Samyang 14mm F2.8 RF Review – Autofocus & Weather-sealed!

Canon’s R-series mirrorless cameras have been extremely popular over the past few years due to its sharpness and flexibility, however their native RF lenses bring hefty price tags. 3rd party manufacturers have finally started releasing RF lenses at a much more affordable price point. Let’s see how the Samyang 14mm F2.8 RF lens performs as well as  taking a look at it’s specs and features. 

The Samyang 14mm F2.8 RF is comprised of 14 elements in 10 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses, 1 high reflective lens, and 2 extra-low dispersion lenses, and there’s an Ultra Multi-layer Coating to help reduce flare and ghosting. This is the world’s first AF 14mm F2.8 for Canon RF mount cameras, only the MF 14mm f / 2.8 and MF 85mm f / 1.4 manual optics were available in the RF mount. It’s packed with 113.9 degrees of broad angle of view and surprisingly fast and accurate autofocus, usually only found in native Canon lenses.

Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 Wide Angle RF Canon Mount:

AutoFocus

The autofocus on this lens has exceeded our expectations big time! Not only is it fast, it is also quiet and performs consistently while shooting. Since this is a wide angle lens, it has a better chance of autofocus due to the wide angle of view, however even wide open at 2.8 aperture, the lens was able to focus incredibly fast at the minimum focusing distance, at approx. 10″.

Weather-Sealed

The weather sealing on this lens was done right and holds up to rough weather extremely well. While we haven’t put it through extreme tests of splashing it with water, we have seen others do this and confirm it had no issues at all standing up to rough conditions. As a wide angle lens is often used for travel photography, landscapes, night photography and more, this is a very welcomed feature of the Samyang 14mm F2.8 RF lens.

Rear Filter Holder

Some manufactures have begun releasing rear ND and other various filters for the RF lenses. This is a huge advantage, especially for video and filmmakers on a run and gun set where swapping out front lens filters is time consuming and also subject to dust and dirt, requiring constant cleaning throughout the shoot. Hopefully, more manufacturers begin releasing rear mount filters for the RF line and we hope Canon picks up on this feature with their new RF lenses yet to be released.

SAMPLE PHOTOS

Samyang 14mm F2.8 RF Specs

The 14-element optical formula of the Samyang AF 14mm f / 2.8 RF

Samyang AF 14mm f / 2.8 RF Full Specifications:

• lens type : fixed focal length
• focal length : 14 mm
• maximum aperture  : f / 2.8
• minimum aperture  : f / 22
• optical construction  : 14 elements divided into 10 groups including 3 aspherical lenses, 1 HR and 2 ED
• diaphragm  : 7 circular blades
• maximum magnification ratio : 0.12x
• angle of view  : 113.9 ° (24 x 36 mm) – 89.8 ° (APS-C)
• Minimum focus distance  : 20cm
• tropicalization  : seals
• autofocus  : yes
• weight  : 484 grams
• sun visor  : yes
• stabilization  : no
• dimensions : 95.3 mm x
•  compatible mount  : Canon RF

Also, check out our Night Photography Video where we use the Samyang 14mm: