Today at the farm it ended up being overcast. The upshot was that the Samyang performed extremely well in terms of focus speed and accuracy. I got a 80-90% keeper rate with my fast moving toddler, which is probably as good as I could reasonably ask for with any lens. E.g. the following 200% crops were typical of what I got: https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/XLGan5NwnEGK2GFnThLNjyAyPcozfggEGiB5tBipJbC
I would like to think that v.4 firmware played a part in the improvement but my stronger hunch is that it's eye AF in really high-contrast settings that would really challenge the lens - I now recall that whenever I got particularly bad results it was very very sunny. If true this may explain why some folk seem to be having similar problems as I have whilst others don't? One poster has already suggested using back button eye AF to force eye AF where real time eye AF may be failing to kick in if the scene is very high contrast.
ryanli wrote:
Today at the farm it ended up being overcast. The upshot was that the Samyang performed extremely well in terms of focus speed and accuracy. I got a 80-90% keeper rate with my fast moving toddler, which is probably as good as I could reasonably ask for with any lens. E.g. the following 200% crops were typical of what I got: https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/XLGan5NwnEGK2GFnThLNjyAyPcozfggEGiB5tBipJbC
I would like to think that v.4 firmware played a part in the improvement but my stronger hunch is that it's eye AF in really high-contrast settings that would really challenge the lens - I now recall that whenever I got particularly bad results it was very very sunny. If true this may explain why some folk seem to be having similar problems as I have whilst others don't? One poster has already suggested using back button eye AF to force eye AF where real time eye AF may be failing to kick in if the scene is very high contrast.
ryanli wrote:
Today at the farm it ended up being overcast. The upshot was that the Samyang performed extremely well in terms of focus speed and accuracy. I got a 80-90% keeper rate with my fast moving toddler, which is probably as good as I could reasonably ask for with any lens. E.g. the following 200% crops were typical of what I got: https://www.amazon.co.uk/photos/share/XLGan5NwnEGK2GFnThLNjyAyPcozfggEGiB5tBipJbC
I would like to think that v.4 firmware played a part in the improvement but my stronger hunch is that it's eye AF in really high-contrast settings that would really challenge the lens - I now recall that whenever I got particularly bad results it was very very sunny. If true this may explain why some folk seem to be having similar problems as I have whilst others don't? One poster has already suggested using back button eye AF to force eye AF where real time eye AF may be failing to kick in if the scene is very high contrast.
I think we have different expectations for eye af. In your top crops, the focus is actually in the hair/hat (back focus), the bottom left is a bit front focused, and bottom right is very off. Or actually the focus is in the reflection in the eye in some, but not the eye itself (this happens to me as well). I can understand there that the child was moving and stuff, but I often have the same variability issues with posing models. The separate button for eye af seems to be working better, and when the light is bad it still seems better to just go single af, or disable face detection, because face detection focus in other parts of the face (usually the back part because use to be more contrasty) and then when the dof is narrow the rest is oof.
numbertwo wrote:
I think we have different expectations for eye af. In your top crops, the focus is actually in the hair/hat (back focus), the bottom left is a bit front focused, and bottom right is very off. Or actually the focus is in the reflection in the eye in some, but not the eye itself (this happens to me as well). I can understand there that the child was moving and stuff, but I often have the same variability issues with posing models. The separate button for eye af seems to be working better, and when the light is bad it still seems better to just go single af, or disable face detection, because face detection focus in other parts of the face (usually the back part because use to be more contrasty) and then when the dof is narrow the rest is oof....Show more →
Thanks for your detailed analysis. Our expectations must indeed differ, given that my models are probably much faster moving I don't feel I can expect much better, at least not from the A7R III. Just to add that among the four crops, I'd say the top two is good, the bottom left is starting to fall off in terms of focus as you suggest but still usable, whilst the bottom left is clearly OOF as you point out. That is reflective (maybe a bit worse) of the hit rates I was getting yesterday which was around 80-90%.
Btw the sun came out today and for me the Samyang quite clearly fell apart (i.e. really inaccurate eye AF and tracking) in strong sunlight, even using back button AF as you suggested... one thing I didn't try yet was E shutter.
ryanli wrote:
Thanks for your detailed analysis. Our expectations must indeed differ, given that my models are probably much faster moving I don't feel I can expect much better, at least not from the A7R III. Just to add that among the four crops, I'd say the top two is good, the bottom left is starting to fall off in terms of focus as you suggest but still usable, whilst the bottom left is clearly OOF as you point out. That is reflective (maybe a bit worse) of the hit rates I was getting yesterday which was around 80-90%.
