Samyang AF 12mm F2 E Review - A Sequel Done Right

The Samyang 12mm F2 manual focus lens was one of my favorite lenses for my Sony A6000. Is the new autofocus version any good? Find out in this video.
Samyang AF 12mm F2 E: bhpho.to/2TEju3g

[@TexpatOTG]

Had to wait a while to get this in Saigon. I found it today and ordered it. Should have it this week depending on lockdown status. You really gave me the info I needed to make an informed purchase. I'll do a short review of the lens on my channel when it get here. Cheers .... great show!

[@markshirley01]

Thanks Hyun - I never even considered a E mount Sony but this lens with the A6600 this makes sense if you need a wide lens. It would be great for the new Sony E-Mount camera that is due to be released (except its rumoured to have the smaller battery).

[@MaddMoniTalks]

Keep up the great reviews! I really want these lens

[@jre617]

Great, thanks. I'm looking forward to buying this lens.

[@JPFilmmaker]

You answered some doubts i had about this lens. Ty.

[@anthonyhussey3997]

Hey, I have just bought a Fuji T-30 ii and Samyang AF 12mm F2X to take on a Christmas holiday to the Orkney Islands. I am hoping to get some good shots of the Northern Lights, I have a decent tripod and remote shutter switch and am wondering if you have any tips I can try? Kudos on your videos, have watched a few and they are easy to understand and informative.

[@slimphotog]

Keep it up, Samyang! I'm looking at alternatives to Sony lenses. I bet owners of Sony E mount like me feel the same, and maybe owners of Canon M series and Nikon APS-C would welcome this lens in their mount also.

[@carolkchang8]

Hi, I just got this lens for my Sony ZV-E10 and for some reason is not working for me. Is flickering in every mode unless I use it in Shutter Priority and higher the shutter but when I do that I can use the blurry background it will get so white. Is this happen to you? I vlog so I need to be able to use it in program priority. Thank you

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Hi, what settings are you shooting at? The flickering might be because of the shutter speed being too fast and the screen going white could be because the bigger aperture over-exposes the shot.

[@AiurMedia]

great review!

[@PhAtALTheKollector]

Clean, strait to the point video! Best review on this lens I’ve seen. Does this come in silver? Thanks

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Thank you, unfortunately, I don't think it comes in silver at least just yet.

[@edc5338]

Can you do a video on the newer Tamron 11-20 E lens?

[@badiozamansulaiman8890]

Nikon Z APS-C dont have a lot of lens options, it would be great if this would be available on the z mount

[@Jimmyageek]

No Vlogging Test?

[@bn8ws]

I'd really like to see this lens for Fuji-X mount. Currently there's only a version without AF available

[@axelzis]

How about this lens vs sigma 16mm f1.4?

[@arethmontoya5552]

hi, im so excited about buying this lens, and great review by the way. my only question is, When Im looking in amazon to buy it, theres two options a rokinon and a samyang, is there a diference?

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Thanks, they’re the same company. The only difference is the branding. Sometimes I noticed there’s a small difference in price so just pick the one that’s cheaper.

[@TheJonaGaze]

Thanks for the review Hyun. Is there any way we can influence the production of a X-Mount version? Viltrox released an image of their 13mm F1.4 recently, so the race of wide APSC AF lens is on!

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Thank you, this lens would be great for the X mount. I'm sure they watch their reviews so if enough people leave comments, they'll consider it. Fingers crossed

[@julienbeltran3714]

That was exactly what I was thinking ! I cross my fingers so they make it for Fuji X mount and even micro 4/3 :)))

[@tobiasam744]

The Viltrox looks HUGE though... The compactness of the Samyang 12mm F2 is one of the apealing aspects to me personally :)

[@storiesfromwedgraphy9136]

sir this lens suitable for sony a73??

[@ruciferu93]

can you use it for portrait ?

[@aucourant9998]

I had the Fuji 16mm F1.4 and it is an amazing lens. But it was so big and heavy, I found I rarely ever used it. But I did like the wide angle for landscape, so I have just bought this Samyang (mint condition for half price). We'll see how I get on.

[@efficaciousuave]

only heard about this lens and am simply blown away just by the review videos. on the apsc front, most budget lenses top out at 18mm, or 16mm, which is still more than a proper ultrawide considering the crop factor. which is not a big deal, unless you are vlogging or taking lots of indoor photos. in which case this 12 mm, even with the crop factor is a game chnager. probably the only thing i mught complain is why its only f2 and not f1.2 like sigma 16 but that would be nitpicking. i dont think there is any 12 mm lens for sony 6x series at this price point.

