The Samyang 85mm f/1.4 Lens for MFT is for the first time in Stock at BHphoto (Click here).
Also, third party resellers have the E-M1 in Stock for $1269 at Amazon US (Click here).
Reminder: Get 20% off on all Olympus camera by using the coupon code “PRESIDENT” in your cart for savings at GetOlympus (Click here). Still valid today only!
P.S.: The Panasonic GX7 with kit lens sells for $874 at Amazon (Click here).
25 Responses
I don’t understand the point of this lens at all. Better to get the Nikon version. It won’t change hardly anything in terms of size. There is nothing to be lost in usability (neither has AF), and with the Nikon version, you could use a speedbooster and make it a super fast (f1.0 or faster?) approx 60mm.
The lens is not for modern day sports or action shooting, OK? It is more suitable for portraits, and the bokeh is better than the 75mm f/1.8 because this lens is faster at f/1.4 and also longer at 85mm. That’s fantastic when you think about its low cost, and a quality that is up there as the Olympus 75mm. I believe that the equivalent Nikon or Canon is not as good in value or quality.
So, it is great for studios, but also for outdoors and still objects when you can take the time to focus. If you camera has Focus Peaking, this lens will be fine. If your camera has IBIS, it will be even nicer. If you have an optional grip for your camera, the size and handling problem is solved. The newer high-end Olympus cameras have Focus Peaking, IBIS and the grip.
Look, these fast 85mm lenses were available even in the film era, when there was no AF and lots of great photos were taken with them, except most photographers could not afford one because it costed about 2 months’ of the average salary then.
I think you misunderstood my post! :). The samyang/rokinon/whatever is a very good lens and available in several mounts. Most people think all of these are optically identical. I am saying people are better off buying the samyang with Nikon mount, as you do not lose any functionality, and gain:
*ability to use speedbooster
*ability to use teleconverter
*improved resale value
Sorry, I clicked and replied to the wrong person (you). I made my comments because so many people dismissed this lens without considering properly its amazing value for those who can use them or who shoot certain ways and have the right camera.
“the bokeh is better than the 75mm f/1.8 because this lens is faster at f/1.4 and also longer at 85mm. That’s fantastic when you think about its low cost, and a quality that is up there as the Olympus 75mm”
Agree! An absolutely great lens, better than the Olympus 75mm, at a great price!
A terrific idea, indeed, to buy a Nikon mount and use a Metabones speed booster! Cannot even imagine the results.
Yup, I own a bunch of m4/3 cameras and I’ll be getting this lens but in a Nikon F mount later this year to use primarily on my m4/3 cameras 😀
Camerasize does not have that lens in the database. How does it compare to the Olympus 75mm f/1.8? Both in size, weight and IQ? At this price is very tempting (and I hope it’ll help Oly to bring the price of the 75mm down)
565g vs 300g, so a little less than twice as heavy. 10cm long vs 6.9cm, 72mm vs 58mm filter thread.
dav – the Samyang apparently has very good IQ, though I would be surprised if it can match the sharpness of the Olympus (not much does). However, it weighs 539g (compared to the 75’s 305g) and is 75mm long in full-frame format, so you can add another 27mm onto that for the “built-in” adapter for a total of 102mm (compared to 69mm for the 75/1.8).
By all accounts it’s a great lens and fantastic great value, but if you’re buying it for Micro Four Thirds, I would strongly recommend getting it in Nikon mount and using an adaptor. Since the lens is manual focus and has no electrical contacts anyway, you aren’t losing anything, and that way you can use it on Nikon, Sony, Fuji, M4/3, or even Canon EF if you prefer. Much better resale value due to its versatility as well, I’m sure.
Yes, and in Nikon mount you could turboboost it as well, if you’re into that sort of thing.
If only the speed booster wasn’t that expensive!
I know it’s fine optics, but $300 for the Samyang, plus $400 for the speed booster, I’d take the Olympus 75mm any day. Yes, it’s f/1.8 instead of f/1 but it’s auto-everything (including EXIF, IBIS, etc) vs manual everything (including IBIS that if you forget to select the right FL you’ve troubles). Even using the speed booster with my “free” Contax/Yashica legacy lenses (if it existed), would not be a good use of my limited amount of money…
I was actually wondering if it wasn’t possible to build a speed booster out of some old lens parts (certainly with less sharpness, but I’d be fine with it provided that it doesn’t become soft focus).
You can get a RJ speedbooster for a little over $100 that apparently is pretty good. The guy over at personal-view sells them (and I’m sure they have a website/ebay presence too)
I have a focal reducer, it was really cheap to at about US$130ish. Is called the “RJ Lens Turbo”, and I got it from here:
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/9086/rj-lens-turbo-m43-adapters/p1
You can see here a review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry0nuJrXhpg
Very cool, thanks! Looks like this is cheaper and better quality than the mitakon and fotodiox which I’ve learned exist. Certainly worth trying it. Too bad they don’t make it in CY mount!
Well, I can I should buy the EOS version and use the CY-to-EOS adapter. Yes, I know about http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/09/there-is-no-free-lunch-episode-763-lens-adapters but this is for fun, not serious work, otherwise I’d be considering the Metabones.
I see, thanks.
