Samyang 85mm f/1.4

sammyd56 said:
It's cheaper, and sharper at large apertures. But please yourself ;) As for the stopped-down sharpness (which I've yet to test) who buys a f1.4 lens to stop it down? :thinking:

Must say I'm somewhat surprised by the negative reaction :shrug:
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I don't shoot everything wide open

I like to have AF

at print size I doubt anyone would notice the difference

If the samyang was £100-120 I'd buy it but not for a small saving over a full automatic canon lens for what a 1/3 of a stop. I'd never buy a canon 50mm f1.2 when the sigma f1.4 is just as sharp for less than 1/2 the price.
 
Well I think it looks bloody good for the money and as the Pentax version will auto meter and do the aperture as well I think I am going to start looking for the Vivitar version (because I'm a brand snob as well:LOL:).

The nearest Pentax is the 77mm f1.8 ltd which is a cracking lens but 3 times the price .. not worth the extra to me just for AF.
 
better deal on the pentax I agree, samyang looks nicer than the vivitar IMHO lol


Mike.P said:
Well I think it looks bloody good for the money and as the Pentax version will auto meter and do the aperture as well I think I am going to start looking for the Vivitar version (because I'm a brand snob as well:LOL:).

The nearest Pentax is the 77mm f1.8 ltd which is a cracking lens but 3 times the price .. not worth the extra to me just for AF.
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jim-im tempted by that lens but in the last month Ive been using auto focus and im saddened to say im not sure about going back a manual lens with such a thin depth of field wide open trying to shoot candid stuff :(
 
fontmoss said:
. . . im not sure about going back a manual lens with such a thin depth of field wide open trying to shoot candid stuff :(
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Well, you've got an AF assist LED on the S5, but does using it kill the candid aspect? Without AF assist I find it quicker sometimes to switch to manual; other times I have to aknowledge it's too dark.
 
I dont use the led normally and the AF is pretty accurate, i guess with practice I could get a handle on it but my success rate has been so much better since using AF
 
A bit cheaper than a 2nd-hand Nikkor f/1.8 85mm is the old Tamron f/2.8 28-105mm.

It's AF; designed for full frame (film); has 85mm marked on the distance scale; and has nine aperture blades . . . plus the range.

Downsides include the inevitable compromises due to it being a zoom with such a range for a fast lens; it's not as fast as the fastest primes; it's blooming big and heavy.
 
Aye, a rare beast in other than CaNikon mounts.

I've got the much smaller Adaptall-2 f/2.8 35-105mm (there's a rare AF version, too, which was voted European Lens of the Year). A disadvantage (to me) is the push-pull zoom design.
 
I have to say that I'm a little confused as to why people are comparing the lens to say an EF 85mm F1.8.
As it's manual focus, surely the more appropriate lens would be (in the Canon range) an FD lens? Obviously if you're talking about Nikon, Minolta or Olympus, then they'll have their equivalent.
Any idea how much a s/h non-AF 85mm lens is?
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
I have to say that I'm a little confused as to why people are comparing the lens to say an EF 85mm F1.8.
As it's manual focus, surely the more appropriate lens would be (in the Canon range) an FD lens? Obviously if you're talking about Nikon, Minolta or Olympus, then they'll have their equivalent.
Any idea how much a s/h non-AF 85mm lens is?
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Perhaps because for similar-ish money, you can get a new 85 1.8 which has a similar f/number but also full auto operation.

If I was after shallow DoF, that's prolly what I'd be getting. Or for shallow DoF on a budget, nifty-50.

Edit: then again, if it's shallow DoF you're chasing, just switching to full frame gives you over a stop less, relative to crop format, with all your lenses at the same f/number. Seems like a rather questionable pursuit to me, but each to their own :D
 
HoppyUK said:
Perhaps because for similar-ish money, you can get a new 85 1.8 which has a similar f/number but also full auto operation.

If I was after shallow DoF, that's prolly what I'd be getting. Or for shallow DoF on a budget, nifty-50.

Edit: then again, if it's shallow DoF you're chasing, just switching to full frame gives you over a stop less, relative to crop format, with all your lenses at the same f/number. Seems like a rather questionable pursuit to me, but each to their own :D
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I agree where you're coming from (hardly unexpected as I own an 85mm F1.8). I think that where I was coming from is that I don't see the Samyang as a direct competitor. Part of the reason for buying an 85mm F1.8 is that it DOES have very fast and effective AF.
If I was happy to go with a manual, then personally my first stop would be to look at a s/h FD series lens, which I'd expect to be substantially cheaper. What I'm not sure of is what price bracket an FD 85mm F1.4 would go for. That would seem to be a more obvious competitor.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
I agree where you're coming from (hardly unexpected as I own an 85mm F1.8). I think that where I was coming from is that I don't see the Samyang as a direct competitor. Part of the reason for buying an 85mm F1.8 is that it DOES have very fast and effective AF.
If I was happy to go with a manual, then personally my first stop would be to look at a s/h FD series lens, which I'd expect to be substantially cheaper. What I'm not sure of is what price bracket an FD 85mm F1.4 would go for. That would seem to be a more obvious competitor.
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I take your point, but maybe the bottom line is that old/cheap fast primes are thin on the ground. Not sure; haven't looked ;)
 
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