| Author: | | New Member Registered: February, 2014 Posts: 2 | | Review Date: February 24, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $735.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Unbelievable sharp, no CA, precise focus | | Cons: | none (after one day) | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-3
| |
Just a little bit smaller than the DA*200 with the same weight, feels solid but plastic. The focus ring is well damped and allows precise setting (200deg). Catch-in Focus works very well.
This is an extraordinary sharp lens!
Sharpness @F2.0 compares already to F6.3 and stopping down to F2.2 the lens noticeably gains resolution, now already comparable to F4.5. Any setting between F2.2 and F4.5 is indistinguishable razor sharp. Very low CA, much better than my DA*200. Even in combination with the DA 1,4x AW and set to F2.2 it is as sharp as the DA* @F4.0!!
| | | | | | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: October, 2009 Posts: 137
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 29, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $530.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | sharp, sharp, bokeh, IQ, nice colours | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K3
| |
well this is again some piece of engineering. Combined with K3 and grip it balances very well and it is comparable with 50 135 in weight and size
I use a Katz-eye and that helps with manual focus; for small objects I use the LV. Manual focus works very well as with all SY's
(I own 8, 10, 14, 16, 24, 35, 85 and now this 135  )
I like the fact that it can be used at 80cm (SY 85 needs 100 cm)
good for portraits, walkaround, birding, street photography, bokeh-objects
example photo's
[IMG] [/IMG]
[IMG] [/IMG]
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: April, 2015 Location: USA Posts: 2,874
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: January 7, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $780.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | World class sharpness and clarity! | | Cons: | Slightly muted colors, manual focus, heavy | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: k3ii
| |
ok
| | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2015 Posts: 4 | | Review Date: February 21, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Fantastic range, sharpness , IQ | | Cons: | Lack of af | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: K3, K30, K7 , K5
| |
Fantastic lens, fantastic range, love it !! It's my very best lens out of the 12 superior glass that i own 
The lack of af makes it a difficult lens to use, but with the focus peaking and live view, it's fine 
 | | | | | | | Pentaxian Registered: July, 2011 Posts: 2,385
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: March 4, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $600.00
| Rating: 9 |
| Pros: | nice specs not found in Pentax land | | Cons: | No AF, no full communication, focus shift | | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 8
Value: 8
Camera Used: K3
| |
Nice lens with very interesting specs for me and my work. The lens is very sharp even wide open with little abberations. Focusing is manual (obviously), mount is KA with no electronic communication. Focus and aperture ring rotate in Pentax direction.
Mechanics work well, fitting in the price range. Focusing is fairly stiff not as smooth as with classic manual lenses. Barrel is covered with plastic and metal and feels OK. Lens shade is cheaply made, but works. Mount fits well, but no electronic communication with the camera. You need to tell the camera the focal length for shake reduction, ...
With live view focus may be nailed and is great, but you do not want to use this lens in live view all the time. I used Katzeye focusing screen (screen was shimmed correctly before for my Pentax lenses) for manual viewfinder focusing. Focus was fine up to 2 m. From 3-5 m I experienced a focus shift that strongly affected image quality wide open. Focus shift is not what you want in such a lens and live view is not what you want to use all the time either and no I will not shim my screen for this lens accepting an offset for my other lenses.
Focus peaking is a gimmick not a feature. I don't care to fine adjust a manual lens...
The lens is on its way home.
| | | | | Junior Member Registered: October, 2016 Posts: 28
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: May 23, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $490.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Incredible sharpness, technically excellent image quality. Great value | | Cons: | Manual focus, and the manual focus is a bit stiff too. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 8
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K1
| |
This is by far my favourite lens for the Pentax K1. With this lens and Pixel shift, the K1 produces image quality that rivals medium format. Stitching a few images takes the final photographs into medium format territory. It's a technically excellent lens too, not just sharp. The downside is manual focus so I think it would be better on a mirrorless camera but with focus peaking on the K1 it is a gem.
A lot of the photos at www.BenEvansPhotography.com were taken with this lens.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: February, 2013 Location: Bay Area/Peninsula, CA Posts: 99 | | Review Date: October 15, 2017 | Recommended | Price: $449.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharpness, CA, handling | | Cons: | Hood (barely a gripe) | |
The lens is off-the-charts great, my go-to for portraits and faux macros and probably my favorite lens. I will gladly take a hike away from my subject to use it vs. the FA 77 on the K-1 for portraits. The 0.8 m minimum focus distance is a nice bonus for a telephoto and makes it useful for shots that would otherwise require macro. Sharp from wide open, CA and PF virtually absent.
| | | | | New Member Registered: May, 2017 Posts: 6
1 user found this helpful
| | Review Date: April 5, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $400.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Super sharp, great colours and lovely bokeh | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
| |
I do a lot of family portraits and subject isolation shots. I have and still will be using the 77mm limited and 100 mm WR macro for this work but wanted something a little longer with reduced DoF for subject isolation and some creative work. I can't fault this lens it's sharper than anything else I own and the bokeh is wonderful. I'm not finding any problems with manually focusing either, I use the audible spot focus point to confirm focus and even at f2 I'm finding this works well.
