{"id":455,"date":"2015-02-12T23:21:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T22:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=455"},"modified":"2026-01-14T08:52:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T07:52:24","slug":"85mm-comparison-minolta-tokina-canon-samyang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/85mm-comparison-minolta-tokina-canon-samyang\/","title":{"rendered":"85mm comparison- Minolta, Tokina, Canon and Samyang"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DSC01192\"<\/a>
Minolta MD 2\/85, MC 1.7\/85, Tokina 2.5\/90 Macro, Samyang 1.4\/85, Canon FD 4\/80-200 L<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

After I published the Minolta List<\/a>\u00a0several kind people offered to lent me Minolta lenses so\u00a0I had a MD 2\/85 and MC 1.7\/85 plus several of my own lenses and made this test to see where the strengths and weaknesses of each lens are.<\/p>\n

All ebay links are affiliate links and it is appreciated if you use them,\u00a0it helps me to keep this site running.<\/p>\n

Bokeh<\/h1>\n

\"Bokeh1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I also tested foreground bokeh but the differences here were less noticeable The reason might be that my test setup wasn#t very good. You can find \u00a0it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sharpness<\/h1>\n

please click on the images to see them at 100%.<\/p>\n

This copy of\u00a0the MD 2\/85 is\u00a0decentered which invalidates my sharpness test with that lens, at least in the corners.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"f2center\"<\/a>
at f\/2 the Minolta MD clearly outperforms the other lenses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"in<\/a>
in the center all lenses perform more or less the same<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"f8midframe\"<\/a>
differences are pretty minor, I think the Samyang is the weakest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"now<\/a>
now the differences are more obvious, the Tokina performs best, theMC 1.7\/85 is second and the Samyang and Canon\u00a0share the last place<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Minolta MC Rokkor 85mm 1:1.7<\/h1>\n

\"DSC01185\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The lens is built to the highest standards, with a beautifully smooth focusing ring.<\/p>\n

At f\/1.7 the lens is a bit\u00a0soft and the lens is\u00a0outresolved by\u00a0the 24MP sensor even in the center. \u00a0Performance is pretty even across the\u00a0frame though.\u00a0Vignetting is quite noticeable and CA is well controlled.
\nI think the lens is a bit sharper at shorter distances than at infinity.<\/span><\/p>\n

f\/2.8:\u00a0The softness is mostly gone, contrast and resolution are good in the center and midframe, the corners only improve a little.<\/p>\n

f\/4: Very good sharpness across most of the frame with good corners. Contrast is noticeably higher than at f\/2.8.<\/p>\n

f\/5.6 and f\/8: Very good sharpness across the frame, only the Tokina 2.5\/90 is a bit crisper.<\/p>\n

Bokeh at f\/1.7 is very nice, I think I prefer it over the Samyang even though it is a bit more rough\u00a0. At f\/2.8 you can see hexagonal structures but the are much less defined and better rounded than those of the 2\/85.<\/p>\n

I think this is a very good portrait lens which is also\u00a0a capable landscape lens but it is rather heavy and\u00a0bulky. If I was shooting more portraits I would \u00a0consider buying it.<\/p>\n

flickr set\u00a0<\/a>| full resolution samples<\/a> | test\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0| ebay.de<\/a>\"\" | ebay.com\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Minolta MD 85mm 1:2<\/h1>\n

\"DSC01186\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is really annoying that the tested copy was decentered because I had high hopes for it because of the test on artaphot.ch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Even the decentered copy showed \u00a0good contrast and resolution \u00a0across most of the frame at f\/2, noticeably better than the MC 1.7\/85 or Samyang 1.4\/85. Going by Stephans test a well centered copy should be\u00a0very sharp across the frame\u00a0even at f\/2.<\/p>\n

The lens has busy bokeh at f\/2, at f\/2.8 it is a bit smoother but the \u00a0hexagonal aperture blades are distracting.<\/p>\n

