Thanks for the review. I've been looking at this lens and researching, but I always use your reviews prior to making a final decision. Always thorough, well rounded and unbiased reviews. Much appreciate your channel!
Thank you for reviewing Samyang/Rokinon lenses, especially this one as I'm eyeing it myself. You're one of only a handful of reviewers that actually take the time to review this brand!
Dustin, I'm so glad you made this review, I've been eyeing this lens ever since it was released but was hesitant to pull the trigger until you reviewed it. I'm still wondering though, is it a worthwhile upgrade to consider this one instead of the 45mm f/1.8? (Since you love that lens, you are the best person to ask that question to) Thank you for always delivering great reviews!
The same question on my side as well, I'm also wondering if it's worth the price and size over the already good 45mm 1.8 that I own (thank's to Dustin's review).
That's a good question. The F1.4 lens obviously will give you a more shallow depth of field and a certain "look", but the little 45mm remains a very nice optic. I'm definitely holding onto the 45mm for those times I want to travel light even though I may keep the 50mm F1.4, too.
@@DustinAbbottTWI that's fair enough! That little 45mm truly is great for it's size and price. Might have to think about it a bit more since I'm already getting the 85mm f1.4 and 35mm f1.8. Hopefully Samyang releases a Mk II version of the 35mm f1.4 some day
LET THE LIGHT IN! Hey brother impeccable timing, I was about to pull the trigger on the zeiss but as my application will be almost 100% portrait, this review convinced me to save my money and go Samyang! Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for this review and comparison to the Sony Zeiss and GM lenses! Samyang did a really good job! Given the center sharpness I would think of dropping the Zeiss, but corner sharpness is important to me, so I will still keep the Sony Zeiss.
Thank you Dustin your dedication and professionalism are much appreciated. Taking sample photos at -25deg C is worthy round of applause on its own. This Samyang lens is very interesting, offering a mid ground between budget option and GM 50 or ZA 50. I read two written reviews it hasn't faired well mainly due to AF inconsistency, esp video AF for either moving subjects or pulling focus. Smoothness, or the lack of, is the biggest complaint. What is your opinion on that department? Thanks Frank
I have a mixture of lenses for my Sony bodies. I am really have been satisfied with my Samyang lenses. I have the 35 & 85 f1.4 version one Samyang lenses and I have used the both for the first year with 20 plus weddings and family portraits. I did recently upgrade to the sigma 85 dg DN after I was not satisfied with the Sony 85mm GM. But I still had no issues with the Samyang. I picked this Samyang 50mm f1.4 version two and I am extremely pleased with it. I don’t use the 50mm focal length much but when I do have been impressed with this new 50 mm by Samyang. A lot of people have had issues with theirs but I have yet to have any problems. Even though I do use sigma and Sony GM lenses in different focal lengths such as the sigma 105 f1.4 and the Sony 135 GM , the Samyang are not that far behind in sharpness and focusing. I tell people if you have any issues with your lens, send it back and try a different copy. Because they are known to have quality control issues but when you get that good lens keep it.
While that's true, the Lens Station/Lens Manager Software has not yet been updated to work with this lens, which means at the moment, I could not test changing the ring speed.
I used this lens for about 3 months myself. I think overall it is a good 1.4 option for a reasonable price, coming in at about half of every other 1.4 lens for Sony FE in Europe (560€ whereas the next 1.4 is Sigma's 1.4 at about 950-1000€). However, I am not sure whether the lens just isn't that sharp below f2.2 or if it can't handle 7R bodies that well. On my A7R III, I found the results between f1.4 and f2.2 quite soft, even softer than Sony's old 50/1.8. Unfortunately, I didn't have any 24 MP cameras at home to compare it back then. On the other side, the handling of this lens is really nice, has a good grip to it, AF isn't perfect but for sure a much better investment than the aforementioned Sony 1.8. What I hate about Samyang lenses is the firmware update policy. I don't want an additional dock. I want to plug the camera in and do it with no additional gear as I can do it with my Tamron lenses. So my final word on this: please Tamron, come up with a 35 or 50 1.4 lens for Sony FE. :D
I love my 35 1.4 and 85 1.4! Been waiting on a refresh of the 50 for a while now. Julia Trotti dogged this mkii version. I can’t afford the Sony 1.2! Always love your reviews. Gerald and you are my go-to reviews never to be missed.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I was all set to purchase it until I saw her review. I’ve seen a half dozen other reviews and have changed my mind and now wish to purchase it. Seems like a bargain compared to the 1.2
Samyang release lenses , later the firmware updates, they use us as a field test, most probably they save some cost.. sone how. My 135 was horrible,.. drain batterie, lock my camera,… I did’t return it I did wait for the firmware update
Hey Dustin! Amazing review as always ❤️ do you think it's a worthy upgrade from the 1st iteration? I'm using it regularly and loving the results out of it. But it's too heavy and noisy (i do videos too). Also, what about light transmission? You mentioned the 1st edition has a slightly bigger transmission than za 1.4.
