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Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 FE - Review / Test Report |
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Lens Reviews -
Sony Alpha (Full Format)
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Page 1 of 3
Review by Klaus Schroiff, published July 2020
Introduction
Manufacturers love to explore the extremes because that's a way of differentiating their offerings from the competition. One end of these extremes is in the ultra-wide segment and the Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 FE is one of the examples here. As of the time of this review, it's still the widest autofocus prime lens for Sony FE cameras although there are zoom lenses that go even wider.
There is another aspect that is distinguishing it - its price tag of just 500USD/EUR. Of course, this raises the question of what degree of performance you could possibly expect given the engineering constraints within the given price frame. It's worth noting that the lens is also available under the Rokinon brand name (primarily in the US). Strangely, the Rokinon is a little more expensive than the OEM version.
The build quality of the AF 14mm f/2.8 FE is very good. The lens body is made of metal including the smoothly operating focus ring. Weather-sealing is not provided though. The fixed part of the barrel has a satin finish which is a little slippery. As you can see below the front element is slightly protruding so it's not possible to mount front filters. Typical for such lenses, it features a built-in, petal-shaped hood which is a good idea for protecting the big vulnerable front element anyway. The lens cap clamps to the lens hood which is the common approach for such lenses as well.
The AF motor is fairly quick and noiseless. Manual focusing works by-wire thus you are driving the AF motor when turning the focus ring. This works quite well. The lens is also compatible with Samyang's "Lens Station" ($99) which can be used for firmware upgrades, focus calibration, and manual focus tuning.
| Specifications |
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| Optical construction | 14 elements in 10 groups inc. 3x aspherical & 2xED elements |
| Number of aperture blades | 7 (rounded) |
| min. focus distance | 0.2m (max. magnification 1:8.3) |
| Dimensions | 86x97.5mm |
| Weight | 505g |
| Filter size | - |
| Hood | petal-shaped (built-in) |
| Other features | - |
| Mount | Sony FE, Canon RF |
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