I am also considering to swap my 35mm F2.8 Zeiss for a 24mm. I was considering Viltrox for the price and build quality but then Samyang was released with a little price difference. And then Sigma entered the game, making it even more difficult to choose. I think I will go with Samyang since it tops in a ranking that price, image quality and weight are considered altogether. I believe Tamron will also bring 24mm f1.8 onto the table. F2.8s must be evaluated in a different category among themselves. One thing, that is missed to mention in the review is that, while Sony lens can be firmware updated mounted to the camera and Viltrox can be updated via its USB type C port, I think others need a separate docking station for this purpose and this is annoying. Maybe the company will fix something that is not working properly after some time and you won’t be able to update it easliy. I really like the way Viltrox chose. Edit : I think Tamron can also be updated mounted to the camera similar to Sony lenses. A RU-vidr says Sigma lenses can be updated this way on modern alpha cameras, too. Don’t know if all the Sony bodies can be used to update Sigma lenses. Looks like it is only the Samyang which doesn’t support this basic feature.
The Tamron can indeed be updated via the USB dock which you need to buy (they are not expensive and if you have more than one from Tamron/Samyang it is worth getting and we updated lenses like this recently (the Tamron actually got a firmware update shortly after this was published so the AF might have been improved a little but you can update the motor itself of course.
As a gear value hobbyist Samyang is the winner for me. I've tested out both Sony and Samyang and ended up using the Samyang. It's 1/3 of the price, half the weight and 80% of the quality(build, AF, bokeh and IQ). Have been using it in rain, snow and dropped it once indoors as well but no issues so far. The other lenses are all similar in quality but are heavier or lack in other areas so didn't bother.
@@switchunboxing I would say yes yes yes. I mean you are comparing a f2.8 lens to a f1.8. You just can not compare the bokeh you can get plus additional speed. The AF speed difference is negligible at most and the build quality is I'd assume 20% better. Neither lens is meant for professionals meaning Sony GM 24 1.4 is still going to be king if you want the best of the best. But for everyone else SY 24 1.8 hits every check mark IMO. I am still happily enjoying my 24/8.
How close was the distance to the chart? Is this a 1.5m wide chart? If it was and the images were taken to fill the screen, some of the lenses might show softness that isn't reproduced in actual use, because some wide angle lenses under perform at close distances.
That might be true (about reduced performance at closer ranges), but this was not very close (I'd say indeed about 1.5m maybe a bit more/less depending on the specific lens). They were all used in a way that that big chart will fill the frame like we always do.
Art shot much of this video earlier this year so I am not sure what he used in this case. We own most of Sony's higher models (A1, A7R IV, and A7 IV, and recently also the A7R V). As for lenses we have over 30 different models so again I am not sure but my go-to lens for a lot of stationary shots is the Voigtlander MACRO APO-LANTHAR 65mm F2 - see our review below (really amazing lens): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kb_4CbLEusM.html
@@IddoGenuth I’d love to see you be able to afford all those cameras and lenses with ANY other job but photography. I bet you wouldn’t be able to be higher up than me at the company I work at because you don’t have any skills. Any idiot can be good at photography and overcharge idiots for their mediocre work. Excelling in a corporation (I have 401k match and you being self employed don’t) is a different story.
I cannot believe there is not one test comparing Samyang 35mm 1.8 vs Viltrox 35mm 1.8. I am interested in one them for mainly video, so AF and Breathing are more important. The reviews are all over the place and each claims one is "better" than the other bc they are reviewing the lens they claim is "Better" I imagine. I would also like to eventually have all the same line up 24mm, 50mm and possibly the 85mm. Which are better for the whole line up? I Already have the Sony 20mm 1.8 which is stellar.
For 35mm take the Sony f/1.8 while not super sharp across the frame wide open it is plenty sharp and has almost zero breathing. See our review: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-nlr4F-Ye7yo.html
Whats the difference in wideness and low light shooting Sony a7iv with tampon 24mm 2.8 vs Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D SLR Ultra-Wide Lens? The laowa is twice the price!!!
@@IddoGenuth I do not want that close focus for a 24mm, I use it for Landscape and you cannot have both good at infinity and at the close distance at the same time.
@@cameraprepper7938 For landscape I think that many of the lenses here will be excellent choices (if you are shooting at f/8-f/11 - most of them are very sharp).
@@IddoGenuth If it is with a 61 megapixels sensor Camera, then I would only use the Sony 24mm 1.4 GM which I use on Sony on A7RIV/A7RIVA. For my "very sharp" are not good enough !
Thanks for this video, very helpful info. One constructive feedback: please either use significant compression on your voice, or work on improving your speaking - there are very many times where the volume of your voice drops so much that I cannot make out what word you said. For example, the words "quality" (or "upon?) and "flare" just after 19:38. Also "close up" (?) at 17:08 Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the feedback. I usually don't comment when people have things to say about how I speak (I am not a native English speaker, a fact that seems to be lost on many people for some reason). In this case, however, I do have something to say - if you listen to our recent videos you will see that the voice sounds differently - we are now using Adobe project Shasta (video coming soon) which really helps with leveling the voice. It won't fix my pronunciation (nothing will) but at least the levels should be better.
Hi There :) Out of the "box" I also found the tiny series Samyang custom switch useless "BUT" Buy the lens station and the custom switch comes to "life" - operating brilliantly as a "proper" manual focus switch - & apature if required :) - use the lens station & your only issue is resolved :) Take good care God bless:)
Hi Karen, You are correct - I think we discovered this with a different Samyang lens that we are now testing (review soon), but I think you will agree that it should have worked like this out of the box without all these extra steps and buying another unit...
As we said this review is restricted to lenses developed for mirrorless cameras, not DSLR or DSLR adapted lenses (and even at that as we noted in the review we could not include all lenses - this has been in the works for over 3 months and was a ton of work).
I will also buy me a 24 mm lens specially for astrophotography. I have now the chance to get a Sigma (used) for the same price of a new Samyang. which lens would you choose?
Given the Samyang is designed for Astro work and has the least coma and CA at edges of frame of all the lenses tested here, then that should make the choice obvious.
Excellent review! Good to see you mention what each lens is actually made out of... so many reviewers leave this important fact out. I will gladly pay more for a lens constructed of metal, rather than a cheap one made from plastic. This has always been a sore spot for me with Canon; sky high prices for plastic lens housings with telescoping front elements. However, you stated the Sony GM was made from plastic. This has not been my purchase experience. Most GM lenses are at least made of metal from mount up towards the focus ring.
Thanks for the kind words. As for the construction - as far as I can tell the 24mm GM is constructed externally out of some sort of (very high quality) composite material and not metal.
@@toddysurcharge771 Handling equipment from day to day can sometimes lead to the unexpected, maybe a dropped lens or camera, it's called a accident. Being the "adult' that you are, perhaps you've never had that happen. The quality of the glass won't matter then.
@@IddoGenuth $600 Batis and $360 Samyang, i have gone for the Samyang today, will try it out tmr in day time. Hope its like what you've mentioned here.
Other comparison videos of the Samyang 24 Vs the GM show it's super sharp at f1.8, equalling the GM in this regard, certainly my copy is pin-sharp wide open, seems you may have had a bad one!
We can only test the copy that we have. I did not feel that the results of the Samyang were bad at all - they are not at the same level of the Sony but they are good (and not just when it comes to sharpness plus the lens has basically zero breathing which the Sony does not have).
@@gazzoification Sure. However again - I don't see the Samyang results on our test as bad at all - quite the contrary. Yes, it is not on the level of Sony which cost several times more. As for other sites getting similar results for sharpness between the Samyang and Sony - if you have a specific link I would be happy to see it - we tested using our A1 (50MP) with our high-end chart - these are extreme conditions and you can see very small differences that on a 24MP camera or even a similar camera with a different target will not be visible.
@@LensVid @Lensvid ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PYnV8uitsPQ.html This review shows better sharpness in the corner wide open than the GM. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fTITOOLuG6I.html this shows it on par in terms of sharpness however with better coma control. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-50pjYc-POE8.html this shows the GM as winning due to the faster aperture however Mr Frost does say that the sharpness is exactly equal on the top 3 tested on a A7RII. I don't dispute your results, I love your unbiased reviews, only pointing out that there are different outcomes being made by others. As I only have a 24mp sensor I wouldn't see any difference anyway which is an interesting caveat. Essentially anyone who has the 24mp sensor shouldn't waste their money! 😂
@@gazzoification Thank you for the links. We also check out Frost's work on a regular basis he is one of the people we really trust when it comes to lens reviews (I am not familiar with the other two). He usually tests with a Sony A7R III so it's 42MP VS. the 50MP on our A1 - I don't think you can see much of a difference (we used to test on our A7R IV with 60MP but honestly our A1 is "good enough"), he also picked the Sony as the winner by the way. In general, as I said on a 24MP I don't think that you are going to see too much of a difference between the Sony and Samyang (aside from the better aperture) in terms of sharpness. The Sony is better at close-up image quality though wide open. There are other big differences like build quality (the Samyang is a very basic plastic lens the Sony has a very premium build), and I have to say that we really don't care for the custom switch on the Samyang - it is just plain annoying - AF/MF like the Sigma/Sony would be much better. The Sony also has a dedicated aperture ring with a de-click option which is nice (you can use the Samyang focus ring for aperture but then you can't use it for focus so the whole thing is not really optimal). At the end of the day, both the Sigma and Samyang are very strong options for those who can't spend $1400 on the GM.
If you have an issue with the way the music sounds over the audio just read the article on LensVid linked in the description it is the same text (actually extended) with all of the samples and tests.
I think you will find you simply have a bad copy of the Samyang...My one is razor sharp wide open, just as Laszlo found with his when he compared it with the GM...He found no difference at all between the two in sharpness across the frame with both wide open. However, he also found that compared to the GM the Samyang has less CA and coma at the edges of frame and better flare resistance. So the Sony certainly doesn't win against a good copy of the Samyang...And as it's 3 times cheaper than the GM the Samyang is an absolute bargain. It's light weight is just another bonus: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fTITOOLuG6I.html
Well - we can only speak to the copy that we get and to the tests that we do. The Sony does have a little more CA (not in our test but in some images that we took).
