The brand new Samyang 24mm F/1.8 AF FE

A small but powerful tool for all kinds of photographers.

The new Samyang 24mm f/1.8 is the newest addition to the tiny series. It is a small but powerful tool for all kinds of photographers. It is funny because it is designed for landscape and astrophotography, but since the skies are pretty light-polluted in the Netherlands, I noticed that I used this lens more for Landscape, City, and Street photography. Also for a day-to-day kit, this lens is a powerful tool. For taking some candid shots of family gatherings and outdoor activities. Since it is such a small lens with a wide focal length, you have a lot of possibilities, even if it is too wide in some situations, you can just crop in a bit.

The technicals

Weight: 230grams

Dimensions: 65x72mm

Aperture: F/1.8 - F22

Build: Plastic

Weather sealing: Yes

Mount: Sony FE

Filter size: 58mm

Minimum focus distance: 0.19m that is really short, and that's good!

Special feature: Astro-Focus Mode and LED index

"The new tiny lens is designed for landscape and astrophotography photographers. Thanks to its compact size and light weight with minimized coma and short minimum focusing distance, you can enjoy photography day and night. This lens provides outstanding corner-to-corner image quality from maximum F1.8 aperture and smooth and natural-looking bokeh. The new features of Focus Hold Button and LED indicator maximize the usability for capturing the night sky." - Samyang

Design

As a product designer, I can really appreciate this design. The matte black plastic looks and feels premium. That in combination with the red ring makes it aesthetically pleasing. Samyang added weather sealing to this lens. I didn’t do any weather testing with this lens. But since the build is better than the 75mm f/1.8, which didn’t disappoint me in some very rainy situations, I assume you use this lens on pretty rainy days and at the beach with no problems.

Astro mode - Infinity focus mode

A nice addition to this model is the infinity focus mode. There is a button on the side of the lens which, if you press it, your lens will automatically focus to infinity. This is really useful if you are out at night and can’t find a light point to focus the lens on. Or in any other situation where you just want to have a quick tool to focus to infinity.

I have also heard that you can set this focusing distance to a specific value. This would be a super powerful tool for landscape photographers. You could set this to a hyperfocal distance for a specific F stop that you personally use a lot. This way you can easily get the biggest focus plane in your landscape shots. I would use this for sure!

Sharpness

I am constantly surprised by the sharp