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Eric boyan
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Registered: Feb 9, 2023
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 9, 2023
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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great image quality, budget friendly, lightweight
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Cons:
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slow, inaccurate autofocus
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I have the new RF version of this lens and it is a great lens for its value. autofocus can lag compared to the canon L lenses and build quality is a bit cheaper as well, but for the money, it punches way beyond its weight class.
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 Feb 9, 2023
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ivyinvestorMA
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Registered: May 12, 2019
Location: United States
Posts: 63
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Review Date: May 21, 2019
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $229.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Bokeh; color; contrast; sharp at f/1.4; build; value
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Cons:
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At this price point: none
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(I use this on a 6D, though occasional on an 80.)
Tremendous bokeh and great color.
My perfectly centered copy is very sharp wide open and silly sharp above f/2. I shoot it almost *always* wide open, unless I’m using it for landscape shooting.
Color and contrast are great - I rarely tweak.
The bokeh is unexpectedly good - creamy and balanced, with little coarseness, even when disturbed by highlights.
The build is fabulous for a plastic body (metal mount).
Eminently useful in many situations, this is an even better value than the fisheye, which is a similar cost and very high quality.
Manual focus and aperture selection are not pros or cons to me (I love shooting like that), so they didn’t affect my rating characterization.
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May 21, 2019
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jmraso
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Registered: May 25, 2004
Location: Spain
Posts: 3922
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Review Date: Apr 18, 2016
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Sharpness, image quality, construction.
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Cons:
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A little large for Fuji cameras.
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I had the VDSLR version which was great but sold it as I wanted the aperture clicked version not to change it accidentally, which happened very easily.
Very happy again.
Manual focuss, up to walking people, is not a problem with a mirrorless, once you get the hand of it, it is faster than the Canon 85 1.2
The bokeh and IQ is superior fo the Canon 135 I had.
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Apr 18, 2016
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caed
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Registered: Dec 15, 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 94
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Review Date: Dec 5, 2015
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $200.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Price, image quality, sharpness, bokeh, build quality, color rendition.
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Cons:
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Manual focusing takes a little practice to get used to. But if you nail the focus, the image would be ridiculously awesome.
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I have tried this and the Canon 85mm 1.8, and both is awesome. This lens however, with its hefty price tag, is an excellent bang for the buck (I'd say even better).
I've had both Rokinon and Samyang and they are exactly the same. Its weight and size feels nice in hand, that large front and rear element is eyegasmic, the barrel and mount are made of metal. Focusing ring is buttery smooth and gives quite a long throw to help you focus carefully. It has a clicking aperture ring also which I like better than the Cine de-clicked version.
I like to use this lens wide open. I shot portrait with it and brought along the 70-200 2.8L vI with me. Although both are excellent for portraits, the shallower DOF the Samyang produced really made me favor this lens over the zoom. And it is pretty sharp at 1.4 that suits my liking, but it's even sharper at 2.8. At that similar aperture as the 70-200, I think I wouldn't prefer one over the other.
There's quite a lot of these jewels on the used market going for around $200. If you wanna step up your portrait game unconventionally (rather than getting a 50mm 1.8), this will be THE secret weapon in your camera bag.
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Dec 5, 2015
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NuclearRoy
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Registered: Oct 5, 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 346
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Review Date: May 5, 2015
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $290.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, cheap, smooth focus ring
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Cons:
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No AF
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After reading all the info I could find on how the Nikon f/1.8 and f/1.4 (both D and G versions) stacked up against the Samyung, I finally decided to take a chance on this <300 dollar lens.
It is well worth the money.
It is not razor sharp, but certainly usable, at 1.4 and only improves somewhat at 1.8. (But neither is the Nikon 1.8G, at 1.8 IMHO). I would say the Samyung is essentially even with the Nikon 1.8G at 1.8. It IS RAZOR SHARP at 2.8. No kidding, razor, tack, whatever adjective you want to use. I am quite impressed.
I didn't bother testing it at apertures greater than 2.8, because that it not what I bought it for, nor what I believe it was intended to be used for.
It could be a little more contrasty.
It is manual focus. I must admit that it is harder to focus on a Nikon DX than I remember lenses being on my 70's vintage SLR, even with the KatzEye screen in the DSLR (I am 35 years older now, which may have something to do with it). If you don't have the alternate focus screen, I believe you will be forced to use LiveView or rely on the confirmation dot.
