Ten of the fastest lenses. What is aperture ratio What is f 1.8 on a lens

Many amateur photographers tend to purchase a fast lens for their camera kit. With the right help, you can capture beautiful portraits, beautifully blur the background and paint bokeh, or shoot in difficult low-light conditions handheld without carrying a bulky tripod around. The market now offers quite a wide variety of models of high-aperture glasses. Their choice depends only on the capabilities of your wallet and your own desire.

But sometimes there are superluminal specimens. And although they are not always sharpened for photography, but the value of their aperture makes them admire these monsters. Our TOP includes 10 lens models whose aperture value is less than f / 0.8.

1. GOI CW 20mm f/0.5

The mirror lens was produced in the USSR in 1948 by the State Optical Institute. The f/0.5 value is, in fact, the theoretical limit of lens speed. And it was our opticians who, in the difficult post-war years, created a super-luminous optical system. After that, various delegations came to the USSR in order to learn from experience, but no one has dared to repeat such a design since then.

2. Signal Corps Engineering 33mm f/0.6

This lens, released in postwar period for the US Signal Corps by German scientists transported to America, presumably intended for night vision or X-ray use. The sticker on the lens reads “ World's Fastest Lens“, which means “The fastest lens in the world”. Who knows, maybe at that time he was.

3. GOI Iskra-3 72mm f/0.65

Follower number 1 on our list was also released by the bright minds of the USSR. By its design, it is a mirror, and it was used in the field of radiography.

4 Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7

For some reason, this lens is considered the most aperture in the world. Although, as we can see, he is only in 4th place in our TOP. Designed in 1960 specifically for NASA's mission to photograph the dark side of the moon, the Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 was only produced in 10 examples. But only 6 of them were transferred to NASA. Another copy remained in Carl Zeiss, and the remaining 3 were sold to the famous director Stanley Kubrick. He used them to shoot the candlelight scene in Barry Lyndon (1975). You can also feel like Kubrick - P + S Technik rents out a lens in conjunction with a PS-Cam X35 HD camera, which anyone can use.

5. Fujinon 50mm f/0.7

Glass from Japanese brand Fujifilm doesn't give too much information about itself. So we will be glad if someone buys it for their Nikon or Canon and shares their impressions. Fortunately, at various auctions it is sold at quite affordable prices - in the range of $500-$600.

6. Irtal-3 100mm f/0.7

The most long-range representative from our list. 100mm at f/0.7 is respectable. But you will not be able to use the lens in the classical sense of the word, since its optical component is made of pure germanium, which does not transmit visible rays. This is a lens for infrared radiation, and it can be used as a thermal imager.

7. Carl Zeiss Jena R-Biotar 100mm f/0.73

This copy was previously used on old X-ray installations. Those that had a fluorescent screen. Those. they did not print pictures, but allowed to see through a person only in real time. In order to reduce the radiation dose and obtain the fastest image, it was desirable to increase the aperture ratio, for which it was useful this hero. You can read more about the lens at the link.

8. Leica Leitz 65mm f/0.75

Like the previous model, most likely this Leica was used in the field of radiography. But some people still saw color photographs taken with the lens. They were mostly pictures of flowers. close-up. Naturally, the depth of field of the images was very small, but in the focus area the picture looked very even nothing.

9. Rodenstock TV-Heligon 50mm f/0.75

Initially, the German-made lens was also intended for X-ray use. But many craftsmen adapted it for use with cameras, which the manufacturing company itself took advantage of. Now, at various online auctions, this medium format glass can be purchased for a wide variety of mounts - Nikon, Canon, and even Micro 4/3.

10. Canon TV-16 25mm f/0.78

The last example on our list has a soft focus, can draw beautiful bokeh and conveys colors remarkably. But it has pronounced vignetting. Although if you use glass for its intended purpose, i.e. as a portrait painter, in many cases this will only work to your advantage.

Instead of a resume

Nowadays, few people need lenses with such aperture values. After all, they have the main significant drawback - very small zones of sharpness. But progress is inexorably striding forward, and who knows what it will lead to in a couple of years? .. Maybe such models will still get into mass production.

The aperture ratio of a lens refers to its ability to transmit light. This ability directly depends on the maximum value of the relative aperture of the lens, i.e. from the minimum available aperture value. Strictly speaking, such a luminosity is called geometric, since it takes into account only the geometric dimensions of the diaphragm opening and ignores the attenuation of the light flux by the objective lenses, but such a simplified approach is quite suitable for comparing different lenses with each other. Therefore, when photographers talk about lens aperture, they usually mean the minimum aperture number and only that.

