Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC Lens Review

Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC handling and features

Although you may expect that Samyang would have to scrimp on build quality to produce this lens at a lower price point that the competition, they haven't. A combination of high quality plastics and metal, with a textured external finish have been used for the lens barrel construction and the lens mount is metal. As a result the lens has quite a bit of heft to it and feels very solid, although at 680g, it isn't overly heavy when paired with the Nikon D700 used for testing.



Manual focusing is a pleasure, thanks to the smooth and evenly damped action of the focusing ring, which extends the lens by approximately half a centimetre when set to the closest focusing distance. Using the focusing assist in the viewfinder is relatively easy at maximum aperture, then the aperture can be stopped down manually for picture taking. Closest focus is 20cm, which should be ideal for shooting in cramped environments, or even for close up images, which this lens is ideally suited for. The controls for tilt and shift movements are smooth to operate and the amount of force needed to turn the dials can be easily adjusted via dials, which can also lock the lens at the desired setting. The lens can be shifted up to 12mm off axis, or tilted by up to 8.5 degrees, which provides plenty of scope for adjustment.



A useful hyperfocal scale is marked onto the lens barrel although these values will only apply is no tilt movements are set. Both tilt and shift movement can be rotated in 30 degree steps independently, allowing tilt and shift movements to be aligned with each other if required.

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