I guess I could dig out my old Contax/Yashica ones then (it’s in my todo list anyway). Sure, mine are f/2.8 not f/1.4 but then (how Turbofrog said) I can’t probably nail focus at f/1.4 anyway.
It is full manual lens(manual focus and manual aperture). And version for mft weights actually more than versions for full frame Canon/Nikon… So it is likely usuall full frame Samyang lens with built in mft adapter. May be more cost effective to buy Samyang lens for Canon mount and buy separate adapter. But optical quality of that lens is reported to be very good, it is one of the best lenses made by Samyang. So, mft lens should be not worse than Oly 75 for manual focusing pixel peepers))
Part of the trouble is, nailing critical focus with long focal lengths is really, really hard. Especially with large apertures.
I was shooting a volleyball game this past weekend with a legacy 90mm f/2.8, and even when stopped down to f/5, the distance between focus and blur on one side of the court vs. the other was just about 1-2mm on the focus ring. Really tough!
If you’re exceptionally gifted at manual focus or shooting static subjects, I imagine you could get similar results with the Samyang as with the Oly, but for the rest of us mere mortals, AF is a lot more idiot proof.
If this is the same 85mm f/1.4 lens that exists for other mounts, it is rather nice, though, as some have said, get the Nikon/Canon mount as it would allow for a more versatile use.
I have the Four Thirds version (that cost me 220€), and it is quite a nice lens, though I would like if it could focus a bit closer.
Here, have a few samples of my flickr photostream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zebarnabe/12376320255/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zebarnabe/12376026225/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zebarnabe/8213629131/
Hi ! Nice pics 🙂
I’m very interrested by this lens, can you tell me where you bought this Walimex version ? Thanks
I had a nikon mount vivitar brand mounted on my GF1 using an adapter, and I had to give it up in few days. Main reason was, it is nearly impossible to focus, the depth of field is so shallow, most of the picture I took were out of focus. And yes I was using the LVF1, that didn’t help. But those were in focus, they were fantastic, sharp all over, from corner to corner, even at wise open. I guess thats because the M 4/3 camera only uses the sweat spot of that lens.
Also the weight, especially when shooting with live view LCD, you stretch your arms out, on hand holding the camera, try to balance, while the other try to focus, not an easy job.
The Olympus discount code is not working, at 540pm Pacific Time (US West Coast). They just lost an E-M1 sale.
Forget this m43 version. This lens has near 0 resale value as it is.
Better get Canikon and hope for the best.
At least you can slap a Speedbooster on one for some 120mm f1.0 goodness in a smaller package then native m43.
I don’t think people should be quite so quick to totally discount the benefits of native mount lenses.
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/09/there-is-no-free-lunch-episode-763-lens-adapters
It’s not nearly so bad as he makes it out to be. The graphs are flat out bogus, since they’re stating the MTF drops to 0.
They even say it:
“While the graph makes it look like the MTF drops to zero, that’s simply because the settings we’re using report zero if focusing distance changes greatly or vignetting become severe.”
So they’re fixing the graphs to make it look worse than it really is. Curvature of the focus plane is unchanged when using an adapter. The WORST that would happen is the plane of the lenses isn’t perfectly parallel to the sensor, but if so it’s NOT too big a deal in practice. You still get a flat focus plane. and for all the adapters I use, I’ve never noticed it angled in practice.
Saying vignetting becomes severe is BUNK most of the time, since you will have LESS vignetting adapting FF lenses to crop sensors than running them on the FF anyway.
Here’s a comparison I did of a 25mm f1.4 PL vs a 35mm F2 F Nikon on focal reducer:
http://beomagi.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-little-test-of-4-different-25mm-f14.html
The adapted lens has FAR less vignetting than if in a FF camera, even less than the native lens.
The native micro4/3 Samyang 7.5 Fisheye is EXCELLENT!
That being said, these APS-C calculated monsters do neither give the quality nor the size that makes micro4/3 into a genuinely competitive system. I´ve tested this 85-er and the 35/1.4 Cine, both had awful corner sharpness even at 2.8, with the 35mm lens being the worst lens I´ve ever had on my Lumix! Even with 5.6 it couldn´t match the native Lumix kitlens. Sorry to say, but whoever stated, this is on par with the Olympus 75 is either paid by Samyang, blind, or blatantly altering the truth, so to speak… 😉
There are of course setups (portraits, available light shootings with shallow DOF etc.) where these MIGHT come in handy, but there are – even at this price – better alternatives. The usual 35/1.7 C-mount selling on ebay for around 30 bucks is insanely good value for your dosh and outplayed the 500 Dollars Samyang, at least on micro4/3. Well, imho.
And if you want the real deal, get yourself some great Minolta MC/MD lenses (called the Leicas of the poor man…), for instance the 35/1.8, the 50/2.0 or 1.2, the 85/1.7 or the 100/2.0 or cheaper 2.5, get the original (!) MD-MFT Speedbooster and prepare to be amazed!!! I am constantly playing for weeks now with the 50/1.2 (in micro4/3 terms that would be a 35/0.8…) and it is just simply AMAZING what you can achieve with that. And the 100/2.0 (which indeed has a pricetag over 500 bucks, but well worth every cent) renders you amazingly center-sharp, yet beautifully shallow DOF at (in MFT terms) 70/1.4.
There you go 🙂