p.1 #1 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I‘m contemplating a lens in this range for event photography.
- Has anyone compared these two lenses?
- Which one is optically better?
- Are there other performance aspects (focus speed, build quality etc.) to be considered?
p.1 #2 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I’m interested in both of these lenses, though I’ve never shot either. My understanding is that they are both good optically, but the Tamron’s AF is significantly superior and performs quite well. I was thinking of using one of these at times for action, and the suggestions I got were that the Samyang is good for static subjects, but the Tamron would be much better for tracking.
p.1 #3 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I have owned both and have watched just about every YouTube comparison out there; I'd say this is a representative comparison: ?si=jxqVU9Jef6rgdlGQ
From my experience corroborated by the reviews, there is really very little between the two lenses whether in terms of optics or ergonomics, and you couldn't go wrong with either one.
- IQ-wise overall, they are neck-and-neck because the Tamron is a hair better in some areas and Samyang in others.
- Samyang appears to have slightly worse vignetting throughout but this is probably one of the most easily correctable flaws in post.
- Tamron has a slightly warmer tone whilst the Samyang is more tinted towards the purple side, again both easily neutralised in post.
- Samyang is practically parfocal; the Tamron isn't
- There are very slight FL differences. According to the ProAV comparison clip, the Tamron is very slightly wider at 35mm than the Samyang whilst at the tele (150mm) end, the Samyang is very slightly more tele than the Tamron.
- The Samyang has a distinct zoom creep whilst the Tamron, impressively, doesn't - but you can just activate the zoom lock on the Samyang.
- The Tamron is very slightly lighter but the difference isn't significant in the hand.
- The Samyang has a very slightly longer lens hood so theoretically it is better shaded from stray light, but again I can't say I have noticed any actual IQ difference. At least the longer hood makes the Samyang easier to hold.
Obviously, the Samyang is cheaper, again not by a huge amount but for me it was enough to tilt the balance towards selling the Tamron and getting the Samyang (because I was able to buy an additional cheapo prime lens for the price difference). For me personally as a replacement for a 70-200 or 70-180, having the extra few real world mm on the telephoto end on the Samyang is also welcome.
p.1 #4 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
ryanli wrote:
I have owned both and have watched just about every YouTube comparison out there; I'd say this is a representative comparison: ?si=jxqVU9Jef6rgdlGQ
From my experience corroborated by the reviews, there is really very little between the two lenses whether in terms of optics or ergonomics, and you couldn't go wrong with either one.
- IQ-wise overall, they are neck-and-neck because the Tamron is a hair better in some areas and Samyang in others.
- Samyang appears to have slightly worse vignetting throughout but this is probably one of the most easily correctable flaws in post.
- Tamron has a slightly warmer tone whilst the Samyang is more tinted towards the purple side, again both easily neutralised in post.
- Samyang is practically parfocal; the Tamron isn't
- There are very slight FL differences. According to the ProAV comparison clip, the Tamron is very slightly wider at 35mm than the Samyang whilst at the tele (150mm) end, the Samyang is very slightly more tele than the Tamron.
- The Samyang has a distinct zoom creep whilst the Tamron, impressively, doesn't - but you can just activate the zoom lock on the Samyang.
- The Tamron is very slightly lighter but the difference isn't significant in the hand.
- The Samyang has a very slightly longer lens hood so theoretically it is better shaded from stray light, but again I can't say I have noticed any actual IQ difference. At least the longer hood makes the Samyang easier to hold.
Obviously, the Samyang is cheaper, again not by a huge amount but for me it was enough to tilt the balance towards selling the Tamron and getting the Samyang (because I was able to buy an additional cheapo prime lens for the price difference). For me personally as a replacement for a 70-200 or 70-180, having the extra few real world mm on the telephoto end on the Samyang is also welcome....Show more →
No difference in AF?
That's surprising, I've used other SY lens with the same AF motor -> SY85/1.4 AF II and I'd say it's a bit more crude than Tamron's linear motors... This is especially visible in video IMHO (but that's just my opinion of course, both are workable for stills ).
