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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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
05
03
02
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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