Samyang 14mm F/2.8 RF / Z

The Samyang 14mm F/2.8 RF / Z is an ultra-wide prime for full-frame mirrorless cameras. It comes in separate versions for Nikon Z and Canon RF, so pick the one made for your camera. The 14mm focal length suits architecture, tight interiors, wide landscapes and night-sky photography.

Focus is manual only. That trade-off fits slow, deliberate framing of scenes that hold still, and it asks more of you when anything moves. Astro shooters who focus once and shoot a series will find that approach workable.

Samyang launched this lens in 2019; the Nikon Z version remains in production today.

The lens weighs 1 lb 12.2 oz (800 g) and runs 4.73 in (120.1 mm) long by 3.43 in (87 mm) wide. Whether that size feels comfortable on your camera is something to judge in hand.

There is no front filter thread, so you cannot screw filters directly onto this lens.

A 14mm view takes in far more than a standard lens. That makes it the tool for confined spaces: frame a whole room from one corner, or a tall building from across the street. In landscapes it gives foreground and sky equal weight in one frame. The fixed focal length means you frame by moving yourself, not by zooming.

The f/2.8 maximum aperture is fixed, as on any prime. That light-gathering ability matters for night-sky and dim interior work, where it lets you keep shutter speeds shorter than a darker lens would allow. The six-blade aperture shapes highlight rendering when lights sit out of focus in evening scenes.

Close focus sits at 0.9 ft (28 cm). You can work near a foreground rock, plant or doorway and still carry the distant scene behind it, which adds depth to wide compositions.

Focusing is manual only, so you set distance by hand and check it on screen or in the viewfinder. Depth of field runs deep at 14mm even at f/2.8, which gives some tolerance in where focus lands. The lens scores 60/100 for optics.

Weather sealing helps keep damp and dust out of the lens joins, a guard that matters for outdoor shooting. It does not make the lens rain-proof, so judge each outing's conditions as they come. Its features score is 52/100.

There is no image stabilization in this lens. Wide focal lengths soften the visible effect of small camera movements, so handheld daylight framing stays practical. For the long exposures night-sky work needs, plan on a tripod.

The front glass also lacks a fluorine coating, the water- and oil-repellent finish used on some lenses, so that finish offers no help here against water or oil on the front element.

The 14 elements in 10 groups include aspherical surfaces and low-dispersion glass. Aspherical elements help correct distortion, the fault that bends straight lines, a common worry on a wide lens pointed at buildings. Low-dispersion glass helps reduce chromatic aberration, where colours fringe along high-contrast edges such as branches against a bright sky.