• UPDATE



    The forum will be moving to a new domain in the near future (canonrumorsforum.com). I have turned off "read-only", but I will only leave the two forum nodes you see active for the time being.

    I don't know at this time how quickly the change will happen, but that will move at a good pace I am sure.

    ------------------------------------------------------------

Samyang 85 1.4 vs canon ef 85 1.8 - which one to choose?

  • Thread starter Thread starter sweetcancer
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Sort by date Sort by votes
S

sweetcancer

Guest
#1
Hello!

I hope someone here could help me with my problem, you see i want a fast 85mm prime to use with my 5D mark II, and am on a budget. I have narrowed it down to the lenses mentioned in the title, and i guess my question ultimately is, is one better than the other optically? And if the samyang one is, is it so much better (especially wide-open) that it is worth not having af? I would come by without af, but it would be nice to have it for some occasions.

I appreciate your help!

Ps. just to clarify, "better optically" to me means quality in color and contrast reproduction and smooth bokeh.
 
#2
For me, AF would trump any differences in color and bokeh. I own a 85/1.8 and it's a great lens. One of the bargains in the Canon lineup.

Now, if we were talking 14 mm - who cares about AF, I'll pick the Samyang. But for 85 mm at wide apertures, focusing is critical. Maybe the Samyang would work if you're doing posed photography only, but for fast work it'd be a real challenge.

Is Sigma 85/1.4 in your budget? You'd get AF plus large aperture. I hear good things about that lens.
 
Upvote 0
#3
Since the price difference is so small (<$100), I'd have to say that the Canon version and having AF is worth it. Both are generally graded out as equals i terms of image quality; the Samyang lenses have a little different look to them, so, its really up to what your eye likes more. The 85mm f/1.8's only problem is CA, but, that can be fixed pretty easily in post.

At the 14mm and 35mm end, the Samyang lenses make sense. They are 1/4 the price of the L lenses, and yet largely deliver amazing IQ on a budget, with the tradeoff being AF. When you're saving $1000, its worth the loss. Or if the 85mm f/18 wasn't known for great AF, it might be worth it. But, for how often you'd really use f/1.4, especially manually focusing, it seems a silly tradeoff
 
Upvote 0
#4
preppyak said:
Both are generally graded out as equals i terms of image quality
Click to expand...

equals my ass
the samyang is very similar to a canon 85mm, but that's not the cheap 85mm f/1.8, but the the 85mm f/1.2L; it's also very close to the zeiss 85mm f/1.4
scroll down to the samyang 85mm here, and check the links (specially the bokeh tests)
http://www.similaar.com/foto/equipment/us_lensc.html#samyang

now, if you're going to shoot stills (for video it wouldn't matter), the better image quality may not be worth losing the AF
it will depend on your subject: if you're shooting models in a studio, you may have time to focus; if you're shooting your kids, I'd forget about it
 
Upvote 0
#6
i cant speak for the Samyang, but i own and love the 85mm f1.8 canon. one of the main selling points of this lens is the lightning fast autofocus.. if there is little to no difference in price, why not get autofocus? the diff between f1.4 and 1.8 is very little in the big scheme of things.
 
Upvote 0
#7
sweetcancer said:
Hello!

I hope someone here could help me with my problem, you see i want a fast 85mm prime to use with my 5D mark II, and am on a budget. I have narrowed it down to the lenses mentioned in the title, and i guess my question ultimately is, is one better than the other optically? And if the samyang one is, is it so much better (especially wide-open) that it is worth not having af? I would come by without af, but it would be nice to have it for some occasions.

I appreciate your help!

Ps. just to clarify, "better optically" to me means quality in color and contrast reproduction and smooth bokeh.
Click to expand...

Is the Sigma 85mm out of your budget ? If not, it's definitely worth a look.
 
Upvote 0
#9
elflord said:
Mt Spokane Photography said:
I've not found Samyang lenses to be worth the postage. Some seem to get good ones, but not me. Its a risk due to sloppy manufacturing.
Click to expand...

You've written this a couple of times. Which lenses did you try and what problems did you have ?
Click to expand...

I published images. do a search, there are lots of buyers with similar issues, and lots of very happy buyers. Its hit and miss. BTW, I bought the 14mm f/2.8. Fool me once, shame on you, but twice - shame ojn me.

Samyang has good designs, its the spotty hit and miss production quality that causes some to be very happy, while others hate it.

In the case of the 14mm, it was supposed to be a FF lens. But, the owners manual warned you off the bat that it was optimized for crop camera bodies and might perform poorly on a FF body. They were certainly right.

So, be prepared to spend shipping both ways if you mail order a bad one, or find a dealer who will pay return shipping, like Amazon. My seller did not, so I got stuck paying $35 to try a junk quality lens. Then, I found others saying the same thing.
 
