| Author: | | New Member Registered: January, 2024 Posts: 24 | | Review Date: February 27, 2024 | Not Recommended | Price: $230.00
| Rating: 6 |
| Pros: | Cheap | | Cons: | Optical Flaws, Coma on lens | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 4
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 9
Value: 7
Camera Used: k1
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This lens is usable, but certainly not a good choice for high quality images.
I got this lens and it produces a really weird coma (at least at f/2.8) and it's almost impossible to use when shooting night photography with these point light sources. I am returning this lens.
Use for daily photography can be fine.
Image tests at f/2.8
  | | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: March, 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Posts: 23,920
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 10, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Relatively compact (apart from the front bezel), Sharp, Large aperture potential | | Cons: | Soft wide open, Limited application on FF | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1 II and K-5 II
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Ultra-Wide Angle (UWA) lenses have to be critiqued with their peers, as their optical qualities will differ greatly from normal and telephoto lenses. That said, this particular lens, of which I have the Rokinon-branded version, is reasonably good for its application as a very wide landscape lens. It shines most in the f/5.6-8 apertures, as with most wide-angle lenses, but can be used quite well at f/4, where sharpness is retained and minimal loss of contrast is experienced. The aberrations in the corners are quite obvious, but in keeping with what would be expected at this focal length.
Where these wide-angle lenses would be well suited is in the astrophotography genre, which requires the marriage of wide aperture and shorter shutter speeds to avoid star trailing and noise from high ISO selection. Due to the softness wide open with this lens, astrophotography results from it may not be as brilliant as those shot with the Pentax DFA 15-30 or a Laowa 12mm f/2.8 lens. This therefore limits the utility of the lens to daytime shooting, unless the photographer can manage to get the desired astrophotography results at f/4, where the sharpness is considerably better. Nevertheless, for landscape photography, this lens can do just as well as its competitors and is nice to handle (easy and comfortable to hand-hold, and smooth, well-damped focus ring).
An affordable, yet comparable alternative to the more costly fixed focus length and zoom UWA offerings available in the K-mount.
| | | | | New Member Registered: July, 2019 Posts: 3
14 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 30, 2020 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharpness, no CA, relatively light and compact, price(!) | | Cons: | complex distortion, no AF, 6 aperture blades | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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Excellent & cheap lens.
           | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2011 Posts: 485
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 14, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | image quality, build quality, sharpness, wide angle | | Cons: | normal wide angle woes, like hard to focus | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-1, Pentax K-3
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I REALLY like this lens. And despite being someone who goes through lenses super quickly (gotta try them all  ), this one has stuck for years, and that is saying a lot.
On APS-C (My K-3) it serves as a really nice wide angle lens for landscapes. I really like the width and relatively low distortion. The rest of the distortion can be fixed in post pretty easily to your liking.The pictures are super sharp, and it's easy to get subjects in the foreground and background equally sharp (because of such a wide angle).
On Full-frame (My K-1) it is a little too wide angle for my liking for normal landscapes, but can be used to extra dramatic effect if wanted. I primarily use it for nightscapes, which is does a very good job. Stars are the sharpest out of all the lenses I've used. The only issue here would be because of the distortion, which is a lot on full-frame, the outer edges of the frame are going to have some distorted stars and star trails earlier than the rest of the photo. Not a huge issue, but something to keep in mind when looking at something this wide.
Examples on APS-C (Pentax K-3):
https://flic.kr/p/XKsgVJ
https://flic.kr/p/XKyMrf
Examples on full-frame (Pentax K-1, Pentax K1000):
https://flic.kr/p/2gbSoYY
https://flic.kr/p/UcYLFR | | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: June, 2013 Location: Utrecht Posts: 255
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 27, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $110.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, even in the corners, almost no abberations, impressive looks | | Cons: | Distance scale had to be calibrated, rather heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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Impressive piece of glass, much more usefull on full frame then on APS-C. Clean images, even the corners show almost no fringing. Very sharp stopped down over the whole frame. Avoid direct Sunshine in the frame, although this might be difficult. Ideal to strech small rooms to cathedrals… . I bought it years ago together with the M 100mm macro for €180. Both are stellar for that price, realy a no-brainer to buy.
See also my quick & dirty comparrison with other ultra wides at https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/10-pentax-slr-lens-discussion/389036-my-old-wide-angles-compared-full-frame.html
 | | | | | Senior Member Registered: November, 2012 Posts: 151
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 30, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Cost, Sharpness | | Cons: | Front element, Size, Focus | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 5
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 7
Value: 8
Camera Used: K1
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I am still getting used to this lens. Its big and heavy, and the front element gives me the scare. Coming from pentax, i find the focus to be tricky to use. I have a feeling that when you get used to the focus ring, it will be easy to manage it. Colors are nice and images are sharp beyond wide open. For me, at f2.8 the images aren't sharp but usable.
