p.1 #1 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
I recently purchased the Samyang 18mm 2.8 and 45mm 1.8 lenses and I'm quite happy with that pair. I'm now thinking of adding the Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE to complete my portrait trifecta. I've read all the post here regarding the lens and now I'm considering picking one up. I haven't heard much regarding this lens lately and I just want to see if current owners are still satisfied with it's optical and handling performance? I previously owned the Sony 85mm 1.8 FE and didn't care for the lens. Most post I read says the Samyang with current FW 4 is fairly fast to AF and has better overall image quality and bokeh rendering. I also have the Samyang dock for my 18mm and 45mm so FW updates shouldn't be a problem.
p.1 #2 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
Current owner and my first experience with Rokinon/Samyang AF lenses. I love it, produces great photos, cool swirly old school bokeh and AF quick and accurately. FW4 and dock.
p.1 #3 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
SeauxCrazy wrote:
Current owner and my first experience with Rokinon/Samyang AF lenses. I love it, produces great photos, cool swirly old school bokeh and AF quick and accurately. FW4 and dock.
I noticed my 45mm 1.8 FE also has slightly swirly bokeh as well. I currently have a Sigma 50mm 1.4 Art which was my go-to portrait lens for awhile, but with the Sam 45mm 1.8 being so sharp and compact, I was thinking of trying something new and the Sam 85mm 1.4 AF seems like a nice match up my other Samyang lenses. I also owned the older Sam 85mm 1.4 MF lens and I thought that was a great lens optically and I read it was largely based on the older Nikon 85mm 1.4 AF-D which the Samyang designers greatly admired.
p.1 #4 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
I recently traded with Guy for his, which he tested extensively to ensure it was a good copy as Samyang is known for some copy variation. Only have had time for some quick test shots, but so far I like what I see even under sub-optimal conditions.
p.1 #5 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
Yes absolutely. Mine is firmware 4.
I bought it after lot of hesitation and this lens is so good. AF is accurate, eye af works and it’s fast enough. The images are special. I also had 85/1.8 but this one is something else.
p.1 #9 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
Hmm, looks like I'll probably buy this lens! Thanks for the confirmation everyone! Has anyone tried using Greentoe to purchase it? I figure it's probably not high in demand, so it's possible I can buy it at a lower price.
p.1 #11 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
Jonathan F wrote:
Hmm, looks like I'll probably buy this lens! Thanks for the confirmation everyone! Has anyone tried using Greentoe to purchase this lens? I figure it's probably not high in demand, so it's possible i can purchase brand new at a lower price.
Haven’t used Greentoe for this but it has been on sale for as low as $575 USD recently so it’s worth a shot to go for that or lower.
My favorite lens for rendering that I own, and a steal for the price. I would echo what other have said, especially numbertwo. You might have issues in specific scenarios, but lately I really have had very few problems with this lens. Using back button eye-AF has been my complete solution and I am very happy with the results. Though right at MFD it will occasionally still confirm focus when the focus isn’t there. Regardless, it is completely worth the little quirks for the quality of the output.
Also haven’t tested video but that was still problematic from last I heard and not recommended.
p.1 #12 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
These images show what can be done with this lens.
To add, this lens has removed my itch for a 135 that I had for such a long time. I kind of am happier because it has lesser compression and closer to a natural look, very near to a 50. It’s surprisingly lightweight, and great rendering whatever that means.
I wouldn’t hesitate to buy this at a higher price.
numbertwo wrote:
I LOVE this Lens, I always say it. But it has af issues in some lighting situations, with eye af in af-c, specially at close range.
p.1 #14 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
Jonathan F wrote:
Has anyone tried using Greentoe to purchase it? I figure it's probably not high in demand, so it's possible I can buy it at a lower price.
As @BillinTexas says, not much discount on Greentoe. I tried three times and finally accepted an offer for $579.
Lens just arrived yesterday, but so far seems good. Couldn't justify the price of the GM, so went for the Samyang based on its nice output (as seen here on FM).
p.1 #15 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
PS - my newly arrived lens had firmware version 3 on it. Checked the Samyang site and found they released version 4 back in June. I hadn't seen any discussion about the new version, but since I have the dock, I installed it.
p.1 #16 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
tester_V wrote:
I had a terrible experience with the lens. About 50% of shots were out of focus, the one in focus were really lovely. I had to return it.
Were you running an older FW or was the lens just bad? Did you test another copy? I felt the same about my Sam 45mm 1.8, until I updated the FW. After the update it worked great!
p.1 #17 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
I think there are only three Samyang retailers in the US. I had the same issue with ordering a 45 f1.8. No one would take hardly anything off.
MikeEvangelist wrote:
As @BillinTexas@ says, not much discount on Greentoe. I tried three times and finally accepted an offer for $579.
Lens just arrived yesterday, but so far seems good. Couldn't justify the price of the GM, so went for the Samyang based on its nice output (as seen here on FM).
p.1 #19 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
vdo1 wrote:
What are those flying lemons, circus props or bokeh balls?
Yes indeed they have a very weird shape, some of them are the led lights from the phones of the people watching. It could have been so interesting to see how other lenses rendered them in the same conditions. Anyways, I had the Sony 85 1.8 and this Samyang, in my experience and despite the af drawbacks, it’s so much better, the pictures and the rendering and colours feel just better to me. Maybe the Sony gm is better at double price and the sigma is better at double the size/weight, but for my use, the Samyang is the perfect compromise and one of my favourite lenses.
p.1 #20 · Samyang 85mm 1.4 FE - Current owners still happy with the lens?
numbertwo wrote:
Yes indeed they have a very weird shape, some of them are the led lights from the phones of the people watching. It could have been so interesting to see how other lenses rendered them in the same conditions. Anyways, I had the Sony 85 1.8 and this Samyang, in my experience and despite the af drawbacks, it’s so much better, the pictures and the rendering and colours feel just better to me. Maybe the Sony gm is better at double price and the sigma is better at double the size/weight, but for my use, the Samyang is the perfect compromise and one of my favourite lenses....Show more →
By any chance were you shooting at f/1.4? At this Korean review site, they showed distant light points at 1.4 are somewhat "lemon" shaped, by f/2.0 they become more rounded:
It's not a deal breaker for me, but it seems it doesn't affect light points as much at closer ranges (like portrait distances), only when the light points are further away and shooting wide open do they become oval.
