Gotta love the quickness of the USPS - I bought this lens on FredMiranda on Friday evening, and it is mounted on my D700 on Monday!
First thing that I noticed is the size of this lens. It is much smaller in size than I expected. No doubt it is larger and heavier than my Tokina 17mm was, but I was expecting a beast of a lens - not sure if I am disappointed in that respect :). The size is probably closer to that of a Canon 17-40L or Tokina 11-16, for those of you that have used those lenses.
Second thing I noticed right away was the lens cap. Without really closely examining the lens, I assumed it was a lens hood. No doubt a REALLY nice design on Samyangs' part. It feels solid and not cheesy like some of the lens caps out there, especially from a manufacturer that most have not heard of. It cinches on the sides, so no accidents. It would be deliberate to get this thing off.
Lens hood isn't extremely extruding, but I suppose it really cannot be. The lens almost comes flush with the shallowest part of the pedal hood - but it IS 14mm FUN after all. Zoom feels solid, as does the aperture blades. The rear mount is metal, which for this price range is expected, no doubt.
Quality of the lens is on par with my Nikon 85mm 1.G, which I just temporarily sold to free up funds for some much needed gear. I mean I work at REI after all, gotta get some of the new spring line we have coming in :). Nothing screams cheap on this lens. I do not have a Nikon 16-35mm to compare this to, but my buddy has one and I will try to pry it from his hands to do a non scientific test one of these days.
Anyone going into ownership of this lens will realize that filters cannot be used without some custom MacGyver work. It is not a deal break by any stretch of the imagination for myself, as I have not owned a filter of any type in years - except when I had one for about 2 minutes last year when I went to Utah (it broke after literally 2 minutes of shooting).
This lens will get a full workout (as will my D700) when I hit up Yosemite in 2 weeks from tomorrow for some winter goodness. I am unsure if I will be able to get out before that.
First thing that I noticed is the size of this lens. It is much smaller in size than I expected. No doubt it is larger and heavier than my Tokina 17mm was, but I was expecting a beast of a lens - not sure if I am disappointed in that respect :). The size is probably closer to that of a Canon 17-40L or Tokina 11-16, for those of you that have used those lenses.
Second thing I noticed right away was the lens cap. Without really closely examining the lens, I assumed it was a lens hood. No doubt a REALLY nice design on Samyangs' part. It feels solid and not cheesy like some of the lens caps out there, especially from a manufacturer that most have not heard of. It cinches on the sides, so no accidents. It would be deliberate to get this thing off.
Lens hood isn't extremely extruding, but I suppose it really cannot be. The lens almost comes flush with the shallowest part of the pedal hood - but it IS 14mm FUN after all. Zoom feels solid, as does the aperture blades. The rear mount is metal, which for this price range is expected, no doubt.
Quality of the lens is on par with my Nikon 85mm 1.G, which I just temporarily sold to free up funds for some much needed gear. I mean I work at REI after all, gotta get some of the new spring line we have coming in :). Nothing screams cheap on this lens. I do not have a Nikon 16-35mm to compare this to, but my buddy has one and I will try to pry it from his hands to do a non scientific test one of these days.
Anyone going into ownership of this lens will realize that filters cannot be used without some custom MacGyver work. It is not a deal break by any stretch of the imagination for myself, as I have not owned a filter of any type in years - except when I had one for about 2 minutes last year when I went to Utah (it broke after literally 2 minutes of shooting).
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