameras, offering an effective 18mm focal range on full-frame equivalent systems. The reviewer notes that while the lens is built like a "tank" with a mix of metal and plastic, it remains manageable at 8.64oz. Its primary strength lies in low-light performance; the fast f/2.0 aperture allows photographers to keep ISO levels below 3200 for handheld shots in dim environments, such as night street photography or indoor settings. Additionally, the lens features a Nano Coating System to reduce flares and ghosting, and its minimum focusing distance of 7.9 inches enables unique close-up perspectives with exaggerated depth of scale. The most significant drawback for some users is the completely manual operation, requiring physical manipulation of both the aperture and focus rings. While the reviewer found focus peaking helpful to mitigate this, beginners may find it daunting and prone to out-of-focus shots. Optically, the lens suffers from noticeable vignetting at f/2.0 and barrel distortion, where straight lines bend outward, though both are easily correctable in...