The Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 guarantees portrait efficiency at a fraction of the price of premium alternate options, however can a $500 lens actually compete with Canon’s $3,000 RF 85mm f/1.2? The useful video places each lenses by way of rigorous testing to find out if the huge value distinction interprets to significant efficiency gaps.
Coming to you from Shane Lengthy Pictures, this complete video comparability examines the Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 in opposition to Canon’s flagship portrait lens throughout a number of key areas. Lengthy begins by addressing his major concern: the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 spends an excessive amount of time sitting unused in his digicam bag, making its almost $3,000 price ticket troublesome to justify for his capturing type. The scale and weight issue additionally performs a vital function, as hand-holding the heavy Canon lens throughout lengthy marriage ceremony days has change into problematic for his wrist. By cautious side-by-side comparisons utilizing equivalent digicam settings and tripod positioning, Lengthy evaluates whether or not the Samyang can ship related outcomes for a fraction of the funding. His testing methodology contains inspecting bokeh high quality at a number of apertures, sharpness throughout the body, and real-world autofocus efficiency.
Key Specs
Focal Size: 85mm
Most Aperture: f/1.4
Minimal Aperture: f/16
Lens Mount: Canon RF, Sony E, Nikon F
Format Protection: Full body
Angle of View: 28.4°
Minimal Focus Distance: 2.95 ft / 90 cm
Magnification: 0.11x
Optical Design: 9 parts in 7 teams
Aperture Blades: 9, rounded
Filter Dimension: 77mm
Dimensions: 3.46 x 2.93 inches
Weight: 1.06 lb / 480 g
The bokeh comparability reveals fascinating outcomes that problem assumptions about costly glass. Lengthy discovers that whereas the Canon does produce barely bigger, extra pronounced background blur as a result of its wider most aperture and longer efficient focal size, the distinction turns into negligible in sensible capturing situations. At f/2, each lenses ship nearly equivalent background separation that purchasers would by no means distinguish between. Nonetheless, the sharpness testing exposes extra vital variations, significantly in how every lens performs throughout the body. The Canon maintains razor-sharp element from middle to edge even broad open, whereas the Samyang exhibits noticeable softness towards the body edges at most aperture. Lengthy’s pixel-peeping at 300% magnification demonstrates clear benefits for the Canon when capturing at f/1.2 versus f/1.4, although he questions whether or not such excessive enlargements matter for typical print sizes.
The autofocus efficiency and bodily traits current compelling arguments for each lenses. Lengthy’s burst capturing assessments along with his son working instantly towards the digicam reveal spectacular monitoring capabilities from the Samyang, nailing deal with 27 out of 32 pictures earlier than shedding observe close to the tip of the sequence. The burden distinction proves substantial: the Samyang weighs simply 1.28 kilos in comparison with the Canon’s 2.63 kilos, representing greater than a 50% discount that turns into significant throughout prolonged handheld capturing periods. Take a look at the video above for the total rundown from Lengthy.
