Photo Plus - UK (2019-12)

SUPERTEST

110 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

Centre Middle Edge

Sharpness

f/1.2f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

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SAMYANG MF 85mm

f/1.4 RF £319/$379

A yesteryear design for the cameras of tomorrow?

Surely that’s nonsense, or is it?

o make the most of

mirrorless cameras,

you’d naturally look for

lenses that’re laden with

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AF and probably effective

image stabilization. This

manual lens from Samyang

is the complete opposite.

There are no internal

electronics, so the lens can’t

communicate with the camera

body. You can therefore only

shoot effectively in Manual or

Aperture Priority modes. And

you can’t adjust the aperture

from the camera, instead

needing to turn the aperture

control ring on the lens. The

aperture isn’t shown in the

camera’s information display,

nor recorded in EXIF info.

There’s also no autofocus or

image stabilization.

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sound a dead loss, the reality

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'6/5VDUHSRRUIRUPDQXDO

focusing, but the electronic

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of mirrorlesses make it easier,

especially with aids like ‘focus

peaking’. The typically long

travel of the focus ring in this

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precise and accurate tweaks.

Performance

A hybrid aspherical element,

and Samyang’s Ultra Multi

Coating, help to deliver very

good image quality with little

lateral or longitudinal

chromatic aberration,

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Sharpness is great at f/2 and

excellent at apertures of f/2.8

and narrower. It drops off

substantially at, f/1.4 but

there’s still enough sharpness

on tap to deliver richly

detailed portraits.

FEATURES

VERDICT

01

Ultra Multi Coatings

enable high light

transmittance with

low reflectivity.

02

A circular bayonet-fit

hood and pouch are

supplied.

03

The smooth-action

focus ring has a long

travel, enabling

excellent precision.

04

Aperture can’t be

adjusted from the

camera, only the

control ring.

05

Build quality is ace,

considering the

price, complete with

weather-seals.

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

PERFORMANCE

VALUE

OVERALL

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T

t’s not really an extra mile, but an extra 20mm,

compared with more typical 85mm portrait

lenses. The idea behind the design is to

maximize sharpness across the frame, while

optimizing the bokeh, so defocused areas look

extra smooth and soft. It achieves its goals very well.

Sharpness remains great to the corners, even when

shooting wide-open, while bokeh is ultra-smooth.

Vignetting is noticeable at f/1.4, but isn’t severe,

thanks in part to the wide physical diameter of the lens.

Distortion is negligible and colour fringing is minimal.

The downside is that it’s a relatively big, heavy lens

for handheld shooting, weighing in at 1645g. As such, it

comes with a tripod mounting ring. The price isn’t slim

either, at £1395/$1599, but you get what you pay for.

THE BOKEH

MASTER

Billed as the ‘bokeh

master’, Sigma’s 105mm

f/1.4 DG HSM Art goes

the extra mile

I

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