Obviously, a faster lens at equal ISO values allows you to use faster shutter speeds than a less fast one, and at equal shutter speeds it makes it possible to lower the ISO (see "Exposure").

In English literature, the term “lens speed” is common, denoting the same minimum aperture number. Fast lenses are called fast for the ability to shoot with high speeds shutter, and also for the speed with which they empty the photographer's wallet. The lenses of high-aperture optics are impressive in size and require a large amount of expensive optical glass in the production, which results in a significant increase in the cost of the lens.

What lenses are considered fast?

Professional fast zoom lenses have a minimum aperture of f/2.8. Lighter and cheaper zooms have a minimum aperture of f/4. The latter is no longer customary to call aperture. Both f/2.8 and f/4 zoom lenses feature consistent aperture throughout the range focal lengths, i.e. at 70-200mm f/2.8 zooms, f/2.8 will be available at both 70 and 200mm.

Amateur "dark" zoom lenses have a variable aperture in the region of f / 3.5-5.6, i.e. the minimum aperture value at wide-angle is f/3.5 and at telephoto is f/5.6. Variable aperture allows you to reduce the size and cost of the lens.

Fixed focal length lenses are much faster than zoom lenses. Here you will not surprise anyone with an aperture of f / 2.8. A fixed lens becomes truly fast at a minimum aperture value of no more than f / 2, and for professional fixes, aperture reaches f / 1.4 or even f / 1.2. Some specialized lenses (for example, for astrophotography) can have apertures up to f / 0.7, but such optics cannot be called mass-produced.

The reason for such a significant difference in the aperture ratio of lenses with variable and fixed focal lengths lies in the relative simplicity of the design of prime lenses. Optical zoom schemes are very complex, including dozens of lenses from different types of glass, which makes it very difficult to achieve apertures above f / 2.8.

I hasten to remind you that we are talking about geometric luminosity, which does not take into account the absorption of light by a particular lens. The difference between effective aperture(taking into account the absorption index) of lenses with a fixed and variable focal length is even greater than the difference between their geometric aperture, which is due to the large number of optical zoom elements, and hence the greater loss of light on the way through a complex lens.

There is a belief among beginner amateur photographers that the higher the aperture ratio of the lens, the better. Is it so? Yes and no.

A fast lens really allows you to use faster shutter speeds, which is indispensable when shooting moving objects in low light conditions, whether it's athletes in a dark room or wild animals at dusk. But when you shoot a static landscape, and even with a tripod, shutter speed stops worrying you. When shooting running water, you want to increase the shutter speed at all. And for a landscape photographer it is rather tiring to carry heavy aperture glasses with you in the mountains.

In other words, there is nothing wrong with high-aperture optics, but for most ordinary and a number of professional tasks, apertures above f / 4 (for zoom lenses) or f / 1.8 (for prime lenses), to put it mildly, are redundant.

If you definitely want to shoot at wide apertures, then you can start by acquiring a classic "fifty kopeck", i.e. lens with a focal length of 50 mm. Being a normal lens for full-frame and 35mm film cameras, on cameras with a crop factor (Nikon DX, Canon APS-C, etc.), a fifty-kopeck piece turns into a short telephoto lens, very convenient for shooting portraits. With f / 1.8 aperture, such lenses are not at all expensive, and the quality of the optics is very, very worthy. This is the easiest and most budgetary way to try high-aperture optics, so to speak, to your taste, and decide whether, in principle, you personally need a large aperture.

Thank you for your attention!

Vasily A.

post scriptum

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Photo or video recording is a stream of light fixed on a light-sensitive surface (in the case of digital technology, on a matrix), passing through the lens. Optics in shooting plays a paramount role and its quality largely determines the quality of the future image.

Any lens consists of several lenses combined into groups. Each of them has its own function. The lenses refract light, focusing it on the matrix, and protect it from distortion, reflections and other negative optical effects. Passing through these "barriers" the luminous flux naturally weakens. As a result, the light that hits the matrix becomes less bright, dims.

There are many ways to help avoid "light loss", of which the most effective is the use of coated lenses, passing through which the light will lose a minimum of its intensity. So, the ability of a lens to transmit the greatest amount of light without loss of intensity is called aperture ratio.

