Samyang 24mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC
Featuring Daryl Lee as Guest Reviewer.
22nd December 2015, Singapore – Samyang’s new line of MarkII and MarkII lenses are picking up sales quickly (and unexpectedly) to the amazement of many in the photography circle. Although many attribute the increase of lens sales to the hot-selling Sony’s E-Mount cameras which feature focus peaking (best for manual lenses), we found out from the local distributor that units for other mounts like Canon, Nikon & Fujifilm are doing pretty well too.
The Samyang 24mm F1.4 is strong contender to some of the proprietory brand’s equivalent. The large aperture, wide angle focal length and designed as a full frame lens, is targeting photographers who does wide angle portraits, landscape & interior – and it is also a excellent lens for travel too. The 24mm comes with an 8-blade aperture that produces a nice bokeh and the optics is something that I am proud to share – 13 elements in 12 groups – including 04 Low Dispersion glass & 02 Aspherical glass – do your research and you will know what you are getting is far more than what you are paying for.
The lens built is solid – just like the new line of Samyang lenses available today and it feels expensive to the touch, the design is simplistic and ergonomically sound. The front of the lens accepts 77mm filters and made in 06 different mounts for various systems. Pretty compact at 97mm x 83mm and weight merely at 680 gm, the Samyang 24mm will find a place in your camera bag easily. To make this lens even more competent and friendly to use, the 24mm starts focusing from as close as 25cm and it focuses from F1.4 to F22. If you have a full frame camera body, this is the perfect lens if you do what I mentioned above. If you are using a crop body, well, that will be 36mm (38.4mm for Canon APSC) for you and it is still a very usable range and the perfect street photography range.
We heard a friend, Daryl Lee was going on a little trip to Taipei so we decided to pass the Samyang 24mm F1.4 to him and let him use for his trip. Below are the photos that was shot by Daryl with the Samyang 24mm F1.4 – check it out!
“Even at F1.4, you can still see the sharpness and details. I am pleasantly impressed with the quality of the image from the Samyang lens.” – Daryl Lee
“A typical optical fault with most wide angle lens is the usual corner distortion. But from this image, it is almost negligible. Really quite happy with the output.” – Daryl Lee
” (The image above) I decided to try something different by allowing some lens flare. I removed the hood which is normally used to prevent lens flare. Shot this image at F14 and produced some flare as well as the starburst effect. Totally fell in love with this lens!” – Daryl Lee
“In summary, it is really a good lens to use. Personally, I am more for the image quality rather than the brand of the lens. This was my first encounter (with a Samyang) and I am very surprised by how well it had performed. Without the auto focus, it is not the end of the world. Relearn a new workflow or method of focusing, like hyper-focal focusing, and you would be producing impressive works of art. This will be something that I will need to learn. Meanwhile, I will let the other images speak for itself.” – Daryl Lee
“This image (above) was taken at F2. Unable to auto focus, I had to manually adjust the focusing. Tried looking through the viewfinder on my D800e, the smooth and easy focusing got my subject in focus really fast and I got the shot!” – Daryl Lee
“In conclusion, the Samyang 24mm is has surpassed my expectation of a manual lens. The capability is comparable to other brands’ units but simply a lot cheaper. The humble asking price makes this lens very affordable not just for the pros, but also within the buying range of most hobbyists. You have to try it to believe – will be buying one for myself soon – you should too!”
– Daryl Lee
Image: (Left) Editor AL and (Right) Daryl Lee.
Get your Samyang 12mm F2.8 ED AS NCS here.
About Samyang Singapore
Samyang DSLR lenses are exclusively distributed by Alan Photo Trading – a photography retailer and photography equipment distributor for many brands in Singapore. Alan Photo had been serving the local photography community since 1987 and they are one of the top 5 camera retailers in Singapore. A firm believer in honest deals & long term customer relationships, the brand operates on integrity and customer satisfaction. Today, Alan Photo is one of the most recognizable & respected retailers/ distributor for photographic equipment in Singapore. Follow Alan Photo on their Facebook here or visit their website here.
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