The el cheapo 650-1300mm zoom, for those who care
in [Digital Cameras]
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From: Bristolian on 31 Dec 2009 14:24 Bruce wrote: > Still, I'm very happy with my Samyang 85mm f/1.4. I broke the plastic > bayonet mount lens hood after only a few uses so replaced it with a > nice metal hood. I thought you would be pleased. ;-) > Bruce, do you really have one of those, or were you just baiting the troll? If you do have one, I'd be interested in your views on it as I've been offered one at a reasonable price. -- Regards Bristolian
From: Bruce on 31 Dec 2009 14:55 On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:24:00 +0000, Bristolian <net(a)hereany.more> wrote: >Bruce wrote: > >> Still, I'm very happy with my Samyang 85mm f/1.4. I broke the plastic >> bayonet mount lens hood after only a few uses so replaced it with a >> nice metal hood. I thought you would be pleased. ;-) >> > >Bruce, do you really have one of those, or were you just baiting the troll? > >If you do have one, I'd be interested in your views on it as I've been >offered one at a reasonable price. Yes, I do have one, and it was very reasonably priced. I thought it would be too good to be true, but it is actually a very fine lens. I also have an 85mm f/1.4 AF-D Nikkor costing about four times more and until recently used a Carl Zeiss (for Contax) 85mm f/1.4 on my Canon EOS 5D with an adapter. I have previously owned an 85mm f/1.4 AIS Nikkor and several 85mm f/1.8 AF Nikkors which are good, but not in the same league as the f/1.4 lenses. You will have realised by now that I am a fan of 85mm lenses. ;-) My Samyang lens has Nikon AI mount and is used on the 5D with an adapter and on a Nikon D700 without. I also use it on a Nikon F100 to shoot black and white film. The Samyang is an amazing lens for the money. It is optically better than the Zeiss (Contax) and the AIS Nikkor but not quite as good as the AF-D Nikkor which has better contrast and is slightly sharper at the edges from f/1.4 to f/2.8 and in the centre at f/1.4. But the differences are small, and the Samyang therefore offers spectacular value for money. The background bokeh is very smooth and is about the best of any 85mm lens I have ever used. The build quality is excellent - better than the Zeiss and AF-D Nikkor but not quite as good as the tank-like AIS Nikkor. The focusing ring is smooth and even after a lot of use it has a beautiful feel. The aperture ring works well and the click stops are still clear. As I stated previously, the plastic bayonet lens hood is flimsy. It also gives poor shading giving rise to some unnecessary flare and loss of contrast. I replaced that with a cheap generic screw-in metal hood that offers perfect shading and excellent resistance to flare. The Samyang is my first choice 85mm lens ahead of the AF-D Nikkor because of its smooth manual focusing action. The AF-D Nikkor is a fine AF lens but at f/1.4, there is no room for error in portraiture due to the extremely shallow depth of field, so manual focusing is a must. And the Samyang just feels a lot better than the AF-D Nikkor in manual mode. I would not hesitate to recommend this lens. It is a joy to use. In terms of bang for the buck, it cannot be beaten, and it would still be excellent value at twice or even three times the price. I use it for wedding and portrait photography and for general telephoto use, and it gets a lot of work. Buy one and enjoy!
From: Robert Spanjaard on 31 Dec 2009 16:49 On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:55:02 +0000, Bruce wrote: [...] > I would not hesitate to recommend this lens. It is a joy to use. In > terms of bang for the buck, it cannot be beaten, and it would still be > excellent value at twice or even three times the price. I use it for > wedding and portrait photography and for general telephoto use, and it > gets a lot of work. > > Buy one and enjoy! How about internal reflections, like with bright lights in the frame? In all the images I've seen of the lens, it doesn't seem to have any coating at all. -- Regards, Robert http://www.arumes.com
From: RichA on 31 Dec 2009 20:14 On Dec 31, 7:53 am, Bruce <docnews2...(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 00:22:27 -0800 (PST), RichA <rander3...(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > > >Just some info. Wow!! Genuine "optic glass" (as opposed to coke > >bottle bottoms?) > > Given that it has been translated from Korean and is displayed on a > Polish web site, I would expect a few mistakes here and there. > > Still, I'm very happy with my Samyang 85mm f/1.4. I broke the plastic > bayonet mount lens hood after only a few uses so replaced it with a > nice metal hood. I thought you would be pleased. ;-) Sound policy. Which is why old metal screw-in hoods from Nikon etc., command good prices on Ebay. And the Chinese have started making metal screw-in hood copies.
From: Bob Williams on 1 Jan 2010 01:53
RichA wrote: > Just some info. Wow!! Genuine "optic glass" (as opposed to coke > bottle bottoms?) > > http://www.samyang.pl/product,147,category,5,samyang_6501300mm_mc_if_f816 > > The example moon shot they show with it is pathetic. No doubt linked > as much to seeing changes during the inordinantly long exposure needed > with an f16 focal length as much as the horrible optics. > > A better choice would be the 500mm they offer since it has ED glass at > least: > > http://www.samyang.pl/product,80,category,5,samyang_500mm_f8_preset_ed_if_mc > > > |