The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake and the Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED is the longer of the two lenses at 66mm. The Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake with a length of 25mm, is 41mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED also has a larger diameter of 64mm compared to the Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake's 62mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake weighs 89g, which means it is 119g (57%) lighter than the Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED which has a weight of 208g.
Filter Threads
The Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake has a filter size of 43mm whereas the Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED has a 58mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 43mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake:
And these are the 58mm filters that we recommend for the Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED:
Lens Mounts
Both the Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake and the Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED has the same Samsung NX lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Samsung NX lenses are Samsung NX1, Samsung NX3000 and Samsung NX30.
Focal Range
Samsung 20mm F2.8 Pancake is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 20mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
30mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
On the other hand, the Samsung 12-24mm F4-5.6 ED has a focal range of 19-37mm and 1.9X zoom ratio which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 28.5-55.5mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
