Samyang 21mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC CS Review – Build and handling

Smaller and lighter than Samyang’s DSLR lenses, 21mm f/1.4 upholds a strong and solid build quality, which implies it’ll endure frequent use and is built to last. The anodised red ring synonymous with Samyang lenses is found towards the rear of the barrel between the manual-focus and aperture rings. I would have preferred it if both of these were rubberised, but then again I had no complaints with the finely grooved surface of both rings, which provided sufficient grip throughout my testing. As is to be expected from a manual-focus lens, there’s not a single button or switch in sight. The manual-focus ring offers a pleasing fluid motion that’s consistently smooth across the focus range, while the aperture ring clicks and notches into place as it’s rotated.

The lens is supplied with a petal-shaped lens hood

There’s half-stop adjustment between the aperture settings, which are printed on the barrel rather than engraved, and the plastic petal-shaped lens hood is clearly marked with a white dot to help align it with the lens.