| Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: February, 2019 Location: Illinois Posts: 21
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: December 29, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $276.59
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Low coma, fast, sharp | | Cons: | none | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K1 Mark II
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I bought the Bower (Samyang manufactured, rebranded) version of this lens off the bay earlier this year, specifically for astrophotography. It performs great wide open, but I stop it down to 1.8, just to further control what little coma there is. With my K1 Mk II, I can take 90s sky frames at ISO400. I will sometimes shoot a few and stack them, but I almost always just use a single image. At ISO400, there is no reason to stack. Dynamic range and color are amazing. Foreground exposures don't need to be as long because this thing is so fast. I have just loved it, immensely. I had a 35mm f/1.4 Sigma Art which gathered way more light, but it had significant coma, much more noticeable than this lens, even at f/2 which is what I had to stop down to for the images to even be usable, (I'm picky). Maybe I had a bad copy, as the Sigma 35 Art is very well regarded in astro circles, but regardless, I sold it (for almost twice what I paid for the Bower 24mm) because I wasn't taking it out anymore. Having the extra field of view and better stars at 24mm was just too good.
It does great out in the woods too, but I don't risk it out there, often. It stays home bundled up during the day 
 | | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2021 Posts: 304
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: July 17, 2021 | Recommended | Price: $531.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | IQ, Sharp, Build, Light | | Cons: | Hood, Front Lens Cover, Aperture Ring Location | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K1 mkII
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I love this lens!!
It was bought for astro images and landscape but as it's been only a few days since it arrived I haven't had a chance to do anything other then landscape with it.
First up the lens hood and front cap are a little flimsy and the hood can be difficult to get on, especially in reverse. It's a very minor thing however.
The Aperture ring is in a horrible location that makes it hard to adjust. Though it's negated by A mode where the camera can control the F setting so no big deal.
There can be quite severe lens flare when used against the sun or artificial lighting (in my case LED strip lighting). In this case, just use the hood and everything will be much better!
It's really interesting, I seem to be getting more use out of this lens at present then the 28-105mm DFA lens that came as a bundle with the camera.
Comparing the two, the Samyang actually feels sharper of the two.
My Pentax K1 is still a new system so I'm still learning it and the lens only arrived a few days ago so I can't really comment too much on the in-depth handling.
Here are some images taken using this amazing lens:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wbkJ4ylcF6C9MNs3QZjWw2q7s3ruYhSF/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kuCpmHcoAL-gQ-TC0sfDEGMhUC6-gU9B/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fMd8d0CrxE56Xi-ECErjglVzxW0fWcsI/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rVBt9dIBd3k8AQySB1Fc3tb1c9kSrTd3/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iRShYTv-kbm3EqVYNjY1cvQn7sGDePV4/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kvIjxiAFywLfKKJnbHoPUqqzcpy-vwBa/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iP6CQtEwz6SMw1oK7i83uXkzKhlE71S-/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1krs-rmCAcH6lJt1TKxxSI1f2F8azA7Q8/view?usp=sharing | | | | | New Member Registered: December, 2019 Posts: 7
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 24, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharp, few alternatives, price | | Cons: | IQ could be better wide open, | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
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The combination of a large aperture and a wide angle of view on the K-1 enables unique image effects. Slightly stopped down it delivers very sharp and high-contrast images, but at f /1.4 or f /1.6 the IQ decreases noticeably. For the price it is a great lens, but weather sealing would have been very nice . MF requires practice, but can also be a lot of fun.
 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: December, 2014 Location: Colorado Posts: 497
2 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: August 19, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp | | Cons: | Bulky | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-1
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I have the Bower version. This lens is sharp. My "9" for sharpness is more like a "9.5", with "10" reserved for lenses like DFA50/1.4.
