What to look for…

Wide viewing angles are often accompanied by wide-ranging features

Lens hood

The Samyang 14mm and Sigma 20mm lenses have built-in hoods and therefore no filter attachment thread. All other lenses are supplied with a bayonet-fit, petal-shaped hood.

Filter thread

All lenses on test have internal focusing, so the front element neither extends nor rotates, and all but two (the Samyang 14mm and the Sigma 20mm) have a filter attachment thread. Auto/manual focus The Nikon and Sigma lenses on test have ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, which is fast and whisper-quiet, with full-time manual override. The Irix, Samyang and Zeiss lenses are purely manual focus.

Weather seals

The Samyang and Sigma lenses have no weather seals, the Nikon lenses have a rubber seal on the mounting plate, and the Irix and Zeiss lenses have full weather seals.