Samyang 12mm F2 lens review for Fuji X mount
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
- The hunt for Fujifilm's best wide-angle lens.
Samyang, Rokinon, Bower reading online it seems like all three of these companies have the exact same lens from the same company but with a different name badge put on it for different parts of the world.
I'm not sure if that is true or not but in this video, I am reviewing the Samyang 12mm f2 NCS CS lens for the Fuji x-mount.
how good is it for landscape photography, what are its pros and cons, and how well does it work for astrophotography.
Also if you'd like to learn how to get perfect focus when doing landscape photography, check out my video on landscape focusing on the link below.
• Landscape Photography ...
Or to find out the best astro settings for every single wide-angle lens Fujifilm make, and how I tested them all.
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Great review as always. I own the lens and love it for astro (you've now quantified that feeling!). I've tried as an out & about lens as well, but can't live without AF in all but the most specific applications. Following your review of your 10-24 I picked that up for my go to wide angle.
Top stuff. Much appreciated. Getting maselft one samyang for sure. Great review
Great review! It'd be very interesting to watch a review of the new AF version of this lens. Finally, it's available for X-mount. Wonder whether it's exactly optically similar or different.
Excellent video again. Subscribing! Great to learn that this lens is sharper or as sharp as those lenses that I can't even think of purchasing. It's a great relief! Wish it had some sort of weather sealing. The condensation tendency in where I live is quite high too.
Cheers man, and yes no WR can be scary.
Specially for astro
Let me just say, thank you for the cheat sheets on the Samyang f2 lens. I just got the lens and took it out with my XT1 and it helped me dial in immediately to a usable photo. Greatly appreciate it. I also have really been enjoying your channel. Very straight forward information and easy to follow. Thanks so much!😃
Thank you for taking the time to let me know, this took tons of work and reading things like this years later is very encouraging to create more
Yes, that's true Samyang 12mm is an excellent lens for Astrophotography.
Your reviews are simple and great. Unlike most of the reviewers, you just hit the point. Good luck
Thank you!
I enjoyed to see your review! Very well! :)
Thank you
I use the Rokinon 12mm f/2 and the Fujinon 16mm f/1.4 for astrophotography. Since I have been very satisfied with the images from both lenses, I have never performed a head-to-head comparison.
Thanks for your review.
Happy to help
I have this lens and this is one of the best bang for buck lens out there
I bought this lens several years ago and it works well for Milky Way photography with a single image.
When I tried it in a camera tripod and took a series of images for stacking, on looking at the stacked image there were lines joining the stars that were towards the edge of the image. I put this down to it having quite a bit of barrel distortion. I heard that if you put it on a tracking mount the stacking can work.
You are awesome.. Good Review.. On my way to buy this lens now..
Thank you!
Thanks for pointing me to your review! This was a great review, and I really appreciate your details, and your astrophotography scoring is a HUGE help! I'm very torn between this Samyang/Rokinon, the new TTartisan 10mm f2, and the Fuji 16mm F1.4. Definitely seems like the Fuji is the best, and probably the most all-around useful given the autofocus - but it's also 3-4 times the price of these other lenses. I'd be very interested in your review of the TTartisan if you ever do that. Thank you!
Unfortunately TTartisans don’t want to send me any lenses.
But the viltrox is a very good lens as well but if the same risks as the Samyang
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography yeah I get it! Too bad, I think your reviews are great, and offer something a bit different. Hopefully they expand who they send to, you deserve it. In the meantime I decided to purchase the samyang/rokinon due to price. It should come this week :-)
Just picked a Rokinon 12mm will test out your cheat sheet. Thanks
Very good insight on the lens and how it compares to fuji alternatives. Love your channel! Also, would love to see a video on how you edit fuji milkyway files . Please, make a video:)
I have a video coming out in about 8 days time about the best settings for astrophotography.
And as soon as I can after that I'll have a editing Astro video.
Currently testing and refining editing settings as we speak
tb- photography Can’t wait to watch those!!!
The best settings one will be pretty advanced and I was going to add editing to that.
