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Fujinon xf 14mm , 16mm or samyang 12mm


JLing

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Having both the XF14/2.8 and the 12/2 Samyang I tend to use the 14mm for shooting indoors during urban exploration sessions. Mostly for its ability to keep lines straight, but also for a tad more sharpness than the Samyang. My Sammy do also suffer from a slight centering defect giving a bit fuzziness in the lower right corner. I used to have a Samyang 14/2.8 on my Canon in the past, and it did also have a centering defect. You may be lucky with your copy, but there will be lemons. I don't think their final QA is much to write about ...  

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I bought the 14 and am considering selling it. It's a great, light, and sharp little lens but I really like shooting super wide and it isn't that (to me anyway). I want to go with the 10-24 to get those extra mm on the wide end.

 

I considered the Samyang 8/10/12 but was put off by the reviews that said it had poor flare handling. I've owned wides with poor flare handling and it rendered them almost useless for my style of shooting (it seems there was always some bright light at or near the corners).

 

So, if anyone wants to trade a like new 14 for a like new 10-24 hit me up :)

 

Mike

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I love ultra wide... love it. I had the 24mm 1.4 on my nikon d600, still own a sigma 14mm 2.8 and before that I had a Nikon fish eye. So the widest I've got at the moment on my fujis is the 18mm. A friend has the 10-24 and it is super nice. 

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Not a Fuji user, but I'll chime in.

 

"Where I live there aren't any places which rent out fujinon lenses."

You are deciding between focal lengths, just rent a camera and a lens from any brand.

 

"If I'm gonna invest in a new lens I have to be 100% sure I won't regret it."
Given that you are not familiar with the relative FOVs, that's not going to happen. If you are that worried, the best solution would be the 10-24 zoom.

What follows is subjective, although most people I know are in agreement.
16mm is actually not that wide, especially when it comes to tighter interiors. The speed will be mostly irrelevant for the purposes you mention, unless you take night shots - stars, auroras etc. It is roughly as big, as heavy and as expensive as the 10-24 zoom. So, you better be sure that you need that speed. It is also weather sealed, but depending on how and what you shoot, that might be completely irrelevant.
14mm is great. It is in the beginning of the ultrawide territory, without being an extreme. It is a nice compact lens, easy to carry around. It also has the smallest filter thread of all of the lenses you mentioned, which will result in cheaper filters in case you decide to use those.
12mm is getting really wide. It is great for tight interiors and landscape, but that wide becomes a bit strange for city shots. One can achieve very interesting results, but it will be of limited use. 
The 10-24 zoom is also very nice, although I doubt the usefulness of the OIS. It is nice to have, but at these focal lengths it won't give you as much. The manual focus is fly by wire, which I find to be a big problem for landscape. It also has the largest filter thread.

Personally, I would take the 14mm. 

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I find that the 10-24 is the best of both worlds in terms of zoom vs prime. The difference between 10 and 24 is substantial, but at the same time narrow enough that you can still treat it like a prime. The one thing that you need to be conscious of with it is there is an automatic tendency to shoot at either 10 or 24 and forget the focal lengths in between. You have be conscious of that. Even if you only shoot it like that, you're getting 2 lenses in one and the quality so good for a zoom that it's my favorite lens. For any kind of travel where you might be shooting landscape and architecture, it's a must own lens. The stabilization on it is great and more than makes up for the f/4 aperture in terms of shutter speeds. The only downside is the bokeh, but given the versatility I can live with that for my wide angle.

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The 10-24 zoom is also very nice, although I doubt the usefulness of the OIS. It is nice to have, but at these focal lengths it won't give you as much. 

 

 

The OIS on the 10-24 is very useful... It's quite impressive

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I have the 14mm and use it all the time for architecture/interiors and whatever else.  I like the "21mm" focal length a lot and try not to shoot interiors much wider - the perception/distortion of space just goes too far for me most of the time.  I may get the 10-24 sometime for more versatility in small spaces,landscapes, etc. but, for now, I'm content.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Like JLing I've been trying to decide between all the great options out there.  After reading the views on here and other online reviews I'm definitely leaning towards the xf16/1.4 for the quality, aperture and weather sealing.  

 

I'd love to to see Fuji put an ultra wide fast prime on their lens roadmap - a quality 12/1.4 or 1.8 would be very nice!

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  • 2 months later...

I initially had bought the Samyang 12mm. It was my second X lens (after the Fuji 35mm, that I love).

It's a very good ultra-wide lens. Very sharp at the center... not so much at the edges.

And... maybe too wide sometimes for my taste.

 

I used to have Canon EF 16-35 or 17-40mm on my 6d fullframe dslr.

But after switching to Fuji, I decided to go for the wonderful Fuji's primes.

 

Yesterday, after months spent with doubts (and sharing each and everyone of  this thread's posts) I found a very good deal for an almost-new 16mm, and I bought it!!!