How to determine aperture

Aperture is a complex concept and manufacturers express its value using digital coefficients. So, the most simple, inexpensive zoom lenses modern cameras have aperture from 3.5 to 5.6 units. The lower the coefficient value, the higher the aperture ratio of the lens. The Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f / 0.7 lens, designed for filming in . High-aperture lenses for filming have a range of 0.7 to 2.8 units.

Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 lens used for filming reverse side Moon.

How aperture affects image quality

Aperture determines not only the intensity of the light flux, which allows you to shoot with short shutter speeds in very low light. It is also related to the diameter of the relative aperture of the diaphragm. The higher the aperture ratio, the wider the relative aperture, and hence the smaller the depth. This is especially important in portrait photography, as this lens can bring out objects in the foreground and blur the background.

Lenses with a fixed focal length have the highest aperture.

That is why aperture is the most important characteristic for portrait lenses and any professional portrait photographer has fast optics in his arsenal.

Surely, if you bought a lens, you have heard such a thing as lens aperture. Most likely, it was the aperture that played a key role when choosing a particular lens, and of course the seller tried to sell you a more expensive lens precisely referring to this mystical parameter - aperture, as if it would solve all your problems;)

First, let's figure out what lens aperture is, and what it is eaten with. If it's simple, then the aperture ratio is throughput lens, i.e. Aperture shows what is the maximum possible amount of light that passes through the lens and hits the matrix digital camera. The larger the aperture of the lens - the more light can pass through it, the more opportunities when shooting in poor lighting without using a flash or tripod.

The lens aperture depends on the following parameters:

diaphragm
focal length
optical quality

We will not delve into physics, I will only say that the ratio of the maximum open diameter to the focal length will be your aperture ratio (the so-called geometric aperture ratio of the lens). It is this aperture ratio that optics manufacturers indicate on their lenses, for sure you have seen the following signatures - 1: 1.2, 1: 1.4, 1: 1.8, 1: 2.8, 1: 5.6 and so on. Naturally, the larger this ratio, the greater the aperture ratio of the lens. Therefore, fast lenses are considered those with a ratio of 1:2.8, 1:1.8, 1:1.4 or more.

For the record, the world's fastest lens was made in 1966 for NASA, who used it to capture the dark side of the moon. It is called Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f/0.7 and its aperture ratio is 1:0.7, only ten such lenses were produced.

Every photographer, whether he is a beginner or a pro, knows that the fastest lenses are portrait lenses with a fixed focal length. And of course, every self-respecting photographer has such a lens in his arsenal. Another plus of fast fixes is that they are relatively inexpensive, for example, when compared with fast zoom lenses, but no less high quality.

Fast lenses are ideal for portrait shooting, because they give a small , which is very important for .

Which portrait lens should I choose, aperture 1.2, 1.4 or 1.8?

There is the fact that beginners want to buy a faster lens, and of course sellers are happy to sell them this lens, which costs many times more. The only question is whether you need to overpay for the f / 1.4 aperture if you practically do not use it!

Then I took another photo, which is doing well: the face is in focus and the background is blurred, but the aperture was already f / 2.8.

I messed up a lot of frames before I realized that f / 1.2 should only be used if there is not enough light to shoot and then, this does not always help, it's easier to increase, especially if you have . Sometimes, even at 50mm prime with f/2.8 aperture, you can miss and many details will be out of focus, so I always play it safe, especially when photographing models, in good light I use aperture no smaller than f/3.2.

As you can see, the depth of field is quite noticeable.

Article text updated: 3.09.2019

Dozens of hours spent on forums for photographers, consultations on which camera is best for amateur photographers, throwing from Canon DSLRs to Sony mirrorless cameras, from Nikon full frame to Micro 4/3 system from Olympus or Panasonic. And finally, the agony of choice is over - you bought your first camera. Most likely, it was purchased with a KIT lens, which has a universal range of focal lengths and a small aperture. You are a happy amateur photographer if you stop there and shoot for pleasure with what you have. If, over time, the quality of the photo from KIT ceases to satisfy, woe to you, unfortunate. Today let's see what optics can be taken on a cropped matrix in a wide-angle range and test the Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS Fujifilm X wide-angle prime on a Fujifilm X-T2 mirrorless camera.

We are discussing which lens can be taken on any cropped cameras instead of the standard one.
Rules for shooting with a wide-angle lens.
What width can be taken on the Sony A6000, A6300 and A6500.
Competitors Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS. Some sample photos on Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D with Fujifilm X-T2 body.
Specifications Samyang 12/2.
Conclusion to the review.

1. Which lens to buy to replace the kit lens for cropped DSLRs Sony A6000, A6300 and A6500 or Fujifilm X

Let's first figure out what is good or what is bad for a Whale staffer. Most often, it has not very outstanding optical properties (resolution, chromatic aberration, distortion) and it is darker than normal lenses, that is, it has an aperture of f / 3.5 at the wide end, f / 5.6 at the long end.

What gives luminosity? Possibility to take pictures in low light with a lower ISO, which means a low-level image digital noise, greater dynamic range and greater color depth.

A simple example: if at f / 2.0 of a fast aperture we had to set ISO 800 to ensure a given exposure time (which is still tolerable for a cropped matrix), then at f / 5.6 a KIT will need ISO 3200 for the same shutter speed (which is a lot).

You can replace the staffer with fixes or a better zoom. Each approach has pros and cons, but I chose the zoom path for myself. When people ask me which lens to buy instead of the standard one, I advise you to start with the purchase of the "holy trinity": fast zooms with the following equivalent focal lengths (that is, when converted to full frame):

14-24mm f/2.8;
24-70mm f/2.8;
70-200mm f2.8.

The numbers in this list refer to optics for full-frame cameras. To convert them into values suitable for your camera, you need to divide by the crop factor: for Sony E-mount, Nikon F and Fujifilm X - Kf = 1.5, for Olympus and Panasonic Micro 4/3 systems - Kf = 2, for Canon - Kf = 1.6. Then we get (after rounding):

Sony, Nikon and Fuji X - zoom with FR 10-16 mm.
Canon - zoom 9-15 mm.
Olympus and Panasonic - 7-12 mm.

Let me remind you that lenses with EGF 14-24 mm are conditionally referred to as ultra-wide-angle, 24-35 mm - to wide-angle, 35-70 mm - to optics with a normal angle of view, 70-300 mm - long-focus, 300-800 mm and more - ultra-long-focus .

If you plan to take photography seriously, these three types of lenses are indispensable. There are also macro lenses, tilt-shifts, but they have a more specific application.

There are often disputes among photographers whether or not wide aperture is needed, because they often shoot landscapes - f / 8.0-f / 11.0 aperture is used, so why pay a lot of money, for example, for Fujinon XF 8-16mm f / 2.8 (price 2000 USD) , if you can buy Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4.0 (price 850 USD).

My opinion: for landscapes, the half-aperture version of f / 4 is really enough. But the width is also needed for many other genres (street photography, weddings, christenings, corporate, birthdays, astrophotography, etc.), where you need to blur the background and get more light on the matrix.

Let's see how often wide is used by professional photographers. For example, let's go to the MyWed website and in the section " Best photos per year” let’s calculate what shots were taken with this type of optics.

We see that out of 25 photos on the first page, 18 shots were taken wide (marked with a “daw” icon). Wow, it turns out that wedding photographers photographed 72% of the time with wide-angle lenses!

Well, maybe they are crazy? Let's go to the website of the Kommersant publishing house and see what professional photojournalists shoot.

Hmm... Again, out of 24 title shots, 14 were shot with a wide-angle lens (58%). If you look inside the article, then there will be great amount frames from this optics.

OK! Wedding planners, professional photojournalists… All these are specific areas. And what do they take pictures of when they go on a trip to distant countries? I type in the search line the phrase “travel photographer of the year award” (travel photographer of the year, award). Already 23 out of 48 shots were also taken wide (48%)!

Why is the ultra wide range (FR 14-24 mm) so popular with professional photographers filming in different genres? Because a wide-angle lens has a number of features:

The picture literally pulls the viewer into the frame. No other lens will give such a sense of presence as Shirik.
With the help of this optics, it is mono to show both the object and its environment, the habitat, which is very important for creating a story in the frame.

The sky-high prices for the 14-24mm f/2.8 zoom make any photographer think twice. I never bought a Nikon 14-24mm f / 2.8 for my full frame Nikon D610 - it is not only expensive, but also healthy and heavy. For now, I'm getting by with my favorite Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC AE Nikon F ultra-wide-angle prime. Considering that I own a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G zoom, I have a 24mm focal length closed. For complete happiness, a 20 mm fix is not enough, that is, Samyang 20mm f / 1.8 ED AS UMC Nikon F.

