{"id":22797,"date":"2020-01-12T22:07:24","date_gmt":"2020-01-12T21:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=22797"},"modified":"2024-04-21T13:29:33","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T12:29:33","slug":"review-samyang-af-35-1-4-fe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/review-samyang-af-35-1-4-fe\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Samyang AF 35\/1.4 FE – High Performance with Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Samyang AF 35\/1.4 FE is the most affordable in the croweded field of fast 35mm AF E-mount lenses. I this review I try to answer the question if it is a smart buy.<\/p>\n

Samyang AF 35\/1.4 FE Review<\/h1>\n

Most images in this review can be found in full resolution in my Samyang AF 35\/1.4 FE flickr set<\/a>. There you can also browse samples in a very high quality browser.<\/p>\n

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Specifications<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Diameter<\/td>\n76 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Length<\/td>\n115 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Filter Thread<\/td>\n67 mm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight (no hood, no caps)<\/td>\n645 g<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Max. Magnification<\/td>\n0.17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Close Focusing Distance from the sensor<\/td>\n30 cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Number of aperture blades<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Elements\/ Groups<\/td>\n11\/9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Mount<\/td>\nE-mount<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Samyang 1.4\/35 has a recommended price of $799 but usually sells for significantly less. Check current prices at amazon.com,<\/a>\u00a0B&H<\/a> or ebay.com<\/a>. In Germany the recommended price is 649 \u20ac. Check at amazon.de<\/a>.
\nIf you purchase the lens through one of these affiliate-links I get a small compensation with no additional cost to you.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Disclosure<\/h2>\n

I bought this copy used from my own money and used it for several months before writing this review.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Features<\/h2>\n

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The Samyang AF 35\/1.4 FE offers no buttons or any other features worth mentioning.<\/p>\n

Samyang offers a lens station ($60) to update firmware and change some settings. I am not sure I should call this a feature though since other manufacturers offer firmware updates without a dock and Samyangs firmware 01 and 02 had serious issues so I would strongly recommend to update it if you have an older version installed.<\/p>\n

Build quality<\/h2>\n

The Samyang AF 35\/1.4 FE feels nice enough thanks to a metal hull and a wide focus ring with a little low resistance. It doesn’t feel or look as a $1000 lens but at the same time it doesn’t feel cheap either.<\/p>\n

Samyang does not claim any weather resistance and the 1.4\/35 does not have a rubber gasket.<\/p>\n

As a team we have had several bad experiences with Samyang lenses which broke with no obvious reason. An experience many other users have had as well, going by forum entries and Amazon reviews. Also we have experienced above average variation with Samyang lenses as documented by lensrentals.com<\/a>. Of course lenses from other manufacturers break as well but it seems to be a lot more likely with Samyang lenses. I am not in a situation where I could put a reliable number on this but it is an aspect which I would keep in mind when buying a Samyang lens. The risk is offset in part by generous warranties offered by Samyang in some markets.<\/p>\n

Handling<\/h2>\n

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AF<\/h3>\n

I used the Samyang 35\/1.4 only on my a7II wich is a much slower focusing camera than the a7III and Sony’s other new models but I never felt limited by the AF-speed of the lens. AF makes a small noise which will probably be an issues for video but it is a non-issue for photography. AF-reliability is an issue though. It works ok most of the time but in other scenarios it is simply unreliable.<\/p>\n

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Manual Focus<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The\u00a0focus ring <\/strong>offers too little resistance in my eyes. It isn’t linear but close to that. In the default setting it travels around 90\u00b0 from 0.3m to infinity which is way too steep. If you have the dock you can adjust it so that it travels around 180\u00b0 which makes focusing easier but still no joy. The biggest issue I have is that focus jumps from one position to the next and it often feels like there are too few intermediate positions.<\/p>\n

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Best infinity focus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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the next focus position<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hood<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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The Samyang 35\/1.4’s hood is made from plastics, locks safely into place and protects the front of the lens well. It also adds a lot of bulk to the already bulky lens.<\/p>\n

Size and Weight<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Samyang 1.4\/35 | Sony FE 1.8\/35 | Voigtlander 1.2\/40<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At just 645g the Samyang 35\/1.4 is a rather big an heavy lens. It weights 15g more than the Sony ZA 1.4\/35 and 95 less than the Sigma 1.4\/35. If you compare it to the Sigma Art 1.2\/35 though it looks like a small and light lens being 435g lighter. The half a stop slower Sony 1.8\/35 is significantly smaller and less than half the weight.<\/p>\n

Optical performance<\/span><\/h2>\n

These results are based on the use with a Sony Alpha 7II.<\/p>\n

Flare Resistance<\/strong><\/h3>\n

As always evaluating flare is a complex matter since you can get any lens to look bad if you push it hard enough and a slight change of scenario will affect results a lot.<\/p>\n

I would rate the Samyang 35\/1.4 as below average when compared to other modern fast 35mm lenses. In a very challenging scenario results can look pretty bad with a red halo and significant ghosting as well as an above average amount of veiling flare. In a little less challenging scenarios I found performance ok.<\/p>\n