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Ultra Wide X Mount Prime


KateB

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Can you recommend an ultra wide prime x-mount lens; preferably 8 or 10mm.

 

However I want to have fully functioning auto focus, exposure and aperture.

 

Does such a thing exist?

 

It seems that my only real option is the XF 10-24mm zoom.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

Edited by KateB
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Kate, that would be the “10-24mm” which is a very good lens, albeit f4.0! The Zeiss 12mm f2.8 is a AF prime!

Thank you for the correction, I’ve edited my post.

 

Does the Zeiss 12mm have full control as well as AF? And more importantly is it a great lens?

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Not sure if you need much autofocus from an 8-10mm prime lens. The depth of field of an 8mm lens is such that if you just stop down a couple of stops, more or less everything is in focus. Samyang 8mm is good - and small, and cheap.

True enough...

Sounds like it’s worth a look.

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Not sure if you need much autofocus from an 8-10mm prime lens. The depth of field of an 8mm lens is such that if you just stop down a couple of stops, more or less everything is in focus. Samyang 8mm is good - and small, and cheap.

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Ahh that’s a fish eye lens, I’m really looking for an ultra wide without distortion. The Fujinon 10-24 has a nice virtually undistorted Image at the wide end. Well according to reviews anyway.

Do you have any other suggestions Warwick?

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Ahh that’s a fish eye lens, I’m really looking for an ultra wide without distortion. The Fujinon 10-24 has a nice virtually undistorted Image at the wide end. Well according to reviews anyway.

Do you have any other suggestions Warwick?

People rate the Samyang 12mm - that’s an ultra wide rather than a fisheye, and again you get a lot of depth of field. At f8 you wouldn’t really need to focus

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

the Zeiss is expensive and less sharp than the Samyang even benefiting from software correction.

 

The 12 mm is incredibly sharp and very convenient in price, at this focal length autofocus is really unimportant.

 

I set it at 8 + 1/2 stop and focus just past the meter and everything is sharp. 

 

I also own the 8mm fish eye, different beast but also incredibly good for the money.

 

I owned the 10-24 and sold it. Never looked back.

Edited by milandro
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the Zeiss is expensive and less sharp than the Samyang even benefiting from software correction.

 

The 12 mm is incredibly sharp and very convenient in price, at this focal length autofocus is really unimportant.

 

I set it at 8 + 1/2 stop and focus just past the meter and everything is sharp. 

 

I also own the 8mm fish eye, different beast but also incredibly good for the money.

 

I owned the 10-24 and sold it. Never looked back.

 

I'm almost certainly going to get the Samyang 12mm and for me, an amateur, I cannot justify the money for the Zeiss and I agree reviews are not as good as it ought to be.

 

I am wanting a prime lens at this focal length as I can usually move closer or further away rather than zoom in and out.

 

So I'm waiting until payday.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello Kate, You've probably made your purchase by now but I thought I'd add my penny's worth. The Samyang 12mm is a cracking lens and great value for money. It's about as wide a lens as you can get without going into fisheye territory. I have fazes where I don't take it off the camera and it is fantastic for travel or street stuff. 

 

I almost never get out of focus shots from it despite it being a manual lens. Once you have mastered the simple trick of setting it up for zone focusing it is very reliable. In fact, if you set the focus to around 12ft/3.5m away, almost everything beyond that will be reasonably in focus anyway. I have used it to enter photos into the Sony awards this year, which gives you some idea about how much regard I have for this lens.

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I think there's a Laowa 8mm f/2.8 lens coming soon for APS-C mirrorless cameras. It could be already out.

I also have the 12mm Samyang which I highly recommend.

Hi Yoan,

I am constantly checking the Laowa website. It was announced on 22 December, but does not appear to be released yet.

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Hello Kate, You've probably made your purchase by now but I thought I'd add my penny's worth. The Samyang 12mm is a cracking lens and great value for money. It's about as wide a lens as you can get without going into fisheye territory. I have fazes where I don't take it off the camera and it is fantastic for travel or street stuff. 

 

I almost never get out of focus shots from it despite it being a manual lens. Once you have mastered the simple trick of setting it up for zone focusing it is very reliable. In fact, if you set the focus to around 12ft/3.5m away, almost everything beyond that will be reasonably in focus anyway. I have used it to enter photos into the Sony awards this year, which gives you some idea about how much regard I have for this lens.

Hello Jose,

I have actually bought two 12mm lenses; the Samyang and the 7Artisans. They are currently in the U.K., so I have not had a chance to check them yet. The 7Artisans also gets good reviews, so I’d like to compare them for myself. I will keep the best one and sell the other.

 

It’s good to know that you hold the Samyang in such high regard. I was sure, after reading the reviews, that I would not be disappointed with it; but I wanted to compare the two myself. I have other criteria such as size and weight plus also I have an 18-55mm lens and want to see just how much wider it is than 18mm.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I used both Samyang 12mm and 7artisans 12mm on Fuji.

I'd say Samyang strong points are: it's faster (F2), and has aperture click-stops. Image is more sharp in border/corner areas comparing to 7artisans

Telling about 7artisans - it's cheaper, smaller, all metal, has more pleasant focus, has also great central sharpness. But lack of ED/Aspherical glass leads to more coma and aberration influence, so is better performing on closed apertures then wide open.

Edited by yukosteel
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