50mm is a standard for me on one of my cameras during a wedding, club, or event. Speed in focus is important for those crowded dances, running down the aisle and couple action portraits. Also, I shoot dancers and moving subjects. So I don’t think this lens fits my needs for those reasons. Thank you for your diligence and putting together this video!
Hey, Dustin thanks for this review. I am a wedding photographer and actually need to upgrade my sony 50mm 1.8. How the autofocus will perform with a moving subject? I got a sony a9. Do you think it will be a worthy upgrade or better the 55 zaiss? The 1.2GM is still out of my range
Regarding the bokeh, perhaps you can explain this for me. Shouldn't *all* bokeh near the periphery be cats-eye, due to the shape of the aperture from that angle? I constantly see reviews docking points for that effect, but knowing how bokeh works (at least, I think I do) it doesn't seem like you could possibly have perfectly circular bokeh at the margins of the frame.
It's possible that some lenses cover more of the image circle than others, which would result in less of the cat-eye effect. Or that could be completely wrong. What's certain is that there is a lot of variability in this metric, with some having a very strong cat-eye effect, and others, like this one, being very mild. I've even seen perfectly round circles across the frame.
Can you comment on the focus breathing? I believe it doesn’t have the floating element that Sony employs, but I didn’t notice any focus breathing in your examples. But I don’t know if you saw something different
I am subscribed to your channel and watch almost every review although I would for sure, never buy one of the tested lenses cause they are not my brand. However, your reviews are always very very good and I shows what you can expect from some brands and/or particular price ranges. Thanks for the effort and sharing .
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks, that's really helpful. I have the 75mm already but wondering whether to swap for the 50mm. Other than the max aperture, it doesn't sound like much of an upgrade.
What were your keeper rate? When Julia Trotti tested the lens she called auto focus performance "Hit & miss". I have got the 85mm. Hope the new 50mm will improve with new fw.
Thank you for the review! How would you compare this lens with the Sony Sonnar 55mm 1.8? (Ignoring the price difference since a used copy of the Sony is similarly priced as a new copy of the Samyang)
Great review. The fact that the Samyang can even be compared to the GM says a lot about the lens. I would happily be trading some corner performance for a significant weight and size advantage.
Great review! I've noticed that the Samyang lens has a slightly warmer tint compared to Sony/Zeiss. Does that also apply in AWB mode, or does AWB compensate for that tint by using cooler WB?
This is the first review I've seen of this lens where the AF was not trashed, which makes me wonder. But you appeared to shoot in single shot, not continuous mode, so maybe that's why you had no issues? AF is what keeps me from buying Samyang lenses--I've never had one that did not have problems with AF. Do you know if the firmware was updated on your copy? We really need Sigma to come out with a high quality (and small/light) 50mm.
Basically everything in this review was shot in AF-C, not single shot. I think it is possible that Julia was shooting with a lens that had a pre-release firmware on it, as I actually have very good autofocus accuracy.
P.S. I currently own about six Samyang lenses, all of which are very reliable for me in terms of autofocus. Updating the firmware is always a god idea.