 IMGP7016 by mouryach, on Flickr
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: October, 2011 Location: British Columbia Posts: 377
8 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 3, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $150.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp wide open, K-A pin, Aperture ring (film cameras), build quality | | Cons: | Can't mount filters directly (expensive adapter exists), Flare, QC, Comparatively heavy, lousy lens cap | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1, K-2 (film)
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My copy is the Vivitar Series 1 version (Marked as 13mm, but optically 14mm ; ) with the oversized rubber focusing ring. I am very impressed with the performance of this lens.
Of the four ultrawide lenses that I've owned (Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6, Pentax FA-J 18-35mm, Sigma 20mm f/1.8, and this Samyang 14mm) this one is tied for the overall best. That being said, my copy of this lens needed to be adjusted to achieve infinity focus, so be aware that quality control has been an issue with this lens.
The Good:
-It is surprisingly sharp straight from f/2.8 and remains so throughout its range, losing sharpness only to diffraction. Its sharp enough that cropping to APS-C (~21mm) still makes sense with this lens.
-Its colors tend to be bright and contrasty.
-It features an aperture ring and has an 'A' pin allowing for all shooting modes.
-It meters accurately on all my K-mount cameras as well, which lets me use this lens confidently on film where there is no chimping permitted.
-The focusing ring is smooth as silk without any slop.
The Bad:
-Ghosting is very much an issue when the sun is in or near the frame.
-ND and graduated ND Filters cannot be attached to this lens without the use of an additional adapter (which isn't cheap).
-It's not terribly light
-THE LENS CAP IS HUMONGOUS. Where do you put the dang thing! A small detail, but it makes carrying a camera bag a must. It won't even fit into a men's jacket pocket, unless its a parka! Because of the bulbous front element, the lens cap needs to wrap around the sides of the petal style lens hood. I have used mine as a dog's kibble bowl while hiking with my dog Chip. It's comically large. It does work well, though
Pentax K-1, 30 seconds, F/2.8, Iso 6400
Whytecliff Park, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Pentax K-2, Kodak Portra 160 Aperture ? Shutterspeed ?
Piccadilly Market, London, England, UK
Pentax K-1, 1/2 seconds, F/8, Iso 200.
Bramante Staircase, Vatican City
Pentax K-1, 1/250 Second, F/5.6, Iso 125
Lempuyang Temple, Indonesia
Pentax K-1, 260 Seconds, F/11, Iso 100
Science World, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Pentax K-1, 1/400 Seconds F/8, Iso 320
Leh, Ladakh, India
Pentax K-1, 15 Seconds F/2.8, Iso 2000 ~1.5x crop
Mt. Agung, Indonesia
Pentax K-1, 1/4 Seconds F/4, Iso 200
Balinese Waterfall, Bali, Indonesia | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: December, 2009 Location: Christchurch, New Zealand Posts: 2,437
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 11, 2018 | Not Recommended | Price: $310.00
| Rating: 4 |
| Pros: | Cost (if you got a good one), potential for sharpness, nice handling | | Cons: | Quality control | | Sharpness: 4
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 4
Camera Used: K-1
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Firstly I own 2 other Samyangs: a 85 f1.4 (love it!) and 8mm f3.5 fisheye (not perfect but a very handy lens on APS-C). So I was looking forward to adding another Samyang to my collection.
Very first impressions were quite good. I liked the build and centre sharpness looked promising. Did find it surprisingly tricky to completely nail focus though (as others have said). Size is fine on the K-1 and I saw surprisingly little in the way of chromatic aberrations. Also I don't mind manual focus and could live with the distortion.
However I quickly noticed the edges (particularly left side) were very soft and left corners mushy. There was still some softness even stopping down to f8 (needed f11 to get somewhat sharp across the frame). Further investigation found the focal plane was tilted by quite a lot. I posted a photo on these forums to confirm my thoughts (agreed unanimously). Also (as usual it seems) infinity focus was off but I kind of expected that (had the same problem with my 8mm).
Even if I corrected infinity focus it certainly would be absolutely useless for star shots and even most landscapes (although f11 would return so so shots). I was probably better off with my mobile phone camera.
Even if I was just using it for APS-C, I would not have been happy with this copy as still soft at edge of APS-C frame (but IQ probably approaching acceptable across frame at f8).
So I sent it back to the supplier with a detailed description (and examples) of what is wrong with it. The supplier sent it back to the manufacture and 3 weeks later word came back that nothing was wrong with the lens and it meets manufacturers tolerance! I debated this with the supplier and eventually, to their credit, they gave me a full credit for the lens (although some other poor consumer was probably going to get this lens which bothers me!). However if I got another 14mm from them and it performed the same then there would be no further credit.
