Introduction

Released in 2017, this Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP had a similarly bad timing as the Zeiss Otus and Milvus lenses its mechanical design is undoubtedly based on. By that time many people started using mirrorless cameras, so these huge DSLR designs certainly started looking less appealing. On top of that, many of us had been burned by Samyang’s (at least at that time) awful quality control, so paying a premium price for a Samyang lens? Not many people were interested in doing that. Nevertheless, some people say this is one of the best lenses for astrophotography ever made, that alone is reason enough to have a closer look at it.

Sample Images

Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.

Specifications

The Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP (F-mount version) has the following specifications:

• • Diameter: 95 mm
  • Field of view: 114.1° (diagonally)
  • Length: 107 mm
  • Weight: 739g (without caps)
  • Filter Diameter: –
  • Number of Aperture Blades: 9 (rounded)
  • Elements/Groups: 18/14
    
  • Close Focusing Distance: 0.28 m
  • Maximum Magnification: 1:12.4
  • Mount: Nikon F, Canon EF

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Handling / Build Quality

If you had a look at my revies of the Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP and especially the Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP before, you will spot many similarities here.

The outer design of the XP series lenses resembles that of the Zeiss Otus, Milvus and Batis lenses and the big rubberized focus ring is the only manual control we have. It turns 180° from 0.28 m to infinity and has a nice, high resistance.

This is the F-mount version and as you can see it features electronic contacts to communicate with the camera. As there is no aperture ring this is a “G” lens in Nikon terms.

When using this lens on a mirrorless camera you of course need to take the adapter into account when comparing the size to true mirrorless designs. The Laowa 15mm 2.0 and Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF have not only a size, but also a speed advantage and they both take normal screw-in filters. The Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM and the Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF also bring autofocus to the table.

I also tried if the electronics work via the Monster LA-FE1/2 adapters on a Sony camera, and setting the aperture in camera worked flawlessly, but as these adapters are a little bit too short they will hurt this lens’ image quality.

Just like the Samyang 10mm 3.5 XP, also this 14mm 2.4 XP does not feature a filter thread, but third party holders for 150mm filters are available.

To shim this lens (more on that in the sharpness section) I also removed its bayonet, so I could have a look inside. I saw a lot of glue there and that certainly didn’t convery a “premium” feeling.

Vignetting

The Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP shows rather typical vignetting figures for a lens this wide and fast. There is a notable drop in illumination in the extreme corners, so I decided to also show you the values after distortion correction, which are about half-a-stop lower.

Today’s mirrorless options like the Laowa 15mm 2.0, Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF and Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM show a similar performance here. The Nikon AF-S 14-24mm 2.8G shows 2.5 EV vignetting at 14mm 2.8 and only 1 EV stopped down to f/11.

It is recommended to have a look at this article first to get an idea how this brightness graph works.

Sharpness

MTF Graphs

These MTF graphs are promising a very good performance with high contrast across the whole frame and very even resolution already at f/2.4. Let’s see if the performance in the real world matches this.

infinity (24mp Nikon Zf)

The Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP indeed shows a very good performance here from f/2.4, surpassing the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm 2.8G and everything that came before it. If you are looking for a high resolving ultra wide angle lens that can be attached to a DSLR, this is one of the best choices.

When looking at today’s mirrorless options the Laowa 15mm 2.0, Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF and Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM show a similar performance.

As this lens features a floating elements design the correct flange focal distance is needed to achieve optimal performance with this lens, so when using too short adapters it will show worse image quality.

In case of this lens I noticed, that on my Nikon FTZ II adapter the flange focal distance is not accurate enough, as not only true infinity was at the 3.0 m mark according to the distance scale, the lens also showed a performance that fell far behind expectations. I shimmed the lens to give optimal performance via the FTZ II on my Nikon Zf, this is why you get sharpness charts using that camera.

close 0.28m (24mp Nikon Zf)

A bit softer at the maxium aperture, but generally a good performance here. Field curvature is also well corrected at close distances.

Flare resistance

Many of the ultra wide angle lenses with bulbous front element are facing some challenges here and by my experience Samyang lenses are rarely stellar performers in this category to begin with. Let’s see if this might end up being a positive surprise.

