So, I'm at the point now when I'm wondering whether to keep this lens...
I don't mind that much that my copy is not perfect (especially for 300e), though it seems to fringe more in the worst corner, but I'm not sure how much I will actually use it. I got used to carrying bigger glass, but still sometimes I don't want to take my bag and as a one-lens compact solution, the SY looks pretty good.
The thing is I do miss Batis 40 colors a bit, as SY is rather low on contrast. At MFD there is visible loss in sharpness/contrast, but if you move back 2-3 cm, SY is back on track. I also wish Fred did his thorough rendering comparison with the Sony, as I'm still not convinced Sony is that much worse bokeh-wise(it only falls apart in transition zones from what I saw).
Regarding bigger glass, I tried doing some comparisons with my Sigma, but I wasn't able to get really consistent results to say anything concrete. My copies are a bit decentered/tilted in opposite corners, which makes comparing the sharpness difficult . I can say that @1.8, the Samyang holds up pretty well, except for really extreme corners (+ major vignetting). Maybe on high resolution sensor, the difference would be clear, but in my case I really have to strain my eyes at 200/300% when looking at the best corners. I also have the impression that SY sharpens up a bit faster then the Sigma when stopping down, but take this with a grain of salt.
Rendering - I think there's no competition, but that's what you pay for in the Sigma (in weight, size and $$$) . For AF in difficult conditions, I tried a couple of shots against backlit window and the Sigma focused a bit better (it caught the actual eye, while SY was rather focused on the contrast edges it found), but again this was only a couple of shots.
Decisions, decisions, the worst part is I should simply shoot more to decide but I'm completely demotivated and depressed lately...
So, was googling for new reviews and I came across sonyalphablog's flickr account. I thought this was a handy little resource because not only are the samples on the blog pretty terrible buuuuuuuut these are all uploaded in full res. Really useful, because these just might be the best natural light samples we're going to get until next year .
Well, today I managed to catch a pretty harsh (winter-like) light, nothing too crazy but I just wanted to show how the lens behaves in full sun:
Wide open, the average corner - not that bad fringing imho considering the harsh light
Harsh light again -> harsh bokeh balls
The gallery with originals (jpegs, adjusted a bit in C1 not to clip highlights), most of them posted somewhere here but some extra can be found there too : https://janu.smugmug.com/SY35F18/n-9dB6c5/
Can't see a reason why anyone would buy the Sony (unless they wanted better macro capability).
I'm receiving one today (£289 in the UK at e-infinity which is pretty much a no-brainer price) so will post photos and comparison photos with the Sony 35mm 1.4.
@rainio: close focus capability and slightly sturdier outer shell. The only other thing I can think of would be that if you read this thread and the image thread, @j4nu received a decentered copy of the lens and it seems to have very negatively affected CA correction. To my knowledge, that doesn't happen with the Sony lens but I might just be missing some info.
Still, almost a home-run from Samyang for sure. If it had a matching close focus from the Sony it'd probably be one of the biggest upsets in lens manufacturing of this generation of cameras lol.
At 475€ today in Amazon Spain the only reason to buy the samyang could be the "sometimes" smoother bokeh...
rainio wrote:
Can't see a reason why anyone would buy the Sony (unless they wanted better macro capability).
I'm receiving one today (£289 in the UK at e-infinity which is pretty much a no-brainer price) so will post photos and comparison photos with the Sony 35mm 1.4.
Yep, mine was tilted I think, as one corner never sharpened up even when focused on... so I returned that copy of SY35. Though the price difference vs the Sony is still massive here, 305 eur to 512 eur equivalent and given SY's supposedly better rendering (I'd like to do/see direct comparison shots though) I think SY is a bargain...
I'll probably try the Samyang again one day, but for now I decided to limit the number of lenses I have on the shelf ...
Hmmmm... going on the images in Dustin Abbott's image gallery (really wish he had a flickr, that thing loads slow) I think I'd say that while there are less double edged structures in the Samyang's bokeh when compared to Sony's 35 1.8 it is significantly more prone to LoCA in out of focus highlights. This leads to a more pleasing image when conditions for LoCA are not present, but when they are you get images like this:
I don't see LoCal on this photo. Here's a crop of the upper right where it's structurally busy and contrasty for this photo. It might be bit busier than other lenses, but it look better than the FE 35. The light here look pretty drab. Harsher light would bring it out more.
Also, PSA: Adorama has them in stock for stateside shooters--I just ordered mine. I'll be comparing it to my Pentax 31, RX1 Sonnar and CV 35/1/.2iii, which didn't go so well for the FE 35...
JVan_02 wrote:
Hmmmm... going on the images in Dustin Abbott's image gallery (really wish he had a flickr, that thing loads slow) I think I'd say that while there are less double edged structures in the Samyang's bokeh when compared to Sony's 35 1.8 it is significantly more prone to LoCA in out of focus highlights. This leads to a more pleasing image when conditions for LoCA are not present, but when they are you get images like this:
I mean, am I crazy? It seems to me like each of those highlights has its own little LoCA ring.
You guys understand that the Talking Heads on the tube and elsewhere doing whatever they do for one reason-money.
Abbot probably worth of them, he has a natural ability to look like he cares.
. I can say that @1.8, the Samyang holds up pretty well, except for really extreme corners (+ major vignetting). Maybe on high resolution sensor, the difference would be clear, but in my case I really have to strain my eyes at 200/300% when looking at the best corners. I also have the impression that SY sharpens up a bit faster then the Sigma when stopping down, but take this with a grain of salt.
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