Samyang 135Mm 1.8

[0.61 lb] This is my third case of this series for various lenses for Sony FF, and I can't imagine not storing such expensive glass in anything less. Worth every penny. Sturdy, sturdy, sturdy. Padding is super thick and cushion-y. Got the 6x4.5 for the Samyang 135mm 1.8 thinking it would be a bit roomy, but the Sam-135/1.8 lens fits PERFECTLY in this case, with just a bit of wiggle room but no slop. I can even choose to stow the lens in that nice, quilted bag that Samyang sends with the 135mm, and the lens (in its quilted bag) also fits in this case perfectly.

[18.9°] I own the predecessor of this lens (the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm f/2.0 Manual Focus). It is one of my favorite lenses and a classic in astrophotography circles. So I had to ask myself whether I should shell out twice as much for its successor, the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm f/1.8 Auto Focus. After reading various reviews I took the plunge. Checking it out, I was glad to find several improvements which justified the investment: 1) The new lens is much lighter, and it has autofocus. That allowed me to quickly grab it for shooting scenes in my backyard when the lighting happened to be perfect. It was also easy to take it along on my walks. 2) Color fringing has become undetectable, thanks to 2 additional low dispersion elements. 3) Likewise, vignetting has been reduced further by enlarging the front element, making life easier in astrophotography. For the night sky I found a reduction of the falloff from 36% at f/2.0 to 20% at f/1.8 in Capture One (using raw files on full frame with the setting Generic). This lens just became available, and it still has some minor quirks. As reported on the web, it sometimes discharges the battery over time when simply turning the camera off after use. I noticed the effect on both the A7III and the a6300. This problem appears to have been solved by firmware version 2. Since I did not want to buy the lens station required for the upgrade, I used a fix that worked for a similar problem with a lens adapter: After turning the camera off, remove the lens and put it back on. (It is actually sufficient to rotate the lens outward until it stops, and then back inward.) Another concern was the stress on the tripod mount of my small a6300 APS-C camera. That was resolved by a tripod adapter for the similar-sized Sony 135mm f/1.8 FE lens (iShoot Model S135FE, with electrical tape added for cushioning). Notice that this combination produces the field of view and brightness of a full frame camera with a monster 200mm f/1.8 lens.

[Sony E] The Samyang 135mm f/1.8 is a fantastically, sharp lens that hits the right price point. Worth owning.

[FUJIFILM X] I mostly use this with an EF mount Samyang 135mm f/2 or Helios 44m-4 58mm f/2. It's just great.

[f/2] I have been doing astrophotography since 2006 through various telescopes. Just started doing it with my EOS 70-200mm f2.8L IS II which works well. The Samyang 135mm f2 blows it away. Pinpoint stars to the frame edges wide open. Very crisp images. I have read complaints about difficulty focusing this lens. You just need patience. I use software FWHM focus assist and it takes me a few minutes to get to the minimum values. It takes a very very small movement of the focus ring to go from excellent to bad focus. Once focused, I notice no noticeable thermal contraction related focus drift throughout the evenings even with an ambient temperature drop of 30 deg. F. The attached image is a single autoguided 10 minute calibrated frame using a ZWO ASI2600MC through an Ha filter. I highly recommend this lens as well as the Astrodymium Ring System for Rokinon/Samyang 135mm Lens.

[Nikon F] The Samyang 135mm f/2 lens is very sharp and has nice bokeh, exactly why I purchased it. It is MF only and does not have OIS so the exposure triangle must be addressed every time, but the results are outstanding.

[Full-Frame] I have Fuji 1.4 lenses and the Samyang 12mm. I have never used a lens as astounding as the 85 1.8! It has quickly become my favorite lens and is always on my camera. Focusing is very easy with the peaking on my Fujifilm. There is a very noticeable rainbow flare in direct light, but I love it for the character it adds. I would highly recommend this lens over the 85 1.4 for it's weight, size and sharpness!

[0.96 lb] Perfect 35mm for Sony. Having used both the Samyang 35mm 1.4 and 1.8, the 1.8 is objectively better and also happens to be much lighter and costs less. The 1.8 has great autofocus and image quality whereas the 1.4 has horrible autofocus and lesser image quality.

[0.17x] Like my 2 other Samyang lenses, the 24mm 1.8 and the 45mm 1.8, this lens is fantastic! Fast autofocus, and beautiful imaging. Love the cases Samyang includes with their lenses as well!

[Stainless Steel] This is an amendment to the first review (above). The aperture problem on the Samyang 75mm f/1.8 was due to user error on my part. I found I had inadvertently bumped the custom position 1 or 2 switch to a midway point. This was causing the aperture problem. Once moved solidly back to the 1 position, the lens and adapter works great. My apologies for the faulty review.