Very detailed comparison. I recommend to watch for everyone who considers buying an 85 for Sony full frame. A comparison of these 2 with the Sony 1.4 and 1.8 85mms would be fascinating to watch!
My sigma 85 f1.4 art is my most used and my favourite lens in my bag. Other lenses I own 16-35GM 24-70GM mkii 70-200 f2.8 GM mkii and 35 f1.8. The only downside as you mentioned to the sigma is the size in the bag
Thanks Dustin, another of your great comparisons. FYI, I do own the Sigma Art 85mm f1.4 DG DN for my Sony A1, A7RIV, A7SIII, but the Samyang seems very good and for less money, a real alternative choice for many. Cheers
Hi Dustin, thank you for the video and the comparison. I am shooting with a borrowed Sigma. I am noticing a very minor purple fringing at f1.4 but it is hardly noticeable and easily correctable. I had to return a Samyang 135 f1.8 because of possible de-centering in one of the elements. This caused the images to have a ghost effect. I am noticing the same with the 85 Samyang in your test. It is a lot less than what I saw in the 135 but it seems to be of similar look. I thought the resolution may be dead even between the two 85 lenses, but from this video at least, the Sigma is the winner by a good margin. Your test target is fantastic. It tells a lot about a lens. Combined with real world outdoor shots, we get a complete picture. Thank you for doing these videos.
Samyang just don't have the same level of quality like Sigma or Sony, not yet. It just a cheaper gateway to bright prime lenses previously out of reach for most consumers. I love my Samyang 75mm F1.8, it's not the best quality lens in the world but it's so campact and affordable and fun to use.
I think what you were calling a ghosting effect in my video is just lower contrast than what the Sigma produces. To be fair, however, the Sigma has exceptional contrast for an 85 mm lens
@@oscarshen6855 I agree. We need lower priced alternatives even if the y are not perfect in construction quality. I think at the end of the day, glass is the most important part. That is why I chose all Tamron line up for my A7RIV. I have an exceptional hi-res sensor and I am able to produce very high quality images with the help of Tamron lenses.
Another thing to point out is that in most comparison shots with the same settings the Samyang appears to be slightly darker at 1.4, about 1/3 of a stop.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I would say that it is slightly darker in the center even stopped down. I just bought the Sigma a couple of days ago on Aliexpress. It was being sold at about the same price as the new Samyang on their black friday so it was a no-brainer for me.
Thanks, nice comparison. Do you have any take on the autofocus performance on these two? Which one focuses faster and which is more precise (with Face/Eye-AF)?
Is it me or does the Samyang colors just looked muted? Photo always looks slightly Darker then Sigma in the portrait side by side. Also skin tones on the Samyang look slightly off, just dull. I really wanted this Samyang but I dislike lens with weird color shift, I know it can be fixed in post but to a certain extent. I like lenses that give you a nice color Base to start from.
I actually thought that the colors were very similar between the lenses - I noted in my review that Samyang seems to have less of a warm tone to it than in times past.
@@DustinAbbottTWI I rewatch the video I see what you mean, I guess it's the warmer tone of the Sigma that's making it more pleasing to my eye. Samyang is currently Having a 20% off sale making the 85mm 1.4 $639.20 thats a great value, consider the Sony 85mm 1.8 is $598. But I'm also waiting on a Review for the New 75mm 1.9T cine V-AF lens. These 3 lenses are my current debate 🤔.
Interesting comparison! Do you have any thoughts on the long term reliability of modern SY lenses? Their past reputation for that wasn't great, has it improved? A lot?
I'm a bit of a sigma fanboy and have owned 4 different sigma lenses but I think I would actually grab the Samyang/Rokinon over the sigma in this case. I don't think you can really beat the performance for the price and some of the shortcomings compared to the sigma can be fixed in post. What I'm wondering though, is if there is another budget option that can compete with these 2? And which 85mm lens would you go with in this price range?
