Samyang 12mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS Fish-eye
Summary
The Samyang 12mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS Fish-eye is a solid optical performer — a ultra-wide prime (18mm equivalent) with f/2.8 maximum aperture. The lens is priced at approximately ~$750 USD. Please check the official product page for sample images, manuals, and firmware updates.
Genre Suitability
- Excellent for: Sport, Wildlife
- Adequate for: Nightscape, Landscape, Street, Travel
- Avoid for: Architecture, Portrait
Strengths
- Good flare resistance
Weaknesses
- Noticeably soft corners wide open
- Noticeable lateral CA toward the corners
- Heavy distortion requiring software correction
- Below-average bokeh quality
Specifications 17/20
| Optical construction | 12 elements in 8 groups (2 aspherical, 3 ED) |
| Coating | NCS |
| Focal length | 12mm |
| Max aperture | f/2.8 |
| Sweet spot | f/4 |
| Aperture blades | 7 |
| Sunstar points | 14 (sharp — straight blades) |
| Max magnification | — |
| Min focus distance | 200mm |
| AF motor | Manual focus |
| OIS | No |
| Weather sealed | No |
| Aperture ring | Yes |
| Clickless aperture | No |
| Focus ring | Yes |
| Focus by wire | No |
| Distance scale | Yes |
| Rotating front | No |
| Tripod mount | No |
| Weight | 500g |
| Diameter | 77.3mm |
| Length | 99mm |
| Filter thread | — |
| Year | 2015 |
MTF Charts
| Position | 10S | 10M | 30S | 30M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.98 | 0.97 |
| 5mm | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.96 | 0.88 |
| 10mm | 0.98 | 0.96 | 0.93 | 0.93 |
| 15mm | 0.97 | 0.96 | 0.82 | 0.82 |
| 20mm | 0.94 | 0.93 | 0.71 | 0.46 |
| Position | 10S | 10M | 30S | 30M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.98 |
| 5mm | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.92 | 0.92 |
| 10mm | 0.99 | 0.96 | 0.75 | 0.75 |
| 15mm | 0.99 | 0.92 | 0.98 | 0.52 |
| 20mm | 0.98 | 0.86 | 0.91 | 0.44 |
Optical Quality 14/14
| Center (wide open) | 2.0 |
| Corner (wide open) | 0.5 |
| Center (stopped) | 2.0 |
| Corner (stopped) | 1.0 |
| Coma | 1.0 |
| Astigmatism | 1.5 |
| Spherical aberration | 2.0 |
| Longitudinal CA | 2.0 |
| Lateral CA | 0.5 |
| Distortion | 0.0 |
| Vignetting (wide open) | 1.5 |
| Vignetting (stopped) | 2.0 |
| Bokeh | 0.5 |
| Flare resistance | 1.5 |
Sharpness
- Excellent center sharpness wide open
- Noticeably soft corners wide open
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Acceptable corner sharpness stopped down
Aberrations
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Noticeable lateral CA toward the corners
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
- Well-controlled astigmatism
- Excellent spherical aberration correction
Rendering
- Below-average bokeh quality
- Mild vignetting wide open
- Vignetting essentially gone by f/5.6
- Good flare resistance
Distortion
- Heavy distortion requiring software correction
All optical scores are based on lab measurements and field tests from trusted review sources. For details on how we score lenses, see our scoring methodology.
Genre Fit
~ Nightscape Photography 3/5
Nightscape Photography prioritizes coma control, astigmatism correction, and a fast aperture for short star exposures.
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
- Well-controlled astigmatism
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Noticeable lateral CA toward the corners
- Excellent center sharpness wide open
- Noticeably soft corners wide open
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Mild vignetting wide open
- Excellent spherical aberration correction
~ Landscape Photography 3/5
Landscape Photography prioritizes corner-to-corner sharpness at stopped-down apertures and good flare resistance.
- Acceptable corner sharpness stopped down
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Heavy distortion requiring software correction
- Noticeable lateral CA toward the corners
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Vignetting essentially gone by f/5.6
- Good flare resistance
- Well-controlled astigmatism
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
✗ Architecture Photography 1/5
Architecture Photography prioritizes geometric precision with minimal distortion and even corner sharpness.
- Acceptable corner sharpness stopped down
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Heavy distortion requiring software correction
- Noticeable lateral CA toward the corners
- Vignetting essentially gone by f/5.6
- Good flare resistance
~ Street Photography 3/5
Street Photography prioritizes sharp stopped-down performance and a fast enough aperture for low light.
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Excellent center sharpness wide open
- Good flare resistance
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
~ Travel Photography 3/5
Travel Photography prioritizes balanced image quality in a lightweight package.
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Heavy at 500g
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Good flare resistance
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
✗ Portrait Photography 2/5
Portrait Photography prioritizes smooth bokeh and critical center sharpness wide open for subject isolation.
- Below-average bokeh quality
- Excellent center sharpness wide open
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Excellent spherical aberration correction
- Mild vignetting wide open
✓ Sport Photography 4/5
Sport Photography prioritizes sharp wide-open center performance to freeze action at fast shutter speeds.
- Excellent center sharpness wide open
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Noticeable lateral CA toward the corners
✓ Wildlife Photography 4.5/5
Wildlife Photography prioritizes center sharpness across apertures for distant subjects.
- Excellent center sharpness wide open
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Noticeable lateral CA toward the corners