I am just curious to know if there is any enhancement in the latest UMC version compared to the previous version? sharpness, color, contrast? Is the latest UMC only in Nikon mount?
Great thread! Thanks AhamB for pointing it out to me.
I recently acquired a Samyang (branded "Bell + Howell") 85/1.4. Terrific lens, especially for the price of $260.
Here are some shots of the lens mounted on 1Ds2, comparing it in size to the Canon 24-70L on a 1D2. The lens shade is a screw-in with cap, bought aftermarket on eBay from www.heavystar.com, which has Chinese products, but shipped rapidly from within the USA. I've used these metal hood/cap combos for several of my C/Y Zeiss lenses with great results.
Here are a few photos with the lens at wide open or f/2.8. I'm expecting some extention tubes to see how the lens does with more magnification. So far, this is one of the sharpest lenses at infinty that I've ever used (zeroed with LV on a 60D, not shown). Except for some minor CA fringing, the lens is much better than I expected.
can anyone comment on the 85/1.4 minimum focus distance. I wonder if my copy has an issue. spec seems to be ~1m (3.3 feet), but I find that mine seems closer to 1.5m or more.
if it matters, it's the rokinon branded w/canon mount. used on 5D.
gpop -- I would think the infinity focus would be more of a concern -- is that accurate? You can always buy extention tubes to get closer focus, but if infinity is off, you might have to have the lens worked on.
I haven't measured mine, but MFD seems about right.
Gpop,
does it focus past infinity? If it does perhaps it could be aligned and you should have better mfd.
Are you otherwise satisfied with its sharpness and the rest?
Some 1D2 shots from today. Mostly at f/4, ISO 100. No LR3 correction for CA (except "all edges"), color, or distortion -- only sharpening, contrast, and exposure (and vibrance at 15).
I'm impressed with the low CA and low distortion and neutral color balance.
My first shots with this lens - not perfect at 1.4, but sharp in the 1" zone that is in focus at the short range I shot this from, and buttery everywhere else
All, I have a silly question. I'm thinking of buying this lens as a middle lens instead of the 85/1.8 but I don't have a working understanding of how the manual aperture works.
Do you just put the camera in M mode and set it on the lens or??
@hooligan: You can also use Av mode. You set the aperture on the lens and the camera simply chooses the shutter speed based on the metering. Usually some "chimping" (shoot, check histogram, adjust EC and reshoot if necessary) is needed to get an accurate exposure though, because the metering isn't really reliable when the lens is stopped down.
h00ligan wrote:
All, I have a silly question. I'm thinking of buying this lens as a middle lens instead of the 85/1.8 but I don't have a working understanding of how the manual aperture works.
Do you just put the camera in M mode and set it on the lens or??
Sorry New to manual class on dslr.
leave the camera in aperture priority if you want it to meter for you and just turn the ring on the lens to set the aperture instead of using the camera dial (i'm assuming your shooting canon?).
h00ligan wrote:
All, I have a silly question. I'm thinking of buying this lens as a middle lens instead of the 85/1.8 but I don't have a working understanding of how the manual aperture works.
Do you just put the camera in M mode and set it on the lens or??
Sorry New to manual class on dslr.
depends on your body.
My Nikon D40 and D90 are too dumb to meter with any non-CPU lens, so with this lens I'd have to shoot completely manual, no meter, use the histogram to adjust exposure.
With the D7000, I can meter like any other lens, setting aperture manually at the lens like in the good old days, leaving the meter in aperture priority mode. The D7000 also lets me program custom lenses, so it knows the focal range and f-stop automatically once I select the custom lens. It is pretty much just as easy as shooting on my F3 with manual lenses, just that the D7000 has focus assist as well, helping me get this lens right on the mark, which at f1.4 is a big help with the cheesy DX viewfinders these days.
There is no af confirm on canon bodies right? Not the end of the world, just want to be clear!
This is interesting to me because of a three prime setup it's the fl least necessary to have af. The 35L and 135L filled in where af is needed....with 24-105 as a travel lens...so I'd like to try this probably to round out and test how things go with a focus screen (24-105 is only used in good light pretty much)
The performance bang for the buck looks really high..there are some great photos in this thread! Maybe I can dip a toe in and e if mf only works ok for me.
There is no af confirm on canon bodies right? Not the end of the world, just want to be clear!
I googled a little to find out about this. All I found was that there are issues on some Canon bodies to even recognize the lens being mounted if using video mode. Also, it appears a lot of Canons don't meter correctly unless you manually stop down the lens with the DOF preview button.
you may want to check this Canon thread - too long for me to wade through and read every comment about "dark bokeh"
i have. image quality is great, but it's a bit large and unwieldy on the NEX. i use it more for portraits as well, which means i want to hold higher than waste level, so mostly i use it on my slr and take the OM 85/2 instead when i'm only bringing the NEX (the samyang is pretty much better than the OM in every respect except color).
pburke wrote:
you may want to check this Canon thread - too long for me to wade through and read every comment about "dark bokeh"
