p.8 #2 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
I got this lens a couple days ago. I was doing some testing vs the Tamron 17-28mm and I noticed something weird with the Samyang 18mm. I'm getting random shots that are 1 stop overexposed, when shooting in manual on my A7 III. The exif reports the correct data, but the exposure is wrong.
I'm thinking this may be a problem with the aperture sometimes failing to stop down all the way. Has anyone else experienced something like this with their Samyang 18mm, or any Samyang lens?
p.8 #4 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
DFason wrote:
I am really enjoying this lens. While not perfect, nor are these photos having this small package along with the Sony 28 is a fun combo for me.
p.8 #5 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
AJay wrote:
Tested this lens out for astrophotography and I am amazed at how well this lens does. Virtually no coma and no CA to speak of. Definitely a keeper.
p.8 #10 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
scalanc2 wrote:
What can be tweaked with the dock station?
I adjusted my 18mm 2.8 by additional -1 AF adjustment and the wide open performance was noticeably better. I can shoot the 18mm 2.8 wide open all day and be satisfied with the sharpness. Though I'd only get a dock if you plan on buying more Samyang lenses. I currently have 5 lenses and have most my Samyang glass focused adjusted and running current firmware. I actually prefer this method since I've been able to buy cheap Samyang lenses used (due to seller dissatisfaction). Once I receive it, I focus tune the lens, maximizing best results.
p.8 #11 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
Can you elaborate? Do you adjust based on infinity focus, or another method?
Jonathan F wrote:
I adjusted my 18mm 2.8 by additional -1 AF adjustment and the wide open performance was noticeably better. I can shoot the 18mm 2.8 wide open all day and be satisfied with the sharpness. Though I'd only get a dock if you plan on buying more Samyang lenses. I currently have 5 lenses and have most my Samyang glass focused adjusted and running current firmware. I actually prefer this method since I've been able to buy cheap Samyang lenses used (due to seller dissatisfaction). Once I receive it, I focus tune the lens, maximizing best results.
p.8 #12 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
maestrofilms wrote:
Can you elaborate? Do you adjust based on infinity focus, or another method?
I used my previously owned Zeiss 16-35mm f4 as baseline to try and match sharpness through trial and error. Samyang lenses only have a -4/+4 adjustment and many of the lenses come tuned out of factory. Sometimes their settings aren't perfect, so additional tuning might be required. My Samyang 18mm 2.8 went from good to excellent after tuning.
My main concern is wide open sharpness, but so far I feel at infinity the settings hold up. Though I'm not a dedicated landscape photographer and prefer shooting more mid-range subjects like street and urban photography.
p.8 #13 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
Can you explain your process to fine tune the focus? I know how to change the value, but what kind of shots did you use to evaluate the sharpness? Infinity, minimum focus distance, or a combination?
Jonathan F wrote:
I used my previously owned Zeiss 16-35mm f4 as baseline to try and match sharpness through trial and error. Samyang lenses only have a -4/+4 adjustment and many of the lenses come tuned out of factory. Sometimes their settings aren't perfect, so additional tuning might be required. My Samyang 18mm 2.8 went from good to excellent after tuning.
My main concern is wide open sharpness, but so far I feel at infinity the settings hold up. Though I'm not a dedicated landscape photographer and prefer shooting more mid-range subjects like street and urban photography.
p.8 #14 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
maestrofilms wrote:
Can you explain your process to fine tune the focus? I know how to change the value, but what kind of shots did you use to evaluate the sharpness? Infinity, minimum focus distance, or a combination?
I shoot one subject with a high amount of detail and I take baseline shots of before and after images. I usually use high shutter speeds to minimize any motion blur and I'll use another lens I know that's sharp as a baseline for performance. I then go into Photoshop and blow the images up 200% and evaluate from there. Nothing too scientific, but if find a particular AF adjustment that yields good results I'll take a couple sample photos (mostly my kids) and if everything looks crispy and sharp, I stick with that adjustment. Plus Samyang only allows up to 4 adjustments +/-, if it's still no good at either extremities, it's most definitely a bad copy of the lens.
I don't really shoot my 18mm 2.8 stopped down and most my fast primes I just shoot close to wide open since my Sony kit is dedicated more to portraits and travel. I still use my DSLRs for tripod and strobe photography, since they tend to have less dust issues when stopped down. In those scenarios I feel the mirrorless advantage goes out the door for me.
p.8 #16 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
BlueBomberTurbo wrote:
Ugh, this is why I moved from DSLR to mirrorless, so the AF system and sensor couldn't be "out of" calibration. So now the lenses are...
Yeah, but I've noticed not all mirrorless lenses are exactly perfect. Many Sony Zeiss lenses have reported copy variation and my previous Olympus M43 also had lens variation which required repairs or having to swap out lenses. I find the Samyang method to be the most user friendly without too much headache. It also helps the lenses are quite affordable, so it's not a big deal for me.
p.8 #17 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
Jonathan F wrote:
Yeah, but I've noticed not all mirrorless lenses are exactly perfect. Many Sony Zeiss lenses have reported copy variation and my previous Olympus M43 also had lens variation which required repairs or having to swap out lenses. I find the Samyang method to be the most user friendly without too much headache. It also helps the lenses are quite affordable, so it's not a big deal for me.
Guess I'll dive down that rabbit hole and pick up the dock. I already have the 18 and 35 2.8s and the 75/1.8, and will pick up the 35/1.4 and 45/1.8 in the future, along with hoping for a 135/2.8. Love the small size and insignificant weight of the slower/less fast lenses without a negative impact on IQ, and the top notch IQ I've seen out of 2 of the 3 1.4 lenses (the 50 was a dud all around). I'm definitely hooked on the brand based on my experience with the first 3 lenses, and will continue to pick up what they release in the future.
p.8 #18 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
I used the dock for my SY 85mm f1.4. It was fairly straightforward but very little reference material available on the process. It does seem to raise questions regarding AF accuracy on mirrorless with other brand lenses that don't have an adjustment feature that nobody really wants to answer either!
p.8 #19 · Samyang AF 18/2.8 FE officially announced
dave unwin wrote:
I used the dock for my SY 85mm f1.4. It was fairly straightforward but very little reference material available on the process. It does seem to raise questions regarding AF accuracy on mirrorless with other brand lenses that don't have an adjustment feature that nobody really wants to answer either!
To me, it seems like they're pushing the responsibility of QC onto the customer. Settings like aperture adjustment, where you can adjust the wide open position of the aperture blades, ensuring that none are visible wide open, have never been a thing before. Nor have they ever been needed, since that's certainly a standard QC point.
AF shouldn't be an issue with mirrorless, either. There can't be a misalignment of the AF sensor and imaging sensor like on DSLR, as they're a single part on mirrorless. That's all that AF fine tune/microadjustment changes on a DSLR: the mirror angle that directs the view of the scene to the separate AF sensor. As we've seen with some Sony and Canon lenses, AF inconsistencies are FW issues, not body issues, as one FW update to correct AF serves lenses mounted on all bodies.
Love the small size and insignificant weight of the slower/less fast lenses without a negative impact on IQ, and the top notch IQ I've seen out of 2 of the 3 1.4 lenses (the 50 was a dud all around). I'm definitely hooked on the brand based on my experience with the first 3 lenses, and will continue to pick up what they release in the future. 