4 Reasons to Upgrade From the Samyang 24mm 2.8 to the Samyang 24mm 1.8
I’ve been using Samyang prime lenses for my Sony A7iii for several years now and I just upgraded to the latest iteration of their 24mm lens with the 1.8 maximum aperture. Is it worth it? I’ll give you a few reasons why I think it definitely is.
Reason #1.8 (Kinda clever, right?) Faster
Shot with the Samyang 24mm 1.8. Image by Craig Boehman.
You’re getting a faster lens with the Samyang 24mm 1.8 maximum aperture and arguably better overall performance. From autofocus stickiness to image quality, the differences are noticeable to someone like me who has used both of them out on the streets.
Reason #2: A Larger Lens Hood
This reason alone likely wouldn’t factor in for someone looking to upgrade, but there it is. Let’s face it, the lens hoods on some of the Samyang 2.8 primes are about functionally useless. They’re just too small. In fact, I never used the thing out of practicality because it didn’t help at all. I always use UV filters so I already have an extra layer of lens protection.
But I use the lens hood for the 24mm 1.8 lens. It gets the job done.
Reason #3: Custom Button Controls
It’s nice having customizable buttons on the Samyang 24mm 1.8 version. When I happened to be upgrading the firmware version today, I happened to notice options to program the buttons during the process. I then chose to change the M1 to Manual Focus and the M2 button to Aperture, which leads into my next reason.
Reason #4: A Dedicated Aperture Ring
Do you know how nice it is to have a dedicated aperture ring in the mirrorless world? It’s fantastic! I didn’t consider it an option until I was updating the lens on Samyang’s docking station (you need this accessory to update the firmware on Samyang lenses). Because of the programmable custom switch, I had three options for each one, including aperture.
As I mentioned previously, it’s a great setup option for someone like me who shoots a lot of street photography. I can slip into manual focus quickly or just have an easy option to change the aperture whether I’m in Aperture Priority mode, my standard walk-around mode, or in Manual.
You can’t do any of this on the Samyang 24mm 2.8.
Recommendations
If you don’t have the extra money to upgrade or only have just enough to purchase the Samyang 24mm 2.8, it’s still a good little lens. I’ve taken many fantastic images with it. And thankfully, Samyang continues with its firmware updates so the performance is as good as it can be.
But if you do have the extra money, do purchase the Samyang 24mm 1.8 for better low light capabilities. Although there’s a noticeable difference in size between the two, the 1.8 is still very light. Yeah, I do miss the smaller form factor of the 2.8, but realistically, it doesn’t change my profile that much when I’m shooting street photography. In this instance, I’ll side with the performance boost.
