Samsung NX 85mm F1 4 ED SSA Review | 54 Data compared

The Samsung 85mm f/1.4 ED SSA NX lens, reviewed by ePHOTOzine, offers excellent sharpness, producing good clarity at f/1.4 and outstanding central sharpness between f/4 and f/8. It features high-quality construction, a silent, fast autofocus motor, and very low chromatic aberration, making it a strong, premium choice for portraiture. However, the lens is heavy and physically large, which can feel unbalanced on smaller NX camera bodies. While offering good value compared to full-frame rivals, it is a significant financial investment, and the lack of image stabilization requires stable, slow-shutter techniques.

The Samsung 85mm f/1.4 ED NX is a fast telephoto prime lens designed for the Samsung NX mirrorless camera system, offering an approximate 125mm full-frame equivalent field of view. In laboratory testing using Imatest, the lens delivered exceptional sharpness across all apertures. At its maximum f/1.4 setting, it records over 2,200 lines per picture height, peaking at more than 2,600 lines when stopped down to f/5.6. Key strengths (pros) of the lens include its extreme sharpness, minimal distortion of just 0.1 percent, and a fast f/1.4 aperture that allows for excellent low-light shooting and precise depth-of-field control, making it highly desirable for portrait photography. It also features a useful manual focus ring that remains stationary during autofocus and allows for immediate manual override at all times. However, the lens suffers from significant physical and financial drawbacks (cons), as it is noted for being big, heavy, and expensive. Measuring 3.6 by 3.1 inches and weighing 1.5 pounds, the lens is physically larger and heavier than the compact NX camera bodies it mounts to, creating an unbalanced setup that would benefit from...

However, the lens has notable drawbacks, starting with obvious softness across the whole frame when shooting wide open at f/1.4; users must stop down to f/2 or f/2.8 to achieve critical sharpness. Its Super Sonic Actuator (SSA) autofocus system is virtually silent but quite slow, taking over a full second to rack from its minimum focusing distance of 82cm to infinity. Furthermore, despite being a mirrorless lens, it is physically large, heavy (weighing over 1.5 lbs), and carries a high $849 price tag, making it a substantial investment in both size and cost.

The Samsung NX 85mm f/1.4 ED SSA is an ultra-fast telephoto prime lens designed for APS-C mirrorless cameras, offering a full-frame equivalent focal length of 131mm and a depth-of-field equivalent to f/2.2. The physical build is exceptional, featuring a durable combination of metal and high-quality plastic parts alongside a sturdy metal lens mount. A notable design advantage is its constant physical length during focusing, which naturally helps protect the interior elements from dust and debris even without official weather sealing. Additionally, it features a Super-Sonic Actuator (SSA) motor for quiet autofocus, supports full-time manual focusing via a mechanically linked focus ring, includes a physical focus distance scale, and incorporates Samsung’s iFn feature. However, the lens presents several drawbacks regarding its size and autofocus performance. Due to its fast f/1.4 aperture, the lens is quite bulky and looks somewhat unusual when mounted on compact mirrorless camera bodies. While the autofocus accuracy is generally fine at its maximum aperture of f/1.4, the review notes a slight focus shift when stopping down the aperture, meaning users may need to double-check their shots. Furthermore,...

However, the lens has several physical and functional drawbacks, most notably the complete lack of image stabilisation. Its large size and mass dwarf smaller camera bodies like the NX200, causing the barrel to extend below the camera base-plate, which makes attaching large tripod plates difficult. Additionally, the included lens hood has an incredibly slippery surface finish that creates a dropping hazard, leading the reviewer to label it a liability. Despite these handling issues, it remains an excellent, high-performing choice for portrait photographers.

The Trusted Reviews analysis of the Samsung 85mm f/1.4 ED SSA i-F lens highlights its exceptional image quality, awarding a perfect 20/20 score for outstanding sharpness and peak resolution at f/4. As a premium portrait option for NX-mount mirrorless cameras, it delivers, but with notable handling issues, including a large 700g weight that causes severe imbalance on smaller bodies and a slippery lens hood. The lens's design causes practical issues, such as fouling the camera baseplate on smaller bodies and lacking any image stabilization, according to the review. Despite these ergonomic drawbacks and the lack of OIS, the lens offers excellent optical performance for, among others, the Samsung NX11.

