Samyang 85 mm f/1.4 Aspherical IF review - Summary

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Samyang 85 mm f/1.4 Aspherical IF

18 May 2009

Arkadiusz Olech

11. Summary

Pros:

Usable wide open,
Very little chromatic aberration
Practically zero distortion
Indetectible coma on the APS-C/DX matrix
Vignetting on the APS-C/DX satisfactory
Very high transmission
Decent quality of workmanship
Good price-quality ratio

Cons:

After stopping down performs considerably worse than competing brands
Performance against bright light could be better
‘Soft’ corners at full frame

I can honestly say I am pleasantly surprised at the performance of the Samyang. If it cost 500 or 1000 $, I might have a few reasons to complain. At 299 $ I won’t say a word. It presents a very reasonable offer for less affluent portrait photographers. In such circumstances we can be understanding of the few inevitable discrepancies.

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Sample shots:


Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/1.4, exp. 1/1600 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.2 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/1.4, exp. 1/1000 sek., ISO 200 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.3 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/1.4, exp. 1/1600 sek., ISO 200 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.1 MB

Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/1.4, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 400 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 8.0 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/800 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.4 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/500 sek., ISO 200 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.2 MB

Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/800 sek., ISO 200 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.1 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 800 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 9.5 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/400 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.5 MB

Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 800 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 9.2 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 800 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 9.4 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 6.0 MB

Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/4.0, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.9 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.6 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.4 MB

Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/5.6, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 7.1 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 8.3 MB	Camera: Nikon D3x Parameters: 85 mm, f/8.0, exp. 1/200 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 6048x4032 pix, 8.9 MB

Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 85 mm, f/1.4, exp. 1/1500 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.8 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.0, exp. 1/800 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 3.9 MB	Camera: Nikon D200 Parameters: 85 mm, f/2.8, exp. 1/400 sek., ISO 100 File: JPG, 3872x2592 pix, 4.0 MB