The Samyang 85mm f1.4 is a manual focus prime lens designed to deliver exceptional results at wide apertures. At f1.4, excellent images can be obtained, making it perfect for portrait and low-light photography, especially when mounted on full-frame digital DSLRs.

The Samyang 85mm is also suitable for cropped sensors, including APS-C / DX sensors. When used on cropped sensors, it provides an equivalent focal length of approximately 127mm, or a 135mm equivalent prime lens on Canon cropped sensor digital DSLRs. Combined with the wide f1.4 aperture, it makes an excellent lens for tight portraits or for working at a distance with cropped sensor cameras, or for shooting in various low-light conditions.

Bokeh (the character of out-of-focus blur) is a major concern for professionals choosing a very wide aperture lens for shallow depth of field photography. The Samyang 85mm f1.4 lens design delivers excellent bokeh quality from bright out-of-focus areas when used near maximum aperture, such as at f/1.4 and f/2. Independent tests and users confirm the beautiful bokeh character of the Samyang, surpassing lenses four times more expensive.

The optical construction of the lens includes 9 elements arranged in 7 optical groups with one aspherical lens element. The Samyang 85mm is designed with internal focus (IF), meaning the lens does not increase in size during focusing. Another positive aspect of internal focusing is that the lens is much less likely to draw in dust, unlike external focus (or zoom) lenses which can draw in dirt during use. The 8-blade aperture design contributes to the excellent bokeh character at apertures close to maximum aperture.

The Samyang 85mm f/1.4 IF MC features multi-coated lenses that promote very high light transmission and increased resistance to flare and ghosting. It has a good-sized manual focus ring and is perfectly suited to most photographic applications (excluding sports or fast-moving subjects) where manual focus is not an issue. Precise focus for critical situations can be achieved using Live View focusing, available on most recent camera models. In practice, users, including professional photographers, have found that manual focusing with the Samyang 85mm is not problematic, even when shooting at f1.4 with very shallow depth of field in low-light scenarios with static and slow-moving subjects. Precise focus can be achieved offering excellent results across the entire image on full-frame cameras.

There is also a growing number of users using digital DSLRs for high-definition (HD) video and filming, and manual focus lenses allow the user to shift focus during shooting. Many Samyang lenses (primarily for the Canon EOS mount, though other mounts are possible) can also be specially ordered with a de-clicked (decoupled) manual aperture if the primary use of the lens is for video/cinema where smooth aperture changes are required during recording.

For general photography, the standard coupled aperture is generally preferred to avoid any accidental aperture changes during photo shoots or while focusing.

The Samyang 85mm f1.4 lens should be seriously considered by all professional or amateur photographers requiring a fast prime lens, regardless of budget. When the low cost of the lens is taken into account, it should not be overlooked for amateur use, or as a primary or secondary lens for professionals wanting a dedicated and high-performing f/1.4 portrait lens.

Available mounts: Canon, Sony A Mount, Pentax, 4/3, Samsung NX.

Supplied with front and rear lens caps, a lens hood and a soft lens pouch. Filter diameter 72mm


Specifications