Upvote 0
#10
Thanks for all the replies! Unfortunately the sigma doesn't fit into the budget.

I do shoot kids sometimes, as I work at a day-care center, and would love to get some "fast 85" pictures of them as well. All that aside, my primary purpose for this lens would be portraits of my soon-to-be-wife (for her fashion blog) and friends in controlled out-door environments (well, as controlled as out-door environments come). For this purpose, i believe the samyang would do a better job, as I would probably use manual focus (using live view) anyway.

But, (there's always a but) I love to take my 50mm 1.4 out with me when i'm just taking a longer walk with the dog and stuff, I would also love to do this with my 85. I have my dog on one hand and the camera on the other, so i usually have my camera on Av mode, center af point selected, and then I just point and shoot to anything. Couldn't do this with the samyang. And also, i love the laughter and smiles of kids parents when I show them the pictures printed from the 50mm 1.4, with samyang shooting kids would be more difficult. (not impossible, just more difficult.)

So difficult to decide! Does anyone have a link to a side-by-side model shoot to clearly show the differences of these lenses?
 
Upvote 0
#11
my high opinion of the samyang was based on charts, studio tests, etc (*), so I found that an interesting challenge, to see if it actually does better in real world

I found this thread:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/962374/0

with lots of praise for the samyang, and a side by side portrait test (in the second page)

I'd say there's no contest


(*) I don't own the samyang 85mm, my only samyang is the 8mm fisheye (which is also amazing) - I would have gone for the samyang 85mm and 35mm if I didn't already have two very amazing Leica vintage primes at those focal lengths (Leitz Elmarit-R 35mm F/2.8 and Leitz Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8 ) - I may still add the samyangs to my collection if I need faster lenses
 
Upvote 0
#14
the samyang 85mm f/1.4 is even cheaper, at only $300: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025EWXEU/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=similaar-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0025EWXEU&adid=10XGEXAW69SC1PMEAKE8&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.similaar.com%2Ffoto%2Fequipment%2Fus_lensc.html

the key here is whether you can live without AF


@sweetcancer
the samyang is a bokeh specialist, I don't thing there's anything to worry in that area, but what do you mean, onion ring bokeh?
if you're talking about the issue with samyang's super-long mirror lenses, it's not on the 85mm, this is not a mirror lens
 
Upvote 0
#15
Bokeh-Comparison-on-f1.4-Lenses-Center.jpg


That's what i'm talking about, even though that is an example from a sigma 50/1.4. I have read some complaints about the samyang in this regard, although the example images I have seen are no way near as bad as the sigma above.
 
Upvote 0
#16
it shouldn't, the samyang is a bokeh specialty lens
again, I haven't used it, but from what its users post online, it doesn't get much better than this

I found this sample
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14069595@N03/4735777163/#
in this thread
http://www.flickr.com/groups/vivitar_85_14/discuss/72157624205258702/


edit:
and these ones too
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chipsterman/3919911475/#
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chipsterman/3907292098/#in/photostream/
found here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/vivitar_85_14/pool/with/3907292098/
 
Upvote 0
#19
I own both these lenses. I use them on a t2i.

The Samyang has a special look to it, and reproduces colors in an amazing way. Its overall IQ is very sharp and 3d'sh. What is unique about this lens, is that is is VERY SHARP even at f/1.4 ! Stopping down - does not really make it sharper.

The canon 1.8 has quieter colors and a different "look" to it. The 1.8 will give you the special sharpness only stopped down a little, not wide open.

Now about the MF issue: Obviously this requires more patience and skill, and is NOT for fast pace photography. However, I use live view, and try to find something to steady myself on, (table, chair, wall, etc.) with a little patience - you quickly develop skill for this, and it is not only for studio work. If your subject will stay still for a few seconds, you can get the shot.

Its actually fun to use MF lenses.
 
Upvote 0
#20
Ok, i put an order down for a samyang 85 1.4 + an Eg-s focusing screen for 5d mark II.

Thanks all for your help! Will be uploading some images to this thread when the goods arrive to me.
 
Upvote 0
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
Canon ST-E3 RT vs ST-E 10 - anyone in the know?
Replies
10
Views
5K
SvO2
S
Anon
Strong emotions - for corporations?
Replies
8
Views
2K
David_B
D
N
Samyang RF 85/1.4 failing?
Replies
4
Views
4K
navastronia
N
D
EF 50/1.4 usm vs 7artisans 55/1.4mkii
Replies
0
Views
1K
Doormat
D
jasonrohrer
Which Canon DSLR works best for manually-focused EF lenses through the optical viewfinder?
Replies
37
Views
16K
jasonrohrer
jasonrohrer
Top Bottom
Home
Forums
Media
Menu