But I'm still not 100% happy with my edits so decided to split the video into two
Great review, great video 👍
Thanks
Great review. Thank you.
Cheers, appreciate it
Incredible how you have all the videos I'm trying to find😂🙌🏻 Thats worth a sub👊🏻
Champion, thank you
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I have the X-T20 with the 18-55mm f/2.8 lens. Do you think the 12mm f/2 can get me better pictures than I am making now? I uploaded my Milkyway shots on ig if you wana check it out @riederphotography. Would really help me making a decision on buying one or not😊
I think it would help, but I have been hearing more and more about quality control issues with the 12mm so it is a slight gamble.
I'd wait for a awesome sale to ease the risk.
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography What do you mean with quality control issues? Do you mean quality problems in the production of the lense?
As in I have seen a few people sya thier one isn't correctly aligned.
BUT this may also just be user errors as it is also a lot of peoples first major astro lens.
I’d love to see comparison between the 16 and 18 f1.4s
yeah, the lens from Bower, Rokinon and Samyang are identical; I have a Samyang version ( which you can by in NZ ) but have previously owned the Rokinon version and they are identical ( I compared my Rokinon version to a Samyang that my wife owned ). It makes a great wide travel lens.
I never refer to my wide angle lenses ( Samyang 12mm and Loawa 9mm ) as 'manual focus' but I call them my 'never focus' lenses; f8 and set to infinity and it is all sharp. It would be interesting to do a video on the 'hyperfocal' performance of lenses as they get wider to see just what the differences are, and at what focal length the focus isn't an issue for landscape work.
Ohhh I do love some hyperfocal focusing hahaha, cheers for the ideas and suggestions Andrew.
I'd love to see a head to head comparison with the new AF version. And especially the upcoming Viltrox 13mm 1.4 AF.
Unlikely to happen here sorry unless a fan can send me them
Samyang just released an auto focus version for Sony. Hope they do the same for Fujifilm soon.
I’ve got the Laowa 9mm Zero-D and love it
It would be amazing to see how the Laowa scores in the tests
I'd love to test them, if laowa wants to send me some
Really good review. Can you also review the laowa 9mm f2.8 for astrophotography?
Unfortunately I don’t have access to it…yet
Awesome review! Have you ever tested the newer Samyang 12mm auto focus lens?
I haven’t yet unfortunately
Thank you for great revew
Thank you for the support
Thank you, bro!
Really good review Tom but how would you go about getting a 'good copy' I see so many people have poor copies is there anything you can do to prove its a good copy before you buy especially online. Now a new subscriber to your channel cheers Carl.
My best guess would be to buy on a crazy cheap sale, so if you are unhappy with the results you can sell it "pretty much new in box" without losing money.
Or, simply ask the online store first, express your concerns about inconsistency and quality control, and see how the store replies and what their return policy is.
It may cost you return shipping, but in online world where their response is written and can be publicly shared, having a considerate way of dealing with poor quality products is a must.
You just need to also be very kind with packaging and understand that return shipping / time to process things is something that can take a while and shouldn't be up to them to cover.
And proving that your copy isn't "sharp enough" might be tricky to do, without some form of test and comparative example.
Out of curiosity how do you think you would decide if the lens was not sharp enough vs not as sharp as you're expecting, but sharp enough for samyangs standards?
(I still work I'm camera retail and love to find loop wholes in systems to get customers the best results possible, specially with a inconsistent product)
Impressive review...I might just have to subscribe :)
I'd appreciate that 😀
Great review
Spot on comment 😄
Great choise on the xt30. Lack of AF not really disturbing because focus peaking nails focus perfectly.
That there is a amazing little power house combo
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Indeed. And the sharpness is just amazing. Even wide open already very good results.
thank you a lot!
This review really adds a lot as I think a lot of people invest in this lens and it's common to think about "upgrading" to some of the fuij lenses, so it's really nice to know what to expect for that many extra dollars applied. :-)
Thank you!
