Looking for the best value portrait lens for Sony? I did some portrait shoots with the Samyang 85 1.4 AF at the sand dunes, sunflower fields, and lavender fields. Further below are comparison photos between the new Samyang Rokinon 85 1.4 AF FE vs. the Sony 85 1.8 FE. These were taken with the Sony A7r iii with e-Front Curtain off. First couple of sets were taken on a tripod and the others were taken handheld. Samyang photos are on the left and Sony photos are on the right.
The Samyang lens is sharper across the entire frame at 1.4 vs. the Sony at 1.8. The bokeh rendition of the Samyang is also smoother at 1.4 and slightly smoother at 1.8. There is focus breathing, something to watch out for when shooting videos. Overall it is a fantastic portrait lens for the price!
Samyang @ 1.4 1/2000 ISO 100 | Model: @marisapaigebutler
Samyang @ 1.4 1/1600 ISO 100 | model: @stephaniedanielle
Samyang 85mm @ f1.4 1/1000s ISO 100 | Model: @stephaniedanielle
Samyang @ 1.4 1/200s ISO 250 | Model: @stephaniedanielle
Samyang @ f1.4 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f1.8 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f2.8 | Sony @ f2.8
Samyang @ f8.0 | Sony @ f8.0
Samyang @ f1.4 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f1.8 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f1.4 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f1.8 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f1.4 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f1.8 | Sony @ f1.8
Samyang @ f1.4 | Sony @ f1.8
Photography Test Chart - ISO 12233
I didn't have a large printer so these images were shot while being displayed on 5K Retina iMac. These are large images and may take some time to load.
Let me know if you found this helpful or have any comments!
Thank you!