Samyang 85mm F 1 4 AS IF UMC Review | 54 Data compared

The ePHOTOzine review highlights the Samyang 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC lens as a budget-friendly, manual-focus portrait optic featuring solid construction with a durable metal lens mount. It delivers excellent central sharpness, low distortion, and smooth bokeh at f/1.4, though it requires a one-metre closest focus distance. Cons include a notably stiff, tight manual focus ring, significant vignetting and soft corners at wide apertures, and potential flare under direct light. Overall, the lens is considered an exceptional value for the price, provided the user can manage the handling, according to the review.

The Samyang/Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC is a full-frame manual prime lens praised for its sharp performance at maximum aperture, exceptional distortion control, and robust build quality featuring internal focusing. Despite these strengths, the budget lens lacks autofocus, making focusing at f/1.4 challenging, and exhibits longitudinal chromatic aberration, noticeable corner shading, and a 1-meter minimum focusing distance.

The Samyang 85mm f/1.4 Aspherical lens delivers strong performance for its class, particularly regarding its optical control. Its main advantages include perfectly controlled lateral chromatic aberrations at just 0.6 pixels and marginal barrel distortion (~0.4%) that remains unnoticeable during real-world use. The bokeh quality stands out as another major pro, offering near-perfect out-of-focus highlights at f/1.4 and f/2 with general blur rendered beautifully. Furthermore, despite hefty absolute vignetting at f/1.4 (1.8EV), peripheral light falloff is remarkably well-controlled compared to rival lenses and disappears entirely by f/2.8. Conversely, the lens exhibits a few notable drawbacks at its widest aperture settings. At f/1.4, image contrast drops slightly, resolution is soft at the edges, and the center sharpness is only ranked as "very good". A major technical con is the presence of heavy bokeh fringing (longitudinal chromatic aberrations), which displays visible purple and green halos from f/1.4 to f/2.8. Additionally, stopping down causes a slight focus shift toward the background due to residual spherical aberrations, and the non-circular aperture blades create more angled, geometric highlights starting at f/2.8. Sharpness improves significantly through stopping...

The Samyang 85mm F1.4 AS IF UMC lens is an affordable, compact prime lens popular for portrait photography and available across multiple camera systems, including Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Fujifilm. Optically, the lens delivers a center-weighted sharpness score of 1,957 lines at f/1.4 on a 36-megapixel sensor, which results in noticeable softness and chromatic aberration wide open. However, performance improves dramatically when stopped down, jumping to 2,590 lines at f/2 and peaking at 3,669 lines at f/11. The mechanical design features an eight-blade aperture diaphragm for smooth out-of-focus highlights and a textured focus ring with a long throw for precise manual adjustments. The primary advantages of this lens include its highly competitive pricing, exceptional sharpness when stopped down, minimal distortion, and even frame illumination at narrower apertures. On the downside, it suffers from a soft output and edge dimming (-1.5EV) at f/1.4, lacks optical image stabilization, and relies entirely on a manual focus design that may not suit every photographer. Ultimately, while the Editors' Choice Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G offers sharper wide-open performance and autofocus, the Samyang remains a...

The Samyang 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC is a fast, manual-focus, medium-telephoto prime lens offering exceptional value and outstanding background separation, particularly suited for portraiture. Key benefits include a robust, internally focusing design with specialized Ultra Multi-Coating (UMC) to manage flare, along with an 8-blade diaphragm producing smooth bokeh and minimal distortion. Conversely, the lens requires full manual focus, with a somewhat stiff focus ring, and produces soft, "dreamy" images with noticeable chromatic aberration when used at its widest f/1.4 aperture. Heavy vignetting at f/1.4 is also present, requiring correction in post-processing or stopping down to f/2.8 for even illumination, yet it remains a strong, budget-friendly alternative to native lenses.

The Samyang 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC is a budget-friendly, manual-focus portrait lens that delivers exceptional sharpness and minimal distortion when stopped down to f/2 or smaller, all within a solidly built, versatile design for various camera systems. While offering great value, the lens features a strictly manual-focus design, displays noticeable softness and vignetting when used at the maximum f/1.4 aperture, and lacks built-in optical stabilization.

The Samyang 85mm f1.4 AS IF UMC lens delivers excellent image sharpness, strong contrast, and vivid colour rendering when tested on the Fujifilm X-PRO3 camera. The reviewer notes impressive micro-contrast and deep tonal separation across highlight and shadow zones, particularly on complex winter textures like snow, ice, and bare tree branches. Built entirely from metal, the lens offers premium, durable haptics and a smoothly damped focus ring. Despite its 610g weight and 101mm length, it defies expectations by providing an incredibly well-balanced, comfortable setup on the 497g Fujifilm camera body. A noticeable drawback of this lens is its prominent, clicked aperture ring, which is significantly louder than comparable manual gear like the 7Artisans 50mm f1.2 lens. Its physical footprint is also substantial, adding a lengthy polymer lens hood to an already long 101mm chassis. However, the reviewer finds these downsides minor, concluding that the setup is highly engaging to shoot with in the field. Final judgment on its fine details is reserved for an upcoming evaluation on a 3D Test Chart.

The Samyang 85mm F1.4 AS IF UMC is an affordable, manual-focus portrait lens that offers excellent value across multiple camera systems. Measuring 2.8 by 3.1 inches and weighing 1.1 pounds, this compact yet slightly heavy lens features a high-quality plastic barrel and an eight-blade aperture diaphragm designed to deliver smooth out-of-focus highlights. In performance testing using a 36-megapixel Nikon D810, the lens scores 1,957 lines at f/1.4, which presents noticeable softness and chromatic aberration in high-contrast areas. However, its image quality improves dramatically when stopped down, jumping to 2,590 lines at f/2 and peaking at an incredibly sharp 3,669 lines at f/11. It also exhibits zero geometric distortion and maintains highly uniform illumination across the frame at f/2 and narrower apertures. The review highlights several distinct pros and cons for prospective buyers. The primary advantages include its budget-friendly price point, minimal distortion, even frame illumination when stopped down, and wide compatibility with almost every major SLR and mirrorless system. Additionally, it becomes exceptionally sharp starting at f/2 and provides a smooth, long focus throw for precise adjustments. On the downside,...