ePhotozine (Click here) reviewed the new Samyang 12mm f/2.0 MFT lens. And those are their lens PROS and CONS:
Excellent sharpness in the centre from maximum aperture
Very good build quality
Compact
Low CA
Good value
Lack of autofocus may put some people off (although it really shouldn’t)
This is really a great lens from Samyang!
Lens preorders:
Black at Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
Silver at Adorama (Click here) and BHphoto (Click here).
23 Responses
Looks like a good lens but it is definitely more interesting on apsc cameras with 18 mm equivalent focal length. 12 on mft is covered already by many lenses. Bring on then 9 mm f2!
12 may be covered, but not at this aperture and this price. But yeah, since I have the Panasonic 12-32 so despite it being 1.5 stops slower I won’t be getting this Samyang.
The Olympus 12/2.0 covers the same range, but at 2x the price. Then again, it’s likely 2x the quality.
I doubt the quality is 2X but it’s very likely higher. However, what you really get for that extra money is an auto-focus motor and full electronic connection, which none of the Samyang MFT lenses have.
I own the Samynag MFT 7.5mm fish-eye, love the lens, and optically it’s amazing for the price.
I own the Oly, and the funny thing is I generally prefer it as a MF lens, though it’s obviously nice to have the AF available.
The 7.5mm is a nice lens? I’m actually interested in that one as I don’t have a fisheye.
The 7.5 is pretty much universally considered to be outstanding, and it’s a steal for the price. You won’t regret buying it if you have any interest in FE. Sold under three brands, Samyang, Bower, Rokinon – buy the cheapest one, they are all the same.
The 7.5mm fisheye has a really nice color rendering and micro contrast. It is very sharp and also has a super close min. focus distance.
I would say it is optically very good.
But still 300 bucks for a special purpose lens is quite something.
Anyway I did not regret that I got one.
I have recommended this to many who have been happy with it. It’s very very good for the price. Fully manual. Low chromatic aberration, pretty sharp, even at the edges (for a fish-eye) and very very wide, hard not to get your feet in the picture! It has an infinite focus setting which means you don’t really have to worry about the manual focus unless you’re shooting very close-up with shallow focus. If you compare it to any other MFT fish-eye (like Panasonic’s) you’ll be very happy with the price-to-quality ratio. Don’t expect it to be AMAZING though.
+Pros: the lens can be mounted to E-mount.
is this an M43 native or just the mount?
For both aps-c and m43, but not for dslr, so a reasonably short flange distance.
Not native. It is available on apsc cameras too.
Native only means that the bajonett is Micro 4/3 (so you don´t need an adapter). ^^
Yes, but as I said, only for mirrorless, which means shorter flange distance = more compact lens design than it would have been for dslr’s. But my comments all get to await moderation and then disappear. Sure it will help to get rid of an amount of trolls as well.
Yes this lens it’s in m4/3 mount so no adapters are necessary between it and the camera.
“Your comment is awaiting moderation”
I have no idea why. Dirty words? Like: flange? dslr? but?
Great! For APS-C…
Yes, but for mirrorless, sp shorter flange distance, more compact than for dslr’s.
Size/weight comparison with ZD?
Weight : 245 g / 130 g
Height : 59 mm / 56 mm
Filter size : 67 mm / 46 mm
Price: ~350$ (Samyang) vs. ~700$ (Olympus) ^^
The Olympus has autofocus and a manual clutch, without those features imagine how small this could have been if it was native m4/3!
If it wasn’t ePhotoZine, such a result would mean I’d get one before christmas. But as ePhotoZine’s figures for the lens are very similar to those of the M.Zuiko 12mm f/2 lens which I have seen to perform far below what all the praise suggests, I’m still somewhat sceptical.
Butt is a dirty word. So is DSLR.