[@DoubleThumbsUp]

Lightweight, ultrawide, wide aperture, decent price...this lens with the Sony ZV-E10 is going to be a great vlogging set up! 👍👍

[@gigihanmandarin]

Yes! This is the combo I am going to try once ZV-E10 hits the market!

[@yashwantjamdade4710]

Same

[@dfusselman]

Definitely want either lens for Canon RF mount.

[@MarlonKingShow]

This would have been great if it had oss. As a a6400 user, still no decent vlogging lenses other than the ancient 10-18 which is f4 and expensive. Tameron just released a wide lens but again expensive and no oss. Just need an update to this lens with oss for the win. Thanks for the review.

[@beiyongzui]

Just buy a gimbal and you're all set.

[@ArekoL]

I LOVE IT!

[@RockWILK]

I have the original, manual lens and LOVE it. I'm sure this is killin', but I don't need it. lol. I'm good. I'm sure, however, that it will sell like crazy. Great lens, great price= Awesome. Thanks for the great review, as always.

[@Hugozen]

@5:08 very detailed test 👍 it's not as quite as sony or sigma, but totally acceptable.

[@MsIrrealis]

i own the original 12mm f2 and the CAs are absolutely horrendous. Not just a "ill just click CA correction in Lightroom and be done with it". They are really bad in high contrast scenes. Samyang stated, that this AF lens is optically almost the same. Can you say anything about the ChromaticAberrations in this lens?

[@tadbubs]

Hyun, firstly your lighting is awesome. For the talking head and product (lens) review. Totally spot-on. Secondly, your articulation and succinct breakdown of the lens is dope! Because your your review I'm returning my manual focus Samyang and upgrading to the AF. Thanks, sir! Heya I have the Sony ZV-E10. I notice the wide angle is different when on photo vs video mode. It crops in on video. Why is that? Have you suggestions on settings to keep the ultra wide in video mode? I need to shoot exercise full-body shots, in a ultra small studio.

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Thank you, are you shooting in 4K 30? If I remember correctly I think there’s a slight crop unless you shoot in 24p.

[@lacinema5646]

Maybe the Active Stabilisation turned on? It crops in a lil bit

[@tadbubs]

@@lacinema5646 Thank you. I'll give that a shot.

[@lawrencechiu9702]

do you know if the AF version will come out for EF-M? couldn't find it!

[@lawrencechiu9702]

oh, you answered me question at 6:00 thanks and nice video :)

[@yashwantjamdade4710]

Can we vlog with it?

[@MasoodJamal]

Which these ultra wide angle lenses do you suggest for indoor real estate videography in a low light noisy situation with Sony ZV-E10 camera ? 1. Sony 11mm f.1/8 2. Samyang 12mm 3. Rokinon 12mm 4. Tamron 11-20mm 5. Viltrox 13mm F1.4

[@jerrye1001]

great review. I just purchased it from B&H after watching. can you believe the AF version is just $299?!!

[@wildwisdomjourneys7221]

Thanks, Hyun! I would love to see this lens for my Canon M6 Mark II. It would be a great addition to my 16mm Sigma & 32 mm Canon prime lens. Best, Sylvia

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Yeah, this would be perfect for the ef-m mount. Maybe they will give it to us if enough people ask for it :)

[@wildwisdomjourneys7221]

@@HyunRalphJeong Fingers crossed.

[@Utoober-yp7mf]

I'm into videos and was thinking getting this. I recently bought the sigma 16mm 1.4 lens for my Sony A5100 but my crane M2 gimbal is not powerful enough to handle the sigma lens. Debating if I should get this or get a more powerful gimbal like weebill S.

[@HyunRalphJeong]

The Samyang lens is definitely lighter but not by much. I think the M2 will still struggle with it. If you're serious about video, a bigger gimbal might be a better investment.

[@wynstunsuk]

I hope samyang can start to make Fuji lenses. It would be a game changer fit the xmount sys

[@HyunRalphJeong]

They make their manual focus lenses for the X mount but not this one yet. Hope they will soon.

[@frankc.9853]

how can you shoot with the lens hood? It got in the framing of the pictures that I took today. The hood was so tight that I thought it was permanent until I saw your video.

[@Sohamsta]

Did you manage to get it off???? Mine is so tight I have no clue how hard to turn it

[@frankc.9853]

@@Sohamsta Lol! I did but it's been so long that I can't remember how. I sent it back anyway because. I shoot full frame.

[@masoxrista3574]

I got it for my A6400. I wanted a wider lens that wouldnt be too heavy or big. So far, very safisfied.

[@alvarovids1915]

Same camera here and samyang on the way! You already tested it for video?