So now I have the 12mm (ultra-wide, perfect for tripod landscapes, seascapes, nightscapes) and the 16mm (a wonderful all-rounder, good for macro-like close-ups, not-so-wide landscapes, maybe some kind of nightscapes, and some special portraits, and street, and... did I say landscape already?)......

 

By the way, the samyang 12mm and fuji 16mm share the same filter thread: 67mm... Thus: same filters for my "landscape duo".

Stefano

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  • 1 month later...

Love my 14mm - 21mm of quality!!

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A few more..

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  • 1 year later...

I have the Samyang 12mm and XF 16. I used to have the XF 14mm.

 

You mentioned architecture indoor and outdoor.

 

I don't think 16mm is wide enough for indoor. 

 

Samyang 12mm may give you too much perspective distortion (different from lens distortion) when you try to shoot outdoor architecture.

 

So if you want to get 1 lens only, it will have to be 14mm or 10-24mm.

 

If you are planning to eventually get 2 wide lenses, then I recommend Samyang 12mm and XF 16mm, may be samyang 12mm first and later 16mm.

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even at 10mm you don’t get any problems and the 12mm won’t give any, lots of examples on line of architecture and interior real estate shot with a 10mm Fuji... and the 12mm is in these things, even better.

 

this site calls the 10-24 the essential lens for real estate...how can you say that a 12mm would be too much beats me  :rolleyes:

 

https://eyebeamimages.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/fuji-xf-10-24mm-the-essential-lens-for-real-estate-architecture-photography/

 

this is the 12mm

 

https://fujilove.com/the-samyang-12mm-f2-0-ncs-cs-lens-review/

Edited by milandro
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even at 10mm you don’t get any problems and the 12mm won’t give any, lots of examples on line of architecture and interior real estate shot with a 10mm Fuji... and the 12mm is in these things, even better.

 

this site calls the 10-24 the essential lens for real estate...how can you say that a 12mm would be too much beats me  :rolleyes:

 

https://eyebeamimages.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/fuji-xf-10-24mm-the-essential-lens-for-real-estate-architecture-photography/

 

this is the 12mm

 

https://fujilove.com/the-samyang-12mm-f2-0-ncs-cs-lens-review/

If you are trying to fill the frame with a bungalow for example, and shooting from the ground, you will get perspective distortion. It can be corrected in post processing of course. But if you want to minimize post processing and shoot jpg for example, using a 16mm and stand further away will give a more natural look.  I am just speaking from personal experience of using this lens, and that is what the original post asked for :) . 

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there are countless examples of the contrary.

 

 

 

 

As for experience...I have had a long career in photography as a pro photographer started in 1977, I have taught studio portrait and large format photography for many years and I’ve been using any format form 24 x 36 to 8’' x 10”,  I have made lots of interiors shots using a Cambo wide with a 58mm Schneider XL on a 4” x 5”, I talk from experience, and a lot of it, too.

 

 

 

I don’t want to transform this in a contest of who can pee the longest distance, you started implying that I had no experience and that you had more than me, but of course ... have you your way if you so wish. 

 

The 12  or 10 mm are perfectly capable of being used in real estate photography, methinks.

Edited by milandro
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there are countless examples of the contrary.

 

 

 

 

As for experience...I have had a long career in photography as a pro photographer started in 1977, I have taught studio portrait and large format photography for many years and I’ve been using any format form 24 x 36 to 8’' x 10”,  I have made lots of interiors shots using a Cambo wide with a 58mm Schneider XL on a 4” x 5”, I talk from experience, and a lot of it, too.

 

 

 

I don’t want to transform this in a contest of who can pee the longest distance, you started implying that I had no experience and that you had more than me, but of course ... have you your way if you so wish. 

 

The 12  or 10 mm are perfectly capable of being used in real estate photography, methinks.

Sorry if I made you feel that way. I have no intention of questioning your experience as I don't know who you are. I am just saying that is my personal experience of using that lens, which could be different from yours or other photographers. I am not talking about experience in photography. We can agree that our experiences with this lens differ.

Edited by ketsang
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+1 for 1024/f4 OIS indoor, since you can easy adapt to any room size. If F4 is a problem, get a flash.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6 mobile

 

Shooting architectural interiors is way different from candid photography indoors. With architecture, nothing moves so a tripod will let you shoot stopped down to your sharpest aperture and lowest ISO setting. Use as long an exposure as you need. Now that ACR will do an HDR merge without the horrible artefacts of the early years, it is now entirely practical for contrasty scenes, preserving the ambience in a way that flash never can.

 

My architecture film was Ektar 25, and one time someone walked through the scene. I was using an eight-second exposure and they did not even appear as a ghost. They simply were moving fast enough that they were never in one place long enough to register on the exposure.

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After shooting with the Samyang 12mm for a while I decided to trade it in for the Fuji 14mm. I borrowed it before and loved it. I prefer the slightly less wide field of view and the build quality of the Fuji for anything except astrophotography for which the Samyang probably is better. Also doubted about the 10-24 but I prefer the weight and size of the smaller Fuji lenses.

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