hmmm. It is a great lens and I had forgotten about it for some time now. And I really need a wide focal length. The olympus 12mm f2 is very good too but in europe I'm guessing it's going to cost a fortune. Also, samyang is better investment as it's all manual with aperture ring and covers full-frame. I'm a bit woried how it will behave in Low light though, the f2 of the oly is very useful and it's 4mm wider which is quite significant. I wonder how the two compare in terms of sharpness at f2.8...

Olympus is, of course, smaller. But it still has wired focusing. For 14mm having F2 is not so cruicial.

Isn't the 14mm F2.5 about the same price? Is the 14mm F2.8 really that much sharper?

@EOSHD

Did you test it personally?
My understanding from small talks that I had is that only difference is that focus position is dependent from focus ring position only, not from speed of turning.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

Nope, not tested yet. You're right it is in fact a 'simulated' mechanical focus mode, not actually mechanical. I was under impression it worked a bit like the Sigma focus rings (on 24mm F1.8 for example) but it doesn't.

Here is what DPReview have to say about it:

[The Olympus 12mm F2] becomes the first in the system to feature 'snap focus', a system by which the focus ring can be pulled back, engaging a modified manual focus mode.

In this mode the lens is designed to feel much more like a conventional mechanically-operated manual focus lens, rather than the usual focus-by-wire behavior.

There are four major differences between 'snap focus' and conventional manual focus mode. Firstly, the relationship between the focus ring movement and the movement of the focusing elements is fixed - rather than being speed-sensitive. This direct relationship allows the focusing ring's movement to be stopped at either end of the focus travel which, in turn, has allowed Olympus to add proper distance and depth-of-field scales to the lens. The final difference you'll notice in snap focus mode is that the damping of the ring's movement has been modified to provide a little more resistance and more 'feel.' Such engineering touches don't come cheap, of course, but really do help make the lens feel like a high-end manual focus optic.

It is the only 12mm F2 lens on the system. Not 14mm, 12mm :) Difference between 24mm and 28mm on full frame is quite significant in terms of look. For a Canon or Nikon this Samyang is a super bargain but I'd prefer the Olympus for the GH2.

One option I am interested in getting for my GH2 later this year is the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 with Birger mount. Electronic follow focus, yes please!

Tokina 11-16 + Birger adapter. Does the adapter work on GH2? Is it future proof?

12mm/2.0 had soft corners at 2.0 based on online photo samples.


It would need to be much bigger to give sharp corner at 2.0. See the Samyang lens. The big front element giving sharp corner at 2.8.

prefer corner sharpness for street photography. it gives more room for cropping. The fast aperture is useful in low lighting... but I'd prefer longer and faster lens in low light. I like the super fast AF of the lens... but I'd need E-P3 body, too. 12/2.0 + hood + E-P3... $1700? Trust me. I wanna get it... but $$$$. Plus PEN sucks in video.

I'd get 7-14 instead. Really wide. Rectilinear. Corner sharp at 4.0. Great travel lens. If not fast enough, pull out 20.7 or 50.4. The lower light, the longer focal length... that's fine with me.

Anyways... I guess Samyang makes some kickass glasses.

Sweeeet. Go Samyang!!!

great lens, used it on a fair few jobs......was used with a merlin steadicam and 5d here........