I am now really confused. I was about to buy the Sony FE 24mm f/2.8 for my sony A7iii. But now you make me think about the Samyang 24mm f/1.8 . 🤔 Now,help me out😄, give me a straight forward suggestion...
@@yutumedia I suppose a comparison at the same T-stop is in order Maybe the GM at f/2 and the samyang at f/1.8, whatever is necessary to make the exposure equal
I totally agree. I actually compared it with my Sony 28-60 kit lens and noticed that samyang is darker and also lot more vignetting compared to 28-60 when shot both at F8. I also noticed that my 28-60 is a bit sharper as well. So I am confused with all the reviews that say samyang is exceptionally sharp. It’s either my copy of lens is not very sharp or the 28-60 exceptionally sharper
Appreciate your video, I can see how with experience you are improving with your videos :) I like the structure you had to this one, nice and concise. One thing that would be helpful is if you did a direct comparison for each section, showing us what each lens looks like in each test (like for vlogging/sunstars, etc). Anyway, nice work!
thanks, I thought of some comparisons and more targetted as a review only for the samyang. It didnt occur to me to do a full all out comparison, will consider when I do a 24mm compare with the three I have.
well yes, the GM is stopped down a bit and brightens up. the samyang is quite close to true T-stop, I have the sigma 24 f2 as well, and the samyang was brighter I think, will have to check the raws again, but they were done outdoors instead.
I already have the Samyang 24mm and the Rokinon 50mm II. I personally think they are decent lenses. But I wondered if I would get better shots and footage with a GM for 3x the price. Your video cements this that while the Sony could produce better bokeh real world shots and colors are not $800 different imho. Appreciate you
Glad you enjoyed! RU-vid is hard, and I wasnt putting much effort in my videos, now that I'm closing in on 1K, I'm putting in the work to create more informative videos and be myself more, not so boring.
Thank You for this video, Need to get the samyang for video. I don't like the new sony GMs focus breathing. My 35 GM on A7IV looks like a 40mm with focus breathing compensation. Totally unusable if you need wide shots on a tripod and don't want any focus distraction. I could disable the compensation and turn the AF to manual but this is just getting stupid. Samynag all the way.
I dont have the viltrox, but I did a quick look at the MTF charts. Wide open, Samyang is a tad sharper in the center, midframe, and beyond, the samyang has significant advantage in contrast, resolution and CA, viltrox has quite a bit towards the edges and corners. Stopped down, the Viltrox is a little better than the Samyang wide open, and samyang at f8 is extremely high level. That said, even if the viltrox is not super sharp stopped down, even matching the samyang should give you very satisfactory results. You can have a lens not super sharp and still perform well for astro, and in general, so I wouldnt judge it purely on the MTF's, but if super sharpness/landscapes are your thing, the Samyang is clearly next level based on MTF's. I havent owned the lens, let me reiterate, just translating :)
This SY is an excellent competitor to the Sony. I'm happy to own both. I keep the SY on my older body for when I want to grab a camera while I'm running out the door.
@Princeton_James I own a Sony, 24mm,f1.4,gm and am also looking to pick up the Samyang 24mm, f1.8 for a second smaller set up shooter. The reviews are sterling on the Samyang but would you concur it matches or even exceeds the Sony, 24mm, gm, f1.4 in real world use when the Sony lens is stopped down to f1.8?
Thanks for the concise review. The Samyang 24mm 1.8 is on my short list. We all know that the 24mm GM was one of Sony's earlier lenses and not really up to there current GM standards. Hard to justify the price now. The Samyang is a awesome stop gap. Wish it would have been out when I bought the 20mm G.
if that 20 was around when I got the 24GM....... it goes both ways lol. I guess life happens for a reason, I had a 24 f1.4 during my DSLR days, never really got along with it, tried again with the GM, and it finally clicked, and I am thankful for that. I'm unsure of its future, but I'll keep it around for a while to see where it leads me. There are no sure lenses, and even the SY 24 is not perfect, but a great middle of the road option. if purely IQ and look of the images, the GM would be it for me, every time despite not perfectly sharp, the overall look is simply amazing outside of test charts.
@@DjimmyTrovy I wonder who brought that thought into the world as well .. been reading it on a couple of places even though the 24gm is a modern classic and while not the most sensible option price-wise, is still 'unbeaten' across the board 24/1.4-wise.
