102 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
SUPERTEST
Centre Edge Corner2500200015001000500
Sharpness
f/1/8f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16f/22SAMyANG 10 mm f/2.8
ED AS NCS CS £379/$399
This manual lens for APS-C format cameras is rather
more ‘manual’ than most
his Samyang has an
effective focal length of
16mm on APS-C format
Canon bodies. It’s not
the only manual lens here, but
takes manual photography
further by lacking any built-in
electronics. As a result, the
focus confirmation lamp won’t
light up in the viewfinder
when the lens is focused – you
can’t even set the aperture
from the camera body.
You have to set the aperture
using the mechanical aperture
ring on the lens itself. This is a
pain in many scenarios,
because at medium to narrow
apertures, the viewfinder
image becomes considerably
darker. It’s not such a problem
in astrophotography, where
you’re likely to use the lens at
or near its widest aperture.
Typical of ultra-wide-angle
lenses, there’s a fixed hood
and no filter attachment
thread. The viewing angle is
suited to astrophotography
and, combined with the fast
f/2.8 aperture, it’s somewhat
unique as an APS-C format
prime lens. Manual focusing isprecise, the focus ring
operating smoothly and with
long rotational travel. It comes
with a focus distance scale
and depth of field markings.Performance
Nano-structure coatings help
keep ghosting and flare to a
minimum. Centre-sharpness is
mediocre, but it doesn’t drop
off much towards the edges
and corners. Performance is
good in terms of coma,
spherical aberration and
vignetting, although lateral
chromatic aberration is a little
worse than average. All in all,
however, it’s great value at this
price point.FeATUres
VerdIc T
01
The bulbous front
element is protected
by a fixed hood, so
there’s no filter
attachment thread.02
The manual focus
ring works smoothly
with good precision.03
Depth of field
markings are
included for various
aperture settings.04
There are no
electronics for
camera-driven
aperture control.05
There’s no
weather-seal ring on
the mounting plate.FeATUresBUIld & hAndlIngPerFormAnceVAlUeoVerAll010204T
PrIME or zooM?
There’s something to be said for both, but APS-C choices are limited
f you’re shooting with an APS-C
camera, choices of wide-angle
lenses with a fast aperture
rating are limited. Canon doesn’t make
any wide-angle ‘EF-S’ prime lenses
apart from the 24mm f/2.8 STM! With
its ‘effective’ focal length of 38.4mm,
the viewing angle is rather narrow for
astrophotography. Canon also doesn’t
make an APS-C format wide-anglezoom lens with a faster aperture rating
than f/3.5-4.5, which is a bit on the slow
side for shooting stars.
As always, the versatility of a zoom
lens adds convenience. This is true if
you want to include areas of landscape,
rather than shooting the night sky in
isolation. You can often ‘zoom with your
feet’, by walking around to gain the best
vantage point when using a prime lens.I
Zoom lenses are often larger and heavier than other
primes but, for Sigma’s 14-24mm zoom and faster-
aperture 14mm prime, there’s little difference0305