[@masoxrista3574]

@@alvarovids1915 Sorry, I’m not a videographer. Still, I brought this one lens on a recent hike and it performed so well! And was super lightweight. Great wide angle for landscapes and works for close ups as well. Worked superbly under low light situations! Good value for money indeed.

[@alvarovids1915]

@@masoxrista3574 thanks for you reply!! im very hyped about this lens right now!

[@hannahkamara8749]

Hello, which should I get for my a6400 sony 35mm prime lens or this?

[@HyunRalphJeong]

What kind of stuff are you trying to shoot? They are very different focal lengths.

[@seahwaikok5295]

will it be a good travel/walkaround len?

[@HyunRalphJeong]

I don't see why not?

[@teleguy2650]

Nice lens, took it on a hike and found even a few light bumps from my arm caused the lens hood to fall off. Be careful.

[@swonghobby]

Nice images. Where did you take that picture of NY?

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Thanks, It was a long time ago so I'm not 100% sure but it might have been the Rockefeller center

[@swonghobby]

@@HyunRalphJeong I like the composition. I have a similar image, but I was on top of the Empire State Building. The composition was different and I was wondering which building you were on. Thank you

[@HyunRalphJeong]

@@swonghobby Thank you, I just remembered, I never made it up the Empire State Building because the line was too long haha.

[@robertdavis1255]

Thanks for sharing...look & sounds a great lens....I hope they make one I can use on my Nikon D500..??.. cheers..😀

[@markshirley01]

Thats one of the issues with Nikon at the moment no 3rd party support

[@HyunRalphJeong]

That would be great. Not sure if they will though unfortunately.

[@slimphotog]

That new Nikon Z fc is very tempting, but it needs new glass. Samyang could fill a huge hole in the Nikon APS-C lineup.

[@thedayaftertomorrowmonday9984]

Yay yaay

[@noisackda2564]

Didn't even know this lens existed and bought the Tamron 11-20 to pair with my ZV-E10 :(

[@thedayaftertomorrowmonday9984]

Yay yay yay

[@justanotherguy12]

Should be fine for Sony a7iii right? Great images btw

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Thanks, this lens is only for aps-c cameras so it won't work for A7iii.

[@slimphotog]

@@HyunRalphJeong Does A7iii have a crop mode where it can be used?

[@HyunRalphJeong]

@@slimphotog It does, but I think the crop mode is around 10 megapixels.

[@justanotherguy12]

@@HyunRalphJeong Thank you, I'm new to this and still learning. I bought a E-mount lens converter so I can use some lenses from my Sony A65 days. Would it work if applied to the converter?

[@JTCavey]

@@justanotherguy12 It should. The Sony A65 is also an APSC/crop sensor size, just like this lens, however the adapter won't change and doesn't care what type of lens you are using, just the mount. The Sony A7iii can use Full Frame (FF) or crop (APSC) lens, but you will get a loss in megapixels on the a7iii or any full frame camera using an APSC lens. This new Rokinon lens in this video is an APSC lens so even with your A-mount to E-mount adapter that you have, you will still have to shoot in APSC mode (internal camera setting you can switch on and off, usually the camera does it automatically) on your a7iii. It will look great but it won't be the best case scenario. If you are only posting images on social media, no one will tell the difference.

[@MasoodJamal]

If we compare Samsung 12 mm with Tamron 10 or 11mm for real estate videography with Sony ZV-E10 so which one will be the best choice ?

[@qwe1231]

Makes a nice landscape lens for APS-C... but AF is pretty irrelevant for ultrawide lenses because of the incredible depth of field. On an A6000 if you shoot at f/4 and focus at 7-ft, you get DoF from 3.2-ft to infinity! Shoot at f/2 and focus at 12-ft and you get DoF from 6-ft to infinity. Samyang added autofocus because some people want it, not because anyone really needs it. I'll take the manual focus version over this one because it's less expensive and with fewer parts will last longer.

[@HyunRalphJeong]

Yeah, the autofocus will benefit more video shooters and close-up shots. To me, I think the design and better optics make it worth it.

[@qwe1231]

@@HyunRalphJeong Oh, I didn't realize the AG lens used an improved design.

[@ivandj707]

AF is not irrelevant for video.

[@qwe1231]

@@ivandj707 I guess you missed the part where I wrote "landscape".

[@animaxxx4429]

Oh man, Tamron has announced lenses for Fuji X mount and if Samyang can make X mount version of this, then I'm picking up this alongside Tamron 17-70 f2.8 for my Fujifilm X-S10 on day 1 of their releases. Can you ask Samyang if they are planning to release this for Fujifilm? The new 13mmf1.4 by Tokina and Viltrox is also coming. The golden era of Fujifilm has begun!!

[@imakesushinotsushit]

Dimsim