I researched further and noted (from various forums) that its not uncommon to have to get 3 copies (or in one case 4!), in order to get a good copy of this lens. It seems that Samyang has some significant QC issues. So I decided to bail on getting a Samyang 14mm, which is sad given how I love the Samyang 85. In the meantime I will stick with my Sigma 20mm and SMC Pentax 17mm F4 Fish-Eye.
I probably should have given overall rating a "1" or "2" but I know if you persist and are either able to test your copy before buying or at least easily return multiple copies if need be, then it is possible to get a good copy. So compromised on a "4".
Maybe if it was for APS-C only I would give it a higher rating as its probably more likely to find an acceptable copy than for full frame but its sold as a full frame lens.
Good luck if you decide to buy one and don't buy unless you are able to return multiple copies!
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2017 Posts: 5 | | Review Date: November 26, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $300.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Image quality, sharpness, bokeh, buiding quality, great handling, | | Cons: | nothing for me | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Sony A7 / Kodak Pro 14n
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Very great ultrawild lens for reasonable price,
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2009 Posts: 94
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 26, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | excellent sharpness & contrast | | Cons: | big & heavy, distortion | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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This lens requires a psychological shift from what we got from Pentax in terms of small, light lenses. This thing is at least 3-4 times bigger and heavier than the DA15 or M20 (I know, you can't compare because the Samyang is full frame and 2.8, however it seems like Samyang engineers must be very big, strong types). Once you'll recover (grin) from this initial impression, you'll be very surprised by the absolutely excellent images this lens produces. Stunning. You'll also learn how to manage it: focusing, optimizing DOF, avoiding direct sunlight etc. to obtain best results.
Distortion is quite heavy and might be a problem for people not using LightRoom (I'm on Linux).
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: May, 2015 Location: Osaka Posts: 158
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 8, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $324.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Well made, good value, exceptionally sharp at f8 | | Cons: | Soft under f4, lens flare, | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 6
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K30, K3
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This is a very well made lens and it feels solid. Focus is smooth and there is long travel on the focus ring. The front element is a little bulbous so needs some care not to bump or scratch it. It is manual focus although in practice mine is always set to infinity as the hyper focal distance is very wide.
At 2.8 there is a fair bit of softness and it lacks contrast. However, this is just the nature of wide angle lenses of this type. It is perfectly usable from f4, great at 5.6 and quite remarkable at f8. In fact at f8 it is the sharpest lens I own - the resolution really is amazing.
I use mine for astrophotography where 2.8 is usable for wide sky shots such as the milky way. Other than that I use it stopped down on a tripod for landscape, gardens and inside buildings where it really shines.
Pictures are contrasty and almost clinical - it lacks the soft colors of Pentax lenses.
There is distortion but this can be corrected. Because of the large glass front element it is very prone to lens flare.
Yes I would recommend this lens but be aware of the softness under f4.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: October, 2009 Location: North Posts: 4,706
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 13, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Ultra wide; Sharp; Cheap | | Cons: | distortion; flare | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: K1; A7k
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This is at time of writing one of the best UWA options out there for the FF K1.
Nothing matches its intended usage for wide landscape work at its price.
The next closest lens in the 15mm range is easily 3-6x more in price.
f2.8 is a plus if its needed and the lens is sharp in the center at f2.8
 [
url=https://flic.kr/p/rEpkDR]20150315-DSC09783-2400[/url] by jenkwang, on Flickr
stopped down f8, f11, its the best one can get for the money.
DSC08682 by jenkwang, on Flickr
Sharp all the way to the corners.
IMGP2476-CompAdj-1 by jenkwang, on Flickr
IMGP0494-PixS by jenkwang, on Flickr
Pixel shifted full size sample here :
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29329237@N07/26540322334/sizes/o/
Distortion is the most I've seen on a lens, but in the reality of real world use, its :
1. Often not noticeable
2. Correct with one click of the Samyang 14/2.8 lens profile in LR
So its usually not a problem at all.
There is some ghosting flare when shot into the Sun, but its not overly bad.
Bottom line, its a $1600 DFA15-30, a hard to find Zeiss 15/2.8 or this right now as a sharp to the edges UWA option.
