Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 Lens Sony FE E Mount Full Frame

Let me start by admitting I have owned the lens before - and hated it. To explain: I bought it direct before it was available in Europe let alone on Amazon! and at the time I was playing with a Sony A7 original and using an old NEX6 too. I had bought a Sony 34Zeiss34 35/2.8 that worked pretty well but was hardly exceptional in anything but size - and it was very expensive of course - so I returned it. I bought the Samyang as a replacement and although it was optically great it struggled to focus properly on both the A7 and NEX6, a real disappointment, so I disposed of it through that great auction site in the sky...and got back more than I paid for it -Fast forward to now I have abandoned the clunky A7 and NEX6 and settled on APS-C using a A6500. While looking for ... MoreLet me start by admitting I have owned the lens before - and hated it. To explain: I bought it direct before it was available in Europe let alone on Amazon! and at the time I was playing with a Sony A7 original and using an old NEX6 too. I had bought a Sony 34Zeiss34 35/2.8 that worked pretty well but was hardly exceptional in anything but size - and it was very expensive of course - so I returned it. I bought the Samyang as a replacement and although it was optically great it struggled to focus properly on both the A7 and NEX6, a real disappointment, so I disposed of it through that great auction site in the sky...and got back more than I paid for it -Fast forward to now I have abandoned the clunky A7 and NEX6 and settled on APS-C using a A6500. While looking for something else I stumbled across a recent review of the Samyang using a A6500 and it was so overwhelmingly positive I dug deeper and found that all the reviews were positive. When I discovered that Amazon sells it for a good price I knew it I had to go for it... again. Better luck this time, hopefully, I thought.And so it was. Theres no returning this one. Its absolutely brilliant in all regards on the A6500: eye-waveringly sharp at all apertures and corner to corner, lovely colours and general rendering, no hint of CA even wide open... and it focuses fast, silently and seems to be able to use any AF mode and all AF points just like a native Sony lens. Maybe my first, early copy has been updated, or perhaps the design just doesnt get on well with the older, clunkier Sony E-mount cameras who knows? But I can say with certainty that it works perfectly on a more modern camera like the A6500 - and just to prove it Ive attached three samples I shot this morning on my walk to the shops... the first outing for the lens.Is it perfect? Very nearly. The lens is near-perfect but the little 34hood34 is badly designed compared with its expensive Sony counterpart. On the Sony 34Zeiss.

Blown Away By The Performance!

I had just tried out the Sony 50mm G-Master f1.2 earlier in April. It was a fine lens but I just couldn't justify spending two grand and change on a single lens when I still needed to buy some other focal range Glass. After buying two other priority third party lenses with the same money, I still had a little cash left over. After seeing the glowing Dustin Abbot review of the Samyang, I decided to try it. Sure, it's no G-Master as far as options and build quality but the picture quality is right up there!On my Sony 60 MP sensor, I couldn't detect that much difference.Auto-Focus is perfect. What a lens! What a price!

Huge upgrade from previous version

Whatever you've heard / experienced with the previous mark I of this lens, forget it. This lens is an incredible for the price, samyang really stepped up with the mark II.AF is now quick and reliable, compared to the constant slow hunting on the mark I. I work primarily in video, and I can't state how big of an upgrade it is in that department. Photo is even better. Tested side by side with Sony 50mm GM and couldn't spot the difference in AF. Not bad for less than half the price.Image quality is great as long as you stop down a bit (1.4 is a little soft for my liking, but I think it's still passable). 1.8 and up is tac sharp.Build quality on the lens is also much better. Metal, solid focus ring, not too heavy. Feels premium, big upgrade over the cheapI love ... MoreWhatever you've heard / experienced with the previous mark I of this lens, forget it. This lens is an incredible for the price, samyang really stepped up with the mark II.AF is now quick and reliable, compared to the constant slow hunting on the mark I. I work primarily in video, and I can't state how big of an upgrade it is in that department. Photo is even better. Tested side by side with Sony 50mm GM and couldn't spot the difference in AF. Not bad for less than half the price.Image quality is great as long as you stop down a bit (1.4 is a little soft for my liking, but I think it's still passable). 1.8 and up is tac sharp.Build quality on the lens is also much better. Metal, solid focus ring, not too heavy. Feels premium, big upgrade over the cheapI love this lens. If you're a 50mm shooter and are looking for a quality budget alternative to the GM, I think this is your lens.

Impressed: Great Value

I wanted to go with the Sigma 85mm 1.4, but couldn't pass up the deal on this Samyang for less than 1/2 the price. This lens is fantastic. I just want to keep shooting with it.AF is excellent with the A7IV, even shooting at 1.4.Bokeh is beautiful and soft and the lens is sharp.I don't like that the lens hood is flimsy when attached. It does not lock into place like higher end hoods and it will fall off if you've got your camera on your shoulder just walking around. I think this is common with these kinds of hoods so I can't fault Samyang so much.For this price, this is a killer deal. You won't be disappointed with the lens at all.

