Samyang 8 or 14mm

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arkadarka

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Anyone have experiance with these ?

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Wanted a ultrawide for my iceland trip but with paying for that i cant afford it
I know these are bottom end so wont be expecting great sharpness but will mainly be used startrails and to capture the northan lights
 
No experience personally but the 8mm is a fisheye, not a normal lens, so wouldn't suit you unless that's the effect you're after.

The 14mm is a rectilinear (read non-fisheye) lens with some hefty distortion, but reviewed as having astounding corner to corner sharpness for it's price (and I've heard the distortion isn't too hard to correct when it's on a crop sensor). The 14mm is also f/2.8, so better for capturing more light when you need that. They're both fully manual (except the AE versions on nikon which have auto-aperture control, I don't think they make an AE sony mount one though), but that shouldn't be a problem for most UWA uses anyway.

I've seem some truly superb night landscapes/star trails/northern lights shots taken with the 14mm.
 
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Nice one for your input

So as the 14mm is not a fisheye i should get a bit more use from it just want something wider then my 18-55 lens
 
I've tried the 14mm in manchesters lce store. Very nice lens, if I didn't have a tokina 11-16 I'd prolly get one (or if I was going ff...).

The fisheye 8mm is great, but not the best for landscapes... and if on a crop I'd look at the tokina 11-16 too... Price is double the samyang though but you do get f2.8 and af (assuming there is amount for it).

Post up your pics when you get back! :)
 
Ive just seen on ken rockwell the 14mms not great but the 8mm got good reviews

Anyother members have any comments before i buy
 
ecniv said:
I've tried the 14mm in manchesters lce store. Very nice lens, if I didn't have a tokina 11-16 I'd prolly get one (or if I was going ff...).

The fisheye 8mm is great, but not the best for landscapes... and if on a crop I'd look at the tokina 11-16 too... Price is double the samyang though but you do get f2.8 and af (assuming there is amount for it).

Post up your pics when you get back! :)
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Yeah the tokina is the lens i really want but just dont have the money right now
 
arkadarka said:
Yeah the tokina is the lens i really want but just dont have the money right now
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What about a second hand Sigma 10-20mm? Will be about the same as a new Samyang 14mm.

I have the 8mm fisheye and love it. Its a cracking lens but not ideal for traditional landscapes. Its particularly well suited to architecture.

Have a look at my 'Berlin through a Fisheye' thread for some snaps.
 
arkadarka said:
Ive just seen on ken rockwell the 14mms not great but the 8mm got good reviews

Anyother members have any comments before i buy
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Well Ken Rockwell knows everything doesn't he? (Sarcasm?)
 
arkadarka said:
Ive just seen on ken rockwell the 14mms not great but the 8mm got good reviews

Anyother members have any comments before i buy
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Ken himself admits in the review that his copy was most likely well below the general standard.

Check it out on lenstip.com or photozone.de
 
i have the 8mm samyang and its a brilliant little lens

fully manual which isn't a problem, and its really sharp.

will distort your image completely so if thats not what you want then dont get it but for everything else where you need something super wide its ideal.
 
Charlatan said:
What about a second hand Sigma 10-20mm? Will be about the same as a new Samyang 14mm.

I have the 8mm fisheye and love it. Its a cracking lens but not ideal for traditional landscapes. Its particularly well suited to architecture.

Have a look at my 'Berlin through a Fisheye' thread for some snaps.
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ive not seen any second hand but will keep my eyes open for one

i like creative photography mainly so i think i will still get the 8mm anyway and get a siigma or tokina for more serious stuff if one comes up:thumbs:
 
IS that the same Ken Rockwell who recently reviewed the 24-105 f4 L and said a few derogatory words about it. I find it's one of my most used lenses and is tack sharp on both my 7D and 5D MkII. So glad I hadn't seen the review befor I got mine.
 
modchild said:
IS that the same Ken Rockwell who recently reviewed the 24-105 f4 L and said a few derogatory words about it. I find it's one of my most used lenses and is tack sharp on both my 7D and 5D MkII. So glad I hadn't seen the review befor I got mine.
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The only reason I look at KR's page is for stats on a lens, not for his reviews - I don't trust his brash views on things, and plus he's actually a Nikon man so isn't to be trusted :p
 
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