Samyang 14mm F2.8 - Which version of to buy

[sanath_perera]

<p>I have a Canon T2i in addition to Sony NEX C3 and am wondering whether to buy Canon EOS version of Samyang 14mm F2.8. I am hoping it use it with Sony NEX C-3 camera too with an adapter.<br>

If I buy Samyang 14mm F2.8 for Canon EOS, can I set the aperture from the lens and let camera pick up the shutter speed..<br>

Someone suggested I buy the Nikon version and use adapters for Canon and Sony but didn't explain why. May be he didn;t know EOS version can manually set the aperture.<br>

Any options at this price range of #350. Ot should I wait for Sqmyang 10mm to be released end of the year.</p>

 

[premo_o]

<p>The Canon version does not have any information passed to the camera, so on the camera you would have to set the aperture manually and then you could use aperture priority mode to set the shutter speed for you.<br>

I have the Nikon version with a special adapter for use with a Canon EOS camera. The adapter allows me to have focus confirmation and also let's the camera know my max aperture for this lens, so I don't have to dial in the maximum aperture myself. Also it shows this information in EXIF on image files.<br>

The adapter extends the lens so it would no longer allow focusing to infinity if I had bought the dedicated Canon lens and put such an adapter on it. The Nikon version on the other hand allows an adapter to be added without losing infinite focus. I am not sure if this would also work with the Sony camera.</p>

<p>As to buying this lens for a crop camera - I'm not sure this is such a good idea. An a crop camera the effective focal length would be about 22mm so it would not give you a proper ultra wide angle. If I had a crop camera I would opt for a proper wide angle lens like the Tamron 10-24 or Sigma 10-20 which are just a little more expensive but give you much more functionality and more wide angle (buying used would be the same price). Please bear in mind that a manual lens like the Samyang is much more difficult to operate then any auto-focus lens. I only have it because it gives me the ultra wide angle and sharpness that I can't get with any other lens even 3-times the price (using full frame of course). On a crop camera this is not the case.</p>

[sanath_perera]

<p>Thanks Premo for information.<br>

Is your adapter an expensive smart adapter? If I am using a cheap EOS to NEX adapter with no electronic contacts, isn't the Canon version the best choice for me?<br>

I hear wide angle lenses, say at f8, are easy to focus to achieve sharpness. Is it true? I thought all I have to do is to select aperture in lens and camera and set the distance scale to on the lens to <em>hyperfocal distance</em>. Please excuse my ignorance, as I have not used manual focus lenses.<br>

I appreciate the crop factor but didn't consider Tamron 10-24 or Sigma 10-20 because of the cost.</p>

<p> </p>

[premo_o]

<p>If you have the Canon version of the lens then of course you need a simple EOS to NEX adapter.<br>

As to the hyperfocal distance you are also absolutely right. <br>

However in practice - this lens is very difficult to focus using just the scale or the viewfinder - everything looks so far away (due to the wide angle lens) that you never know what is actually in focus. Also the scale is very inacurate so your hyperfocal distance calculations will not be useful either. Trust me this is not as easy as you would think - even in f/8. Before I bought my lens I also thought "how hard can it be?" :-)<br>

I try to focus using the live view with 10x magnification - this always works but as you might expect it is a slower process than you are probably used to.<br>

However once you get the focus right, the quality is superb even at f/2.8</p>

[sanath_perera]

<p>One last question Premo. I looked at Tamron 10-24 or Sigma 10-20 for EOS. I may have a problem with them on NEX bacuse I didn't see an aperture ring on the lens. Without the aperture ring, I would not be able to set the aperture when I use with NEX. Are these wide Zooms for EOS or Nikon with aperture ring?</p>

[sanath_perera]

<p>I meant to say: "Are there any wide zooms for EOS or Nikon with aperture rings?"</p>

[premo_o]

<p>They only have focus and zoom rings. No aperture rings.<br>

EOS lenses don't have aperture rings.<br>

I don't know about Nikon, but you have a better chance of finding a lens with an aperture ring there beacuse of compatibility with old manual Nikon lenses.</p>