At the maximum aperture the performance is actually not bad. We can see some not overly obtrusive artefacts and the contrast stays on a high level.

Sadly stopped down the artefacts are bigger and more obvious. I definitely recommend to check in the viewfinder if slightly reframing can help to get rid of some of them.

Considering its huge front element, this performance compares quite favourably to the competition though. It looks better to me than the first generation Samyang 14mm 2.8 and performs on a similar level as the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm 2.8G or the Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF. In direct comparisons it also looked a bit better than the Laowa 15mm 2.0. The Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM is the best performer in this lens category I came across so far, but it is also not completely free of these issues.

Coma

Being a fast ultra wide angle lens, one of the main applications is undoubtedly landscape astrophotography and here a good coma correction is certainly a desirable feature.

The performance is good, but not amazingly good, as point in the corners are elongated a bit. Interestingly this is more of an issue stopped down, whereas it is hardly noticeable at maximum aperture.

Where do we stand here compared to the competitors? The Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP clearly looks better to me than the Laowa 15mm 2.0 and also the Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF. The Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM looks best to me though and interestingly the older and cheaper Samyang 14mm 2.8 (MF) hardly performs worse than this fancier Samyang XP lens.

Distortion

The first generation Samyang 14mm 2.8 (MF) is famous for its awfully high complex distortion. As you can see, this is an aspect that has been greatly improved with this higher end model, the differences are obvious and easily visible.

There is still some distortion to be found here that you want to correct for architecture applications and luckily Lightroom has a profile to fix that. You only find this lens in the Rokinon category though, not in the Samyang category. I also found the correction to be too strong, I found it works better with the value set to 80% instead of 100%.

Bokeh

For a 14mm lens, a maximum aperture of f/2.4 sure ain’t bad, but when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses you can only blur the background in close focus scenarios and you also need to watch out for the strong perspective distortion typical for a 14mm lens, this limits the range of possible applications a bit.

Sunstars

The first generation Samyang 14mm 2.8 with its 6 aperture blades created really ugly sunstars, luckily the situation is noticeably better here, as between f/11 and f/22 we can see well defined sunstars with equidistantly spaced rays of similar length.
If you want to learn more about sunstars have a look at this article.

Chromatic Aberrations

lateral

Many ultra wide angle lenses – especially older ones – show a high amount of lateral CA. In case of this Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP that is not the case. It hardly creates any, so there actually isn’t anything I could show you here.

longitudinal

I did not encounter any bokeh or purple fringing with this lens.

Conclusion

There are certainly different angles to look at this lens, so let’s talk about a few of them.

The main point of criticism of the predecessor (the Samyang 14mm 2.8 MF) was its huge, wavy and hard to correct distortion and that has certainly been fixed here. From the outside, this 14mm 2.4 also feels a bit better made. So if those things bothered you about the 14mm 2.8, you will probably prefer this 14mm 2.4 XP.

In the DSLR world, I think the Sigma 14mm 1.8 Art looks a bit more appealing to most users though – that is if you are willing to pay its price and carry it around. It is noticeably bigger and heavier than this Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP, but also faster and brings autofocus to the table, making it a more versatile lens.

In the mirrorless world, this Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP is a harder sell. The Laowa 15mm 2.0 and Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF may lose in terms of image quality in some areas, but they offer many benefits, especially in terms of size, weight and filter options. The Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF even offers autofocus on top of that.

If you are willing to spend more and you are in the E-mount world, the Sigma 14mm 1.4 DG DN Art and the Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM are additional options, you should have a closer look at. The Sigma 14mm 1.4 DG DN Art is also available for L-mount.

Generally, this Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP is a high performing ultra wide angle lens that can be found at reasonable prices these days, but for most people I see some of the alternatives being more appealing.

