The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Sony 20mm F2.8 and the Samyang 35mm F1.4 for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
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 Sony 20mm F2.8 with a length of 54mm is 58mm shorter. On the other hand, the Sony 20mm F2.8 has a larger diameter of 78mm compared to Samyang 35mm F1.4's 63mm diameter.
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. Sony 20mm F2.8 weighs 285g, which means it is 375g (56%) lighter than the Samyang 35mm F1.4 which has a weight of 660g.
Below you can find the dimension and weight table of the 'Wideangle Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for size comparison purposes.
Wideangle Prime Lenses in Sony Alpha Mount for Size Comparison
Lens Mounts
Both Sony 20mm F2.8 and Samyang 35mm F1.4 has the same Sony Alpha lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony Alpha lenses are Sony A99 II, Sony A68 and Sony A77 II.
Samyang 35mm F1.4 is also available in Canon EF , Nikon F (FX), Four Thirds, Pentax KAF, Sony E and Samsung NX mounts.
Focal Range
Sony 20mm F2.8 is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 20mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 30mm.
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 an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 52.5mm.