Lens with personality

This lens is very unique and hard to place. At higher apertures it's tack sharp, and in the case of my example seems to retain sharpness even into the extreme corners. At lower (wide-open) apertures anything out of focus can take on an almost dream-like view. Sometimes this is fantastic and can make people look amazing in portraits. Other times it results in an almost painted-on bokeh from Narnia that makes me oddly uncomfortable. I seem compelled to use it, simply to see what I'll get. When the results are good, I'm almost floored. When they're a bit too odd, I genuinely wish I got the 50mm GM.The autofocus is extremely slow, it would be slow even in 2010 which is unfortunate. On the other hand, it seems to be quite accurate, and is almost completely silent. ... MoreThis lens is very unique and hard to place. At higher apertures it's tack sharp, and in the case of my example seems to retain sharpness even into the extreme corners. At lower (wide-open) apertures anything out of focus can take on an almost dream-like view. Sometimes this is fantastic and can make people look amazing in portraits. Other times it results in an almost painted-on bokeh from Narnia that makes me oddly uncomfortable. I seem compelled to use it, simply to see what I'll get. When the results are good, I'm almost floored. When they're a bit too odd, I genuinely wish I got the 50mm GM.The autofocus is extremely slow, it would be slow even in 2010 which is unfortunate. On the other hand, it seems to be quite accurate, and is almost completely silent. Manual focussing feels surprisingly good.The lens is extremely light, feeling very light both on camera and in a backpack. This makes it much more likely to be taken rather than left at home. Some people have complained that it feels 'plasticy', I think it feels well made enough, and I'd happily trade a little feel for some weight savings. The focus ring on the other hand does feel a bit rough and cheap in movement if not tactile feel. The lens cap won't work with low-profile filters whereas the official Sony caps do.Flare behaviour is similarly odd with the bokeh. Sometimes you can get a small flare that you wouldn't expect, other times there's no flare whatsoever when most lens would have a huge streak across the frame. On the plus side, flaring in general is rather rare. There is a case where flare can fill almost the entire frame - but it's a big ball of white/yellow. This flare is brilliant, with a little control it can add amazing creative options you don't get with other lenses. I hate the typical green circles and smears you get with other lenses; they just look bad. But this lens has a unique glow flare that can be used to enhance your photos.At the time of writing this review, there is no profile in Lightroom Classic for this lens. Fortunately, I've not experienced a need to correct any photos, and that includes one of a wall. There is some distortion and vignetting, but it's very minor. I'll use the profile when it comes, but in the meantime I'm happy to just leave uncorrected. If anything, it adds to the character of the lens.And if anything, that's my takeaway with this lens. A lot of lenses tend to be clinical, with uninspired bokeh, sharp centres, and CA that's corrected by software either in-camera or in post. This lens on the other hand has personality. This can be good, but it can also be bad.

Lovely rendering and value!

I mainly got this lens due to the fact that it renders images a bit warmer which I like and the fact that it was around $500 on sale which is a really great price! Also it's overall rendering is really great.One con about this lens is that its AF-S focus accuracy is not that great but honestly if you are shooting portraits you should always be in AF-C anyway. Also it has a slight click sound that is barely noticeable honestly.This lens is really great at F/1.4 and comes really alive if you stop it down a little. Eye AF is spot on about 90-95%. You do need the samyang usb dock to make sure it has the latest firmware as they improved the AF accuracy with the latest version. I would not mess with the focus settings and leave it the way it is. If you watch Dustin ... MoreI mainly got this lens due to the fact that it renders images a bit warmer which I like and the fact that it was around $500 on sale which is a really great price! Also it's overall rendering is really great.One con about this lens is that its AF-S focus accuracy is not that great but honestly if you are shooting portraits you should always be in AF-C anyway. Also it has a slight click sound that is barely noticeable honestly.This lens is really great at F/1.4 and comes really alive if you stop it down a little. Eye AF is spot on about 90-95%. You do need the samyang usb dock to make sure it has the latest firmware as they improved the AF accuracy with the latest version. I would not mess with the focus settings and leave it the way it is. If you watch Dustin Abbot's review he summarizes the lens really well; because the lens is not so well corrected for aberrations it does other better in other aspects. I have also used the sony 85 1.4 GM which I really loved but for now I am happy with this. I do plan on getting the sony 85 1.4 GM lens in the future unless sony releases a newer version of it which has faster AF which the GM lens is not that great in along with an audible AF noise. The other 85mm AF 1.4 lens is the sigma which is a beast and way heavier than this. Since I already own the sigma 105 1.4 I don't really see a huge need to own another really heavy lens. This samyang 85 is much easier to handle and a joy to use. Highly recommended!

