I actually own both the Tamron and the 35 1.8. I like using the Tamron for the versatility, but I find I enjoy using the 35 1.8 more. I should actually do some test shots of the prime vs the Tamron at 35 to see how they compare.
I took some sample shots yesterday with Samyang 35mm f/2.8 and Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and Tamron, to my eyes, is slightly sharper, but both lenses are very close. I was quick to go back to Samyang after shooting with Tamron for a little bit, so I clearly prefer the weight and small form factor of Samyang over Tamron.
I also learned yesterday that 35mm at f/2.8 doesn't have deep enough DOF to have multiple people in focus (from about 8 to 10 feet away). Eye AF picked the person closest to the camera and that person was always tack sharp, but other people in the group were not, so perhaps I need to do a little more homework and figure out what exactly will work for my needs. A faster lens will only make DOF shallower. For indoor group shots 20mm might be a better lens.
I spent some time this weekend looking at the sample images of Sony FE f/1.8, Sony Zeiss f/2.8, and Samyang f/2.8 on Flickr and I personally like Zeiss rendering and bokeh quality the best. Sony FE f/1.8 is the sharpest and feels very vivid compared to the other two lenses, but there is something harsh about that lens that just doesn't feel right to me. The images of Samyang look very similar to Zeiss except Zeiss seems to handle glare and pointing at direct light sources much better. A lot of Samyang images seem washed out when direct light sources are in the shots.
Overall, I think I got two spectacular lenses to play around with and sort out what to keep and what to replace. I will be keeping an eye out for a used Zeiss 35 f/2.8 in buy and sell forum in the meantime. Zeiss new is absurdly expensive for what it is, but I see it going for reasonable prices here. If you are selling one, let me know.
Edit: Also tested video AF on Samyang and it is completely silent on the lens. My lens is on version 0.3. I am somewhat surprised, as almost every single review on YouTube mentioned lens noise in video AF. I will try to post a video on YouTube and share here. The transition between different objects was somewhat slow, but I never really shoot videos and this was the first time I hit the video record button on the camera, so this could mainly be a user issue.
Duowing wrote:
I actually own both the Tamron and the 35 1.8. I like using the Tamron for the versatility, but I find I enjoy using the 35 1.8 more. I should actually do some test shots of the prime vs the Tamron at 35 to see how they compare.
That would be fantastic. I am leaning more towards smaller f/2.8 lenses (see my post above), but it makes sense to keep a f/1.8 prime with a f/2.8 zoom. I would love to hear your direct experience with the two lenses.
