Samyang AF 14-24 mm f/2.8 FE
11. Summary
Pros:
- small, shapely, and lightweight casing for these parameters,
- possibility of using classic filters,
- very good image quality in the frame centre,
- good image quality on the edge of APS-C/DX sensor,
- acceptable image quality on the edge of full frame,
- slight longitudinal chromatic aberration,
- moderate lateral chromatic aberration,
- silent and efficient autofocus,
- negligible focus breathing.
Cons:
- slight problems with spherical aberration,
- huge vignetting on full frame,
- very high distortion level on RAW files,
- performance against bright light still leaves a lot to be desired.
Still in the summary I always try to add my own personal opinion about the results, referring them do other factors, for example how the tested lens compares to its direct rivals when it comes to the weight, dimensions, and price. In this case the same flaws can be interpreted differently.
In order not to sound groundless and illustrate my point more clearly I would like to remind here the test of the Panasonic S Pro 50 mm f/1.4. It is a big, heavy, optically complex device that is also rather expensive. I didn't understand at all the decision to give up on distortion correction and let the camera's software to deal with it so I criticized it rather harshly. Still I can condone the same decision of the constructors of the Samyang 14-24 mm because this instrument features a lot of compromises concerning its weight and physical dimensions and its price, reaching $1200, is competitive compared to the price of other 14-24 mm f/2.8 lenses.
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In other words I anticipated many distortion and vignetting problems of the Samyang so I think the fact that this lens is able to generate sharp images across the frame in the whole focal range is far more important. What's more, these images are devoid of chromatic aberration. In landscape and architecture photography you stop down the lens a lot so this lens will perform very well and if you ever tried to shoot a video of a waterfall when it is windy you'll appreciate the possibility of adding small, screw-in front filters.
I am very glad Samyang found its own way and presented their own, original approach to the 14-24 mm. It seems the last thing the photographic market needs is another heavy, big, and expensive model with a huge convex front element that makes it impossible to use normal filters. The launch of the Samyang made our choice richer and it is a very good piece of news for everyone.