Btw the sun came out today and for me the Samyang quite clearly fell apart (i.e. really inaccurate eye AF and tracking) in strong sunlight, even using back button AF as you suggested... one thing I didn't try yet was E shutter....Show more →
Yes of course the pictures are awesome for being a running toddler! The problem is the lens is not detecting when the model is not moving and keep on doing micro adjustments all the time, that lends to many just slightly oof pictures. But as I'm finding out, it might be not a problem of the lens but the focus system in general, as I'm seeing the same in other lenses, just with the samyang is more visible. Eye af back button focus seems to make things better in af-c, and in af-s the lens is pretty much perfect for me.
Yesterday I shot a wedding. Two A7Rii, and two Samyang lenses- the 35 and the 85.
Just going through the initial sift of images to select those to process further, and I'd say the 85 has got a much higher AF hit-rate. Most images are between F/2.2 - F4 from both, as in pretty much all images I was dealing with multiple people... but based on the initial scan, I'm happy with how the 85 has performed.
jmbillings wrote:
Yesterday I shot a wedding. Two A7Rii, and two Samyang lenses- the 35 and the 85.
Just going through the initial sift of images to select those to process further, and I'd say the 85 has got a much higher AF hit-rate. Most images are between F/2.2 - F4 from both, as in pretty much all images I was dealing with multiple people... but based on the initial scan, I'm happy with how the 85 has performed.
If you're using F/2.2-4 I guess you'll get away with any minor inaccuracies that may (and do) show up wide open.
I get less missed shots with the Samyang 85 than the 85 GM but if I can’t afford to miss a shot, I would only use the 135 GM.
jmbillings wrote:
Yesterday I shot a wedding. Two A7Rii, and two Samyang lenses- the 35 and the 85.
Just going through the initial sift of images to select those to process further, and I'd say the 85 has got a much higher AF hit-rate. Most images are between F/2.2 - F4 from both, as in pretty much all images I was dealing with multiple people... but based on the initial scan, I'm happy with how the 85 has performed.
p.32 #10 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
Does anyone have a great side by side of the G-Master vs the Samyang on actual subjects, that highlights the differences between the rendering of the two lenses including the difference in warmth.
I can pick up the GM for $1000 used. I’d have the buy the Samyang new to ensure a good copy, and factor in the lens station for $750. At this point, price isn’t really a factor anymore and it’s more about rendering and AF.
p.32 #11 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
derKoekje wrote:
Does anyone have a great side by side of the G-Master vs the Samyang on actual subjects, that highlights the differences between the rendering of the two lenses including the difference in warmth.
I can pick up the GM for $1000 used. I’d have the buy the Samyang new to ensure a good copy, and factor in the lens station for $750. At this point, price isn’t really a factor anymore and it’s more about rendering and AF.
p.32 #12 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
derKoekje wrote:
Does anyone have a great side by side of the G-Master vs the Samyang on actual subjects, that highlights the differences between the rendering of the two lenses including the difference in warmth.
I can pick up the GM for $1000 used. I’d have the buy the Samyang new to ensure a good copy, and factor in the lens station for $750. At this point, price isn’t really a factor anymore and it’s more about rendering and AF.
p.32 #16 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
received my lens yesterday and I am happy with the performance so far. But I noticed that there is already some dust inside the lens - anyone else noticed that? I can see the dust in bright sun when I look through the front of the lens. (bought the lens brand new)
p.32 #17 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
Just out of curiosity, a question for those of you who know the Samyang 85 and GM 85 from personal experience: how would you grade both lenses in terms of bokeh? Say the GM's bokeh is 100%, which percentage would you attribute to the Samyang's bokeh overall?
p.32 #18 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
zeitlos wrote:
Just out of curiosity, a question for those of you who know the Samyang 85 and GM 85 from personal experience: how would you grade both lenses in terms of bokeh? Say the GM's bokeh is 100%, which percentage would you attribute to the Samyang's bokeh overall?
Not sure how I would put it in terms of percentage but maybe my video linked earlier can help since there are several comparison images there. To me, the bokeh didnt do it for me which is why in the end I picked between the GM and Sigma but we all have different preferences of course.
p.32 #19 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
Thanks! I know that bokeh is subjective to a certain degree. And grading it by percentages can be a little bit “fragile”. But just from your guys personal perspective, not focusing on one single aspect of the bokeh but taking a comprehensive view on it, where to put it if the GM is 100 percent?
Not taking other decisive aspects like color cast, AF into account. However, if it's not possible to grade it, it's not possible to grade it
p.32 #20 · Official: Samyang AF 85mm 1.4 FE ($699)
Are their any new experiences? Especially in comparison to the Sony 85 1.4? I‘m still tempted to give the GM a try if bokeh is really that superior. But then this would mean I would need a 85 1.8 for traveling too.