Thanks for the good review! I also have the samyang 12. do I have to activate the lens correction of Fuji in the camera settings?! Or where can I do this? Would be very thankful for any advice :)
You have to do all the lens correction manually in a raw editor later on
Mine was great for astro for about a year. I noticed one day that I couldn't get a good, focused shot. I discovered the ring around the outer glass was loose. I was able to screw it back on. That helped alot. But it still isn't performing as well as it used to. Somebody else online had the same issue, but I don't know if their image quality suffered still after repair.
Stories like that for cheaper items never surprise me unfortunately.
Wonderful review of this great little lens. I’ve been using this at night for almost three years.
Do you know if the optics and performance of the newer Samyang AF 12mm f2.0 are there same as the MF version?
Be interested in this for the metadata benefits!
Ohh I don’t know that sorry, however since releasing this review I have had quiet a few people reaching out to me with soft patches in their images from this lens, I think if you find a great one, hold on to it.
I saw that, you 1/2 committed to an annoying comment impersonation, then bailed out. Great video, just the information I needed.
Thank you....I think???
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography haha... love the vids, has been so helpful to a first time Fuji owner.
You're very welcome
Great presentation. How about zeiss 12mm 2.8 touit. Its an old lens but mixed review online.
If I can get hold of it I'll test it.
But from the sounds of the other comments the samyang beats it by a long shot.
Thank you for the comment and support though
Can you please make a video and talk about the issue of the new samyang 12mm af f2 lens. Concerning the problem with the ibis when used in combination with the x-s10. Because for some reason, the ibis stops working. Fujifilm and samyang are not doing anything to fix this, but maybe if we get enough people talking about it, they will address the problem. Thank you.
Good video! 👍
Good comment 👌😂
Hi Thomas, nice work on the reviews. Thanks a lot for that. Have you by any chance tested the Laowa 9mm f2.8 for Astrophotography? Regards, Ward
I might have one on the way but unfortunately I currently have not yet sorry.
tb- photography awesome, keeping an eye on your channel 👍
Cheers, I really appreciate it
I have the laowa 9mm and I use this lens for astrophotography. Check my instagram ruimfalmeida and there is a milky way photo taken with laowa 9mm. It's very practical, good for travel and sharp. You must pay attention about the vignetting at f/2.8 but on lightroom it's easy to deal...
Laowa are making so great options at the mo, I had a play with the 17mm f/4 for GFX a while ago and loved it
Great review - thank you. I have one question. You mention that the lens is not weather sealed and that there is a danger of water damage during long exposures. I get that. Do you think that such risk can be minimized by using a lens warmer?
Everything helps.
Yes I think that will help but.
Plus if you add a power back and a usb fan that would really help as well
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Thank you
been very happy with 7 artisans line up so I ordered the 12mm 2.8 over this lens..
How is it?
Strange that the manual Samyang does so well compared to the much newer AF version !
I haven’t had a go with the AF one yet
As it has only manual focus, would this lens be suitable for video? I am looking for a wide angle lens to be used for video with Fujifilm X s10.
I would recommend it, it will do the job but for the price I like the 10-24 or the 16mm 2.8 much better for video
Hi! Thank for the video. Can you tell more about the condensation problem. I had the same lens, but Sony e-mount and I left it for time lapse over a night many times (over 20 for sure). There was a lot of condensation in the morning, but I didn't care. How quickly will it kill the lens? If the camera is also not weathersealed (X-S10), can I leave it overnight?
If electronic parts get enough moisture it could kill a item within days/weeks. But hard to give a exact time sorry.
What would you like to know more of about condensation?
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Thank you) I just wanted to understand, was I just lucky that I have no problems with the lens. As I understand it, I was lucky) For some reason it seemed to me that condensation is not rain, and it will not particularly harm even weather-unprotected stuff.
Hi Thomas! Samyang also makes an AF version of this now..any idea how would that be?
Unfortunately I don’t sorry, but my long term review of Samyangs is now more of a inconsistent brand, lots of stories and experiences lots of the same lenses all giving different result’s
Need to take its weird color and contrast issues into account, but sharper than 8-16 and 10-24 is kinda reaching tbh ? Need some proof in Raw format 10-24@12mm and 8-16@12mm vs sammy.
