The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Samyang 35mm F1.4 and the Pentax 21mm F3.2 AL L for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses. Samyang 35mm F1.4 is the longer of the two lenses at 112mm. The Pentax 21mm F3.2 AL L with a length of 25mm, is 87mm shorter. On the other hand, there is no difference between the max diameters of these lenses, both coming at 63mm.
The weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Pentax 21mm F3.2 AL L weighs 140g, 78% (520g) lighter than the Samyang 35mm F1.4's weight of 660g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the Wideangle Prime Lenses in Pentax KAF Mount for size comparison purposes.
Wideangle Prime Lenses in Pentax KAF Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both the Samyang 35mm F1.4 and the Pentax 21mm F3.2 AL L has the same Pentax KAF lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Pentax KAF lenses are Pentax KF, Pentax K-3 III and Pentax K-1 II.
Samyang 35mm F1.4 is also available in Canon EF , Nikon F (FX), Four Thirds, Sony Alpha, Sony E and Samsung NX mounts.
Pentax 21mm F3.2 AL L is also available in Pentax KAF mount.
Focal Range
Samyang 35mm F1.4 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 35mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 52.5mm.
Pentax 21mm F3.2 AL L is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 21mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 31.5mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.