Samyang AF 50mm F/1.4 FE

Specifications01

MountSONY FE

Focal length50mm

Max aperturef/1.4

TypeCinema · Portrait · Prime

Weight585 g

Filter size67 mm

Physical length97.7 mm

Barrel diameter74 mm

Min focus distance0.45 m

Max magnification0.1499

Aperture blades9

Optical elements9

Groups8

AutofocusYes

StabilizationNo

Weather sealedNo

Lens hoodpetal-shaped (bayonet mount, supplied)

Approx price$479

Additional Info02

TypeStandard prime

Category["Sony","Sony FE (Full Format)"]

Keywords["E-mount","Prime","Samyang","Standard"]

Angle Of View47°

Review AuthorKlaus

Review Rating4

Review VerdictThe Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE is a bit of a disappointment. It's not exactly a small lens and it's obvious that Samyang spent some efforts designing it but the performance is just not good enough for a high-resolution sensor. The center quality is fine but the resolution falls apart towards the outer image field at large-aperture settings. Conversely, the results are great at medium apertures but that's not the sole reason for buying such a lens. To be fair, however - in real life this may not be that much of an issue. How often do you require sharp corners at f/1.4 or f/2 after all? Lateral CAs are low - at the borders at least - whereas axial CAs are very pronounced. The native image distortion is very low. The vignetting is taken care of by image auto-correction. In RAW mode, the light falloff is high at f/1.4 though. The quality of the bokeh has two sides. Highlights are nicely rendered in the center zone, less so in the corners. The rendering of the general out-of-focus blur could be better in the background. The build quality is impressive but stays just short of professional-grade expectations. Namely, weather-sealing is absent. That being said the all-metal construction is solid. The AF speed is quite fast and it's near-silent. While the focus ring is very smooth to handle, the actual focusing is a bit on the coarse side in manual (by-wire) mode. Overall we are not convinced that the Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE is a good choice in this class. That's, of course, easily said given the price tag of the Sony/Zeiss alternative. If you are on a budget and can stand the weight, maybe consider the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART or settle for something slower like the Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA.

Review Criteria{"Build Quality":7.5,"Optical Quality":4,"Price / Performance":6}

Review Published2019-09-05T13:43:00+00:00

Optical Construction9 elements in 8 groups including 3x aspherical elements

Field Notes02

Samyang AF 50mm F/1.4 is a Sony E/FE-mount autofocus prime for full-frame mirrorless cameras, suited to general photography and low-light work. It has a wide f/1.4 maximum aperture.

AI-assisted summary — verify against linked sources

Catalog note · source: opticallimits