Hey, for the zoom lens users with f2.8 at 85mm, I wanted to ask if the difference between the two apertures (f1.4 vs f2.8) is noticeable or significant? I haven't tested myself- that's why I'd like to hear from you but I'm wondering if the inherent separation you get from the 85mm focal length makes the difference in aperture less significant. Is the background separation to a point where it makes the difference in aperture unnoticeable? And other things I'm curious about are: what about the differences between f2.8 vs f1.8 in relation to f1.4 at 85mm? Does anything change/the difference become less noticeable at 135mm? Looking forward to your review of them 135mm samyang! Thanks! 😊
I’ve been published in over 20 magazines and the 85 1.4 is by far my most used lens and I can tell you flat out that the difference between even 2.0 and 2.8 is pretty significant at 85mm I was rarely higher than 2.5. Where are you really see the difference is closer subjects. You put a subject Justin vocal range and if you’re at 1.8 it’s going to be something that makes everyone’s jaw drop that sees the photo right out of the camera. You can sometimes get that with 2.8 but the background hasta be really really far away
I own the Sigma Art 85mm f1.4 DG DN and I was waiting for the AF speed and accuracy comparison. I think that this is also where Sigma wins. Otherwise it is a very good comparison :)
Thanks for the detailed comparison, also the one RF 85 1.2 vs the Samyang RF 85 1.4. That’s interesting, the pin cushion distortion of the Sigma at 7:37. Back in time I purchased the F-mount version of the Sigma 85 1.4 DG HSM Art (the big heavy beast, well it’s obviously a total other construction as the DN version ) it has zero distortion, zero diffraction, high resolution, on the 45 megapixel D850 razor blade sharp.
Excellent as always…super useful! You did not hit on Autofocus…which one would you choose to shoot high school indoor volleyball or basketball on Sony A1/A9? Thanks in advance.
I literally found zero difference in the auto focus performance side-by-side with these lenses. One is is as accurate as the other. If you want more info you can find my testing of auto focus in my review of both lenses
When I looks at your son photo. in term of Saturation. I think @f1.4 , Samyang is more pop. I would say @f1.4 , The sigma image looks sharper. But when it comes to the chart comparison, I agree witth you though.
People mostly buy this type of lens for widest open. So I think they both have better aspect than another. Now it comes to what we are looking for @f1.4
Hi Dustin, thanks for the comparison review, they both sound great. You mention the functionality through the docking station, I use the Sigma docking station for other Sigma lenses, is it’s use more limited on the 85mn? Thanks.
@dustinabbott what are your thoughts on the sigma 85mm vs tamron 35-150 f2-2.8 lens in terms of image quality as i may change over to have more range.. never had a zoom before, only primes
I started out with the Samyang 85mm f1.4 v1 when I switched to Sony cameras. I was super happy with it but I wanted to save up for the Sony 85mm GM and I was not impressed with it when I finally bought it. It was barely sharper than the v1 Samyang and it was loud focusing. So I sent the Sony GM back and kept using the Samyang. Then hearing everyone talking how good the new sigma 85mm f1.4 dg DN was I picked it up and wow it’s really sharp, tracks focus quicker and it’s sticky with the eyes. So I have been really impressed with the sigma 85mm. But still can’t say nothing bad about Samyang
It's really a question of which rendering one prefers. I have the later samyang cine mf lens & really like its rendering which has been further improved in this later lens - along with design - build & weight - MFD which is tailored to the mirrorless. Coming from a MF background I find the samyang lenses to be more optically corrected rather than what sigma is doing with more software corrections. I do think that the samyang gives a lot of value & one can make ones own profiles. There are now so many lenses in this medium telephoto category for the E mount. I tend to use the sigma 90mm 2.8 for a lot of work as it is so compact & has a far better MFD. And it has the sigma contrast & design. However the samyang gives the best weight-aperture combination.
The 90mm f2.8 is underrated. I already have a 70-200mm f2.8 but sometimes I don't want to lug it around, so a compact telephoto would be a nice option to have.