Speaking of the focus confirm dot. Simply having the dot 'on' is not accurate enough for DOF at 1.4. I did use the Focus Fine Tune to move exact focus to just when the right arrow goes out and the dot comes on. That seems to be working pretty well.
The lens feels good in your hand. Smooth action on the focus ring. Very long throw on the ring, a must for accurate focusing. (For those who never used a manual focus lens, it is definitely not the same as using manual focus override on an autofocus lens.)
Older reviews bashed the hood a lot. Samyung must have made a change because, if anything, the hood on mine is difficult to remove. It certainly isn't going to fall off.
Summary: If you are looking for a f/1.4 lens this one is worth a good, long look. Remember what it was built to do, take portraits and make cream. You are not going to get f/1.4 pics of your kids running and jumping with the dog in the back yard (unless you are really, really, REALLY good at focusing).
For reference purposes - I started photography in the mid 70's with a fully manual Yashica FR. I'm a Nikon snob and a pixel peeper. So weight the review accordingly 
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May 5, 2015
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titi_67207
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Registered: May 14, 2008
Location: France
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Apr 17, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $200.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Good sharpness at f/1.4, smooth bokeh, relatively light and compact, well built, accurate and well damped focus ring, ridiculous low priced in 2nd hand!
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Cons:
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Of course it's a full manual lens (but people don't complain with Zeiss lenses...). Minimum focus distance a bit too long (1m).
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After having a Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 (Contax mount adapted), then shortly a Canon 100mm f/2, now my ultra-wide aperture portraits lens is this underrated - but very good - Samyang 85mm.
This Samyang solves the main lacks of the 2 other lenses: sharp enough at f/1.4 (better than the Zeiss which has "halo" and more chromatic aberrations) and a very buttery bokeh (the Canon 100mm was correct on this point, but nothing magical). I find the colors vivid, with good contrast, even wide open.
Of course focus could be difficult so prepare to use live-view magnification or high precision matte viewfinder, like ee-s for 5D series.
This lens complements well a fast autofocus tele, like a 70-200 f/4, when you need low-light/magic bokeh take this 85mm!
Try to find one 2nd hand of this jewel and you will have a fantastic tool for portraits, especially on full-frame cameras. And its compactness & light weight is a bonus.
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Apr 17, 2014
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BlueBomberTurbo
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Registered: Jan 18, 2010
Location: United States
Posts: 1035
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Review Date: Jan 10, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $190.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, cheap, sharp, compact, sharp, well built, sharp.
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Cons:
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Manual focus.
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I had been looking for a fast 85mm for a while now, and the Samyang/Bower/Pro Optic/Bell & Howell/etc. 85mm F/1.4 caught my eye with its low price and positive reviews around the web. Figured "at worst, I can return it", so I picked one up when the price was right.
Wow.
That basically describes this lens. Something this cheap and fast should NOT be this sharp. Even wide open, despite lacking contrast (correctable in post), this lens is extremely sharp, even on my Nikon D7100. Stop it down, and look out! It gets razor sharp in the center by just F/2.8. The corners catch up at F/8 for landscape use, but aren't bad at all even wide open.
And then there's the bokeh. O lord, the bokeh! Sooo smooth and creamy wide open! Everything just melts away behind the subject.
As far as the build quality, most of the lens is surprisingly metal, with a well dampened focusing ring and positive aperture clicks. The lens by itself is roughly the size of a Nikon 35mm F/1.8G AF-S prime without the hood. Quite compact while being loaded with glass. The only letdown (of the entire lens, really), is the hood, which doesn't snap into place very securely. Haven't had an issue with knocking it off yet, but it's a possibility.
I mainly use the lens on my Sony NEX-6 with a Metabones Speed Booster, where it behaves very well. Focus zoom and peaking make manual focus a breeze, and the shallow DOF from the full frame appearance is just jaw dropping. On my D7100, the focus confirmation light works, as does metering via the aperture ring. The image is sharp even on the 24MP sensor without an anti-aliasing filter!
In the end, if manual focus doesn't scare you away, this should be your next lens, no matter what else may be next in line on your list. The absurdly low price, combined with the buttery bokeh and high sharpness wide open, make this lens a no brainer.
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Jan 10, 2014
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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7
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21809
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Feb 9, 2023
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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100% of reviewers
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$284.83
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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8.17
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10.00
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9.2
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;)