The Samsung 85 mm f/1.4 ED SSA NX is an ultra-bright, fixed focal length lens designed for serious portrait and studio photographers using the NX mirrorless system. Evaluated by Focus Review on a Samsung NX30 body, the lens stands out for its exceptional optical performance, delivering unparalleled image sharpness across the entire aperture range, which peaks at f/8. Additionally, it features excellent mechanical build quality, a beautifully smooth and round bokeh due to its 9-blade aperture design, and complete freedom from both geometric distortion and chromatic aberration. Despite its stellar image quality, the lens has notable handling drawbacks that users must accommodate. It is a exceptionally large and heavy optic, extending 90 mm from the mount and weighing just under 700 grams, which disrupts the balance of compact camera bodies. It also completely lacks built-in image stabilization. While the lens utilizes a soundless "SSA" focus motor, its autofocus performance in real-world testing was disappointingly slow, taking over a full second to sweep across its focus range. Furthermore, it is susceptible to flaring and optical artifacts when shooting against bright light,...

The MusicPhotoLife review of the Samsung NX 85mm f1.4 ED SSA lens highlights its exceptional sharpness, superior color reproduction, and smooth bokeh, noting it outperforms older competitors like the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AFD. Key strengths include the fast f/1.4 aperture for portraiture, the silent SuperSonic Actuator (SSA) autofocus with full-time manual override, and excellent control over chromatic aberrations. However, the review details that the 696-gram lens is excessively heavy, causing significant balance issues on smaller NX bodies. Additional drawbacks include a slow, albeit quiet, autofocus speed and a long 0.82-meter minimum focusing distance that restricts its use for close-up shots.

However, the lineup suffers from distinct flaws across individual models, particularly regarding high chromatic aberration found in the 16mm f/2.4, 60mm f/2.8 Macro, and 45mm f/1.8 models. Price positioning is another notable con; the NX 45mm f/1.8 feels overpriced at $350 when compared to rival Sony options that include built-in image stabilisation for less money. Sharpness consistency also acts as a drawback for some lenses, as seen with the 30mm pancake dropping off outside the center and the 45mm f/1.8 lagging behind the top performers in sheer resolving power.

The Samsung 85mm f/1.4 ED NX Lens stands out as a highly capable but physically imposing prime lens designed for Samsung's mirrorless system. Testing reveals exceptional image quality, with the lens producing incredibly sharp photos across its entire range. At its maximum f/1.4 aperture, it scores over 2,200 lines per picture height, easily clearing the standard benchmark for sharpness. This fast aperture provides photographers with excellent depth-of-field control and powerful low-light shooting capabilities. On NX bodies, it provides a 125mm equivalent field of view, making it a premium choice for portrait photography. However, its performance is accompanied by notable design drawbacks. The lens is exceptionally bulky, measuring 3.6 by 3.1 inches and weighing 1.5 pounds. When paired with ultra-compact camera bodies like the Samsung NX1000, it creates a highly awkward, front-heavy setup that looks like a small camera glued to a large SLR lens. Additionally, the lens carries a high price tag. In summary, the pros are its outstanding sharpness, wide f/1.4 aperture for low light, and excellent depth control; the cons are its massive size, heavy weight, and premium...

On the downside, studio testing reveals that both the image center and corners are relatively soft when shooting wide open at f/1.4. Additionally, RAW shooters will notice distinct purple fringing in high-contrast areas that requires manual correction in software, though in-camera JPEGs resolve this automatically. Despite the wide-open softness, sharpness gradually improves upon stopping down, reaching exceptionally high peaks across the entire frame at f/8, with diffraction only becoming an issue beyond f/16. Ultimately, the reviewer highly recommends this lens as a premier creative tool for NX1 users, noting that its smooth background transitions outweigh any laboratory softness in real-world portrait and studio applications.