Samyang SY14M-C 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Fixed Angle Lens for Canon , Black

I wanted an inexpensive wide-angle lens for my full-frame Sony a7RIII and this fits the bill perfect. The ideal lens for my a7RIII would be the Sony 12-24 f/4 or, better yet, the Sony 16-35 f/2.8 GM, but both of those lenses are well over $1000. For around $300 the Samyang 14mm offers some amazing image quality for the price. The build quality seems pretty sturdy, the outside is metal with rubber grip on the focus ring, which is smooth with good tension and the mount is solid. I primarily use it for real estate photography and landscapes (mainly astrophotography). The wide 14mm angle on my full-frame a7RIII is perfect for real estate because you can show an entire room with little distortion and the f/2.8 is perfect for low-light and astrophotography because you can let a lot of light in at a low cost. The focusing distance is really good and I've used it to make some pretty cool close-up shots of things like flowers and wedding cakes that gives a different perspective. All that said, there is a pretty noticeable amount of distortion on this lens, but it is easily fixed with the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm lens profile in Lightroom (it doesn't auto-correct for distortion since Lightroom has no way of knowing what lens you are using, but the profile is available for RAW files). Finally, this lens is sharp from edge to edge. I've seen some people complain about some Samyang and Rokinon 14mm lenses being soft on the edges (and my friend has the 14mm Rokinon that does have soft edges), but I have no issues with mine.As a recap:Pros:- Great, wide-angle for the price- f/2.8 is great in low-light (and again, great for this price)- Close focusing distance- Good build quality (metal, but not weather sealed)Cons:- All manual: manual aperture, manual focus- Pretty bad distortion (easily fixed with the lens profile in Lightroom)

Please note- For Nikon digital slrs, make sure and set the aperture on the lens to f22 or you'll get an error message and the camera will not function. It says to set the lens to f22 in the lens instructions, which I failed to read before mounting the lens. Setting the lens to f22 allows the camera body to interface with the lens and control the lens aperture via the rotary dial on the camera and allows for metering. You get fractional aperture control with Nikon digital slrs.I'm very impressed by this lens! I'm using the lens for landscape in combination with a Nikon D800. Mirror up, remote release, on a sturdy tripod, shooting at f5.6 to f11 this lens performs beautifully. I'm astounded by the sharpness at all apertures. There's a large amount of barrel distortion, so this lens isn't for straight lines(architecture, interiors...). Large amount of vignetting at 2.8 which diminishes by f8. Most importantly to me, chromatic aberrations throughout the aperture range are virtually nonexistent!!! I make very large pigment ink prints (Epson 9880), chromatic aberrations can be a problem, though not with this lens. The artifacts from software correction of chromatic aberrations are visible in large prints, so that is one of the primary factors I consider when purchasing a lens. Build quality of the lens is solid.A quick plug for the Nikon D800- I never imagined that I would be making sellable 44" wide X 60"+/- (depending on crop) prints with captures from a digital slr. After a lot of refinement of technique (aka trial and error), both while capturing the image and in post processing I'm having excellent results with these very large prints. They are not in the same league with large prints from large format film, which are much higher quality, but the prints greatly surpass what I was achieving from medium format film.

The 1st couple of times I used this lens, I had a difficult time taking pictures that were actually in focus. They seemed focus on my preview but when I got home and zoomed in on parts of the image, mainly the part that mattered, the images were out of focus. They were, after all, my first few times with an all manual lens. Some research and trial and error after, I started using LiveView as I was framing my shot and since I was able to zoom in up to 10x in order to check focus, I was able to get better, more focused, pictures. The price for using Live View however, was overall battery live and I switched from using Live View to using my phone. I connected my phone to my camera via an OTG cable which ran me about $5 dollars for a pack of 2 and utilizing DSLR Controller from the Playstore (it's free) which basically allowed me to control my camera from my phone in turn extending the overall battery life of the camera and saving me from not having to spend on an actual remote controller. (if you really want to, you can invest on a battery grip which can help remedy this this problem. Am still waiting for a good deal on one) Live View and DSLR Controller both help me establish guidelines for being in focus with this lens and ways to validate whether an image was in focus or not without having to find out when it's too late. Now I seldom use either. This lens has proven to be very useful, specially for the price paid which is a fraction of the Canon version. Most recently, I was able to capture all of the San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Mission from a relatively close position. I overheard another Canon user complaining about not being able capture the whole mission in one shot from where we were standing and she ended up borrowing my lens and with a little guidance, she got it! Am not giving it 5 stars due to not having a confirmation chip to let you know when you are in focus (they run about $50 bucks) I personally like the red line around the lens because it kind of blends in with the rest of my L lenses, even though the red line is at the opposite end. The lens feels well built and it's got some nice weight to it. Good luck finding a filter that's not over the top or that's under a hundred dollars. Overall, am glad I took the risk and bought this lens. Still waiting for a clear night so that I can test it to see how it does with astrophotography.