Actually, this could go under that recent thread about dumb things we've done when tired.
I set up my 5Diii with my 14mm to try to get some shots of the meteor shower tonight. I was trying different exposures, usually pretty wide open with ISO from 800 to 6400 and exposures from 15 to 30 seconds. After 45 minutes of fruitless searching and lots of shots (too much light pollution in my locale, I am afraid), I decided I'd had enough for a while.
The good news:
-Planning a trip to the North-lands and if the Aurora cooperates, this was a good practice run. My last -Northern Lights shots were with a crop and the 10-22.
-The pretty uninteresting shots I got were turning out rather well with these exposures.
-The tripod and plate and remote trigger were absolutely perfect for me.
-The 14 mm Samyang was doing just what one would expect from this surprisingly good lens for the price.
Now, the bad news:
After deciding to stop, I tripped over the tripod and all went to ground! The casualty was the Samyang as the mount just snapped off. Camera and all else seems fine and the landing was on a very soft pile of stuff so I'd suspect the mount is not very tough.
This gave me an opportunity to see the guts of this lens. Basically only a minimal number of glue spots and 4 very small screws through a flimsy piece of plastic hold the mount to the rest of the lens. Not very substantial. I carefully disassembled what I could, cleaned everything up as well as I could, and carefully re-assembled the lens using my own minimal glue spots and the same tiny screws.
Now, the thing "works" (although the diaphragm does not respond to the adjustment band). I actually took some shots and except for the inability to open up the aperature, it seems to be aligned and otherwise OK.
So, the lens is terminal. Given the cost of the lens, it probably is not worth trying to get parts and repair it. I suspect my 17-40 will need to suffice for now. since I am not ready to buy a new 14mm.
I still like this Samyang lens. For the price, it is a great deal. I can't say for certain, but I sure hope the OEM lenses we all have are assembled a bit more substantially, but I don't plan to break one to find out!
I set up my 5Diii with my 14mm to try to get some shots of the meteor shower tonight. I was trying different exposures, usually pretty wide open with ISO from 800 to 6400 and exposures from 15 to 30 seconds. After 45 minutes of fruitless searching and lots of shots (too much light pollution in my locale, I am afraid), I decided I'd had enough for a while.
The good news:
-Planning a trip to the North-lands and if the Aurora cooperates, this was a good practice run. My last -Northern Lights shots were with a crop and the 10-22.
-The pretty uninteresting shots I got were turning out rather well with these exposures.
-The tripod and plate and remote trigger were absolutely perfect for me.
-The 14 mm Samyang was doing just what one would expect from this surprisingly good lens for the price.
Now, the bad news:
After deciding to stop, I tripped over the tripod and all went to ground! The casualty was the Samyang as the mount just snapped off. Camera and all else seems fine and the landing was on a very soft pile of stuff so I'd suspect the mount is not very tough.
This gave me an opportunity to see the guts of this lens. Basically only a minimal number of glue spots and 4 very small screws through a flimsy piece of plastic hold the mount to the rest of the lens. Not very substantial. I carefully disassembled what I could, cleaned everything up as well as I could, and carefully re-assembled the lens using my own minimal glue spots and the same tiny screws.
Now, the thing "works" (although the diaphragm does not respond to the adjustment band). I actually took some shots and except for the inability to open up the aperature, it seems to be aligned and otherwise OK.
So, the lens is terminal. Given the cost of the lens, it probably is not worth trying to get parts and repair it. I suspect my 17-40 will need to suffice for now. since I am not ready to buy a new 14mm.
I still like this Samyang lens. For the price, it is a great deal. I can't say for certain, but I sure hope the OEM lenses we all have are assembled a bit more substantially, but I don't plan to break one to find out!