When it comes to value, SY is unbeatable, at least EU, I think at some point in time you could get SY for less than half of Tamron's price .
p.1 #5 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
j4nu wrote:
No difference in AF?
That's surprising, I've used other SY lens with the same AF motor -> SY85/1.4 AF II and I'd say it's a bit more crude than Tamron's linear motors... This is especially visible in video IMHO (but that's just my opinion of course, both are workable for stills ).
When it comes to value, SY is unbeatable, at least EU, I think at some point in time you could get SY for less than half of Tamron's price .
I too have used the SY 85/1.4 (first gen!) and know the feeling, but for whatever reason its performance doesn't translate directly to that of the 35-150. I've not noticed any difference AF-wise between the Tamron and Samyang 35-150 - and I have fast-moving young children - and having just refreshed myself with a few YouTube comparisons I've not seen any reports of any significant difference between the two in terms of AF speed or accuracy. There may have been complaints with v1 firmware for the Samyang but IIRC this was fixed very quickly by Samyang; unless you were an early adopter of the lens and don't have the Samyang dock in hand this wouldn't be a problem for any new buyers of the Samyang.
Here is another decent and relatively recent YouTube comparison (Chinese; you can turn on auto-translate subtitles) with a more extensive comparison on AF: ?si=uKS6cAnVepRSx9Q8
p.1 #6 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I have the Tamron and did a lot of research before buying. I think it will have better quality control and build plus 5 year warranty. Tamron also has a usb-c port and you can customise the focus hold button to operate in various ways (I think you also be able to do this on the Samyang but you will need the dock)
p.1 #7 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
ryanli wrote:
I too have used the SY 85/1.4 (first gen!) and know the feeling, but for whatever reason its performance doesn't translate directly to that of the 35-150. I've not noticed any difference AF-wise between the Tamron and Samyang 35-150 - and I have fast-moving young children - and having just refreshed myself with a few YouTube comparisons I've not seen any reports of any significant difference between the two in terms of AF speed or accuracy. There may have been complaints with v1 firmware for the Samyang but IIRC this was fixed very quickly by Samyang; unless you were an early adopter of the lens and don't have the Samyang dock in hand this wouldn't be a problem for any new buyers of the Samyang.
Here is another decent and relatively recent YouTube comparison (Chinese; you can turn on auto-translate subtitles) with a more extensive comparison on AF: ?si=uKS6cAnVepRSx9Q8 ...Show more →
Ah, ok - I had the same video AF issues () with 85/1.4 AF II so I thought it's related to the stepper motor used.
That's good to hear their AF is equally fast, as the Tarmon is as fast (if not faster) than my fastest GMs ...
That was definitely not the case with 85 AF II (which uses a different kind of AF motor than version I).
Considering that, I think I'd buy the Samyang today, because it can be had so much cheaper...
p.1 #8 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I know you’re comparing different lenses, but I wanted to share my experience with the Tamron 35-150mm, which I used with my Sony A9.
At the time, I was also considering Sony’s 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II, so I was cross-shopping between the two. I was really impressed with the Tamron, from its build quality to the image quality it delivers. Ultimately, I ended up choosing the Sony GM because of the compactness of the overall package, and I’ve been loving the images it produces.
I realize this isn’t the exact lens being compared in the original post, but I hope this adds some perspective
p.1 #9 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I use the Tamron for my event work and love it. If it was 24-150 it woul be the only lens I would need. I carry a second camera with the Tamron 17-28 f2.8 for wide shots.
p.1 #11 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I don't have any idea how the two lenses compare to one an other, but I do own the Samyang.
First thing, the lens creeps ... all the time. If it were slightly titled up on a tripod, I don't think
it would stay at the same mm for long, without holding it place.
But I mostly use it handheld. If it had a tripod collar on it, it would be far easier to carry around.
It doesn't, so I put a handle on the camera cage for carrying it.
I have an album of very processed photos if you care to look at them.
p.1 #12 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
So the tracking AF on your Samyang works well for sports?
davev wrote:
I don't have any idea how the two lenses compare to one an other, but I do own the Samyang.