I have this lens on my XT-2. f2 focused to infinity. Your cheat sheet suggests a shutter time of 28 seconds. My camera will only shoot 25 or 30 .....not 28...Do I need an external intervalometer ??
For now just go 25secs, but yes to get more precise exposures you’ll need an external intervalometer
how is this lens for 4k video say with the x s10 which has in body stablization ,great video by the way
I've actually just been filming with it, and with IBIS it is horrific, it jelly wraps and shifts all over the place.
I need to do more third party lens testing to see if they are all this bad with Ibis.
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography so what about a gimble with the x s10 and the tritox 23mm 1.4 the smallest gimblethe better any suggestions and ty for answering me
I have the DJI RSC2 and love it, buy have used any other gimbals sorry
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography so the rsc2 gimbal will fit the fuji x s10 and the 23mm lenswith no strain ty
Absolutely, it can handle far more than that combo as well as far as future proofing goes
I don’t know if I am doing things wrong but I prefer full manual lenses for timelapses. There’s less flicker and no sounds when shooting. I constantly hear sounds from either the camera or my lens on the 10-24mm during timelapses even when iso, aperture, shutter and focus are all on manual and camera sounds turned off. I don’t get that on my Samyang 12mm or Laowa 9mm.
How does sounds effect the final timelapse?
Oh that I agree with and understand, and if anyone knows of a good manual lens that is wide and weather sealed, and sharp I'd love to know about it.
I was more wondering about why they felt sound was a factor?
But if doing a timelapse the sound would be recorded on a external device. And no aperture is that loud. Maybe it's more to do with what that sound represents then how to actually has any effect.
Good evening Thimas, if possible I ask for your opinion on the astrophotography lens on the XT-5 to be combined with the 16 1.4. I started with Milky Way last spring and I'm becoming more and more passionate about it. I feel the need for a wider field of vision. Therefore, I ask you for your opinion between the Samyang 12 f2 MF and the Viltrox 13 f1.4. Or, if you have had the opportunity to test other lenses wider than f. 16, I would be very happy to receive your advice. Weight and size are not a problem, I put quality first. Thank you for your time.
Of those two I would choose the viltrox very comfortably.
BUT be aware I have seen a LOT of production inconsistency from those two brands. There is a good chance the lens you get might be soft or flawed.
If you can find a way to test this your self and a place to buy from that will let you swap etc that would be great, otherwise it’s just a bit of a gamble.
Compared to Fujifilm lens are far more consistent.
🙏👋
I bought this but am returning it. It's a very nice lens but my copy moves in the lens mount, which may not matter for astro but is annoying when you're walking around and composing through the viewfinder. Some googling, others have had this issue but I don't know how common it is; someone put some gaffer tape over the cuff to tighten it up but that solution bothers me because you're creating a gap for dust to enter.
Yeah I'd be very confident in their quality control being no where near has high as Fuji films.
I'd return that asap.
The thing I really dislike about this lens is how loose the lens cap and lens hood are. I have owned two copies and they both were always just falling off. Even the mount cap is loose as well.
I have no issues with the hood, but yes my cap can suck a fat one, it's shocking
Complete newb question: how do I attach this lens to my XT4?! seems like it's too big. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
The same as any other Fuji lens but you want to make sure yours is a version that IS made to attack to fujifilm X series bodies
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography totally bought the SONY one... thanks for the quick response. i'm learning a lot from you :)
Ohhhh I’m sorry to hear that, and cheers for the feed back and all the best
This makes my deciding between the 12mm vs 10-24mm harder, I do have already the 16mm 1,4 and 16-80 f4 but need something for interior photography, should I go for this lens or 10-24 or Laowa 9mm? Thanks
I haven't used the 9mm but did real estate work for years constantly taking magazine cover photos with the 10-24 so I would highly recommend it for that kind of work
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography yeah, only it is much more expensive and not great in your tests. Even worse sharpness than this 12mm.
One thing my testing didn't reveal was the 12mm production inconsistency, the 12mm lens I tested and the 12mm lens I brought were very different.
The one I brought was still very sharp, but had soft areas.
