Samyang Premium MF 14mm f/2.4 Review

Samyang Premium MF 14mm f/2.4 Performance

Central sharpness is rather impressive, being excellent from f/2.4 through to f/11. Results are still very good at f/16 and f/22, so that smallest aperture is worth having for the extra depth of field it offers. The edges are excellent from f/2.4 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. This is a performance worthy of a premium lens.

MTF Chart

How to read our charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV using Imatest.

Chromatic aberration is beautifully controlled, approaching close to zero at the centre and almost as well at the edges. There should be little need for more CA reduction in software.

CA Chart

How to read our charts

Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV using Imatest.

Flare resistance is excellent, even in the most extreme conditions. There is no tendency to lose contrast and in most circumstances the lens can be described as flare free.

Barrel distortion measures at -3.77%, certainly visible where straight lines are at the edge of the composition. This can be reduced in software as needed, although some barrel distortion can be very acceptable in ultra wide images.

Bokeh is the quality of the out of focus areas in an image. This tends to be more noticeable in telephoto lenses, but here it is still of some benefit as the bokeh effect is smooth and pleasant.

Value For Money

The Samyang 14mm f/2.4 lens is priced at £899. It is similar in design and handling to the Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone lens, priced at £568. The less expensive Irex Firefly version, with the same Irix optics, is £428.

This compares with the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC at £299. Zeiss also offer the Milvus 15mm f/2.8 at £1999.

Canon users have the EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM (£1999) and Nikon users have the Nikon 14mm f/2.8D AF ED (£1389).

Considering its quality, the Samyang 14mm f/2.4 looks the part and delivers the performance.

For more options have a look at the Top 10 Best Samyang Lenses, or the Top 15 Best Wide-angle Landscape Lenses.
 

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