Okay for the price

I was looking for a 50mm F1.4 and this fit the bill. I looked at reviews and decided to take the plunge and buy it. Build quality is not bad, I just don't like to focus ring at all. It is extremely stiff.The other thing I'm not a fan of is the focus hunting. I have a variety of Sigma Art Lenses and Sony G lenses and none hunt has much as this.This is def going back. I'll just wait until Sigma releases a 50mm art lens or maybe a contemporary.

Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 II Sony FE Lens

Very happy with this purchase, sharp wide open, lovely rendering and autofocus is fast (although not the fastest) and accurate. I'd read reviews and seen reviews on youtube saying that eye-AF is a bit unreliable but it's been spot on for me using the lens on a Sony A9ii, always hits the eye and not the eyelashes or eyebrow.I've always liked Samyang's rendering and now that they appear to have AF sorted this lens is a no-brainer for me, cheaper and lighter than its competitors.The only negative for me is that the lens comes with a soft bag rather than the hard case that other Samyangs come with.

Sharp and Light

I have the Sony 24mm f1.4 lens and Sigma 85mm f1.4 Art DN lens for my Sony A7R4. Those lenses are superb. I wanted to get a 50mm f1.4 and read many reviews, watched youtube about different options. The Sony 50mmf1.2 is always out of stock, also not very light, which is the case for large aperture 50mm. This Samyang 50mm f1.4 is light. I watched a youtube review stating eye AF is not good, not consistent. I figured to give it a try and bought it. I immediately tested eye AF with my A7R4. Focus was spot on and fast, albeit my subject didn't move much. The images were quite sharp at F1.4, about the same as my sigma 85mmf1.4. I'll do more testing with fast moving subject to see if the eye AF is still good. But so far, I'm quite happy with its performance and light ... MoreI have the Sony 24mm f1.4 lens and Sigma 85mm f1.4 Art DN lens for my Sony A7R4. Those lenses are superb. I wanted to get a 50mm f1.4 and read many reviews, watched youtube about different options. The Sony 50mmf1.2 is always out of stock, also not very light, which is the case for large aperture 50mm. This Samyang 50mm f1.4 is light. I watched a youtube review stating eye AF is not good, not consistent. I figured to give it a try and bought it. I immediately tested eye AF with my A7R4. Focus was spot on and fast, albeit my subject didn't move much. The images were quite sharp at F1.4, about the same as my sigma 85mmf1.4. I'll do more testing with fast moving subject to see if the eye AF is still good. But so far, I'm quite happy with its performance and light weight. I don't see any more need to get the Sony 50mmf1.2. Traveling with 2 light F1.4 primes: the sony 24mm and this 50mm is great.

What are you waiting for? If you want an 85mm you will NOT find a better lens for twice the money.

I love it when people say it's not about the gear and then would stick their nose in the air when I ?settle? on this less expensive 1.4 While I do realize that you need to know your camera, and how to compose and when to apply the "rule of thirds" or not it largely relies on the GEAR people. I have watched videos on professional wildlife photographers, and they casually list off the camera and lenses they used for any given shot... and after I price out the GEAR they are using it adds up to my yearly income... I wonder how they can even keep a straight face when they say "it's not about the GEAR" It is not ?settling? to buy this it?s just being smart.I bring all that up because this lens, although not cheap, squares the playing field up a bit. Most any person can ... MoreI love it when people say it's not about the gear and then would stick their nose in the air when I ?settle? on this less expensive 1.4 While I do realize that you need to know your camera, and how to compose and when to apply the "rule of thirds" or not it largely relies on the GEAR people. I have watched videos on professional wildlife photographers, and they casually list off the camera and lenses they used for any given shot... and after I price out the GEAR they are using it adds up to my yearly income... I wonder how they can even keep a straight face when they say "it's not about the GEAR" It is not ?settling? to buy this it?s just being smart.I bring all that up because this lens, although not cheap, squares the playing field up a bit. Most any person can scrape up enough to buy this lens if they choose to. It proves my point from every angle. Sharp as most lenses at 4-5 times the cost, and the color is excellent. Fast focus grab, and that was my only complaint until I got the latest firmware update now its fantastic there as well. If I was a portrait photographer this is the only lens I would have. Period!I look for situations to use it and I find plenty. I also search for other Samyang lenses and will buy more. I think Rokinon is a sister company, and I can say all these things about them as well. See: Rokinon AF14/2.8FE it is amazing as well. Buy this Samyang 85 1.4 and you will not be disappointed in the least. If you are, you got a bad copy and send it back.