Wide open it is already close to Sigma 24/2.8, another very good 24 mm prime, at f4 to f5.6. Best, corner-to-corner sharpness of this lens is reached around f5.6. The bright aperture of 1.4 allows background separation, low-light, and astro possibilities. Other than the venerable 15-30, this is the best 24 mm lens available for full frame!
| | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2011 Posts: 485 | | Review Date: November 26, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | image quality, large aperture, wide angle | | Cons: | not as sharp for astro as some other lenses | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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Mine is a Bower variant. I bought it to use with my K-1 for astrophotography to try against my 14mm rokinon and see which I liked better. In the end I chose my 14mm for reasons I'll describe below. In the meantime, if you want to see a comparison I made between these lenses specifically for astro, you can check out this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rz-HacylCfE&t
The lens itself fits the mold of other Samyang/Rokinon lenses in that the build is good and the image quality is good. It is an extremely sharp lens with the one exception being I cannot get it to be sharp wide open for infinity. If I focus closely it is very sharp wide open, and I've taken some fun shots with it because of the wide angle and close focusing distance. I almost wonder if it is just my copy of the lens, because it is so sharp at closer distances. In any case, this is what made me finally choose the 14mm over this one for wide field astro.
For full-frame, this is a good focal length for a very wide angle lens with minimum distortion. The 14mm is very dramatic on full-frame.
| | | | | Veteran Member Registered: July, 2007 Location: North West UK Posts: 390
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 2, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $700.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Good performance wide open that just gets better. Close focusing, contrast, Colour and rendition | | Cons: | Only Manual focus, now weather sealing, focus ring is not quite qrippy enough, slight CA wide open | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1 K-3II
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If there was a 9.5 I would give it. The only letdowns are Manual Focus and sealing.
Apart from that, there is almost nothing to let this lens down, it is so addictive.
Focusing is very close indeed, almost macro like. Bokeh is very creamy and smooth.
Contrast is right up there with the best, as is colour rendition and sharpness.
Downsides?
Apart from Manual focus and the sealing, the rubber on the ring could be a bit better, and CA wide open is a little excessive, but not show stopping.
Overall, though it is a fantastic lens to use and be very creative.
Come on Pentax, bring us the DFA* version please.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: August, 2009 Location: Netherlands Posts: 31
7 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: February 9, 2017 | Recommended | Price: None indicated
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | sharpness | | Cons: | manual focus, size | | Camera Used: K-1
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Introduction
I too have this lens since this week. As there wasn’t a K-1 specific review I thought I should add my thoughts. Before purchase I read a few reviews, including these:
- http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/769-samyang24f14eosff
- https://www.ephotozine.com/article/samyang-24mm-f-1-4-ed-as-if-umc-lens-review-19623
- http://www.lonelyspeck.com/rokinon-24mm-f1-4-ed-as-umc-review/
First impression
This is my first Samyang lens and my very first impression was that they skimped on packaging, it looks cheap. The supplied accessories are a flimsy pouch and a plastic hood that seems thinner than most. The build quality of the lens is fine. The aperture clicks nicely but does jump from 1.4 to 2.0. Focus is nice, not too loose or tight. From infinity to 1 meter is about 1.5 cm, after that its quite a throw to the closest focus of 25cm. I have not tested the infinity stop yet. I have seen on youtube that this is something you can adjust yourself should you wish.
In use
The Pentax-version has a A setting on the aperture ring — which not all mounts have — so you can use manual exposure and aperture priority on the camera. This way you can select 1.6 or 1.8. Focus confirmation works — again which not all mounts have — but only on the central AF point. Precise focus is hard with the optical viewfinder because it is a wide lens. I used Liveview for most photos below (if not all).
Photos
I had read reports of poor quality control by Samyang so I was eager to test it first for obvious defects. The first results exceeded my expectations and I could not find anything unexpected. On the contrary: centre sharpness was beter than I was led to believe from my research. There is a slight veil at 1.4 and contrast is somewhat low but is excellent by 2.8. Centre sharpness seems to peak at 4.0 in the middle and the corners follow at 5.6.
Colours are very nice and out of focus rendering is nice and smooth; the rounded blades working as intended it seems. There is quite some distortion but luckily Lightroom comes with a lens profile that can fix this easily. That profile cannot completely correct aberrations around dark tree branches on overexposed grey skies.
