Samyang MF 14mm F2.8 Z

Reviewers find the familiar optical behaviour: a sharp centre from f/2.8, corners that need f/5.6 to f/8 to tighten up, and coma that is well enough controlled for Milky Way work. The native Z barrel is welcomed because it avoids an FTZ adapter and adds weather sealing.

The weaknesses are the same as on every version of this design. Moustache distortion is strong and complex, vignetting is heavy wide open, and front filters cannot be fitted. The Z version is also bulky and keeps the old six-blade aperture, so sunstars have six points rather than the MK2's eighteen, and it lacks the MK2's focus lock and de-click ring.

Z owners buy it as a cheap entry into ultra-wide astro and landscape work, and the most common praise is value: night-sky results that hold up next to lenses costing several times more. The weather sealing and solid metal barrel also get credit.

Complaints centre on the weight and length, the moustache distortion that needs a profile in post, occasional decentred copies, and the lack of any focus-distance or lens data in the camera. Some owners note the focus ring can drift from infinity during long sessions because there is no lock.