If we return to the owners of Fujifilm X cameras, then for them, in my opinion, the ideal starter kit for high-quality optics may include:

Universal Zoom Fujinon XF 16-55mm F/2.8 R LM WR.
Telezoom Fujinon XF 50-140mm F2.8 R LM OIS WR.
Two fixes - widths for CROPS: Samyang 10mm f / 2.8 ED AS NCS CS Fuji X and Samyang 12mm f / 2.0 NCS CS Fujifilm X.

I asked Pavel to give a little commentary on today's photo examples. Here is what he told me:

All images were taken inRAF and then processed in the editorcapture One. V "photoshop» - resize for the site and, in some places, a small retouch.
UnlikeSamyang 14 mm f/2.8, famous for the fact that the "Infinity" risk does not coincide with the real situation, inSamyang 12 mm f/ 2 there is no such problem: but if you twist the focus ring a little further at risk, then the sharpness will be lost. Therefore, while focusing, you should always look at the lens.
For my Samyang 14 / 2.8, I had to download the lens profile and install it in the baseLightroom. Due to the fact that there is no such profile in the camera, in the formatJPEG you can’t shoot on it - wave-like distortion (removed in the editor if you shot inRAW). In the Samyang 12/2 lens, Pavel does not observe such distortion (but he has not photographed yet inJPEG), in editorcapture One does not use any profile.
This shirik is sold without a chip, soEXIF You can't see what aperture the photo was taken with.

The photographs sent by Pavel for the article were taken on vacation during the return of his family from Vladivostok. The series is called "The Way Home". It also includes shots taken with the Fujifilm X-T2 and the stock zoom Fujinon XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS (Pasha took this in addition to the heavy Fujinon XF 16-55mm F/2.8 R LM WR to make it easier photo backpack), fast telephoto camera Fujinon XF 50-140mm F / 2.8 R LM OIS WR. I also included these photos in the review: firstly, it is possible to compare the picture withSamyang 12 mm f/2 and from native lenses; secondly, the narration of the photo story is not interrupted.

Since the Fujifilm X-Pro2, Fujifilm X-T2, X-T20 and Fujifilm X-E3 models use the same X-Trans III matrix, consider that today we will test the lens with these cameras. In addition, the differences in picture with the previous generation of X-Trans II sensors are vanishingly small - consider yourself looking at examples on the Fuji X-T1, Fuji X-Pro1, Fujifilm X-T1, Fujifilm X-T10 and Fujifilm X-E2s.

And yet, this model is available for Canon M, Micro 4/3, Sony E, Samsung NX mounts - consider that on the Sony A6500 or Samsung NX 3300, the picture will be the same (on the mic Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II equivalent focal length will be narrow: 24mm).

Samyang Optics was founded in South Korea in 1972 in the city of Masan. Engaged in the production of lenses, video surveillance systems and accessories for photography. On the market, lenses were sold under a whole bunch of brand names: Vivitar, Falcon, Gloxy, Rokinon, Walimex, Bower, Opteka, Bell and Howell, Polar and Pro-Optic. The quality did not shine. In 2004, a merger with the Japanese outdoor video camera company Seikou took place, and things began to improve gradually.

I got acquainted with the company's products in 2013, having bought a Samyang 14mm f / 2.8 ED AS IF UMC AE wide for my Nikon D5100 DSLR, and immediately fell in love with it. Competitive price and excellent picture quality! The downside is manual focus.

Over the past 5 years, the company has done a lot to develop the brand, to improve the quality of products. Today in the Samyang portfolio (in the US market these lenses are called Rokinon) there are 6 product groups:

Autofocus lenses for Sony FE mount. Also in August 2018, Samyang AF 14mm f / 2.8 was announced for Nikon F - also with auto focus. In the marking of this group is the abbreviation AF.
Premium high-aperture primes capable of resolving a 50 MP matrix and 8K video. Available for Canon EF mounts (one model for Nikon F). In the designation - XP.
More than two dozen models of conventional manual fixes for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony A and FE, Canon M, Fujifilm X, Samsung NX and Micro 4/3 mounts.
Movie lenses. In the designation - VDSLR. For different cameras and cinema Nikon cameras, Canon, Pentax, Sony Alpha.
Professional cinema lenses for PL mount, Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E and Micro 4/3. Sold under the trademark "XEEN".
Autofocus stations for Samyang lenses with Canon EF and Sony E mounts.

The Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS model is specific, as it is produced only for use on cropped mirrorless cameras Fujifilm X, Sony Alpha and Sony NEX, Olympus OM-D. The design is distinguished by a small working distance - this is what determines the ability to put lenses on a mirrorless system.

It should also be noted that the Samyang 12/2 is the fastest wide-angle lens for the APS-C matrix. With f/2.0 aperture and a wide field of view (nearly 99°), it is ideal for capturing stars. Let me remind you that in astrophotography, photographers are guided by the “600 rule”, which says that the maximum shutter speed at which you can shoot stars is sharp (so that they are points and not dashes due to the rotation of the earth when photographing on long exposure), is calculated by the formula:

B max =600/FR, where FR is the focal length of the lens.

So, for this model: B sam =600/12=50 seconds.

If we take the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS proprietary zoom, at the wide end it will allow for even longer shutter speeds. In fuji =600/10=60 seconds. But for f / 4, when shooting at night, you will need to raise ISO much more strongly: where ISO 1600 is enough with Samyang 12/2, ISO 3200 is needed with Fuji 10-24 / 4. Is there a difference?

Modern mirrorless cameras like the Olympus ON-D E-M1 Mark 2 or Fujifilm X-T3 directly compete with DSLRs. The appearance of a compact and light width under the CROP strengthens them competitive advantage in front of Nikon and Canon SLR models.

The cropped Samyang 12mm f/2.0 is very similar in design to my full frame Samyang 14mm f/2.8. The aperture ring clicks every half stop from f/2.0 to f/22.0. It is separated by a plastic insert from the second ring responsible for manual focus adjustment (wide, rotates smoothly). It takes ¼ turn to focus from minimum distance to infinity, which is not very convenient. The front lens does not rotate. Unlike my width Samyang 14 / 2.8, on Samyang 12/2 you can screw a polarizer or a neutral ND filter with a diameter of D = 67 mm. In my opinion, this is a huge advantage of this lens.

The size of the Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS is very close to the native Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8R and slightly smaller than the Zeiss Touit 2.8/12, while the aperture ratio is as much as 100 more.

Focusing. Unfortunately, the depth of field marking is not applied to the lens body, which is not very convenient for a fast fix. Therefore, adjusting to hyperfocal distance is a little more difficult than it could be. But here the “Focus Peaking” functions (highlighting the sharp contours of objects with color) and “Magnifying Magnifying Glass” come to the rescue - chips of Sony, Fujifilm and Olympus mirrorless cameras.

According to the reviews of the owners on the forums, Samyang 12/2 lenses may have the same sore as my Samyang 14 / 2.8: a mismatch between the infinity marks and its real position. It is treated by unscrewing the screws or sticking a strip of adhesive tape with the correct marking.

Here is a video in Spanish that shows how to overcome this disadvantage with infinity (turn on Russian subtitles on Youtube).

I will not now describe the characteristics of distortion, vignetting, aberration resistance to flare and give MTF graphs. They can be found in any review. Examples from Pavel Chertalev from his Fujifilm X-T2 camera speak for themselves: the image quality for this price for a Korean fix is 5 points!

2. How to take pictures with the Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS wide angle lens

Photographers can take amazing wide shots, or they can get compositionally weak shots. The fact is that this type of optics greatly stretches the perspective: objects in the foreground appear many times larger than those in the background. To take it wide good photo, you need to follow a number of rules:

A wide-angle lens is needed, as a rule, not to fit more into the frame, but to get closer to the subject.
The picture should have a clearly defined SVCC (subjectively important compositional center).
Extremely wide angle of view allows you to fit too many objects into the frame. Care must be taken to avoid confusion.
People should be placed closer to the center of the frame to reduce distortion.

3. Alternative wide-angle lenses for mirrorless cameras Fujifilm X and cropped Sony Alpha 6000 series

For CROP, Sony does not produce a fast zoom, so owners can only take the average aperture Sony 10-18mm f / 4 (SEL-1018) or full-frame Sony FE 12-24mm f / 4 G (SEL1224G), zoom with a medium range Sony Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS (SEL-1670Z) and Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS (SEL-70200GM) full-frame telephoto.

