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Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.
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Samyang 85mm f1.4 Aspherical IF (Some samples)
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:42 pm
Post subject: Samyang 85mm f1.4 Aspherical IF (Some samples)
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:42 pm
Post subject: Samyang 85mm f1.4 Aspherical IF (Some samples)
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Here are some sample photos, taken with my k100d super and the Samyang 85mm, wide open (Except the last, at 2.8 ). These are edited (Most only in Lightroom) but you can still see the general rendering of the lens, and it's bokeh.
First is one picture of the lens (with hood) next to my Pentax + 50mm f1.7. That's a big piece of glass:

Some samples (Just WB, and some contrast/exposure adjustements):


This is a portrait lens, so I think you can expect to see some portraits taken with it:



As you can imagine, I really like the results I get from this lens in black and white
I'm not sure if I can post links to other forums, but some time ago, I made some kind of homemade review of the lens, you can see it here:
http://www.pentaxeros.com/forum/index.php?topic=22318.0
It's in spanish, but there's lots of pictures.
Here:
http://www.pentaxeros.com/forum/index.php?topic=22346
You can see some more samples, with crops at 100% and a sharpness comparison between f1.4 and f4
(If it's forbidden to post the links, I'll remove them with no problem)


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:49 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:49 pm
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I like also the ones in colour!. The bokeh of #2 is impressive! (the third picture).

Good lens, no doubt.
Thanks for sharing!

Jes.


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:57 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 2:57 pm
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Nice shots!

How well does it control CA?


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:47 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 3:47 pm
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¡Hombre, Jesito! Nice to see you over here Very Happy
martinsmith99, lateral CA seems well controlled (I'm not usually a pixelpeeper, but I haven't found it on my pictures), the only problem (as you can see from the links) is purple fringing wide open (or close to), anyway, it's not difficult to remove while editing the raws (C1 does a great job) and by f4 it's almost totally gone.


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:11 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:11 pm
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Nice shots. Thanks for showing them. I am finding this lens more and more attractive.


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:37 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 4:37 pm
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I like what I see from this lens too - in whatever brand. Seems good for a relatively cheap lens but I've not seen it here, only from european sellers.


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:46 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 5:46 pm
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So every member should take one, really excellent lens on very good price.Many thanks for sharing! Excellent samples!


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:01 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:01 pm
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Looks like a very useful piece.
The size scares the hell out of me though.
Bigger than the camera I usually shoot Shocked


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:21 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:21 pm
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The more pics I see shot with this lens, the more I want one!
(Despite my Nikkor 1.8/85.)


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:31 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:31 pm
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great results! nice shots


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:43 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:43 pm
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Do they have AF confirm chips in the EOS models?


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:34 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 7:34 pm
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I think it's an interesting lens, especially for Pentax users, because it works as an "A" series lens with autoexposure capabilities (There's no much where to choose in Pentaxland). I don't know the capabilities of the lens in other mounts, though.
Martinsmith99, I don't know about the AF confirm chip, sorry. I bought the lens at foto-tip (On Ebay), the seller also has the Canon version, so maybe he could answer you.
Thanks for the compliments a bout the photographs. It's a lens that I'm enjoying very much since i bought it (A couple of months ago)
The worst of the Samyang is it's size and weight (a bit more than 500gr), but I guess is the price to pay for the f1.4 aperture (Because of this, I'm considering buying a Jupiter-9 for travelling light).
A couple more samples:



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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:12 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:12 pm
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martinsmith99 wrote:
Do they have AF confirm chips in the EOS models?


No. Plain metal bayonet, no AF chip, no electronic aperture control... for this reason, I think it makes sense for Canon users to buy a Nikon version of this lens. Add an AF Nikon-Canon adapter, and you have it with the chip - and, as a bonus, you can use it on a Nikon body, too!


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:44 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:44 pm
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Can't you just buy an AF confirmation chip and glue it on the back of the Canon version? That being said, I personally find those chips more of a nuisance than real help, especially when I want to take a shot when the focus is not confirmed and the camera won't do that.


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:55 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:55 pm
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I don't know almost anything about the Canon system, but in my Pentax, I don't find the AF confirmation very useful (But maybe Canon works different/better).
At bigger apertures it's not very precise, and when you stop down, it's not really useful (the DOF takes care of the small focusing errors).
I bought a split image focusing screen for my camera, and I find it more precise than the focus confirmation on the camera. I'm very happy with it.


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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:42 pm
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:42 pm
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pirius wrote:
Can't you just buy an AF confirmation chip and glue it on the back of the Canon version? That being said, I personally find those chips more of a nuisance than real help, especially when I want to take a shot when the focus is not confirmed and the camera won't do that.


That's what I did: glued the chip to the mount. But, honestly, looking back, I would just get a Nikon mount version, and use an adapter. It's so much simpler! On the other hand, this lens is IF, which means precise register distance is very important for sharpness and CA control. So I am not losing much doing it my way either.


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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 3:02 am
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 3:02 am
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I never heard about this brand.
It is truly a hidden gem.
With only small disadvantage, it is prone to CA Sad


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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:42 am
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Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:42 am
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Mist wrote:
I never heard about this brand.
It is truly a hidden gem.
With only small disadvantage, it is prone to CA Sad


Well, it shows less CA than Zeiss Planar 85/1.4 (I have both). The only thing I don't entirely like about this lens is its bokeh, which is too smooth and too predictable sometimes. So overall, I'm using the Zeiss more often. However, Samyang is a strong contender - and it's available new in all modern mounts!

One more thing to know about Samyang: it's optimized for wide-open sharpness, reaching its peak performance at f/1.4. It does not get any sharper stopped down (contrast improves a bit though). By f/2.8, Planar is razor-sharp; Samyang is sharp enough (I'm talking 21MP full frame).


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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:35 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:35 am
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Mist wrote:
I never heard about this brand.
It is truly a hidden gem.
With only small disadvantage, it is prone to CA Sad


I think it sells under several other names - Polar, Vivitar, Falcon, etc. This one is probably also the same thing - http://cgi.ebay.com/Opteka-85mm-f-1-4-IF-Portrait-Lens-for-Nikon-SLR-85-mm_W0QQitemZ360180083841QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Lenses?hash=item53dc67ec81&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14


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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:01 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:01 am
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When I was talking about CA I meant this photo:



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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:06 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:06 am
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That's pretty bad. Try a UV filter and see if it improves. Something I've only found out about recently (thanks shrek).


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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:59 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 7:59 am
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Mist wrote:
When I was talking about CA I meant this photo:


Never seen anything as severe on mine. Besides, on your pic, this is purple fringing that I see. Can happen to any lens, especially (but not necessarily) one with high contrast.



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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:19 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:19 am
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Found a test online which says the performance of this lens is similar to the Tamron Adaptall SP 90mm.

[url] http://kwigibocity.com/Vivitar8514.html [/url]

It seems I cannot add URLs? Embarassed


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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:25 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:25 am
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Mist wrote:
When I was talking about CA I meant this photo:


Don't now if this was clear, but it's a 100% crop, wide open.

Last edited by Dco on Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:55 am; edited 2 times in total


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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:27 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:27 am
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Nima wrote:
Found a test online which says the performance of this lens is similar to the Tamron Adaptall SP 90mm.

[url] http://kwigibocity.com/Vivitar8514.html [/url]

It seems I cannot add URLs? Embarassed


It is not allowed for new members. From now you can post them. Welcome to aboard!
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