New Member Registered: October, 2014 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: July 7, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp with beautiful bokeh and flare handling. Pairs extremely well with focal reducers. | | Cons: | Size compared to vintage 50 F1.4s | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: G9, E-M10 II, Sony A7II
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I don't normally rate lenses, but this particular lens stands out like none other that I have used.
Micro-four-thirds didn't really have access to cheap fast lenses for a long time. I've been collecting 50mm lenses and focal reducers.
Through use of them certain lenses stood out. The Nikon 50mm F1.4 was quite nice wide open. The Canon FD 50 F1.2 was also pretty good for the speed. The Zeiss Planar 50 F1.7 was very sharp wide open and the SMC takumar sharp, contrasty but dark?
When I purchased the Rokinon 50 F1.4, I was forced to reevaluate what "very good" meant.
So I tested all of my 50s and focal reducers together.
The Samyang is not just sharper but gives better contrast than my other vintage glass. What really threw me for a loop, was the smoother bokeh, while being sharper. Flare resistance was also generations ahead. There's some chromatic aberration, but it's not serious. It's just abnormal to me that such a sharp and contrasty lens would also deliver such smooth bokeh.
The only real weak point of the lens would be its size and weight. It dwarfs my vintage 50mm F1.4s, and is even larger than the 55mm F1.2 Canon FD lens. It's not built as sturdy as the 50 year old metal canon FD
That aside, the quality of the image. Sharpness and creamy bokeh, has me leaving this on my camera by default. I'm using a G9 with a Pixco or Metabones focal reducer, which makes this lens group a 35mm F1.0. To facilitate the use of the focal reducer adapter, I'm using a Canon EF mount version of this lens.
If you like vintage glass, this lens does not look vintage at all. If you like manual lenses in general though, this has the optical performance to satisfy.
https://beomagi.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-bevy-of-vintage-50s-and-focal-reducers.html
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New Member Registered: November, 2019 Posts: 1 | | Review Date: April 16, 2023 | Recommended | Price: $368.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | Sharp, even wide-open. | | Cons: | Size. Lengthly focus travel. Lens hood. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 7
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
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Bought as a Samyang-badged version for my K-1
Extremely sharp lens, even wide open at f1.4
Is rather large and heavy, although some reviewers describe this as 'having presence'.
I find the focusing throw a little long for my tastes.
Couldn't get on with the supplied plastic lens hood, with the result my example now wears a B+W rubber lens hood, in common with a lot of lenses in my collection.
Sadly, due to it's size and excessive focusing throw, this lens doesn't spend as much time on my K-1 as I'd originally intended, being frequently discarded in favour of my favourite SMC-A 50mm f1.7
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New Member Registered: October, 2019 Posts: 20 | | Review Date: December 23, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, even at F1.4! | | Cons: | Maybe its size | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K70
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I was looking for a good replacement for my good old M 50mm 1.7 lens. The Pentax DFA50mm 1.4 is just too big and heavy to use as a daily lens (and expensive). This Samyang 50mm 1.4 is just perfect! Its really really sharp and the bokeh is to die for! If you don't care about AF, this lens is the deal!
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Senior Member Registered: February, 2017 Posts: 146 | | Review Date: December 28, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $420.00
| Rating: 8 |
| Pros: | Wide max aperture, Bokeh rendering, Overall image quality, Aperture rings means the lens can be easily adapted to mirrorless cameras. | | Cons: | Bad flare resistance (loss of contrast, alway use a hood), On APS-C it needs to be stopped down to f5.6 for best sharpness, In some conditions colours tend to look a bit yellow, Lens hood mount got somewhat loose after a few uses | | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: Pentax K-70
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On a full frame camera it's a no-brainer. I'm surprised people don't talk more about this lens.
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