Samyang/Rokinon/Vivitar/Polar/Bower/Opteka/Falcon 85mm f/1.4 Aspherical IF

[DoomMan]

just purchased to test this baby out after the images ive viewed in posts here and on FM. Will post samples when it arrives

[bbss]

Testing the lens at f8, seems to be sharp

[Jman13]

Here's one wide open at f/1.4:

[Hamfist]

I just ordered this lens a couple of days ago. Can't wait to get it.

[mingkookoo]

Samyang.

I think this lens is actually really good! pp in lightroom

[katodog]

I guess I'll join the fun, just got my copy in today. Don't have time for many test shots, so you guys get the poor eroding deer in my front yard...





This is a very nicely built lens, I'm actually surprised that it's built so good.

[katodog]

Wow, I didn't realize how hard it would be to manual focus at f/1.4, the DOF is too tiny. Here's a few more from my copy...

[katodog]

For anyone who would like to know, you can add a focus confirm chip to the lens, and get focus confirmation. I haven't done any "serious" shots yet but I should have some up later today.

[katodog]

Here's a shot after putting the confirm chip on. It's funny how Exif says it's a 50mm lens. I'd expect it to not say anything, go figure...

[versedmb]

Originally Posted by katodog

For anyone who would like to know, you can add a focus confirm chip to the lens, and get focus confirmation. I haven't done any "serious" shots yet but I should have some up later today.

Where did you get it and how well does it seem to work?

[katodog]

You can get a confirm chip on eBay, and all it takes is figuring out where to put it on the lens. The easiest thing to do is take the metal mount off the lens and put it on the camera, as you would the lens. When it's in place, mark where the contacts are, this will tell you where to line up the chip. Most of the time you can get it fairly accurate, and it will work. Ive done it to quite a few lenses that don't have electronics and it works great every time.


Depending on what you type in on eBay search, you should find plenty of confirm chips. What you want is one for Canon EOS, and they're typically pretty cheap.


This time I'm off by the tiniest amount, the amount of slack the lens has on the mount, say maybe a millimeter or two, is how much I'm off by. If I twist the lens one direction on the body it won't work, so I have to either take the chip off and redo it, or just keep making sure the lens is turned the other way.


Accuracy if you do it right is almost 100%, depending on your light and contrast. It'll give you focus confirmation on most subjects.

[katodog]

For example, the dog picture...I had to aim for the eye, and it beeped every time I had focus. Shooting at f/1.4 was probably testing the limits, and it was hard to keep the dog interested, but you can see it was focused correctly. If I had to do it manually I don't think the results would have been the same. This was under ambient light. I used a flash for the shot, but it does not illuminate until it fires.

Plus, if you use the pop-up flash, you will get focus assist flash with the confirm chip. I tried it and it fired a few bursts before the shot to aid in focus.

[Hamfist]

I'll look for the link, but there's a chip out there that comes with a plastic guide that clips onto the mount to help you align it.

I really like this lens; hopefully, I'll have some pics posted this weekend. There's something to the juxtaposition of a contemplative, manual focus lens and the instant, hi-techy gratification of a DSLR. So strange, but so rewarding. BTW, on my 7d at f1.4 I have to overexpose (per the in-camera meter) by 2/3 of a stop for decent exposure...1 full stop at f2. Anyone else find this to be similar to thier experiences?

[Hamfist]

http://store.tagotech.com/product_in...roducts_id=139

Here's the link to the af confirmation chip with the plastic guide. There's also a pic/thread on flickr about this chip as well.

[katodog]

Thanks for the link, I wish I would have known about that plastic guide years ago, would have made things a bit easier for me. But, so far I've had great luck with putting these on. It's just a pain in the neck because you either have to eyeball it, or you have to take the mount plate off the lens.

Not that it's hard to do, but you never know what a manufacturer has put under that plate, and all kinds of springs and stuff can come flying out when you least expect it.


So far this one has worked great, I just need to go out somewhere and shoot some serious shots and see what's up. I think I might run out to the zoo or one of the local zoos this weekend and play around with the lens.