The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye and the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM II 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. Sony 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM II is the longer of the two lenses at 114mm. The Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye with a length of 77mm, is 37mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM II also has a larger diameter of 83mm compared to the Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye's 75mm 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. Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye weighs 443g, which means it is 429g (49%) lighter than the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM II which has a weight of 872g.
Lens Mounts
Both the Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye and the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM II has the same Sony Alpha lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony Alpha lenses are Sony A68, Sony A77 II and Sony A58.
Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye is also available in the Canon EF , Nikon F (DX), Four Thirds, Pentax KAF and Samsung NX mounts.
Focal Range
Samyang 8mm F3.5 Fisheye is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 8mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
12mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
On the other hand, the Sony 16-35mm F2.8 ZA SSM II has a focal range of 16-35mm and 2.2X zoom ratio . When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 24 - 52.5mm.