The lens is very small and light, not much bigger than you average 1.4\/50 lens so it is a great option if you are looking for a small and sharp\u00a0landscaping lens but I would prefer other lenses for portraits.<\/p>\n

flickr set<\/a>\u00a0| full resolution samples<\/a> | test<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0| ebay.de<\/a>\"\" | ebay.com\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Samyang 85mm 1:1.4<\/h1>\n
\"DSC01187\"<\/a>
My copy is labeled Walimex which is the German distributor of Samyang lenses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Samyang delivered a very good performance at f\/2 and f\/2.8 with the smoothest bokeh and good sharpness but it does not improve as much with stopping down as the other lenses do. So it is great for portraits and good enough for landscapes but\u00a0other lenses will give sharper results stopped down.<\/p>\n

It has 8 rounded aperture blades.<\/p>\n

Also to consider is that Samyang lenses are known for their poor reliability<\/a> and the focusing feel\u00a0is not as nice as with other lenses because it\u00a0is a bit uneven and resistance is a bit high. The aperture ring is a bit hard to turn.<\/p>\n

I think it is a good buy if you really need the fast aperture,\u00a0it performs very well at f\/1.4 and has super smooth bokeh. Stopped down it lags a bit behind the other lenses.<\/p>\n

flickr set<\/a>\u00a0| full resolution samples<\/a> | test\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0| ebay.de\"\"<\/a>\u00a0| amazon.de<\/a> | ebay.com\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Tokina AT-X Macro 90mm 1:2.5\"DSC01184\"<\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n

From f\/2.5 the center is excellent,\u00a0with moderate corner falloff and some PF.<\/p>\n

From f\/5.6 it is excellent across the frame. Few lenses I know are that sharp across the frame. CA control at longer distances is also the best of all the tested lenses.<\/p>\n

I think the bokeh is the best of all the lenses tested here, it shows significantly less fringing than the other lenses. It has gained the nickname Bokina for a reason.<\/p>\n

I think it is the best allround lens in this comparison.\u00a0It is a\u00a0very capable portrait lens at f\/2.5, only the shorter focus throw can be a bit challenging.
\nStopped down it is the sharpest lens of all the ones I tested here which is nice for landscapes. Oh and it is also a capable macro lens.
\nOn the downside I would mention the significant weight of more than 500gramms. For my full review click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

flickr set<\/a>\u00a0| full resolution samples<\/a> | test<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0| ebay.de<\/a>\"\" | ebay.com\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Canon FD 80-200 1:4 L<\/h1>\n

I think the Canon shows a remarkable performance for a zoom lens.<\/p>\n

From f\/4 it is very sharp and contrasty across most of the frame at this focal length. The corners are a bit weaker and not as good as those of the Minolta 1.7\/85 but\u00a0\u00a0very similar to the Samyang 85.<\/p>\n

I didn’t include it in the bokeh test but from experience I can tell you that it performs quite well in this aspect with remarkably little bokeh fringing.<\/p>\n

The lens is very versatile, sharp and it has very little bokeh fringing.<\/p>\n

flickr set<\/a>\u00a0 | test\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0| ebay.de<\/a>\"\" | ebay.com\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Final Words<\/h1>\n

Do you think I have missed an important aspect? Just leave me a comment, I am always happy to improve my methods.<\/p>\n

This site contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using any of the links marked as affiliate links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. This helps support the creation of future content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  After I published the Minolta List\u00a0several kind people offered to lent me Minolta lenses so\u00a0I had a MD 2\/85 and MC 1.7\/85 plus several of my own lenses and made this test to see where the strengths and weaknesses of each lens are. All ebay links are affiliate links and it is appreciated if … Continue reading 85mm comparison- Minolta, Tokina, Canon and Samyang<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[419],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vintage"],"yoast_head":"\n85mm comparison- Minolta, Tokina, Canon and Samyang - phillipreeve.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is a comparison of the Minolta MC 1.7\/85 and MD 2\/85 as well as several other manual lenses\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/85mm-comparison-minolta-tokina-canon-samyang\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"85mm comparison- Minolta, Tokina, Canon and Samyang - 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