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Samyang 12mm f2 NCS CS | A low cost lens for everyday usage

Samyang 12mm f2 NCS CS | A low cost lens for everyday usage

Posted on by TCCadmin

Capture more of the world with this portable 12mm extra-wide-angle lens

The Samyang 12mm f2 NCS CS is an extra-wide-angle manual focus lens designed for APS-C crop sensor mirrorless cameras. With low distortion and wide angle, photographers who want wide-angle photos such as landscape and architectural images can create great images with very little effort. At F2.0 this lens is very bright so it captures clear and vivid images even in relatively dark environment.

For the first time in Samyang Optics history, NCS (Nano Coating System) technology was used. It creates even lower reflection rates than the original UMC (Ultra Multi Coating) together with higher contrast. Also, the light penetration rate is very high to minimize flare and ghost. Optical construction of Samyang 12mm F2.0 NCS CS features 12 elements in 10 groups – among the lenses, there are 1 aspherical lens(AS), 1 hybrid aspherical lens (H-ASP) and 3 extra-low dispersion lenses(ED) to provide high image quality. H-ASP minimizes color aberration to realize exceptional image quality and high contrast for center and corner of the image even when its aperture is fully opened. ED lowers unnecessary light dispersion to drop color aberration effectively. With such optical construction, it has 0.2m of minimum focal length.

There are 6 aperture blades designed to be almost as a full circle when aperture is closed which expresses starlike ray clearly and deep depth of field images. The body of the Samyang 12mm F2.0 NCS CS is compact and solid since it is made of high-strength aluminum alloy. Amazing images can be captured even under the most difficult environments and the provided petal-shaped lens hood helps protect the lens from unnecessary light reducing flaring.

The Samyang 12mm f2 NMC CS is available for 5 camera mounts: Canon M, Sony E, MFT, Samsung NX, Fujifilm X 

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All images taken using the Fujifilm x-t1 with Samyang 12mm f2. Images are straight out of camera (SOOC) with no additional processing. Recipe used was based on Classic Negative.

A Single Image | Feb 27th

A Single Image | Feb 27th

Posted on by TCCadmin

Gorgeously clear skies today so yet more opportunity to put the Fujifilm x-t1 and Viltrox 23mm f1.4 through it’s paces. This image, taken in the Geopark in Paignton, caught my eye purely for the colourful paintings on the sculpture against the bright blue of the sky. As usual, this image is a jpeg SOOC so no post-processing needed. It is based on my Superia 100 (Classic Negative) film simulation. The falloff at the top corners is not something I have noticed in other shots but here it is very apparent. I’m not too bothered by this as it’s quite reminiscent of the effect I have seen on film.

A Single Image | Feb 26th

A Single Image | Feb 26th

Posted on by TCCadmin

My mate Paul is a budding musician who’s been playing the saxaphone now for a couple of years. He’s been a great friend so I was really pleased to give him his first saxaphone, a student something or other, that I had from when I closed down my music shop a few years earlier. He’d mentioned his interest in learning the clarinet on several occasions and while I knew I had a clarinet knocking around somewhere, I couldn’t lay my hands on it at the time so I persuaded him to take the alto sax instead. Paul was somewhat reluctant but my way of thinking was, it’s free and you blow in to it so how different could it be!! Persuaded, he took on the challange.

Two years and a huge amount of practice later, Paul has without any doubt mastered the saxaphone, so much so that he recently asked if I would take a few photos for his facebook profile. Of course I said yes. Social distancing when taking photos is not paricularly difficult and current rules mean that we are allowed to meet one friend socially for some exercise and unusally, the sun was out so I felt that some nice colour shots might help him out.

The above shot is a one of a handful I took using the Fuji x-t1 with what I tend to call, a Superia 100 feel. Actually, looking at some old photos from the 90’s, I think it’s a cross between Fuji Pro 400H and Fuji Superia 100 but I’m quite happy with that. The Fuji x-t1 doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of let’s say an x-t4 or x-pro3 so achieving something as “film like” as this is a real bonus for me.

For the most part, this image is SOOC but for those pixel peepers out there, I did add a small amount of grain using On1 PhotoRaw 2021. Sadly, there is no way to add grain in the x-t1 which to my mind and experience is what makes film look so uniquely different to digital. Anyway, here’s the Fuji recipe for anyone who’s interested in recreating or improving on this look.

  • Camera: Fujifilm x-t1
  • Lens: Viltrox 23mm f1.4
  • Target Film Look: Fujifilm Superia 100
  • Film Type: Pro Neg Hi
  • Custom White Balance: Grey card -1B -1R
  • EV: +1/3
  • DR: 400
  • ISO 800
  • Shadows: +2
  • Highlights: -2
  • Colour: -2
  • Sharpness: +2
  • Noise reduction: 0

I have to say that part way through the shoot I did reduce the ISO to 400 which results in the dynamic range being reset to 200 in camera and I also reduced the EV from +1/3rd to 0. This was because it was an incredibly bright day and the camera was shooting at such high shutter speeds that the electronic shutter was kicking in. No problem with this but I just felt I was pushing the envelope a little and backing off on the amount of light entering the sensor might yield a bonus. I cannot in all honesty say then that the shot shown above was at the exact settings I have outlined, it could have been at ISO 400, DR200 and EV 0.

Before I finish, a word on the Viltrox 23mm f1.4. This lens is crazy good for the money. Fast, sharp and colourful and a great addon to the Fuji x-t1. I have shot this lens with a few film simulations now, for example classic chrome, astia and pro neg but I come back mostly to the custom settings shown above.