Samyang SYIO18AF-E AF 18mm F2.8 Wide Angle auto Focus Full Frame Lens for Sony E Mount, Black

Bought this lens primarily for astrophotography. After trying it out in Death Valley National Park in Feb this year, I am quite impressed by its performance. Daytime landscape shots are pretty sharp as well.Pros:1) Extremely lightweight. It replaces my existing Astro lens Rokinon 14mm 2.8 + Sigma MC-11 which is around 700gms. This lens is feather light2) Autofocus is quick and accurate3) Distortion is low for a wide angle performance4) Coma is well controlledCons:1) Build quality is okay, lens hood feels really cheap2) Flare control is just okay3) No manual focus markings as it is focus by wire. This can be an issue for astrophotography for some. I have found focusing around 80-100 ft at f2.8 gives decent clarity to both subject and staraOverall, for the price, it’s a great lens for someone who takes astro photos as a hobby. For more serious photographers, Laowa and Zeiss lenses will work betterHighly recommended!

I have used this lens on 2 real estate shoots so far. It has works really well. The glass isn't the best but images focus fine and I have has no issues with vinetting around the corners.

This lens represents a good value for money, although it makes a lot of compromises. It’s not weather sealed, and feels very plasticky. However, this allows it to be very small and lightweight. Image quality is very good, out-resolving my a7 III at apertures at or above f4. IQ at f/2.8 is very sharp in the center, but some slight field curvature means the corners won’t ace flat test charts or the “brick wall” test (though for most uses, it’ll be nice and sharp). I personally prefer field curvature for landscape because equidistant objects will all be sharp. Distortion is low. Vignetting is moderate, and doesn’t really go away (probably due to the small size). Chromatic aberrations are well controlled, but not perfect (not ideal for astro). Autofocus is quick, accurate, but makes some light clicking noises.TL;DR: Great value and sharp. Excellent for hobbyists/enthusiasts. For pros: Buy it for travel, landscapes, vlogging, even architecture. Don’t buy for brick walls, flat spreads, or durability.

For the price you pay, this is a great little lens. I bought it specifically for backpacking and peakbagging when I want a wide angle lens, but prefer to save a little weight. I usually have my 24-105 mounted on my camera, but there are times when I want to go a little wider, or a little faster (astro) so this lens fits the bill and saves me nearly a pound vs. bringing my 16-35GM. I find the picture quality to be great, but there are definitely some shortcomings but I'm not going to get into that. If you are a hard core pixel peeper or a professional you'll probably want something better. If you're looking to save some money and save some weight and size on a wide angle lens, you'd be hard pressed to find a better value for the money. I don't think you can find anything smaller or lighter either. Great little lens I'm happy with it.

The media could not be loaded. The problem with the idea that mirrorless full-frame cameras are not much bigger than a micro four thirds camera is that the lenses are so much bigger. Frequently, the big g Master lenses are heavy and expensive. This Samyang is not. Put this on the front of a Sony mirrorless camera and you have a tremendous amount of power for not much weight.

Update 10/23/2019So I got another copy of this lens, and it turned out it is way sharper at F2.8, especially in the center. Much happier with the new copy, so I give it 5 stars now.***********This lens is so lightweight that my Sony A7RII tilts backwards! At F2.8, it is rather soft, and corners are even softer. But stop it down to F4.0, and the center gets very sharp! The corners get sharp at F8.0 or F11.0. I didn't see any issues with chromatic aberrations, in my short test. I even compared this tiny Samyang to the rather hefty Zeiss 16-35mm F4.0, and I was gladly surprised that at F4.0 and above, the Samyang matches Zeiss's sharpness in the center, while the Zeiss has some advantage in the corners between F4.0 and F5.6. But after F8.0, you would be hard-pressed to find a difference between the two.My two cents: Treat this lens as an 18mm F4.0, and you will be delighted. But for the price and **weight**, this lens is amazing!

The lens is very compact and great for travel and also very good price! I was hoping it will work well for wedding photography for the group shots in the tight spaces, but found out that the sharpness of this lens is not on spot and not for professional work. I believe it will work fine for video work on gymbal and great for travel photography on a budget, but unfortunatelly I can't recomend it for paid work.

I was wanting something wider than the typical 24mm on my Sony A7SIII and A7IV and wow, was I impressed with the image quality, snappy auto-focus and sharpness, not to mention the 18mm gave it the perfect vlogging FOV. Definitely WORTH IT !