Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 EF Review

Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 EF Performance

Looking first at central sharpness, we see an excellent performance from f/2.8 all the way through to f/11. This standard is still very good at f/16 and f/22. The edges start off as good at f/2.8, becoming very good from f/4 to f/16. The edges at f/22 are still good, but diffraction is taking its toll.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very low centrally and still very well controlled at the edges. Further correction can be undertaken with software if required, but generally, there may be little need to do so.

Distortion is -3.10% barrelling, which is certainly very noticeable. Many subjects will stand it as it is though, as we are quite used to looking at barrel distortion in ultra-wide lenses. If required, corrections may be made in software.

Flare is generally well controlled, but when the sun is just out of the frame it is certainly possible that various artefacts will be generated. However, this does not result in a total washout of contrast and detail, so might even be used creatively under some circumstances.

Bokeh, the quality of the out of focus areas, is probably not the most likely feature for an ultra-wide, but in this case, it is very pleasant and smooth anyway. The overall image quality does have a particularly crisp and detailed “look” to it and the out of focus areas show excellent, smooth gradation.

Value For Money

The Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 EF lens is priced at £649. For Canon users, the obvious alternative is the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC at £329, although this is a manual focus lens. Samyang also offers the Premium 14mm f/2.4 AE XP at £899, also manual focus only.

Canon themselves have the EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM priced at £1999. Finally, the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens costs £1679.

This leaves the new Samyang lens looking excellent value.

For more options have a look at the Top 19 Best Canon EOS lenses, Top 22 Best Samyang Lenses, or have a look at the Top 29 Wide-angle Landscape Lenses.

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