Find a good copy and its a keeper.
| | | | | New Member Registered: June, 2013 Location: West Berkshire Posts: 6
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 12, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $325.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, sharp, sharp! Nice and heavy. | | Cons: | That wideness takes in a lot of sky, thus affecting your exposure. | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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A lovely big fat heavy lens, but with a massive exposed front element to keep your fingers away from. Aperture and shutter speed are automatic but manual focussing is required. It's easy to think that with such a wide angle depth of field is enormous, but nevertheless, you DO need to focus quite carefully. I wish we had peaking through the viewfinder, as LiveView always seems to think the whole scene is in focus, so it's not awfully useable. The K-1 will ask you to tell it what the focal length is when you switch on, and there isn't a 14mm available in the choices, so I said 15 - it doesn't seem to matter too much.
Shoot in RAW if you're outdoors, because that super wide field of view takes in a lot of sky and will therefore darken your foreground.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: September, 2006 Location: North Idaho Posts: 696
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 8, 2016 | Not Recommended | Price: $319.00
| Rating: 3 |
| Pros: | quality construction, 3/4 circle stop to stop focus ring | | Cons: | soft, difficult to focus | | Sharpness: 3
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: K-1
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I purchased the Rokinon version of this lens, the new version with the red ring instead of the gold ring. I was very pleased with the construction of the lens. It is very solidly built. The snap-on lens hood is kind of funky. Reminded me of a tuna tin. Works well enough.
I really wanted to love this lens. It was a very good price, which has since dropped twenty dollars to the current price of $299 at B&H. Hard to beat that. But . . .
I just couldn't get the lens to focus very well. To confirm that it wasn't me or the body, I put on my A 24-50/4 and focused on the same subject. Plenty sharp with that old manual focus A lens. So, I concluded that it wasn't me or the body. Didn't care much for the colors either. Colors from a Pentax lens are just special, the pictures from the Rokinon were uninspiring and lacked in pop and vibrancy.
There are well known procedures to adjust the infinity focus, even some YouTube videos showing how. However, I didn't want to mess with having to do that. A new lens shouldn't need user adjustments that should have been done before it went out the back door of the factory. Besides, tweaking the focus points won't do anything about the colors captured by the lens. Sadly, I sent it back and ordered the D FA15-30/2.8 instead.
If you get a good Rokinon/clone 14/2.8, you will most likely be satisfied with the results, and will have saved a few Benjamin's in the process. The only way I can recommend this lens, and I would give it a high recommendation, is if you are very tight on funds, and you will only be viewing your images on a computer screen or printing 3x4 or 4x5 prints. Then you won't see the focusing flaws.
| | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2011 Posts: 2
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 5, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Wide FoV, low aberation, good for astro and stereographic panoramas | | Cons: | Manual Focus, Quanity Control, Needed Infinity Focus Adjustment | | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-5
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This lens was a quality control nightmare. This is a commonly reported problem for this lens. Had they not shipped obviously defective product, I would have given it a 9 or a 10 for price performance.
I have the Samyang branded version of this lens. The first copy I received had a tilted element and would not provide even focus across a star field. ALWAYS do a start field test on your lenses! Always! Non uniform focus in corners or varying CA or other variations across the star field indicates a defective lens. This is the hallmark of an improperly collimated lens. I sent it back and was sent a new one by B&H a couple days later.
The send copy would not focus to infinity. I manually calibrated the lens to go slightly beyond infinity and created a guide mark at infinity. Some day I may try to get the hard stop precisely at infinity - but to be honest I don't worry about it. Just make sure your lens goes to infinity - you should have very nice small ( 1-3 pixel wide ) point like stars at infinity. If you see a bunch of wider disks, it does not quite get there.
You can see the difference in the two copies of the lens here, as well as some samples:
https://bob-o-rama.smugmug.com/Samyang-14mm-f28-ED-IF-UMC/
So how do you callibrate infinity focus? Slowly rack the focus in steps, I used the ridges ( about 1mm wide ) on the focuser and took shots between each. Then on comparing them you can find the ideal focus tjhat minimizes flare and CA on stars in the edge of your photos. These are 10x enlargments of a star, each is about 2-3 pixels wide, But you can see the sweet spot for focus is to the right. These are at f/2.8.
I find this lens a very affordable, superior instrument for wide field photography or time lapse work. It is remarkably sharp and provides a uniformly sharp star field even at the edges ( the above series is from the extreme corners, CA and coma is remarkably well controlled, especially coma.
It is quite usable at f/2.8 and gets sharper, f/5.0 is it very sharp. Colors are OK, muted, not special. Distortions are present, correctable in post.
Where I use this lens is for doing pano spheres for stereographic projections ( little planets ). Its wide FoV and manual focus lend itself to this work. On APS-C you can cover the whole world sphere in about 24 to 28 shots with a lot of overlap. Here were made with this lens, patience, and Hugin:
Others are located here, most made with this lens:
https://bob-o-rama.smugmug.com/Little-Planets/
For the price, this is a great lens. There are better performers at twice the price.
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