And while the 10-24 isn't the sharpest of wide angle lenses it is still sharper than needed for most of the real estate work I did.
Is any of your real estate work going to be printed or just digital, and if it is going to be printed for what purpose?
I personally would spend the extra, and even after a year you decide it's not for you, just look after it, lenses hold their value much better than bodies do.
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Thanks for help.
Im interested i this, but cant decide between the 12mm or the 10mm. (i have the fuji 16mm) I shoot all type of stuff. Which is most versitile of those two?
That's 100% just a personal preference kinda questions sorry.
And as I haven't tested the 10mm to quote facts or stats etc I am zero help with that question.
The 12mm is good, the 10mm is a unknown to me
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Ok. I understand. Thanks. Maybe someone else knows?
Try on some of the Fuji Facebook pages if no one can make a suggestion here. There are a few very good groups around
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I will look there. And thanks for this video. I have no experience with astro but kind of interested. And i have the 16. So i got some good tips. :)
All the best, and happy to help.
Cheers for the comments I really appreciate it.
Hello, I sold my Samyang 12mm manual and I hesitated a lot for the new 12mm AF and the Viltrox 13MM 1.4 which has very good reviews.
Have you already had the opportunity to try the Vitrox 13mm Milky Way please? My purchase is intended only for this use where my old Samyang did not do too badly.
I was able to acquire the 13mm at a great price but I would not have the opportunity to try it in astro for several months.
Thank you so much.
Some tests in France even consider Viltrox to be the best option in astro on Fuji.
The viltrox 13mm is outstanding, BUT all third party lenses have issues with build quality consistency, so while I’ve seen amazing results, I also know people with ones that are rubbish, find a way to test your lens and only buy from somewhere you can return it asap if it’s not up to scratch.
You don’t get this issues with Fuji sigma or tamron
Doesn’t the 16 1.4 have lots of coma when shooting Astro? At least it did in my experience.... but I notice that you stop down to F2, which may clear that up 🤷🏽♂️
And it's even better at f/2.8
tb- photography wow! That’s awesome! Great content btw! Just watched your “all Fuji wide angle lens comparison” vid 👏🏽 & that brought me to this one haha
Thank you!
Astronomical....I see what you did there
Have this lens and live it, but don't understand why infinite focus is at 0.8/0.9 meters...
I don't know if I've ever used a lens with infinite was bang on where it should be if that helps.
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography ok, but being before 1 meter is ridiculous 😅
Ohh sorry with you, mine is just before infinite not bang on.
I read your message wrong.
@@ThomasBusbyPhotography no problem mate. Yeah, that's my issue, the of us is off. In the end its OK, I know where infinity is, but it does bother me...
Anyway, great video and channel, a lot of good info. Subscribed 😁👌
Thank you, appreciate it!
Que the calls for the Zeiss Touit 12mm 2.8 hah.
Spent some time agonising over this choice when I was coming back to Fuji. 10-24mm + Sammy 12mm or 16mm 1.4. Settled on the latter eventually, pretty happy with it :)
If I can find a way to get the Zeiss I'll test it.
And yes the 16mm 1.4 is outstanding.
zeiss touit 12mm is a terrible lens for astro. electronic manual focus...horrible. and once you find the sweet spot for focus, and you review your shot, the very next shot is out of focus again. some sort of focus shift happens when you do that. but as a general lens it’s great. just not for astro.
Fuji 16mm f/1.4 is just wow for astro, love it.
Zeiss was newer good at making wide angles.
@@arielestulin9706 I can confirm the horrible manual on the fly focus, but not the changing of focus after the review. Do you have the latest firmware for the camera and lens combination you use? Otherwise, I find that the Zeiss has less coma than the Fuji 14, has better flare resistance than the Samyang 12 and once you manage to nail the focus it quite good for astro. But this nailing is a challenge ...
Why are you a fuji man and nota a sony man..?
Because Fujifilm lenses are outsanding and it takes more than just a good sensors to produce amazing image quality.
Definitely an option when adding to lens line up...
Just picked a Rokinon 12mm will test out your cheat sheet. Thanks
No worries