You can check out a range of my shots with this lens and the K-1 here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/84429093@N08/albums/72157689267539520 | | | | | Site Supporter Registered: September, 2015 Location: Berlin Posts: 128 | | Review Date: August 28, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $350.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Bokeh, sharpness even at F2, IQ, looks professional | | Cons: | heavy | |
I love Shooting with this lens. It Always Looks professional when using the Hood.
I got the lens cheap - used but in mint condition.
The Image Quality is awesome , even at F2 its sharp from Center to the edges.
I sold my Tamron 90mm F2.8 SP Macro 1:1 because the samyang is much sharper in my eyes (and the tamron is an Incredible lens). Also digital zoom into macro is as sharp as the Tamron !
For Portrait you can use the full aperture range from F2 to F22.
I also have the Pentax-A 135mm F2.8 and its Image Quality is galaxies away from the samyang.
Cons:
-Its a Tank... its just heavy. Thats why its not easy to handle it when shooting. You need a smooth handling, good control and short exposure Times (easy cause you can shoot with F2!!!). But If you train it a bit You will love this lens. Shooting The Moon is possible but its better to use a tripod for it.
-No Autofocus... If you Need it, its a probem. I love Shooting in Manual, cause it Always Looks professional . If you Need Autofocus for your Portrait you can use the Pentax AF 1,7x Adapter and pre-focus on the lens and use autofocus via the Adapter. It works properly together and IQ is not getting bad.
I shooted Moon and Mars at the last Bloodmoon in July 2018. (using the Pentax-AF 1,7x Adapter).
All in All; Get this lens.
It is a jewel (I cant think that the Pentax 135mm F1.8 will be better. The Porst 135mm F1.8 is miles away from the samyang)
Greetings
| | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2018 Location: California Posts: 103 | | Review Date: March 29, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $409.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Bokeh, great design | | Cons: | None | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-1
| |
I wanted to see how sharp this lens really was after reading some crazy good reviews. now it is perfect in a lot of ways and the only negatives I could find are that the colors wash out in direct light, and that the front element is pretty big.
I'll let the pics do the talking
This is a crop of a pic taken in portrait orientation
This is pixel shifted and it's just about the sharpest edge to edge image I've taken
 | | | | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2018 Location: Telemark Posts: 86 | | Review Date: April 6, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $580.00
| Rating: N/A |
| Pros: | Sharpness, Bokeh | | Cons: | Too neutral colors? | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
| |
The sharpest of my many lenses for Pentax K-1. Sharper than other Samyang/Rokinon-lenses too.
| | | | | Pentaxian Registered: June, 2011 Posts: 485 | | Review Date: November 17, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $330.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | super sharp, large aperture, good build quality | | Cons: | Nothing that I have ran into yet. | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
| |
I'm not surprised to have come here to review this lens and see that it is one of the highest rated lenses by Pentax forum members. This lens is the most impressive lens I have ever shot with, and that's pretty awesome for a sub $500 lens.
I bought this lens specifically to use with astrotracer to up my astrophotography game. It's incredible. At f2 it is sharp and the stars look great. Still practicing my own game, but the lens itself isn't holding me back, that's for sure. I shot the andromeda galaxy for the first time with this lens, and for a newbie like me, I think it turned out pretty good.
When I don't have time for astro shoots (most of the time) I have used this lens for portraits of my family. It blows me away. The rendition, the sharpness at f2, the ease of manual focusing. Clearly a winner for that use case as well.
I have shot some landscape with it, but not very much. Performed well there as you would expect. I'm more of a wide angle person when it comes to landscapes, but maybe I need to challenge myself a little more and start trying out this focal length.
If you already know that you would like this focal length/aperture for whatever it is you're doing, and can live with manual focus, then I would not hesitate to recommend this lens.
| | | | | Site Supporter Registered: June, 2013 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 573
5 users found this helpful
| | Review Date: November 29, 2019 | Recommended | Price: $500.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Tack sharp from f/2.0, very little CA | | Cons: | heavy | |
Using it almost entirely for astronomy. Being an f/2 lens it records faint nebulosities even with the short exposure times the astrotracer allows. It could easily be called an "astrograph". The lens is sharp corner to corner even at f/2.0. A dream lens, especially considering the price.
Stack of 18 X 30 s iso 800 @f/2.0. K-5 with astrotracer.
Pleiades with comet Wirtanen in December 2018
 | | | | | New Member Registered: January, 2019 Posts: 14 | | Review Date: March 13, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $290.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | | | Cons: | | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| |
A fantastic lens !
Definitely sharper than SMC Pentax K 135 / 2.5.
Very sharp from F2. Virtually free of defects.
The photo below was taken without a tripod. ISO 800, f 2.0
ISO 100, f 2.0 Minimally sharp RAW
ISO 100 f 8.0
 | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: November, 2014 Posts: 366 | | Review Date: July 16, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $450.00
| Rating: 10 |
| Pros: | Sharp, Bokeh, CA control, handling, everything! | | Cons: | Weight too much for a long hike | | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 10
Bokeh: 10
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K3
| |
I want to weld it on my K3! A joy to use with the battery grip to help balance it. The manual focus is smooth and the A setting on the aperture ring allows Hyper Program and Hyper Manual. I am surprised how easy it is to capture incredibly sharp, in focus shots manually or with catch in focus. And with Astrotracer it is ideal! A perfect lens for Comet Neowise!
| | |
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
