I think I’m ready to pull the trigger once they release an update to fix face and eye-AF. I’m really liking the rendition of this lens, from dreamy to tack sharp, but the firmware updates seem to have hurt more than they fixed.
I'm also waiting for the update to fix eye-af. In af-s is mostly fine, but in af-c is when the problems happen.
I'll show you a bunch of more samples I took a few days ago. These are edited and color graded a bit, looking for mood, not ultimate sharpness in processing...
I'm in love with the lens, with it I can just get beautiful images that I could not with the Sony 85 1.8, as simple as that. I'm sure the GM is better but I don't have the budget, and the Sigma might be a bit sharper but it's too big to carry.
Nice images. On the fence about keeping this lens due to af.
numbertwo wrote:
I'm also waiting for the update to fix eye-af. In af-s is mostly fine, but in af-c is when the problems happen.
I'll show you a bunch of more samples I took a few days ago. These are edited and color graded a bit, looking for mood, not ultimate sharpness in processing...
I'm in love with the lens, with it I can just get beautiful images that I could not with the Sony 85 1.8, as simple as that. I'm sure the GM is better but I don't have the budget, and the Sigma might be a bit sharper but it's too big to carry....Show more →
So, I ended up repurchasing the 85/1.4 GM for its superb rendering but don’t have the guts to sell my great copy of the Samyang 85/1.4.
Side by side, I see better contrast for the latter but the GM still wins when shooting subjects with more complex backgrounds at mid distance.
I am having a hard time justifying keeping both lenses though.
When I get back in town, I will post side by side comparisons since I managed to get great copies of both lenses.
Snob wrote:
Nice images. On the fence about keeping this lens due to af.
My experience is very similar to that of both of you. Loving the rendering but having just come back from a family/city break with the lens, I am tearing my hair out over the AF problems. For street photography and for toddler snapshots I'm finding the need to use burst mode to ensure keepers due to the AF inaccuracies. Yet at this price point I don't really see a better alternative - Sigma is too big, Sony FE 1.8 has a smaller aperture and distinctly inferior rendering.
Still, it's definitely better in many respects vs my Canon 85 1.2L II as a travel lens. I do hope Samyang will provide a v.04 firmware soon!
Actually Samyang just released the v4 firmware last week. I have updated my copy and am happy to report the eye-AF success rate is improved a lot compared to the v3 on A7R3 body.
On the other hand I feel the af-c accuracy still can be better.
qinl wrote:
Actually Samyang just released the v4 firmware last week. I have updated my copy and am happy to report the eye-AF success rate is improved a lot compared to the v3 on A7R3 body.
On the other hand I feel the af-c accuracy still can be better.
Really okay going to check now. Updated and will look more into it. Thanks
p.26 #10 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
qinl wrote:
Actually Samyang just released the v4 firmware last week. I have updated my copy and am happy to report the eye-AF success rate is improved a lot compared to the v3 on A7R3 body.
On the other hand I feel the af-c accuracy still can be better.
So good! I’ll go to the CS to have my lens updated tomorrow. For me in my a73, the issue is eye af in af-c. When people are not involved the lens focuses fine in af-c, and in af-s the hit rate is also very good.
p.26 #11 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
I'm a little bit confused now. I order a copy last week, it was shipped today. I thought there has already been a firmware update which fixed the AF issue (eye-af, right?).
But there are contradicting narratives to be found here
p.26 #12 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
zeitlos wrote:
I'm a little bit confused now. I order a copy last week, it was shipped today. I thought there has already been a firmware update which fixed the AF issue (eye-af, right?).
But there are contradicting narratives to be found here
Version .3 from about 1 month ago was supposed to be a fix, but certainly for me was not *the* fix for Eye AF in AF-C - my latest experience is anywhere between 40-80% hit rate for any given subject, which is not good enough. (I would regard consistently >85-90%, i.e. native Sony/Zeiss lens performance, as satisfactory). This is with A7R III; YMMV with a different camera.
p.26 #13 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
It’s weird that the update just states improved A9 performance. I can’t imagine it performing worse than the A7III or A7RIII. Why aren’t they addressing the Eye-AF and face detect issues, especially in video?
p.26 #14 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
I've downloaded FW 4 but haven't had a chance to test it yet. Looking forward to trying it out on this lens whose Eye AF performance with FW 3 was already acceptable to me shooting in Lo or Med Continuous shooting.
p.26 #15 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
MFoucs wrote:
I've downloaded FW 4 but haven't had a chance to test it yet. Looking forward to trying it out on this lens whose Eye AF performance with FW 3 was already acceptable to me shooting in Lo or Med Continuous shooting.
Thanks MFoucs, which camera are you using and what do you shoot?
p.26 #16 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
ryanli wrote:
Thanks MFoucs, which camera are you using and what do you shoot?
Just did the firm ware update V4 and just quickly around the house have not noticed any difference on the Riii over V3. On the website It says improved performace for A9 so hopefully others will chime in on if that is true. Have not thoroughly tested it in all situations though. Gotta head out and make some money
p.26 #17 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
ryanli wrote:
Thanks MFoucs, which camera are you using and what do you shoot?
a7iii, and mostly shoot bumbling toddlers or candid portraits of people on the move, the former being a far more demanding subject to track due to non-linear movement (and behavior more generally .
p.26 #18 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
MFoucs wrote:
a7iii, and mostly shoot bumbling toddlers or candid portraits of people on the move, the former being a far more demanding subject to track due to non-linear movement (and behavior more generally .
Great, exactly my use case. Though generally I have greater success tracking toddlers across the frame than moving (running) towards the camera..
would be interested to hear your experiences, notwithstanding the fact that A7III is generally the better camera AF wise.
p.26 #19 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
I was stress testing the V4 FW by eye-AF AF-C at Hi+ speed tracking subject running towards the camera. Previously on V3 the hit rate was below 50%, but on V4 it's above 80% which I think is quite decent (still can be improved!)
In other not so demanding scenarios, one probably won't notice any significant difference between V3 and V4. YMMV.
p.26 #20 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
ryanli wrote:
Great, exactly my use case. Though generally I have greater success tracking toddlers across the frame than moving (running) towards the camera..
would be interested to hear your experiences, notwithstanding the fact that A7III is generally the better camera AF wise.
That’s in theory, but in practice I’m not that sure about that, at least for accuracy. There have been many more people reporting eye-af issues with the a73 than a7r3, and I remember one that finally got the R3 and was having better results. And here with this lens people with the R3 usually complain less than with the a73. Hopefully though, as the a9 af system is more similar to the a73, the less expensive camera has really been improved. I’ll be testing tomorrow
.