The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake and the Samyang 35mm F1.4 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. Samyang 35mm F1.4 is the longer of the two lenses at 112mm. The Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake with a length of 23mm, is 89mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Samyang 35mm F1.4 also has a larger diameter of 63mm compared to the Sony E 16mm 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. Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake weighs 74g, which means it is 586g (88%) 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 E Mount for size comparison purposes.
Wideangle Lenses in Sony E Mount for Size Comparison
Filter Threads
The Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake has a filter size of 49mm whereas the Samyang 35mm F1.4 has a 77mm diameter. Larger filters are generally more expensive than the smaller ones given all the other features are equal.
Below are links to the 49mm filters that we recommend you to consider for the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake:
And these are the 77mm filters that we recommend for the Samyang 35mm F1.4:
Lens Mounts
Both the Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake and the Samyang 35mm F1.4 has the same Sony E lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Sony E lenses are Sony ZV-E10 II, Sony A6700 and Sony FX30.
Samyang 35mm F1.4 is also available in Canon EF , Nikon F (FX), Four Thirds, Pentax KAF, Sony Alpha and Samsung NX mounts.
Focal Range
Sony E 16mm F2.8 Pancake is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 16mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of
24mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera.
On the other hand, the 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.