Help with lens choice for A6300 - Sigma or Samyang

[Jacdud]

Hi all,

Maybe you can help me with the lens selection for my Sony A6300. I'm thinking about two lenses:

1) Sigma C 16mm f / 1.4

2) Samyang 18mm f / 2.8

 

Could you advise me something? Which would be a better choice?

[Pieter]

In general I would definately say the Sigma: 2 stops faster and optically excellent. Get the Samyang if:

 - you might one day want to switch to fullframe

 - you prefer 18mm FoV over 16mm

 - you want something small and light

 

However, if you really want small, light and cheap and don't consider going fullframe, you might want to consider the Sigma 19mm f/2.8 over the Samyang. I think it's no longer produced but can still be found really cheap.

[Jacdud]

Thanks for the reply! That's why I can't decide which lens should I choose. Sigma has a lot of good reviews, but the size and weight of Samyang is very tempting. Do you think that the optics in Sigma is much better than in Samyang?

[Pieter]

There aren't a lot of reviews on the Samyang but it seems to be a lot of value for money. The Sigma 19mm is also really decent and costs about half of the Samyang, if not less. It's even smaller and lighter too.

From a personal point of view: I only buy fast primes (< F2). Anything slower and I might as well use a zoom for convencience. The Sony 18-105 is only one stop slower and costs nearly the same as the Samyang if you find it on discount. It's a whole lot more cumbersome than the f/2.8 primes though, so if you want something that fits your jacket pocket either the Samyang or the Sigma should do great.

Edited October 11, 2019 by Pieter