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Alternatives

SLR Designs

Samyang 14mm 2.8 MF:
The cheaper version of the lens being reviewed here. Half a stop slower and with huge distortion, but otherwise a very capable lens, might even surpass this f/2.4 lens in a few areas. The MKI version can be found for little money these days and there has also been an updated MKII version with improved aperture diaphragm.
buy MK II new from amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $500
buy MK I used from ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) starting at $180

Sigma 14mm 1.8 Art:
The fastest 14mm lens made for (D)SLRs. From what I have seen the Sigma 14mm 1.8 should perform least as good as this Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP while being faster and offering autofocus, but also here sample variation can be an issue. This lens is also still expensive on the used market and very big and heavy.
buy from ebay.com | ebay.de | amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $1599 (new) or starting at $1000 (used)

Nikon AF-S 14-24mm 2.8G:
The Nikon AF-S 14-24mm 2.8G was way ahead of its time and because Nikon made so many, it can often be found for very attractive prices on the used market. Lower vignetting figures than the competitors and a great option if you don’t mind its size and weight.
buy from ebay.com | ebay.de | amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $1750 (new) or starting at $600 (used)

Laowa 12mm 2.8 Zero-D:
Laowa gave us the widest prime lens for F-mount. It offers similar performance to the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm 2.8G and it is even a bit wider. An appealing alternative to the faster yet less wide options.
buy from manufacturer’s online shop | ebay.com | ebay.de | amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $849 (new)

Irix 15mm 2.4 Firefly/Blackstone:
This lens was a bit late to the party. It sounds very good on paper thanks to its filter thread and is very affordable, but its flare resistance seems to be really bad from what I have seen and the vignetting figures are even higher than those of the competitors.
buy from ebay.com | ebay.de | amazon.com | amazon.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $350 to $470 (new) or starting at $200 (used)

Mirrorless Designs

Laowa 15mm 2.0 Zero-D:
This is a lens I have been personally using for landscape astrophotography since its release. This Samyang 14mm 2.4 XP does offer better sharpness, flare resistance and coma correction, but it is also half-a-stop slower, much bigger and doesn’t feature a normal filter thread.
buy from manufacturer’s shop | amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $649

Viltrox 16mm 1.8 AF:
14mm and 16mm start to be a noticeable difference and the Viltrox is almost one stop faster. Offering AF, a normal filter thread and a very competitive price this is a really appealing and versatile alternative for mirrorless users.
buy from manufacturer’s shop (use the code “PRnet” for 8% discount) | amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $549

Sony FE 14mm 1.8 GM:
Considering the combination of size and image quality, this might actually be one of Sony’s biggest achievements. There does sadly seem to be some sample variation, my copy corrected Coma very well, but corner sharpness wasn’t that great (worse than this Samyang lens for sure). Looking at other reviews, some people’s lenses were the opposite of that. If you get a good sample I am sure you will be happy with it, but maybe buy somewhere, where you can test and/or return it easily.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $1598

Sigma 14mm 1.4 Art DG DN:
Sigma pushed the limits and gave us the fastest 14mm lens and the widest f/1.4 lens. This turned out to be a huge and heavy brick of a lens though, which is the main reason I haven’t tried it myself yet, but I am sure curious to find out how it compares to its slower competitors, especially when it comes to vignetting.
buy from amazon.com | amazon.de | ebay.com | ebay.de | B&H (affiliate links) for $1599

Pergear 14mm 2.8 II:
The Pergear 14mm 2.8 II was a positive surprise when we reviewed it, offering good sharpness, low coma and even coming with an adapter ring equipping it with a normal 82mm filter thread. Sadly the flare resistance is pretty bad, if you can overlook that, this lens is very good value for the money.
buy from Pergear | ebay.com | ebay.de (affiliate links) for $249

You can find many more of the modern ultra wide angle zoom as well as prime lenses discussed in our Guide to Ultra Wide Angle Lenses for the A7 Series.

Sample Images

Most of the sample images in this review can be found in full resolution here.

Further Reading

• Guide to 9-18mm Ultra Wide Angle Lenses for Sony fullframe E-mount Cameras
• Review: Laowa 9mm 5.6 – The World’s Widest fullframe lens
• Review: Sony FE 12-24mm 2.8 GM
• Review: Samyang 50mm 1.2 XP
• Analogue Adventures

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BastianK

My name is Bastian and I am your expert here when it comes to ultra wide angle lenses, super fast portrait lenses (ranging from a 50mm f/0.95 to a 200mm f/1.8) and I also have reviewed way too many 35mm lenses. Don't ask me anything about macro or wildlife shooting though.

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