[stevebrot]

The 8mm and 14mm are the oldest of the series

Are you sure? The first Samyang that I remember was the 85mm f/1.4, back in 2009.


Steve

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Last edited by stevebrot; 02-02-2014 at 11:57 PM.

[jimr-pdx]

The modern coatings on the Samyangs seem to do quite well, better than my experience with early Pentax Rikenon and Vivitar lenses. I have the 8mm fisheye but haven't used it enough for a strong opinion, but I do suspect it could use an infinity adjustment like many of the ultrawides do.

[pinholecam]

The Samyangs are good for the price.
IMO, quite a bit of the good reviews is also contributed by the fact that they perform rather well for the price and provides a good early entry point to fast/wide lenses for newbies.
Its also a lot of the new photographic entrants who would 'rave' about any new/fast lens on their hands and give high praise, contribution to even more positive reviews on the net.
Not undeservedly so I must add.


But for some folks (including me), price is not the main factor to a lens (though its a factor of course)
There is also build quality, size (both often hard to emphasis online with text), flare resistance, rendering (again, hard to translate to text and for rendering is often subjective).

I passed on the Samyang 85/1.4 many times and instead opted to spend my money on a S.Tak85/1.9; K85/1.8 and J9 over the years.
The Samyang while very competent just does not garner that many shots with 'oommph' to me, when I looked at internet samples.
I also got to try it a couple of times during Pentax outings here, but same thing... 'no punch'...
Not to mention the size, which is larger and I value portability very much.
The same can be said of the 14/2.8 (over my DA15), 24/1.4 (over my small K24/2.8).

That's my opinion and usage quirk anyway, so each user will vary.

[Stone G.]

Since these lenses are manual does it makes sense to just get a legacy manual lens for less? What is the attraction of these lenses?

Correct me if I am wrong, but these lenses are also made with aspherical elements and extra low dispersion (ED) glass types.

ED glass in legacy lenses was quite "exotic" and for the vast majority of legacy lenses, only spherical glass elements were used. Only in the latest stages of the "MF Vintage Lens Era" had computing and manufacturing techniques evolved to such a point, where aspherical designs became practicable.

Thus, one might expect that these modern MF lenses are (much?) better controlled in respect of aberrations, flare and the like.

[THoog]

Are you sure? The first Samyang that I remember was the 85mm f/1.4, back in 2009.

Steve

Yep, you're right, the 85 was the first. All three (85,8,14) came out in 2009, and have similar styling (EDIT: The 14mm MC came out briefly in 2009, then a redesigned UMC version replaced it in early 2010). I didn't hear Q/C complaints about the 85 like I did for the other two. Maybe those huge front elements gave them trouble. The front element on my 8mm was loose.

[stevebrot]

The front element on my 8mm was loose.

Steve

[Kerrowdown]

What is the attraction of these lenses?

Very often great glass at very competitive prices.

[mikemike]

I have heard that they provide a very good user experience for MF more so than modern AF lenses. I am certainly curious to find out for myself.

[bigrex]

Those lenses give the latest Carl Zeiss offerings a run for their money as far as performance. Especially the 24mm that just came out and they are a quarter of the cost. Combine both those factors and you have Appeal. Just go over to the DxO site and run some comparisons for yourself.

[hjoseph7]

Even DOx rates some of the Samyang lenses pretty high !