Preliminary conclusion
This is not a cheap lens (which lenses are now a days?) but what is does, it does very well. My first impressions were better than expected and I am looking forward to seeing how well it does at astro photography.
About the cons and rating
I listed manual focus and size as cons. Yes: you know what you get in advance but I would like these optics in an AF lens even better. And yes: the size is comparable to Sigma, Canon and Nikon 24mm f/1.4 lenses but we as Pentax users are somewhat spoilt with compact primes.
I would be very hesitant to rate any lens a ‘10’, for that it must be perfect. My ‘9’ might be another’s ‘10’.
PS: Should you have a specific question regarding this lens, feel free to PM me.
All photos taken with the Pentax K-1
1. f/2.2
2. f/2.2
3. f/1.4 (!)
4. f/1.8
5. Three f/1.4 lenses for size comparison
6. 100% centre crops
6. 100% corner crops
 | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2009 Posts: 137
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: June 26, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Fits well to K5; sharp; IQ; bokeh; close focus | | Cons: | takes practice | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 9
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***Update per March 2014****
I have used and tried de 8mm, 14mm, 16mm, 85mm and like all of them
This 24mm was on my wishlist...but I waited untill the price dropped appr. to the price I just paid.
The field tests have been (again) positive on this new item...and I agree with all of the '++' and some '-' that have been mentioned (e.g. Lenstip):
++ IQ is very good across the whole frame and corners
++ you can focus closely on subjects
- it takes time to focus correctly (the lens has a long throw...and adjustment to the optimal focus needs to be done using sight focus screen...maybe Katz-Eye with Optibrite would be an improvement...but in my case I will just go for the practice); **Update**: I have bought the KatzEye and also use the LiveView/Info button approach; this works ok.
Here's a close focus:
Here's an example with moving objects; It takes time to focus correcly on the K5..but with some practice you will succeed
like this example
**Update**: And recently shot with K5IIs:
 | | | | | Banned Registered: September, 2006 Location: Millstone,NJ Posts: 6,491
1 user found this helpful
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2013 Posts: 2
3 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 25, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $800.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, nice Bokeh, f1.4, | | Cons: | may be a little bit big and heavy | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 8
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@f1.4: contrast is a little bit low, sharpness is okay (not as sharp as my Samyang 35mm f1.4)
@f2: good contrast and sharp
@f2.8: very good contrast and very sharp
@f4: as sharp as possible
I love this lens. I love my Samyang 35mm a little bit more, but this one comes with me if I just want to take one lens with me. It is 36mm (full frame) and so it is ideal for walk around. F1.4 allows you to make sharp pictures in dim light, but image qulity is better with f2 than f1.4 (but that is very normal for such a fast lens). It is expensive for a full manual lens, but it has an A-Setting so you can choose your aperture by your body.
I have a lot of fun with this lens and I pray for a long life of my copy.  | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: December, 2011 Posts: 3,112
4 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: October 10, 2012 | Recommended | Price: $630.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | unique offer for PK; F1.4; great IQ at F1.4 | | Cons: | large, heavy, manual focus | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 8
Value: 6
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Very interesting lens, producing great image quality.
IQ is definitely superior to Sigma 24/1.8 already in the center but mostly at the edges and in the corners. Same applies vs. FA*24/2.
Fully usable at F1.4.
Sample full res at F1.4:
Is large and heavy though:
But keep in mind that other camera manufacturers 24/1.4 are even more heavy and do not offer image stabilization.
Better than with the Nikon/Canon versions you can use Av Mode and set aperture via the camera as it has an A-Setting.
It also correctly writes the aperture data into the picture exif metadata.
Can be used quite well using a S-Type focussing screen.
Edit: I created an Adobe Lens correction profile for the lens and submitted it to Adobe, so it should become available any time soon through the lens profile downloader. Say goodbye to distortion, vignetting and cas.
Edit2: Here an idea of the bokeh, which I like a lot:
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