Samyang AF 35mm F1.4 Autofocus Lens for Sony FE

Product Information

Sigma offers the 35mm f1.4 Art, an older DSLR design from 2012 which can be had for 730 EUR / 700 USD. It’s 77 x 120mm in size, weighs 755g, and is available in E-mount since 2018. Weight: At 650g (22.9 oz.) plus 34g lens hood the Samyang’s weight is comparable to the Sony f1.4 (630g + 30g). The Sony f1.8 is only 280g (9.9 oz.) + 16g lens hood while the Sigma is the heaviest lens here at 1081g (38.1 oz.) plus 57g lens hood. But then it has a 0.5 stop larger focal ratio. [0]

Unlike the firm’s AF 50mm F1.4 FE II, though, this isn’t a completely new lens. Instead, it takes essentially the same optics as its predecessor, but adds some handy new features. Firstly, it gains a Focus Hold button on the side, whose function can be assigned by the user. Secondly, a Custom Switch allows the manual focus ring to be used for controlling the aperture. In addition, the autofocus has been updated and the barrel is now weather-sealed. The Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE has not given me strife in these conditions, but at times it has had its struggles. At f/1.4, image detail is slightly softer with less contrast, but I would expect a drop-off in image clarity at the widest aperture setting and this is still very good. Stopping down to anywhere between f/2.8 and f/11 shows the image quality at its most crisp. You get good sharpness wide open and excellent as of F2.8 , very good bokeh , color rendering , a focusing ring that can be set as aperture ring… but

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When used with full-frame image sensors, this lens' wide-angle perspective is well-suited to use in a broad array of conditions. When used with APS-C-sized sensors, this 56mm equivalent standard prime lens provides a similar field of view to normal vision.

I am pleased with the optical quality of the Samyang lens. Our resolution charts show it to be pin sharp, with minor softness at f/1.4 and f/22. Prime lenses are usually sharper than zoom optics, but the level of sharpness on display here is remarkable considering the price of the lens. Detail in the eyes and eyebrows of portraits is very well defined. Resolution detail is consistent along the entire aperture range, with a drop-off at f/22. It has a handsome appearance and I think it looks great when paired with the Sony cameras that is designed for. While this is a full frame lens, it can also be used on Sony’s APS-C cameras where it will provide a 52.5mm equivalent focal length – a near perfect “normal” focal length for APS-C. It’s compact size and light weight make it a natural lens to use on either system. I really like Samyang’s tiny series, and I’m glad to see them continuing to improve the sophistication of these sweet little lenses. Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 Autofocus Performance Bokeh is a word used for the out-of-focus areas of a photograph, and is usually described in qualitative terms, such as smooth / creamy / harsh etc. In the Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE lens, Samyang employed an iris diaphragm with nine rounded blades, which has resulted in very nice bokeh in our view. We do realise, however, that bokeh evaluation is subjective, so we've included several 100% crops for your perusal. Sigma F1.4 @F16 Sony GM F16 sunstars & flare Sigma F1.2@F16 F16 resistance to flare Sony F1.4 CA / AC Sigma F1.4 Samyang F1.4 CA / AC Sigma F1.4 @F1.4 CA / AC The Samyang 35mm F1.4 II does not do significantly better than the V1 and is well below the Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG DN that is marginally more expensive (850 euros vs 700 euros)

Dustin Abbott

That's fantastic, thanks Jayce, we appreciate the time you've set aside to chat about this. Finally, what would be your own inspirations, who has influenced you, especially in portraiture? Build quality is very good, despite Samyang being a relative newcomer to the lens market. The Samyang 35mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC feels very solid in your hand, even if the outer barrel and the filter thread appear to be made from plastic. AF is excellent for all lenses for static subjects ; fast precise and quiet , but when it comes to fast moving subjects the Sigma and the Sony are clearly superior to the Samyang . Also the Sony GM is the fastest and the only one compatible with the 30fps of the A1. Let’s note a bug with V1 of the firmware on A1 which cause over 8 hours of shooting : unexpected erratic AF 3-4 times over 30 min persil solved by removing the battery. Firmware upgrade should arrange this J’ai eu quelques comportements erratiques lors de mes tests avec un AF qui faisait la mise au point complètement décalée. Un arrêt du boitier (A7RIV) et ejection de la batterie a permis de résoudre ce problème. Un problème de jeunesse qui sera certainement résolu par une mise a jour firmware