First thing, the lens creeps ... all the time. If it were slightly titled up on a tripod, I don't think
it would stay at the same mm for long, without holding it place.
But I mostly use it handheld. If it had a tripod collar on it, it would be far easier to carry around.
It doesn't, so I put a handle on the camera cage for carrying it.
I have an album of very processed photos if you care to look at them.
p.1 #13 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
Jimi3 wrote:
So the tracking AF on your Samyang works well for sports?
The only 'sport' that I photographed was this pond hockey tournament. Let's just say it wasn't all that challenging.
I bought the lens to use at the two car shows that I go to every year.
Honestly, for that, 35mm isn't wide enough, and a 24-70 f2.8 (or faster) would have been the better choice.
p.1 #14 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I just got the Samyang... so far I like it! It doesn't focus as fast as Sony or Tamron lenses I have, but it's still pretty good, I think quite sufficient for weddings or events which is my intended use for it.
Btw, bought direct from Samyang, $1000 for lens, dock & tripod mount.
Here are some test shots
p.1 #15 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
I had them both and the Tamron performed for me much better than the Samyang. First the Samyang was advertised as par-focal which it really wasn't tbh. I also felt the autofocus on the tamron hit faster/more accurate. I did a test where my son would run at me and I would try to shoot pictures while racking back. Tamron 9 out of 10 pictures were in focus with my A1. Samyang.. maybe 3-4 if lucky. The battery seemed to drain faster on the Samyang as well. One of the biggest annoyances was the lens creep. Lastly back then the Samyang was 1399 for me and I went on greentoe and got the Tamron for a few $300 less than what they were going for retail. I'll say around I think Christmas or thanksgiving the samyang was going for like $1,000 or $1,100 and even with my "issues" that would of been a difficult price to look away from.
<- I got two separate lenses from them.. both had bad creep.
<- parfocal test
Edit
Also yes.. the video posted about the video autofocus.. that also is very true on the samyang.
p.1 #17 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
Love my Tamron, even tho it has a few annoyances.
Back-lit photos are often significantly hazier for me than other lenses I own.
Sports shooting - the lens hates being zoomed and focusing simultaneously. It also struggle a little with subjects approaching you quickly (dogs running towards you for example).
Otherwise it's quite a pleasant lens. I'm not sure what I would replace it with at the moment. I do wish you could lock it into 50, 85, 105, 135, and 150mm or something. Would be useful for studio sessions.
p.1 #18 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
BigBabyMoses06 wrote:
Sports shooting - the lens hates being zoomed and focusing simultaneously. It also struggle a little with subjects approaching you quickly (dogs running towards you for example).
Having just gotten this lens and updating to firmware 5, it mentioned this being the reason behind the update. Out of curiosity, is yours updated and is this something I'll still have to deal with?
p.1 #19 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
ajmiller32 wrote:
Having just gotten this lens and updating to firmware 5, it mentioned this being the reason behind the update. Out of curiosity, is yours updated and is this something I'll still have to deal with?
Yep, I'm updated. I didn't notice any real improvement in focusing. It specifically struggles with zooming while focusing, which is what the update notes mentioned are improved. I think does a really bad job at that lol.
The focus speed is quite fast however, and I'm sure I could play around more with my tracking settings, but I've not had great success tracking action and oncoming subjects with it. My 135 1.8 G struggled a bit as well, I suspect some of it is user error, but I used it for basketball over the winter and the hit rate was bad when zooming. Here is the dog in question from this past weekend. Very nice at 150mm.
Also, I know wedding photogs love this lens too, but I had a rough time with washing out at a very simple semi-backlit group photo. I will probably not use the lens for those settings again, other than studio / indoor team photo shoots with OCF. Had the sun 45 degrees behind the group, and it was still fairly high in the sky, 6pm middle of summer, and I was totally caught off guard at how bad it washed out.
p.1 #20 · Samyang or Tamron 35-150mm: who has the better performance?
Thanks for the notes! I was playing around with the idea of this being a "consolidation" of sorts, but it may just be an option for car shows and car shoots instead of my usual 35 & 135... and obviously, pets.
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