The Sony, 24mm,f/1.4, gm was the first prime lens I bought and while expensive is the unequivocal best lens I have ever owned. It is quite a lens and I don’t think it has any handicaps whatsoever. I am having a hard time believing that the Samyang 24mm, f1.8 can render the same sharpness across the frame at 1/3 the price(~$400 usd) in Sept 2023, and nearly half the size. Understanding that the Samyang, 24mm, f1.8 can’t do f1.4 are there others who own both and would concur in practical use when the Sony 24mm, f1.4, gm is stopped down to f1.8 the Samyang matches or outperforms it?
Haha.. people always got feedback, huh? I thought the video was great. I've seen a few of your videos when out review hunting and they're so much better than most. I can't deal with these over the top buzzwordy review type people. This is lowkey and easy ✌
Hi GWC I’m really enjoying your videos. I have a question perhaps you can help. I have a 3 year old Sony A7iii. The only lens I have is a Sony 24-105. We are doing some traveling now. I’d like to find a lens that I could use as a prime travel lens but also would be good for pictures of the grandkids. Have any ideas? Thanks Bill
I use 24 for my young kids that have to be within arms length, they still allow me to take photos of them, and perspective adds to the fun factor, as they go older, I will be going back to 35mm. As for particular 24, I use the 24 compact G most of the time due to low intimidation factor and easy to carry. 35, I'm the same way with the 35f2.8 ZA.... that said, if you dont mind the weight, the 24GM/35GM are astounding lenses (400/500g). The samyang 24 f1.8 is also extremely good, the only reason I decided to stick with sony was for the consistent sizing and 49mm filters, no doubt the lesser SY 24 is optically better. When it comes to 35, I would stick with sony f1.8 over samyang, simply for the close focus factor, it comes in really handy. kids 0-7yr, 24mm works good, 4+yrs 35mm works good, simply basing that opinion on my five kids 😅.
If I’m getting a Sony A7C, would this be a good budget lens to get started for vlogging/photos as a hobbyist, or should I think about investing in the Sony 20 mm in your opinion? The GM is just way out of my budget right now.
I got this for my a7c and haven't really felt the need for 20 1.8 The price just makes the it default choice for me. If you want to go wider, you can think about samyang 18 2.8 which is even cheaper and lighter. On a7c every single gram counts.
you can go even cheaper to get a feel for things, the 24mm f2.8, you can find on the used market for $150 or so, and it's a nice lens, and on full frame, it can easily create nice background blur. The sony will be a better vlogging lens however, 20mm is a bit wide for a "standard" lens, many feel that even 24 is a bit wide for a "standard" lens. I like to keep things small and lightweight so I dont hate myself. For my talking head videos, I used to use the 24GM, but now I'm actually using a 35mm, as it gives a more professional vibe. For travel videos/photos 18/35 worked great, 24 alone also works for me. Last international trip in 2019, I brought two cameras, 16-50 crop lens for gimbal,cv21, 24, 28, 35, 28-75, 50, ended up using the 24/35 f2.8 for most days, I would pick one based on destination and roll with it. hopefully I can go again next summer, and it's feeling like a 24 f1.8 + 28-60 combo will be my main lenses, maybe the 90 f2.8 that sigma will announce tomorrow. Went on a trip last year with the 24GM, got some amazing photos, not gonna lie, but I did not like lugging it around. had the SY 85 f1.4 there with me too, and again, didnt like lugging around all that weight. SY 24 f1.8 + 90 f2.8 would cut the weight in half.... SY 24 f2.8 + 28-60 would cut the weight in half again lol....
@@CharlieVN thank you for the detailed reply. Samyangs seem like no brainers for a beginner like me, and the prize is hard to beat. Split between picking up a couple of samyangs or getting the Sigma 24-70. Sony 35 is lower on the list now 😆
I was expecting 35 f1.8 or 45 f1.8 levels of performance....... well, Samyang exceeded those expectations, they really should have marketed this lens the same way Sigma did with their Art series, it's a slightly higher class than the previous lenses, however due to the trademark accents, it looks nearly the same. Missed opportunity IMO, everything came together on this lens.
@@CharlieVN as they progress the lenses seem to be getting better , the 35 & 75 I tried out recently were really nice . as soon as I can afford this lens its gonna be in my kit as im loving this focal length for my work .
I have samy 2.8, but it had problems with aperture so I bringed to rma. Now I distrust third party lenses a bit. I noticed it had not very good focus breathing after a few weeks of usage too. They will probably suggest to change or get money back or smth. Should I upgrade to this as I have money for it or to G 20 1.8? I only shoot video. Does this samy has low focus breathing? Heard G 20 has average focus breathing.
