Samyang

[Benny]

I have read Samyang makes affordable and quality lenses and markets them under its name but it also market under different names - Rokinon and Bower.

I am checking to buy the 14mm 2.8 lens by Samyang, is there any difference from Rokinon and Bower lenses?
why the price difference?

Thanks.

[Manfred M]

First of all, Samyang lenses are 100% manual. My Samyang 8mm fisheye has no autofocus and does not integrate with the camera's light metering system. Please be aware of these limitations and do not buy unless you know how to work around these limitations.

As for price differences, the best answer I can give is that "your guess is as good as mine". It could be a different selling price negotiated by the importer, currency fluctuations at the time of sale, different pricing / markup policies by the retailer, etc.

[inkista]

+1 on the limitations. Know what it means to you that the lens will have no electronic communication of any kind with the camera. Aperture and focus control are both manual via rings on the lens. You will have to use stop-down metering (which, if you're shooting a Nikon D3x00 or D5x00 means no metering at all). Your EXIF will have holes. You'll have to use M or aperture-priority mode to shoot in (camera can't control the aperture). These are not trivial issues for some shooters. Yes, you can save some money, but at the cost of features some folks consider necessary. Be sure you've done your homework.

Also, be aware that the 14/2.8 exhibits wave distortion. Simple lens correction software typically can't fully correct for this, so make sure you hunt up a lens profile if you've got software that can handle that.

Also, the other brand names you can look at for comparison would include Rokinon, Bower, Vivitar, Walimex, Opteka, Phoenix...the list goes on and on... And there will be some external differences in the casing and rings (apparently some brands have the rings going the other way in operation). But optically, the different 'brands' should be the same in the same mount system.

[lukaswerth]

I have the Samyang 14 2.8 and while it's manual, it is integrated into my camera's metering system (there are 2 versions, I think). I got it for particular purposes, and it is very sharp. It also has a whopping moustache-like distortion which can be corrected, but as others have said, less easily than a simple barrel- or pincushion distortion. Often a barrel-correction goes a long way, however, depending on the motive (Obviously, corrections are most improtant for architecture). The lens is, as far as I can say, solid, flare is much better controlled than from what I hear about it with the Nikon 14-24, but less well than in my humble Zeiss 18mm f/3.5. The spiral for focus adjustment is very long, and what I dislike is that there is no fixed infinity point (again, unlike my Zeiss). When I tried the lens on some starry skies last summer, I fixed the adjustment beforehand with some sticky tape.

Lukas

[loosecanon]

I have one, it is handy for the odd interior though I must admit I use more often the Sigma 12-24, the Samyang does have the f2.8. It is a lot cheaper than the Canon alternative. The sigma is not as good image quality (but simpler distortion) but is slightly wider and easier to use.
Yes the Samyang needs correction - you can download a lens correction profile for it from Adobe (at no cost). To do this you download and run a small programme which will then place selected profile where it is required for Lightroom and photoshop. However remember the correction will also reduce the image area and thus angle of view.

[ajohnw]

There are 2 reviews here one full format and the other APS. Vignetting,full frame particularly and complex distortion seem to be the only problems.

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/53...ng14f28eosapsc

http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff...yang14f28eosff

There are some sample images that you could download and try to correct. I've not been that wide only to 18mm and find on the few shots I have taken that manual adjustment often looses less frame. These were pure barrel and camera angle adjustments though.

John
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[Glenn NK]

There are 2 reviews here one full format and the other APS. Vignetting,full frame particularly and complex distortion seem to be the only problems.

John
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On a FF body, the vignetting is surely of concern - 3.26 stops at f/2.8, and it's still 1.36 stops at f/8. Photozone calls it "rather hefty". Quite a bit better on APS-C bodies.

[lukaswerth]

Well, on DxO it's not quite 3.26 but 2.6 stops - also quite something, certainly, but my night skies whey werich I shot fully open turned out well, that is to say they were not spoiled by the vignetting... anyway, here is the link for the test on a Nikon d800:

http://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Samyan...ikon-D800__792

Lukas