Samyang RF 14mm F2.8 AF Review

Dustin Abbott completed his Samyang RF 14mm F2.8 review, the first AF third party lens for the Canon RF mount. Samyang is noted for their excellent lenses, as long as you get a good sample. But considering the price of the Samyang lenses, a little aggravation getting one you like is a minor inconvenience.

Rokinon is the rebranded name for Samyang, and there is also a 14mm F2.8 for the Canon RF mount, but one has AF and the other does not. Be careful on choosing the right lens!

Key features of the Samyang 14mm F2.8 AF

Super wide-angle prime is designed for full-frame Canon RF-mount mirrorless cameras.
Three aspherical elements are incorporated in the optical design to control spherical aberrations for increased clarity and resolution from edge to edge.
Two extra-low dispersion glass elements work to reduce chromatic aberrations; improve overall image sharpness, clarity, and color fidelity; and help to minimize the overall weight of the lens.
An Ultra Multi-Coating has been applied to individual elements in order to reduce flare and ghosting for increased contrast and a neutral color balance.
The integrated autofocus motor provides quick, accurate, and precise AF control. Manual focus override is also available for refining your focus position.
Rounded seven-blade diaphragm contributes to a smooth and pleasing bokeh quality.

Pros

Beautiful, attractive, functional build
Weather sealed
Excellent autofocus performance – quick and silent
Widest angle of view with autofocus currently available on RF
Good astro performance
Good center sharpness at wide apertures; good edge performance stopped down
Good color and contrast
Excellent price

Cons

Corners a little soft until smaller apertures
Best contrast and “pop” doesn’t come until F8
Some “mustache” pattern in distortion
Vignette doesn’t ever completely go away at smaller apertures
No Control Ring

How did the Samyang lens do under Dustin's extensive review technique, according to Dustin, he liked the lens, giving it this conclusion;

I believe the Samyang RF 14m F2.8 has a somewhat outsized significance. If this lens had been released years into the development cycle when there were dozens of lenses available, I think that it would be easy to say that it was an attractive option for those without the deep pockets required for Canon’s L lenses, but with little more weight than that. At the moment, however, it is important and special because it is the first to start to plug the gap in the Canon RF lineup between the moderately expensive ($499 USD for the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 IS) and the exceptionally expensive (there are a number of lenses with price tags in excess of $2500 USD). There have been some manual focus options released from a few manufacturers in an RF mount, but the fact remains that the vast majority of photographers are not really interested in manual focus. The RF14 asks you to sacrifice very little (save the control ring), and has a beautiful build and handles very nicely. It’s autofocus works fantastic and that, combined with the full lens aberrations corrections, will make you quickly forget that you aren’t using a Canon lens.

Read the full review here