New Samyang 35mm F2.8 - Sony FE - thoughts?

Sony 35mm vs Samyang 35mm

  • Sony Zeiss 35mm 2.8 - Grey import at £439

    Votes: 1 50.0%

  • Samyang 35mm 2.8 - UK retailer sold for £275

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • Total voters
    2
  • Poll closed .
TGphoto

TGphoto

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Tom
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Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has bought one of these and your initial thoughts on it? And any comparison against the Sony version if you may have had both.

Reviews seem decent so far but real testing is lacking slightly IMO.

In two minds as to whether to pay the £275 for this or fork out an addition £200 for the Sony Zeiss 35mm f2.8 (If you are wanting to sell the Sony version please see my classifieds wanted ad).

It would be my only AF for my Sony A7 once the kit lens is sold (not a fan of zooms unless they are really something special), so I want it to be a decent one. My other lenses are an Oly OM 21mm 3.5 and an Oly OM 100mm 2.8.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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I'm pretty sure I read that with the Samyang you don't get full time manual focus whereas you do with the Sony, that'd decide it for me and even though the Sony is more expensive I'd pay for that one feature alone.
 
woof woof said:
I'm pretty sure I read that with the Samyang you don't get full time manual focus whereas you do with the Sony, that'd decide it for me and even though the Sony is more expensive I'd pay for that one feature alone.
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I'm not sure FTM on a modern AF lens is that beneficial though when they're focus by wire. Also, if you use DMF, does that not give you manual override anyway?

I'm quite interested in the Samyang myself so will wait to see some feedback. The reviews I've read are pretty favourable.
 
I could be wrong but I'm sure I read that with the Samyang you have to switch to MF to MF. This is worth checking just to be sure.

With lenses that do allow full time manual focus when focus locks onto the wrong thing such as when photographing through glass or foliage or a crowd or other complex scene... you get the idea... as long as the lens has focused on something it's possible to then focus manually on the thing you want to focus on. Personally I find this a great benefit and if there's a choice between have FTMF and not I'll have it if the cost is reasonable :D

In fact when I want to MF sometimes I just MF on the completely wrong thing and then adjust as required just to save the faff of switching to manual :D
 
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woof woof said:
I could be wrong but I'm sure I read that with the Samyang you have to switch to MF to MF. This is worth checking just to be sure.

With lenses that do allow full time manual focus when focus locks onto the wrong thing such as when photographing through glass or foliage or a crowd or other complex scene... you get the idea... as long as the lens has focused on something it's possible to then focus manually on the thing you want to focus on. Personally I find this a great benefit and if there's a choice between have FTMF and not I'll have it if the cost is reasonable :D

In fact when I want to MF sometimes I just MF on the completely wrong thing and then adjust as required just to save the faff of switching to manual :D
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Have you tried using the AF/MF/EL switch on the back of your A7? If you have that switched to the top position you can just hold the button in with your thumb to switch to MF.
 
I don't have any lenses that don't allow FTMF now but back in my DSLR days I did and I found them a PITA. My point is that FTMF is easier for me and it matters to me. If the OP finds it easier too then he'll have to decide if it's worth the money, for me it would be.

BTW. I have my A7 set so that a push of the button switches between AF and MF but sometimes focusing on the wrong thing and then manually focusing on the right thing may be preferable to switching to MF and back again. Maybe. YMMV and all that.
 
Hmmm yeah not sure that bothers me too much. The only negatives I've seen for the Samyang are that it isn't dust resistant, apparently mor chromatic aberration than the Sony (
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/samyang_af_35mm_f2_8_fe_review/conclusion/)
And is slower/louder AF.

My main thing is that this will be my only AF lens and I want to take it traveling so want it to be as good as it gets!
 
The Samyang although it is AF, wouldn't do eye-AF tracking, which is a major benefit when photographing people. If that's not a problem, then why not get it. You can always trade up later if you find yourself needing eye-AF.
 
Tom Green said:
My main thing is that this will be my only AF lens and I want to take it traveling so want it to be as good as it gets!
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Then go for the Sony. Its better built, you will have some amount of sealing, quite & fast AF (its one of the fastest to AF on e-mount). Plus you have full native AF benefits like eye-AF and firmware updates.
 
woof woof said:
I don't have any lenses that don't allow FTMF now but back in my DSLR days I did and I found them a PITA. My point is that FTMF is easier for me and it matters to me. If the OP finds it easier too then he'll have to decide if it's worth the money, for me it would be.

BTW. I have my A7 set so that a push of the button switches between AF and MF but sometimes focusing on the wrong thing and then manually focusing on the right thing may be preferable to switching to MF and back again. Maybe. YMMV and all that.
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I'm not having a go Alan, just suggesting a way that you can have a similar option to FTM by simply holding down the AF/MF button then focusing manually. You can then AF and if you're not happy, adjust. The button on the back doesn't switch modes, it just activates MF while you have it pressed.
 
Tom Green said:
Hmmm yeah not sure that bothers me too much. The only negatives I've seen for the Samyang are that it isn't dust resistant, apparently mor chromatic aberration than the Sony (
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/samyang_af_35mm_f2_8_fe_review/conclusion/)
And is slower/louder AF.

My main thing is that this will be my only AF lens and I want to take it traveling so want it to be as good as it gets!
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The most important factor from those is the possibly slower and noisier AF. The A7 isn't weather sealed anyway so dust getting in through the lens mount won't be the only place and CA is easily fixed in post (most lenses will display it, some just more than others) and generally only in really high contrast scenes like a branch against the sky etc.

I'd expect the Zeiss/Sony lens to be better but it's also more than twice the price so that would be my biggest decision factor.
 
A7 has some amount of sealing albeit a basic one - "This camera is designed for optimal dust and moisture resistance, but is not waterproof or splashproof".
 
stevelmx5 said:
I'm not having a go Alan, just suggesting a way that you can have a similar option to FTM by simply holding down the AF/MF button then focusing manually. You can then AF and if you're not happy, adjust. The button on the back doesn't switch modes, it just activates MF while you have it pressed.
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I never thought you were :D

The way I have my A7 set up is that I normally have the rear AEL / AF/MF switch set to AEL and pressing the button locks/unlocks the exposure and I can flick the switch and press the button to switch from AF to MF and back again. I don't have to hold that button down as once the switch is set and the button is pressed AF or MF stays selected until I press the button again and toggle back and forth.

Using full time manual focus is another option and one that I may prefer from time to time to tweak the focus in the circumstances I described above and it also conveniently calls up the magnified view. That's all :D And personally for me FTMF may well be faster and/or more convenient than switching from AF to MF and back again.
 
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woof woof said:
I never thought you were :D

The way I have my A7 set up is that I normally have the rear AEL / AF/MF switch set to AEL and pressing the button locks/unlocks the exposure and I can flick the switch and press the button to switch from AF to MF and back again. I don't have to hold that button down as once the switch is set and the button is pressed AF or MF stays selected until I press the button again and toggle back and forth.

Using full time manual focus is another option and one that I may prefer from time to time to tweak the focus in the circumstances I described above and it also conveniently calls up the magnified view. That's all :D And personally for me FTMF may well be faster and/or more convenient than switching from AF to MF and back again.
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Sounds like a good plan and I agree about the magnified view coming up being useful. I was shooting with my FE50/1.8 earlier and was mainly using AF-C but a couple of times I had to pick out a face in the crowd so being able to just hold down the AF/MF button and then manually focus was a bonus. As soon as I let go of the button it goes back to AF again so is almost as seamless as FTMF :0)
 
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