Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS review

The Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS was one of the first ultra-wide-angle primes for crop-sensor cameras

Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS
(Image: © Samyang)

Digital Camera World Verdict

A rarity for crop-sensor cameras, especially if you shoot with a DSLR rather than a mirrorless body, this Samyang is an ultra-wide-angle prime that’s available in a similarly ‘wide’ range of mount options. It gives an ‘effective’ 15mm focal length on most APS-C cameras (16mm for Canon) and a still pretty wide 20mm for Micro Four Thirds. The fairly fast f/2.8 aperture makes it useful for architectural interiors and astrophotography, as well as for sweeping landscapes.

Pros

  • +

    Wide viewing angle on crop-sensor cameras

  • +

    Fast f/2.8 aperture

  • +

    Smooth-action focus ring

Cons

  • -

    No autofocus

  • -

    ‘Dumb’ lens, apart from Nikon-mount

  • -

    No filter attachment thread

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The Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS is an ultra-wide-angle prime lens for crop-sensor cameras that comes in many guises, with mount options including Canon EF-S/EF-M, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sony A, Canon M, Fujifilm X, Sony E, Samsung NX and Micro Four Thirds. It’s a manual-focus lens and all but the Nikon F-mount option have no internal electronics at all. You therefore can’t set the aperture from the host camera body and can effectively only shoot in aperture-priority or manual modes, adjusting the aperture with the lens’s on-board control ring. The camera viewfinder’s focus confirmation lamp is also disabled.

Specifications

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.