Would you buy Samyang if you had Canon Ls?

[legrevedotcom]

Pretty straight forward question...

The thing is I can appreciate Samyangs attempt to be more cinematic in regards to fluid aperture and focus wheel, but if we purely image quality wise look at the Canon Ls in relationship to the Samyang lenses.... are there really any points to get them?
I have the 24-70 II, the 70-200 II and the 100mm IS USM. All 2.8 lenses.

Would you even bother getting Samyangs if you had the above, just to gain the ability to go to 1.5? I mean, these days, cameras only seem to get more and more sensitive.

 

[Samuel H]

It's not only the speed: they are primes, and some of them are very good too.
This is a comparison of your very fine 24-70 LII with the samyang 35mm, both set at 35mm f/2.8: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2
Similar in the center, but the samyang is clearly better in the corners, even if that zoom is a particularly sharp one.
Here is the samyang 35mm against the canon 35mm f/1.4L: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2

Also, some zooms have great bokeh (e.g. the 70-200 f/2.8L IS II), but that's not the general rule. The 24-70 II has some nasty onion issues: http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/773-canon2470f28mk2ff?start=1 the samyang is better but still not perfect http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/657-samyang35f14eosff?start=1

Now, not all samyangs are that good. But the 8mm, 35mm and 85mm are pretty much awesome. More about them here: http://www.similaar.com/foto/equipment/us_lensc.html#samyang
And keep this in mind too: Samyangs are cheap but they also break down relatively often, at least if mistreated; I haven't read any reports about them in these boards, but the lensrentals repair data looks awful: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/08/lensrentals-repair-data-2012-2013

 

[Paul Hudson]

No hard stops on Canon lenses are a deal breaker for me.

 

[Grug]

Focus rotation and marking make all the difference. I'd take Samyangs over Canon Ls any day of the week for motion work (stills are a different matter).

 

[Alpha Beta Omega]

I've had the Samyang lenses but sold them and only use L primes. Performance on the Ls are more consistent.

 

[Victor Nhat Nguyen]

I like to use manual lenses so if I switch to a different camera system, I don't have to buy new lens. It's Samyang for me all the way.

 

[Patryk_Rebisz]

It's not only the sharpness but also how colors are reproduced - from the test out there Samyang come out consistently dull and unsaturated.

Remember that lens manufacturers have to deal with the curve of sharpness v color reproduction - in reality the sharpest lenses are the ones that only deal with one light wavelength (delivering B&W image).