Very Nice bokeh! Circle bubble looks good! I got one from Samyang US and they offered 10% off. If you a videographer the vitrox 50 1.8 may be good for you.
thanks for resting this with astro. 35-135mm astro photos are more popular these days and I use them all the time on a tracker so find value in the coma tests
I am debating buying this lens or not.... I already have Tamron 35-150 II and 150-500. I thought about 50GM, but too expensive... How is it when you take a picture of something moving (like walking) with Samyang 50 lens??
@@DustinAbbottTWI Thanks so much for the reply. If you don't mind me enquiring further, I'm curious as to what makes it boring, is it something like the sharpness or colour rendition? I'm new to full-frame and the 55 is my first full-frame prime lens, is the difference big enough that one can recommend trading it up for the new Samyang? The 55's performance is already mindblowing to me though, coming from mostly using an APSC Nikon 35mm f1.8
I must say that I bought this lens brand new and Ive got some AF issues. Its not always accurate for me. Same for other popular youtuber Julia Trotti. Seems like its another lens from Samyang with difference in copies
Julia's video came very early; it's possible she got a copy without the final firmware on it. I did see that video, but I'm not sure what her technical expertise is on things like that. She's very talented, though.
I'm shocked at the center performance over the 1.4 ZA. The latter has been on my list of "wouldn't that be nice to have" for so long because it outpaces the 55 1.8. Still, I'm not crazy about how the samyang renders. I'm not sure what it is exactly but to my eye there seems to be an over-sharp, digital looking condition to every picture I've seen from it so far.
Thank you dustin Another truly amazing proffesional review:) I'm wondering how is it compre to the samy 85mm 1.4 l. I mean... it is different lens ,focal length etc. But when it comes to contrast bokeh quality and that 3d pop I'll be happy to know what do u think... Thank you again
I think it is a nice compliment to the 85mm. Their newest lenses have less of that warm rendering and are more color accurate, so I think that might be the only difference.
I think everybody would have appreciated to see comparison same time/same subject bokeh(and other criteria) photo comparisons with the/your GM. Even only one, @f1.4, would be instantly saying a lot, - at least one thing - "lol". (Interesting though that You are 'convincing' that for portrait You recommend it over the Planar. Where it totally only for better AF keepers but not for the rendering, but knowing You love(d) the rendering of the Planar best before the GM existed -I think You'd have stated it.)
The challenge for me when it comes to rendering and color tests is the time of year that I'm doing the Samyang review. It is brutally cold and monochromatic right now, so it's hard for me to make too many comparison judgments about rendering or bokeh
Now I'm regretting going with Canon RF a little. So many great non native choices on E-mount that don't cost $4000 aud each (or more for telephoto). I can't afford to change now but can't afford (can but not a good idea) the expensive RF proprietary lenses that Canon makes us buy. This is of course fixed with the adapter, however i also want native, size and performance. Hmmmm oh well, lot's of great shooting to be done I know I know. In the mean time I won't be crying too hard and appreciate my Canon camera. I think I'll just wait however, for second hand options to become available, because I'm salty with Canon right now about the Viltrox thing. Sony good guy now who would have thought. My biggest gripe is that this is done intentionally. EF mount was fine and allowed people to choose, now they are saying "buy our marked up lenses or else". Trying to do an apple. It is just turning me away from buying brand new lenses. My 24-70mm is amazing but holding off on the great 70-200mm due to it's enormous price. I have my 200mm 2.8 prime to tide me over. Edited due to not making sense much lol.
@@DustinAbbottTWI it sounds like canon is purposely making it difficult on 3rd party lens makers via software updates making it hard for Samyang to keep up. This wouldn’t surprise me with how canon acts on all other branches of their company. Talking about canon printer ink..
I am sorry, although the review is so objective, honest without any bias,,,, the video was not. Your Jan 31 review of the SONY A7IV is different. Same studio background as this review. However, in this review, it drove me crazy not being able to see the camera/lens clearly, because they became "out of focus background blur". The Jan 31 review was so much clearer.
I'm not sure your criticism is framed the right way. The first sentence suggests the video was not objective or honest, which I don't think is your point. You seem to be praising the content but critiquing my choice for aperture in the recording. That's fair, though it is a subjective observation. I sometimes prefer the focus to be just on my face to avoid distractions, but I can see why the lens being blurred might bother you