For the prices that are asked for this optics, it is easier to buy a SLR camera or a car. The article in Figure No. 9 shows an example of calculating the cost of the "holy trinity" for Nikon, Canon and Sony cameras - the latter asks for almost 2 times more. At the same time, Sony skins Russian photographers four times more: prices are 35-40% higher than, for example, in the USA.

Therefore, the owners of these mirrorless cameras also turn their eyes to Samyang products. Here is a thread of Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS Sony E owners on the Sony-club forum.

I also propose to look at an example of video shooting on the width and mirrorless Sony NEX 5R we are considering. I recommend watching with sound - the musical accompaniment is perfectly matched.

4. Samyang 12mm f/2.0 width competitors

A cool Japanese wide-angle zoom Tokina AT-X 11-16mm f / 2.8 (AT-X 116) Pro DX II is available for Canon EF, Sony A and Nikon F mounts. The price in the USA is 400 USD, in Russia - 660 USD… Probably, this is a reason to learn how to buy goods on Ebay and Amazon. I think the Sony A-mount version can be attached to the Sony A6500 carcass via sony adapter LA-EA4.

Update as of November 11, 2018. I found that Tokina is now releasing an even more expensive, but also faster wide-angle zoom Tokina AT-X 14-20mm f/2 PRO DX. Probably, along with the Sigma AF 18-35mm f / 1.8 DC HSM Art, despite the prices, they would have become my main contenders for shooting on CROPS because of the ability to shoot reports at very low ISO.

Another option is Chinese Laowa lenses. Most recently, I posted a review of the amazing Laowa 15mm f / 4 1: 1 Macro wide-angle macro lens with examples of photos on a full frame Nikon D800 and cropped amateur Nikon DSLR D5600. There is also a photo with Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D. It costs much more than the considered Samyang 12mm f / 2.0 NCS CS (950 USD vs 350 USD), but it is suitable for both full frame and CROPS. Available with Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A, Pentax K and Sony FE mounts.

Pavel Chertalev, the owner of the Fujifilm X-T2, whose pictures we are now looking at, recently bought a Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D super-wide-angle prime (price 500 USD). This lens is only available for Fuji X, Sony E and Canon EF-N APS-C (partial frame) sensors.

Why are Laowa fixes more expensive than Samyang? Apparently, because of the abbreviation in the designation "Zero-D" - "Zero distortion". Such optics are good for shooting architecture and interiors.

Pavel Chertalev's review of his Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D model:

Afterf/2.0 ySamyang 12 mm f/2 frustrates smaller aperturef/2.8 - 1 stop difference. That is, in poor lighting conditions, you have to raiseISO 2 times higher.
Due to the low aperture, you have to lengthen the shutter speed. Based on the formula B \u003d 1 / FR, I set 1/10 of a second. At the same time, I get a lot of defective frames due to the movement. A tripod is needed more often than when shooting onSamyang.
Corners stretch a lot: if you place a person on the edge of the frame, distortion will be noticeable.
Strong vignette that does not disappear even onf/8, andf/2.8 it is almost black.
The lens hood does not hold well (I had to remove it) - it rotates, black spots are obtained in the pictures.

In the comments to the review of the Laowa 15mm f / 2.8 wide-angle macro, here are some examples of photos on the body of the Fuji X-T2.

A serious competitor for Samyang 12mm f/2.0 or Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D, in my eyes, is Zeiss Touit 2.8/12. Yes, it costs unkindly (1000 USD), but it supports autofocus on the Sony A6000, Sony A6300, Sony A6500, and Fujifilm X mirrorless cameras.

At this point, I note once again that I need AF for reporting. For other genres, there is no problem focusing manually.

From the Samyang Optics line of lenses, I will not forget to mention the previously named Samyang 10mm f / 2.8 ED AS NCS CS. It is suitable not only for cropped Fujifilm X and Sony E, but also for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Canon N, Samsung NX and Macro 4/3. True, the dimensions of this model are somehow not toy: 132.4 x 87.0 mm with a weight of 625 grams versus 67 x 59 mm with a weight of 245 grams for the Samyang 12mm f/2.0.

5. Characteristics of Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS lenses

It is a pity that the possibilities of posting photos on the blog are limited. I would really like to show other pictures of Pavel - on this vacation he took a lot of interesting shots with different lenses.