Samyang 14mm arrived!

[iceman]

Inspired by Greg's thread (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=89979) about the Rokinon (Samyang) 14mm, I bought one off ebay.

I haven't had a chance to really use it yet (except for a few happy snaps in the backyard), but wow - the FOV is incredible and it really opens up for some creative opportunities.

I had the lens practically right on top of the cat and dog and yet you can still see loads of stuff around them.

It takes a bit of getting used to the manual f/stop setting and manual focus. The focus ring is very long - that is, there's a LOT of twisting to be done from one end of focus (macro end) to the other (infinity). It's certainly not the type of lens you'd use where you need to refocus quickly.

If anyone else gets it, don't forget to get the profile corrector for Lightroom/Photoshop to match the Canon 5D Mark II and Samyang 14mm. It corrects for some moutstache distortion.

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/lensprofile_creator.html

Download the app, install it, download the profile and restart Lightroom.

In lightroom, the profile will be available under Canon, and in the lens menu right down the bottom.

Looking forward to using it in anger under the night sky or for some landscapes.

[Adelastro1]

Wow your cat has really long legs Mike, and your dog has a huge nose! What have you been feeding them?

I bought the Samyang 35mm f1.4 and am very happy with it although I've only used it once for a bit of astro to test it out. Very sharp, and bright of course. The reviews I read rated it higher, sharpness wise and better coma, at wider apertures than the same Nikon's, plus I wanted a bit more angle than a standard 50mm f1.2 or 1.4.

It does feel good though to have a manual lens again after using them in the old film days. There's something extra about having to set up the lens yourself rather than using the auto focus & f stop lenses around now. I think it reminds you of exactly what's going on inside the lens and certainly recommend these for people new to photography to get an understanding, just like when I started out with manual lenses. I have a manual focus 500mm F4 now too that I'm playing with, and anyway at night lenses need to be set to manual as they won't focus on the dim stars! Taping the focus down once infinity is found is a good idea (as mentioned in that thread link).

Wayne

[obsidianphotos]

Awesome Mike :thumbsup: Looking foward to seeing some night sky scapes from you with this. I plan to get one soon. Just had a few other issues going on lately that has stopped me purchasing one so far. Thanks for the link re: profile correction. I'll be sure to get it when I get the lens.
Cheers
Greg

[gregbradley]

Good choice Mike. I am finding the 14-24 Nikon at 14mm and F2.8 a good lens for wide Milky Way shots and long exposure night shots.

Greg.

[obsidianphotos]

Finally ordered one. Should have it in my hands and pointed at the stars late next week :D

If I could afford the Nikon I would get it Greg. It's a killer lens but all my extra money is being put aside for an aurora hunting trip next year. I have told myself that I am not allowed to buy anymore camera or telescope equipment until after that trip. Of course I did tell myself that, one camera and two lenses ago.......:lol:

[gregbradley]

I don't know that you would be able to tell the difference in widefield astro shots anyway. Its more terrestial imaging those extra little sharpness counts more.

For astro, F ratio and aperture without too much coma is what you want.

Same with cameras,high dynamic range and high ISO performance with low noise is probably more important than just about anything else.

Greg.

[geoffsims]

I recently purchased this lens too, for my "new" 5D Mark II. Having literally only played with it for about 10 minutes, I am pretty impressed, and glad I didn't get a "bad" copy (at least, I don't think I did).

See attached pics - 30s @ f/2.8, ISO 1600.

First pic is straight from camera (RAW > JPG) with minimal level adjustment, second is crop of Crux region, third is crop from top right hand corner (same dimensions as the Crux region). Distortions appear to be minimal.

[MrB]

Looking great Mike, gonna get one of these too.
Kitty looks just like mine :) Bengal?

[iceman]

Thanks Geoff, they look good. Minimal distortions in the corner.

Looking forward to using mine.

[obsidianphotos]

Picked up mine last night. :D Gave it it's first light this morning and WOW is it wide. The corner performance on stars is phenominal wide open. Seagulls? What seagulls? Kinda puts the major manufacturers to shame really.....