Samyang 135mm f2

[andy1868]

Apologies if this has been mentioned already but thought i would bring this to people's attention if they hadn't seen it

Seems that Samyang have released/are on the cusp of releasing a 135mm f2 for stills and a 135 2.2 for cine (i can't find a release date). Looking at some of the first samples it looks promising, especially next to the Canon 135. DPReview are saying it'll be £389 on release for the stills version which is mighty tempting given the price of Canon and Nikon versions and their reputation with other lenses

A little bit of spiel http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2502404013/samyang-launches-135mm-f-2-lens-for-stills-and-video
Samyang's site http://www.syopt.com/en/camera/photo-lenses-135mm-F2.0-ED-UMC.php
Comparison to Canon 135mm f2 http://lcap.tistory.com/entry/Samyang-135mm-f2-vs-Canon-EF-135mm-2-L

 

[Sir SR]

Not seen this.....very interesting!! I hope it spurs nikon into updTing theirs!! Or convinces sigma to make an art version!!

 

[Sir SR]

As an aside, is there any merit over the 70-200 vr2 f2.8 with a 135 f2 prime? Genuine question.

 

[-Rob-]

Or convinces sigma to make an art version!!

There have been rumours about a Sigma 135 f2 OS for quite a while. I spoke to a Sigma salesman in November and he said Sigma will be releasing 15 new ART lenses over the next 2 years and he has 95% sure there would be a 135 in there somewhere.

 

[ricky1980]

wow! the lens is sharper and more contrasty (probably due to having less elements) than the Canon EL. very impressive for that price as well.

 

[HoppyUK]

As an aside, is there any merit over the 70-200 vr2 f2.8 with a 135 f2 prime? Genuine question.

It's f/2 - that's it really, though Samyangs tend to be pretty damn sharp! They're also manual-focus only, of course.

 

[Sir SR]

It's f/2 - that's it really, though Samyangs tend to be pretty damn sharp! They're also manual-focus only, of course.

Yeah, I loved my 85 f1.4 samyang on my D90 - it was (is) sharp. I like it on the d800 too but not sure I could justify it with having the excellent 70-200 f2.8.

Also I will be upgrading my samyang 85 to an af model once SWMBO allows so my head is telling me I should stay well away!!

 

[domino1999]

It's good to see the likes of Samyang and Yongnuo releasing some cheaper alternatives to the Canikon lens line-up. It'll certainly stir the market up a bit, I'm sure.

 

[Sir SR]

It's good to see the likes of Samyang and Yongnuo releasing some cheaper alternatives to the Canikon lens line-up. It'll certainly stir the market up a bit, I'm sure.

Yeah. I bought my samyang 85 f1.4 a couple of years ago....I would never have been able to afford the af nikon/sigma at the time. I still use it now with IMHO decent results.

The MF will put some people off though.

 

[macvisual]

I'm really excited about this release ok.

I actually rang 'UKDigital' (Samyang distributors) only yesterday regards the announcement, they state it will be released for both Nikon & Canon first, then the rest will follow...

Looking forward to owning one for my Fuji X system.

 

[ukaskew]

As an aside, is there any merit over the 70-200 vr2 f2.8 with a 135 f2 prime? Genuine question.

Personally I think a 135mm prime is a great alternative. Obviously some flexibility in terms of focal length is lost, but you gain a faster lens that is also significantly smaller/lighter than 70-200 2.8 equivalents. I wouldn't go back to a 70-200 2.8 now, even shooting weddings I prefer a 35/135 combo over a 24-70/70-200 combo (although I'm actually using a 105mm at the moment).

I hope we see a resurgence in the focal length, I used the Zeiss 135mm 1.8 on a Sony a7 for a while and it was just incredible, if the Samyang can come vaguely close at that price it will be fantastic, especially on mirrorless bodies that have focus peaking etc so the lack of AF would be less of an issue than with CaNikon bodies.

 

[pingu666]

theres size/weight and cost, benefit, and the extra stop of light, but the 85mm is more compelling at 1.4, gaining 2 stop and more bokeh

Fairly sure the Zeiss 135mm either the Sony af one and the manual one is stupidly good, and you get Zeiss rendering style, which is really nice to have.

theres also the stf lens at 135mm on Sony, isn't there?

 

[ricky1980]

theres size/weight and cost, benefit, and the extra stop of light, but the 85mm is more compelling at 1.4, gaining 2 stop and more bokeh

Fairly sure the Zeiss 135mm either the Sony af one and the manual one is stupidly good, and you get Zeiss rendering style, which is really nice to have.

theres also the stf lens at 135mm on Sony, isn't there?

Bokeh is the same on a 135 f2 and 85 f1.4 wide open. and it is only 1 stop improvement not 2 stops. the benefit of f1.4 is more light and thus better suited for darkened condition which is why most people prefer 85mm as well as having a more workable focal length...85mm you can get a bit closer if needed to where 135mm you got to stand some minimum distance away...but the situations can be flipped in some scenarios.

 

[pingu666]

I was talking about 135 f2 vs 135mm 2.8 on a 70 200 or 50 150 , but yeah bokeh is probably same pretty much 85 vs 135 f2