DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Comparing Samyang’s new 85mm f/1.4 FE II against the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art

Aug 21, 2022 by John Aldred 1 Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Last month, Samyang announced their newest version of their popular 85mm f/1.4 autofocus lens. The new Samyang 85mm f/1.4 AF FE II for Sony is smaller and lighter than the original, with improved autofocus in terms of both speed and accuracy. It also features new “custom switch” and focus hold button to provide new functionality. But how does it fare against the competition?

It would’ve been nice to see this put to the test against its predecessor, but in this video, Mark Duffy does put it up against the two leading competitors, the Sony 85mm f/1.4GM and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lenses. The Samyang lens is significantly cheaper than both the Sigma and especially the Sony lenses, so let’s find out if it’s any good.

The comparison covers a number of topics for all three lenses, with a particular emphasis on their autofocus performance. You do definitely see some differences between the three lenses insofar as how they quickly they pick up on the subject, how quickly they manage to focus after they do and how well they all do at tracking the subject while they’re moving across the frame or towards and away from the camera.

One thing that was particularly surprising – to me at least, having never used the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM – is just how loud it is compared to the other two. The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art (which I have used) is extremely quiet, as demonstrated in the video, and the Samyang, too, is similarly absent of noise. The Sony does seem to be the quickest of the three lenses, though, too. It’s also the largest!

Listening to Mark’s thoughts in the video, I’m not sure there’s entirely a need to switch from any one of these three lenses to any of the others for most of us. So, if you’ve already got one of these, then stick with it. But if you don’t have an 85mm f/1.4 yet and you’re considering which to buy, it offers some great insights, letting you weigh up the performance, features and budgets of all three.

Which do you prefer?

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

The Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM goes up against the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art in this side by side comparison The Sony FE 85mm f/1.8 goes up against the twice-the-price Zeiss Batis 85mm f/1.8 Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art vs. Canon 85mm f/1.2L II: how does it stack up? Half an Art. First images from the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Art DN GN

Filed Under: Gear Tagged With: 85mm f/1.4, Lens Comparison, Mark Duffy, Samyang, sigma, sony

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Dolphins fitted with Go-Pros observed hunting sea snakes for the first time
This $12 iPhone app gives you remote focus and LiDAR autofocus on your Blackmagic cameras »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy