I feel this lens will climb to my top-2 right next to 50GM (I'm sorry, CV 50APO but your autofocus is not just as good).
Optically it is a bit less than Samyang 135 1.8 especially in fringing departmnet wide open but blazing fast and confident autofocus fits my one-shot 'n' pray style much better than Samy. Feels like Samy will largely stay at home.
At 1.8-2, 135GM has less vigneting, more contrast and sharpness but from 2.8 Samy takes the lead with superior accross the frame performance... and Samy's bokeh at normal working distances is out of this world.
Fringing situation is better compared to other GM lenses like 50GM, 35GM, but definitely worse than Samy 135 1.8.
I use this head as a 'real life fringing test' for all my lenses. Lenses prone to CA would show purple head under such direct harsh sunlight. But overall situation with 135GM is not bad.
Important difference between Samy and 135GM - 135GM has more space between the lens and the grip handle while with Samy my fingers never feel completely comfortable.
135GM, 1.8, OOC, no adjustments/corrections. Full size JPEG converted in LR. [Open in New Tab]
lensfan wrote:
I feel this lens will climb to my top-2 right next to 50GM (I'm sorry, CV 50APO but your autofocus is not just as good).
Optically it is a bit less than Samyang 135 1.8 especially in fringing departmnet wide open but blazing fast and confident autofocus fits my one-shot 'n' pray style much better than Samy. Feels like Samy will largely stay at home.
At 1.8-2, 135GM has less vigneting, more contrast and sharpness but from 2.8 Samy takes the lead with superior accross the frame performance... and Samy's bokeh at normal working distances is out of this world.
Fringing situation is better compared to other GM lenses like 50GM, 35GM, but definitely worse than Samy 135 1.8.
I use this head as a 'real life fringing test' for all my lenses. Lenses prone to CA would show purple head under such direct harsh sunlight. But overall situation with 135GM is not bad.
Important difference between Samy and 135GM - 135GM has more space between the lens and the grip handle while with Samy my fingers never feel completely comfortable.
Some months ago, I was able to acquire a new Samyang 135mm lens for under $600, so I acquired it, just for fun. I tested it against my GM 135 and was really surprised with the results. Using an MTF 50 chart at 20' under very controlled conditions on an A1, I could not discern any visible difference between the lenses, across-the-frame, in terms of resolution when viewing the test images at 100% on a 5K 27" monitor.
There also did not seem to be much difference in bokeh quality. Since I only seem to shoot these lenses at f1.8, I did not bother with stopping-down. Of course, my tests were only good for these two lens samples, and such testing would not be statistically valid if attempting to extrapolate results to larger sample sizes. The only statistically valid testing results I have ever seen published were Roger Cicala's on the LensRentals blog (sadly, no longer published). I suspect that Samyang's sample variation might be higher than Sony's.
I couldn't believe that I would ever sell my super-sharp Sony lens, but I did, since I usually shoot action with my GM 70-200mm f2.8 II (which provides exceptional focus speed) and the 180 grams of weight savings on the Samyang lens meant that it finds its way into my bag more than the Sony lens ever did... and, I do not sacrifice any optical quality (vignetting is of no real concern, to me). Of course, the $760 I pocketed quickly went toward another lens purchase.
As another point of reference, below, are Marc Alhadeff's comparative results as published on www.sonyalphablog.com :
InFocus2014 wrote:
Some months ago, I was able to acquire a new Samyang 135mm lens for under $600, so I acquired it, just for fun. I tested it against my GM 135 and was really surprised with the results. Using an MTF 50 chart at 20' under very controlled conditions on an A1, I could not discern any visible difference between the lenses, across-the-frame, in terms of resolution when viewing the test images at 100% on a 5K 27" monitor.
There also did not seem to be much difference in bokeh quality. Since I only seem to shoot these lenses at f1.8, I did not bother with stopping-down. Of course, my tests were only good for these two lens samples, and such testing would not be statistically valid if attempting to extrapolate results to larger sample sizes. The only statistically valid testing results I have ever seen published were Roger Cicala's on the LensRentals blog (sadly, no longer published). I suspect that Samyang's sample variation might be higher than Sony's.
I couldn't believe that I would ever sell my super-sharp Sony lens, but I did, since I usually shoot action with my GM 70-200mm f2.8 II (which provides exceptional focus speed) and the 180 grams of weight savings on the Samyang lens meant that it finds its way into my bag more than the Sony lens ever did... and, I do not sacrifice any optical quality (vignetting is of no real concern, to me). Of course, the $760 I pocketed quickly went toward another lens purchase.
