Samyang 21mm f/1.4 UMC CS X Review

Samyang 21mm f/1.4 UMC CS Handling and Features

The lens is clearly well-made, with a metal chassis and an outer shell of high-quality polycarbonate. The focusing action is smooth, only just falling short of being as silky as the 50mm f/1.2 tested at the same time. The aperture ring is definitely smooth, with light click stops and no play at all in the action. The mount is a good quality metal mount, this version looking substantial in its design and mounting smoothly onto the Fujifilm X-A1 used for this review. There is a very small amount of rotational play in the mount once the lens clicks into place, not significant enough to be a problem.

This is for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sensors and a wide variety of mounts is available. The lens does not look out of place on the diminutive Fuji body and the balance is good. There is a very well made bayonet petal lens hood provided, to reduce any chance of flare. In any event, the lens is remarkably free from flare.

The lens is totally manual and there are no electronic contacts between it and the camera. This means that there is no EXIF data from the lens, no automatic diaphragm, but equally well it means that depth of field can be directly viewed on the camera screen as we are always at working aperture.

The quality of construction is high, although economies have been made in various ways. For example, the various markings on the lens are surface printed, not engraved and filled. There is no AF. There are no electronics. There is no automatic diaphragm. Everything is manual. Some may consider this to be a breath of fresh air, others may be less tolerant of the extra work that this will entail.

There seems to be a trend currently for fast prime lenses, so the f/1.4 maximum aperture fulfils this need. It very much falls into the classic reportage category and will no doubt find favour with street photographers who want a fast, unobtrusive optic. It does make manual focusing easier, although as the aperture is fully manual, it needs to be reset after focusing at f/1.4. This may be fine for fairly stationary subjects, but not so good for action shooting.

There is no depth of field scale on the lens, which is a pity as there is a case for having a “snapshot” setting for street use, usually f/8 and an indication of focusing point to give adequate DOF at close distances. This would increase the ease of use in street photography, but, of course, the settings can be worked out if desired.

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