Samyang AF 14mm F 2 8 EF Review | 54 Data compared

The ePHOTOzine review of the Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 EF lens highlights a robust, weather-sealed, and autofocus-enabled optic for Canon DSLRs that delivers impressive central sharpness, minimal flare, and well-corrected chromatic aberration. The lens features a fast, silent autofocus motor and a useful manual focus override, though it suffers from heavy vignetting, significant barrel distortion, and lack of filter support due to the large, built-in hood. While central resolution is stellar, edge performance is softer at wider apertures, with sharp corners only achieved by stopping down to f/5.6. Overall, the lens is lauded as a high-performing, cost-effective wide-angle option for full-frame shooters despite its optical and design limitations.

The Samyang AF 14mm f2.8 EF lens for Canon mount is a lightweight, compact option weighing under 500g that delivers excellent real-world performance for action and low-light shooting. Its standout features include a fast, accurate autofocus system capable of reliably tracking subjects like mountain bikers and working well in near-dark conditions. For astrophotographers, the lens is highly impressive, offering excellent coma performance that produces sharp, round stars right into the corners with virtually no elongation. Additional pros highlighting its updated design are the inclusion of weather sealing around the lens mount and a sleek, well-built alloy body. However, the lens does come with a few optical trade-offs that users should consider. It exhibits noticeable vignetting when shot wide open at f2.8, though this issue significantly improves at f4 and disappears by f5.6. In terms of distortion, the lens displays a pronounced moustache-shaped pattern near the top and bottom of the frame, making it slightly less optically corrected than Samyang's premium XP 14mm f2.4 alternative. This distortion also results in the lens being a tad softer in the extreme corners when...

The Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8 lens is described as a budget-friendly, lightweight, and compact ultra-wide-angle option, delivering excellent center sharpness and fast, quiet autofocus. Pros include high-value performance, strong 14-point starburst effects, and improved image quality at smaller apertures. Significant cons, however, include noticeable geometric distortion requiring post-processing and soft corner performance at wider apertures. Furthermore, the fixed lens hood precludes the use of standard filters, which is a drawback for landscape photography.

The LensTip review of the Samyang AF 14 mm f/2.8 EF highlights this lens as a completely new optical and mechanical construction designed for Canon full-frame reflex cameras, rather than just an old manual model with an added autofocus unit. It is praised for its excellent image quality in the frame centre, good sharpness on the edge of APS-C sensors, and sensible edge resolution on full frame. Optically, it excels at managing chromatic aberrations, demonstrating very low lateral chromatic aberration and a complete lack of longitudinal chromatic aberration. Additional advantages include its low astigmatism, moderate vignetting when paired with an APS-C sensor, and a silent, very fast autofocus drive. Furthermore, LensTip notes a generous 5-year warranty period and surprisingly good progress in handling ghosting and flares compared to its older predecessors. However, the review outlines several critical shortcomings, most notably surrounding autofocus accuracy, which left a lot to be desired and often required in-camera microcalibration due to distinct back-focusing tendencies. When shooting on a full-frame sensor, the lens suffers from huge vignetting—reaching a severe 67% light loss at maximum relative...