That´s the question. I currently have the af-d version of the 85 f1.4 nikon, but I never use it for action shots, because I don´t find it´s AF very accurate. I´ve been using it in MF lately, and I think I can live with it, so I´m going to sell it to fund a new 70-200 2.8
The thing is: to replace my current af-d, will you buy a nikon Ai-s or a Samyang. I find the Samyang for ~250 and the nikon for ~450. Is it worth the difference?
Samyang. It is cheaper and is arguably a better lens:
One reviewer's conclusion" "Technically, the Samyang is better. Contrast is higher, it is sharper
and vignetting is better controlled..."
And you can find many more like it, such as "Good news to start with: the image at maximum aperture is fully usable ... This result surpasses both the Nikkor and the Zeiss, whose images at maximum aperture were very ‘soft’."
I own the Rokinon version (same lens) and I wouldn't trade it for another 85mm lens for even 4x the price.
cogitech wrote:
Samyang. It is cheaper and is arguably a better lens:
One reviewer's conclusion" "Technically, the Samyang is better. Contrast is higher, it is sharper
and vignetting is better controlled..."
And you can find many more like it, such as "Good news to start with: the image at maximum aperture is fully usable ... This result surpasses both the Nikkor and the Zeiss, whose images at maximum aperture were very ‘soft’."
I own the Rokinon version (same lens) and I wouldn't trade it for another 85mm lens for even 4x the price.
I didn´t know it was that good. I thought it is not up to nikon or canon AF primes, but it seems that samyang it´s up to the task. I think I´ll try it.
It really is "that" good, I never use it at any apertures smaller than f/2.8, and it satisfies the Sony A850's 25 megapixel sensor
The bokeh is super smooth at f/1.4, and I could never imagine anyone ever calling it very 'soft' like cogitech called the Nikon and Zeiss
The lens is surprisingly sharp wide open. I have not compared it directly to other fast 85's like many here but overall the contrast is a little soft/ flat (not sharpness but contrast) and the color slightly muted compared to my other lenses. Not necessarily a negative thing, just an observation.
spada wrote:
It really is "that" good, I never use it at any apertures smaller than f/2.8, and it satisfies the Sony A850's 25 megapixel sensor
The bokeh is super smooth at f/1.4, and I could never imagine anyone ever calling it very 'soft' like cogitech called the Nikon and Zeiss
I didn't say anything about the Nikon and Zeiss. However, I did quote someone else saying something about the Nikon and Zeiss, and I believe it to be true from the samples I have seen.
I have the Rokinon version of the Samy 85/1.4, 85L mk2, and contax N 85/1.4.
The Rokinon/Samy 85/1.4 like Paul mentions, competes very well wide-open.
There have been comparisons posted here showing the Rokinon/Samy 85 slightly sharper at 1.4 than the 85L which my own comparisons have shown too. It has a super-smooth type of bokeh which is different from my other two 85's. The Rokinon/Samy 85 is optimized more for wide-open shooting and doesn't improve in sharpness as much as other 85's when stopping down.
It is an incredible value for the IQ, especially considering how it does against my other two 85's which cost 3 to 4 times more than it. I shoot more with the N 85/1.4 because of the nice Zeiss colors,contrast and its smooth bokeh and excellent sharpness too along with excellent AF or MF capabilities.
If you shoot wide-open or f2 alot, then the Rokinon/Samy 85 is worth getting. I like the Rokinon/Samy 85's colors better than 85L, especially how it renders blues.
Yeah. I'll probably get heat for this, but if it had robust metal construction and said Leica on the box, few people would blink. I see more complaints about it being too smooth and lacking character than too soft. I do think of it as pretty low contrast.
Unless you're going to really beat the lens up I'd go with the Korean lens for sure.
The Samyang 85 is truly a fantastic performer! My only complaints are the plastic hood and the long MFD. It has a tendency to produce veiling flare in backlit situations when used without a hood, but I don't really mind.
Here's an extreme example(completely unprocessed except for resize)
I think I'll feel a tremendous amount of guilt if I get the Zeiss 85 Planar before giving the Rokinon a try. $250! God! And RZetter's shots have got my attention.
