Lens test 52 Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 EDAS UMC £625
Photography News Issue 29 absolutephoto.com
Specs
Format Full-frame/35mm Mount Canon EF and EF-M, Nikon F,
Pentax K, Sony A and E, Fujifilm X, Four Thirds, Micro Four Thirds and Samsung NX Construction
16 elements in 11 groups Special lens elements 2x aspherical, 2x ED Coatings Ultra multi coating (UMC) Filter size 82mm Aperture range F/3.5-22 Diaphragm 6 blades Internal focus No Manual focus Yes Minimumfocus 20cm Focus limiter No Maximummagnification 0.35x Distance scale Yes Depth-of-field scale Yes Image stabiliser No Tripod collar No Lens hood Built in Weather-sealed No Dimensions (lxd) 110x86mm Weight 667g Contact intro2020.co.uk
The Samyang 24mm T-S f/3.5 ED AS UMC offers the same focal length and aperture range as Canon’s 24mm TS lens, but one stop less at the narrow end than the Nikon. Worth mentioning, but this is unlikely to be a problem, given that those very small apertures negate some of the positives of tilt-shift shooting. The lens is available in Canon (tested) and Nikon fits, and is the only TS option for some bodies (see the specs), at present. Price point is obviously a big factor here and the lens is around £850 cheaper than its Canon and Nikon competitors. You’d expect this to tell in the build quality, but while it doesn’t have the tank-like feel of the Nikon or Canon, it certainly doesn’t feel skimpy or lightweight. The body is mostly high-grade plastic, which cuts down the weight, but it still feels tough and durable, and the lens mount is metal. Like other TS lenses there are no claims made for weather sealing, due to the moving parts involved, and here a small, built- in lens hood guards the bulbous front element from direct sun. The aperture ring must be used as there’s no control of aperture from the body, but nor will the aperture setting be read or recorded by the camera; to help out here, the aperture markers are written on both sides of the ring.
When it comes to handling, Samyang’s 24mm f/3.5 also puts in a good performance, too. The plastic tilt and shift control knobs are prominent and easy to turn with a lot of grip from their grooved heads. However, they are on the thin side, and identical in size and feel, so you can find yourself using the wrong one when working through the viewfinder. The locking pins at each one’s opposite side are different in design though, so no confusion there. One other minor issue is how close they are; so when tilt and shift are aligned, space is tight and turning is more awkward than it needs to be. In terms of the tilt and shift action, it doesn’t quite glide like the more expensive lenses, either, but the movement is precise and doesn’t snag. On the plus side, each function has click-stops to let you know where you’re at when working, which is good, and the levers which control the mount rotation and separate rotation of the tilt section are prominent and easy to find. Both turn through 90º, clicking at 30º points, so there’s masses of flexibility. The focusing ring is large and well placed, and while the lens does extend by around 1cm, crucially the filter ring remains static. The focusing ring has a grooved finish, and turns with great smoothness and
a level of resistance that keeps adjustments precise, taking only a quarter turn to focus from near to far. The ring’s finish is a littlemore slippery than I’d have liked though. Like the Canon lens, the level of tilt is +/-8.5º and the shift covers +/-12mm. As expected there is clear vignetting at the extremes of the shift range, but it’s not a hard edge like the Nikon produces. The Samyang did produce a little more fringing than the other lenses, and this appeared togrowat the full shift where the edge of the image circle is encountered, but it’s not disruptive, and likemost things can be fixed in Raw processing. When set to its default position, there was some vignetting at the widest apertures, but this was eliminated by f/5.6. Sharpness was good, and between f/8 and f/11 was very close to the more expensive lenses’ performance, and although wide open there was ghosting, this had gone by f/5.6. Sharpness was well held into the edges of the shift. There was a little flare encountered, and some minor barrelling, too. The six-bladed aperture gives a retro look to hexagonal bokeh when stopped down, and makes out of focus areas a littlemore choppy looking, but it’s not an unpleasant look by any means.
Full-frame image
F/3.5
F/4
Verdict
The Samyang 24mm T-S f/3.5 is a real eye-opener; a lens that democratises tilt-shift photography by making it truly affordable and seriously expanding the number of digital SLRs and CSCs on which you can do it. It can’t quite compete with its more expensive rivals in terms of image quality and build, but still puts in a very respectable performance across the board, and trumps the Nikon in its tilt rotation feature and level of shift.
F/5.6
F/8
Quality These images were shot against a flat subject at the lens’s default position. Converted from the Raw, that are unmodified and unsharpened. Optical quality from the Samyang 24mm T-S was good, if not spectacular.
Features It’s got it all, bar autoexposure
24/25
21/25
Performance Some image quality grumbles wide open
Handling Not always refined but nothing majorly wrong
22/25
24/25
Value for money Almost a third of the price of the others!
F/11
F/16
F/22
91/100
Overall An excellent performance from this affordable lens, and well worth noting it’s the only tilt-shift option for many camera brands. Pros Price, range of mounts, handling and features Cons Image quality lags a little
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