As another point of reference, below, are Marc Alhadeff's comparative results as published on www.sonyalphablog.com :
Well said! I think it indeed comes down to weight vs AF (and price ).
I'm just wondering if the bokeh is actually visibly nicer on the SY or if the GM has any advantage in sharpness at all in real life shots...
InFocus2014 wrote:
Some months ago, I was able to acquire a new Samyang 135mm lens for under $600, so I acquired it, just for fun. I tested it against my GM 135 and was really surprised with the results. Using an MTF 50 chart at 20' under very controlled conditions on an A1, I could not discern any visible difference between the lenses, across-the-frame, in terms of resolution when viewing the test images at 100% on a 5K 27" monitor.
There also did not seem to be much difference in bokeh quality. Since I only seem to shoot these lenses at f1.8, I did not bother with stopping-down. Of course, my tests were only good for these two lens samples, and such testing would not be statistically valid if attempting to extrapolate results to larger sample sizes. The only statistically valid testing results I have ever seen published were Roger Cicala's on the LensRentals blog (sadly, no longer published). I suspect that Samyang's sample variation might be higher than Sony's.
I couldn't believe that I would ever sell my super-sharp Sony lens, but I did, since I usually shoot action with my GM 70-200mm f2.8 II (which provides exceptional focus speed) and the 180 grams of weight savings on the Samyang lens meant that it finds its way into my bag more than the Sony lens ever did... and, I do not sacrifice any optical quality (vignetting is of no real concern, to me). Of course, the $760 I pocketed quickly went toward another lens purchase.
As another point of reference, below, are Marc Alhadeff's comparative results as published on www.sonyalphablog.com :
Here goes my 'meaningful comparison'. Samy on the left, GM on the right.
Samy's fat glass sells! I had very little time with it but while using it I was approached by other photographer people asking what kind of pro I'm (which I'm not). Never happened while using any other lens up to 70-200 2.8.
lensfan wrote:
Here goes my 'meaningful comparison'. Samy on the left, GM on the right.
Samy's fat glass sells! I had very little time with it but while using it I was approached by other photographer people asking what kind of pro I'm (which I'm not). Never happened while using any other lens up to 70-200 2.8. https://i.ibb.co/5FkC8fc/IMG000.jpg
InFocus2014 wrote:
Some months ago, I was able to acquire a new Samyang 135mm lens for under $600, so I acquired it, just for fun. I tested it against my GM 135 and was really surprised with the results. Using an MTF 50 chart at 20' under very controlled conditions on an A1, I could not discern any visible difference between the lenses, across-the-frame, in terms of resolution when viewing the test images at 100% on a 5K 27" monitor.
There also did not seem to be much difference in bokeh quality. Since I only seem to shoot these lenses at f1.8, I did not bother with stopping-down. Of course, my tests were only good for these two lens samples, and such testing would not be statistically valid if attempting to extrapolate results to larger sample sizes. The only statistically valid testing results I have ever seen published were Roger Cicala's on the LensRentals blog (sadly, no longer published). I suspect that Samyang's sample variation might be higher than Sony's.
I couldn't believe that I would ever sell my super-sharp Sony lens, but I did, since I usually shoot action with my GM 70-200mm f2.8 II (which provides exceptional focus speed) and the 180 grams of weight savings on the Samyang lens meant that it finds its way into my bag more than the Sony lens ever did... and, I do not sacrifice any optical quality (vignetting is of no real concern, to me). Of course, the $760 I pocketed quickly went toward another lens purchase.
As another point of reference, below, are Marc Alhadeff's comparative results as published on www.sonyalphablog.com :
Well, I guess, 135 1.8 is supposed be shot at 1.8 most of the time. And there technically GM performs better (higher center sharpness, less vignetting).
Corner performance is stronger on Samy, it would be a great landscape lens - lighter and sharper at far corners.
For me the strongest feature of Samy it that it has absolute minimal CAs - on par with APO lenses. I just hate fringing when I pixel peep at 300%.
To my eye, 135GM produces contrasty images with GM colors, and Samy produces more traditional Samyang images - less contrasty and not as vivid out of camera.
In general, Samy/Roki's bokeh looks smoother and balls are rounder. Sony a little bit busier and lemon-shaped. The differences are so minor, actually splitting hairs here, and in real life would not matter to me. In this particular comparison wind has the most impact on the foliage.
My focus on center point is not perfectly consistent, but Sony is sharper in the center wide open.
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