@@mrmonday42 I agree - its a very nice lens to use & fits into a pocket or small pouch. I also have the sony 90mm macro but take it out very rarely now. I think the advantage of mirrorless is that one can have lighter more compact lenses
Interesting... during the 2022 Black Friday/Cyber Monday season, Samyang on their own USA website increased the MSRP from $799 to $919 USD, and then gave 20% off these lenses, which results in a $735 selling price or actual 8% discount from their official $799 MSRP. If they didn't artificially increase the price and gave the 20% discount, the resulting discounted price would be $639 which is almost half of the Sigma.
I knew I wasn't crazy... Nov 17th 2022 it was 920$CAD and now it is 1128$CAD like wtf?! There is no way it is worth it now at the current price increase, like if the price gap gets too close of the Sigma on sale, I guess I'd rather just spend a bit more to get the Sigma which is either 1200$ on Amazon without warranty or 1400$ with 7 years warranty from an authorized Canadian dealer. Still have to remember Samyang is only 1 year of warranty, that's worth mentionning and considering into the price as well. EDIT: I just bought the Sigma at my local store along 2 other Sigma lens with their big sales until the next week. Had an additional 50$ discount from the store over the manufacturer sales which is like 4% so I guess it's fair.
this samyang is a very interesting lens, but so is the 135mm, if the 135 had this weight I would probably prefer that one also because I have an 85mm…..I think that the system needs a new 135 of about 500g or less, even at the cost of a smaller max aperture…
I have seen very few modern 135 mm lenses that are incredibly compact or that have smaller maximum aperture. It seems like the trend is toward larger maximum aperture rather than smaller
Buy Sigma but not the DN Buy the original DG. Very little difference in performance but hugely different in size and weight. The deal breaker? Sigma used but as new is half the price and will fit via adaptor to both FX and Z mount but the DN is stuck to just mirrorless.
Wow, I really disagree, but primarily because of that size and weight issue. I've also done many comparison tests, and autofocus isn't nearly as good via adapter when compared to the DN version, which is pretty much flawless.
Thank you for this video! Supposedly Samyang 135mm is very good. Any chance you will be reviewing it? :) p.s. Recently I bought a Sigma 14-24 DG DN for my a7RIII, based on your reviews. Probably the best lens I have ever owned. I can't afford any GM and I cannot really justify spending so much on a lens as an enthusiast. But I have to admit, that this Sigma absolutely exceeded my expectations, so thank you very much for your work!
My biggest problem with samyang is there Af accuracy/consistency although the 24mm f1.8 is an outstanding lens with no issues in AF performance, superb review 👍📷
For me Sigma looks better in all comparisons until it goes over f2.8. Then it's equal. Funny enough, I though the Samyang mark 1 had better bokeh. This time the Sigma looks better than Samyang II. You can see on the full body portrait that the Samyang has colors bleeding in to the white logo, Sigma handles it way better.
Thanks for the comparison. Even on RU-vid it’s clear the signs is the superior rendering. I appreciate it may not dominate on any category, but even on an iPhone 13 max the pop from the increased contrast was immediate. But 40% more (and the Samsung can likely be found on sale) - that’s a really tough call and ultimate is buy on budget ….except the No profile thing. Son of a gun! 1.8 here I come. 😊
I actually think the Samsung night be slightly better wide open for me for portraiture in particular. Higher contrast wide open isn't better for everything. I also like that it's so well corrected optically. It's pretty negligible because..... Well post-processing. The detail actually really is there on both of them.
Watching this I’m like “yeah, sigma is resolving better, should go with it”, just to put it on my 20 something mp A72 and put some cheap K&F filters over it. I’m a bit of an idiot am I?! 😅
I shot both lenses side-by-side during portrait sessions and saw zero difference in auto focus. I do have some coverage of mild sport tracking with both lenses in their individual review
@@joakimolsson1024 Not sure how it is relevant to post process ... we are talking about lens sharpness ... otherwise people should pay much less and settle down on low IQ lens, although sometimes we might prefer low sharpness for portraits of certain people ...
@@joakimolsson1024 If you like SY that's fine, but Samyang's sharpness is not good enough based on this review and pictures. I still have SY 35F1.4, same "issue" pretty much plus more distortion.
I have to agree with Danny. Samyang is a South Korean company and Sigma is a Japanese company; it stands to reason that they manufacture their products in their own countries.