Today I’m taking a look at Samyang’s very popular 85mm f/1.4 lens – it’s got a reputation for being excellent value for money, if you’re ready to try manual focus.
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All photos and video taken by me on Canon 6D and 70D cameras.
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Music:
‘Opportunity Walks’, Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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hello guys, this is all manual would like to know if in my Pentax K3 me is a confirmation of the focus?red dot, or the beep? thanks
how many soom
Nice review, Chris! I enjoyed it. I have a quick question about the lens. Does it give you a signal inside the VF when locked in focus (does the red light blinks and shows you where the focus is)? Thanks a lot! 🙂
samyang 85 1.4 @1.4 vs samyang 135 2 @2. which one the best dof+bokeh?? can u compare it? im confuse to buy between there
can this work on the t6i?
2:10 well now there is the nikon 105mm f1.4
On my A6000 (APS-C sensor) I’ve been using the Sigma 30mm 1.4 and considering its a very similar price its a good alternative with a shorter focal length but you get to keep that fast aperture. Its also really well made and has AF.
Chris your lens reviews are among the best.
Quick question: for someone who has both DX and FX Nikon bodies, how does the Samyang 85mm f1.4’s performance on DX compare to their 135mm f2 on FX? Would be nice if it’s close enough to cover the job of both by just moving it between the DX and FX bodies!
for me as a Sony a6000 user with crop sensor, do you recommend this or a 50ish mm lens that keep some space of background? thank you for the great review.
hi I’ve seen this advertised a Aspherical is this just a standard name for this lens.
Hi Chris! i was thinking about this lens for my fuji xt10, what do you think about it? any alternative for such price? keep it going with those awsome reviews!
Would it too difficult to focus correctly if use canon 6D without live view? or it can be easy if practice enough? Thank you.
I got this lens because I was on a budget and wanted a 1.4. I love it to death, almost entirely due to its absolutely gorgeous rendering and bokeh. There are certainly sharper alternatives out there, but as long as it isn’t obviously soft at normal magnification levels, I really don’t give a shit. I got a couple of more expensive lenses when I upgraded to full frame and expected this one to be retired, but I still find myself using it most of the time…This lens really taught me not to obsess about ‘lab’ tests – the overall look of the image is far more important, as long as there aren’t any serious problems. If I could choose one thing to improve, it would be its tendency to flare. Luckily that’s not an issue for the vast majority of shots. I cannot recommend this lens highly enough.
Is this lens compatible with a Canon 200d?
Hi, i have exactly the same lens for Nikon (Samyang 85mm f1.4 if umc ae)
When i attach it on my Nikon body i don’t have any problem with setting the aperture from my nikon body (D7100), i can set it from f/1.4 to f/22 without any problem.
But when i detach it from my Nikon body the blades won’t move when i rotate the aperture ring from f/1.4 to f/2.8, but it moves when i rotate to f/4.
Does that mean my lens is broken? i really need the answer, thank you.
Hi Christopher! I wanted to know if you can review the Oshiro 35mm f2 lens or the Oshiro 135mm f2.8
God bless!
i own this lens…i love it.works find of my nikon d7000.
Apologies if you’ve already compared these, but how would you say this compares to Canon’s 85 f1.8? How does the image quality compare and which would you recommend for a crop sensor Canon?
Is it a non cpu lens?If its a non cpu lens then does it need to set up on my canon 80d?And how?
Chris, I have a question about using this lens for astrophotography. I’m not talking about the shots we see where people use 14mm wide angle lenses for large areas of the sky like taking shots of the Milky Way, rather I’m referring to taking a smaller picture of an area of the sky so I can review the stars in that area of the sky. Also, have you seen or completed a comparison of this lens to the Canon 85mm f/1.8? Chris, thanks so much for your reviews.
Hey Chris, I’m looking to get a taste of portrait photography and was wondering between this lens (Samgany 85mm f/1.4) and the Canon f/1.8 (used) which one you would recommend.
Normally I’d jump for a 1.2, but I’m saving for a 70-200L f/2.8 IS ii. I shoot on a 5D Mark ii. I currently have a Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 and 24-105L F/4. Thanks for your input!!!
I own this lens on a Pentax mount. I do notice the colors are not as rich or accurate as my Pentax made 85mm. Is this the case with Canon?
which one shall i buy samyang 85mm f/1.4 or sigma 17-50 os f/2.8?
Hi, I just wanted to ask you which lens and camera do you use for your videos?
Thanks.
Great and informative as always. Once I read you like your 135 samyang? Do you prefer this 85 or the 135? How difficult is shooting a couple ( e-session for example) with manual lens? Thanks for your answer in advance.
hi Christopher. just want to say u have the most professional and regular method of reviewing lenses in youtube. always my choice when in doubt.
Amazing channel keep it up!
Hi Christopher grat review man, just would like to ask you if ud choose this one or the 135 f2 ? thanks
these days you can get this lens for 250$ easy, 200$ if you bargain hunt. if you are looking for a deal, there are tons of rebranded versions of this lens that have exactly the same optics and very comparable build. a couple brands to try searching for are:
Vivitar 85mm f1.4
Opteka 85mm f1.4
Bower 85mm f1.4
Rokinon 85mm f1.4
Polar 85mm f1.4
Falcon 85mm f1.4
Sakar 85mm f1.4
Pro-Optic 85mm f1.4
Bell + Howell 85mm f1.4
so basically this would be the great talking head lens… you should have tested it for that
chris i bought the samyang 24mm and my 60D is no locking the focus, you know why
Hey Chris, I love your video and I know this particular review is from a couple of years ago, but do these lenses give a visual indication when focus is attained (red light in viewfinder).
I notice there aren’t any electric connections on the Mount and was very curious as to whether or not that would affect this particular feature.
I’m looking to get the 35mm and 85mm lenses in this series as these lenses seems wonderfully sharp even though their price is so low.