Oooo I might need to avoid this one. The whole reason I’m looking to upgrade my camera is the iPhone 13 Pro is very picky about where it focuses. I need a camera and lens where I can just hold my products up to the camera and it’s all in view and focused and not distorted. Couldn’t you just fix this though by adjusting the aperture or not? Maybe a reason or get the Sony.
Then I'd advise not to go full frame. Long story short - full frame will give you less depth of field. Nothing gives quite as much 'everything in focus' as a tiny smartphone sensor and tiny lens entrance pupil size.
@@FrankyFeedler That’s a sweeping generalization and it’s going to depend on the aperture of said lens - which isn’t variable on a smartphone. For instance the iPhone 13 Pro is about a 1.5. It’s physically impossible to have everything in focus because it’s so shallow. But cropped sensor cameras I can look into. But you can absolutely use a full frame camera without having a super shallow depth of field.
@@switchunboxing I know it is a generalization, hence the “long story short”. No need to lecture, since I was specifically trying to avoid that towards you. But if you want to get technical, the f/1.5 aperture you mention only makes sense if you also mention the roughly 5mm (24mm “ff equivalent”) lens. Since the only factor that *directly* influences depth of field is the entrance pupil diameter, in terms of equivalency your iPhone’s camera “wide open” is equivalent to an actual 24mm lens stuck at between f8 and f11 on FF. Conversely, I can set my 24mm lens to f/1.4 which would take your iPhone f/0.28 to achieve. So again, long story short, full frame makes it easier to decrease depth of field, not increase it. There’s a reason why iPhones need the fake background blur where FF does not. If you want massive depth of field, a smaller sensor helps. The smaller the sensor and lens, the less you have to stop down to achieve the same result. And yes, crop sensor would take roughly f/5.6 or f/8 to achieve iPhone DoF, so that will already help.
I bought this lens for milkyway shots, its so sharp, even wide open at 1.8, very impressed. I do wish, Samyang made lenses to feel more premium, it still feels too cheap and plasticky...
sigma contemporary is a good example of inexpensive yet premium feel. rubber accents here and there make all the difference. aside from the appearance of the lens, shockingly high performance. I bought it as a travel companion to the 24GM, considering if I need the GM at all…. it’s that darn good.
@@CharlieVN totally agree, I actually thought about returning it because it felt too cheap. Then, I felt ashamed for judging the lens by its appearance!! its so damn sharp, and is one of my favorite lens. sharpness is way up there, on par with sony 85 1.8!
Just wondering if the Sigma 24mm 2.0 is sharp wide open bc I am between this, the Samyang 24mm 1.8 (Open to 2.0) And the Viltrox 24mm 1.8. So many reviews and different opinions out there it is hard to decide. Thanks! Where I live, returning is a PIA and not feasible unless I get a bad lens for some reason.
@@ekphotography check the videos tab, have one a hundred 😅. Here’s the lens playlist ru-vid.com/group/PLeS27WqxsF3_WYMElT2Vr7mFZZmqQxjho and specific video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eWtFkJ9B-dY.html
Could be my eyes, not the youngest kid on the block 😅. There are some areas where the GM is sharper, watch in 4K and freeze frame and make your decisions 🙂
@@CharlieVN only in the center of the frame the samyang holds good, but everything else, you can see it in the fine grey structure, the GM easily wins. But hey i´ve orderd this Lens so i will test it out on my own 60 MP Sony A7r4 we will see, thank you for your test, i will give here a feedback this week, greetings from Germany!
@@CharlieVN hi again, my lens is arrived and wow it ist really sharp! The JPEGS out of my A7R4 are fantasticly sharp - BUT i don´t see this in RAW... i have to test and check it out... And on the maximum minimum focus distancing the pictures are NOT sharp, but everything else is really impressive! :D
Samyang 35mm f1.8, sometimes I use the ZA 35 f2.8 as well. My older video uses the 24gm in a lot of the videos, it's certainly easier to work with 24, but now since I boom my mic and lights, it's harder to position with a 24 because it's so wide.
very interesting review! Looks like the 24mm F1.4GM is really only required for low-light shooting, like camp fire, indoor or Astro! *I'd prefer if Sony had made an 18mm F1.4 GM* I find 24mm a bit too tight most of the time. But to my knowledge, there is no F1.4 wide prime at 14, 16 or even 18mm
@@8knz People who do deep space astro seem to prefer 85mm anyway, but I like the night sky in relation to the landscape I'm shooting from. So I just do a three-shot panorama and have it big enough to crop for best effect... It sure is more work tho!