akashyap wrote:
Who all still has / likes this lens? I purchased it for a few weeks before deciding I wanted 1.8, but between the heavy hitting field of 85mm f1.4s, this is my favorite for size and rendering, combining the size of the Sigma and smooth OOF of the Sony at a ridiculously good price.
After a long time with this lens, I think it is an excellent value proposition. The images it produces are wonderfully rendered and plenty sharp. It is a nice weight. The price is right.
The annoying things I have noticed do make me wish for a new GM to look forward to. After shooting with the 35GM (my first GM experience) and then going back to the Samyang, well...there were some frustrations. The Samyang is more hesitant to acquire focus and I will sometimes miss the exact moment. When it isn't sure, it does pump a bit so you will sometimes get improperly focused shots in between. Using back button eye-AF does help, but it's not always convenient to be hitting that button in the moment. It will also confirm focus for me at MFD when it actually hasn't hit focus. I knew this already. But it is a stark difference from the GM.
Additionally, I have noticed it having software errors communicating with the A7III. I had the Samyang 35 f/2.8 and this one, my only Samyangs, and both at one point or another caused the camera to have to reset (freeze and turn on and off). It has not happened with any other of my lenses. This, and when doing portrait work with strobes (Godox - using xt2 trigger), there is some glitch when after let's say 40-50 shots it will have a brain freeze and completely overexpose the image, as if aperture is fully open even though that is not what shows on the screen. If I rotate the aperture dial one click - let's say from f/6.3 to f/5.6 and back to f/6.3, it corrects itself again for a while. But maybe I will be shooting in succession and miss a shot or two if I don't notice it has done this.
That being said, I still think the output of the lens is great and can be magical. But if I was doing portrait work full time, I could see these items getting really frustrating.
I had the Sony FE version briefly, and it's fine and most notably, "just works." But I didn't find the rendering particularly special. Whereas with the Samyang, I do really love the images. For the price, I can put up with the flaws at this point waiting for the GM or maybe buy a used Sigma sometime later.
mudlake wrote:
I'm three weeks in to my ownership of the 85/1.4 II and am really loving the images out of this lens. Here are some of my first images.
Nice!!
I had no idea there was a mark II version of this lens... Too bad it's only for Sony as of rn...
Not sure why I'm even concerned, as I have zero complaints about mine.
Canon EOS R6SAMYANG RF 85mm F1.4 lens85mmf/1.41/640s200 ISO0.0 EV
