Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 FE

Samyang  24-70mm f/2.8 FE: In USA  at BHphoto. In Europe at WexUK. FotoKoch DE. FotoErhardt DE.

SonyAlphaBlog tested the new Samyang/Rokinon zoom lens and concluded:

The Samyang 24-70mm F2.8 (900 euros) is globally a very good lens at a reasonable price but the competition is very tough and offer excellent options that are all better in one or several areas compared to the Samyang 24-70 F2.8

Area where the Samyang is below its peer are sharpness , build quality/ergonomics , size and weight, AF , bokeh balls shapes,
Areas where it is similar or among the best are : color rendition , background blur
Area where it is above the others : Distortion , Vignetting , ergonomics for video, focus breathing , par focal (when starting at 70mm)

If you need a 24-70 my recommendation stay the Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art (1200 euros) better in all areas (except video) for a price tag +33%
if you want the best option at similar price and are ready to sacrifice the 24mm , then the Sigma 28-70 F2.8 DG DN Contemporary is the best option at 50% of the weight
For pure video work and for 24/33Mpix where you really need the 24mm, the Samyang is a recommended choice

Recommended for video work

Dpreview Sony a7 IV studio scene: 33MP sensor gives excellent detail but falls behind at high ISO

Sony A7IV:
In the USA at BHphoto. Amazon. Adorama. FocusCamera. BuyDig.
In Europe at Fotokoch DE. Calumet DE. Foto Erhardt DE. Park UK. Wex UK. Amazon DE. Amazon UK. Amazon IT. Amazon ES. Amazon NL.

Dpreview added the Sony A7IV studio files and writes:

The first thing that should be apparent is that the a7 IV’s 33MP sensor can capture a lot of detail and, as we saw in our real-world samples, JPEG color that’s directly comparable with the best of its peers. The higher pixel count, combined with Sony’s JPEG sharpening makes more of the fine detail than its rivals. Moiré makes an appearance, but it’s not overwhelming, which suggests there is an anti-aliasing filter, but perhaps not an especially aggressive one.

As we’d expect, the smaller pixels mean more noise if you view the images at full pixel resolution, but this difference is all but eliminated if you look at the images scaled to the same size. Push on to the higher ISO and the noise levels start to creep up, beyond the levels of its immediate rivals, though.

This additional noise can’t solely be blamed on the pixel count, though, since it’s a fraction noisier than some of its higher resolution peers. Overall this iss a good, but not ground-breaking, performance with detail capture appearing to be the a7 IV’s strong suit.

World’s first review of the new Samyang 50mm F1.4 AF II reviewed by SonyAlphaBlog: “very good to excellent performance”

Thew new improved version is now available for preorder at Adorama (Click here).

SonyAlphaBlog tested the brand new Samyang 50mm F1.4 AF II and concluded:

The Samyang 50mm F1.4 AF II is a huge upgrade compared to the Samyang 50 mm F1.4 AF. It offers overall very good to excellent performances at a fraction of the price of Sony Planar T* 50mm F1.4 Zeiss or Sony 50mm F1.2 GM. Its main weaknesses compared to the Sony are : the AF that is a little bit less efficient and the bokeh balls that are not circular when aperture is closed down + a higher level of CA

Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II review at SonyAlphaBlog: “establishing new standards for Sony zoom”

Sony 70-200mm GM II Lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama. BuyDig. FocusCamera. FotoKoch DE, Calumet DE, WexUK, ParkUK.

Marc from SonyAlphaBlog tested the new 70-200mm GMII lens and concluded:

The Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM II (3000 Our) is establishing new standards for Sony zoom. It is largely better in almost all aspects compared to the Sony 70-200mm F2.8 GM (2800 euros), the Tamron 35-150mm F2-F2.8 Di III VXD (1800 euros) and the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 Di III VXD (1200 euros)

In Summary

  • Excellent to Outstanding sharpness
  • Super light and extremely well balanced on Sony bodies (centre of gravity near the body)
  • Constant length design
  • Extremely complete ergonomics : Aperture ring (click or clickless) , Full time DMF, focus limiter, panning mode….
  • Super fast , precise and silent AF with a hitrate close to 100% and unleashing the full 30fps of the Sony A1
  • Super smooth background blur and very good bokeh balls
  • Excellent color rendition
  • Excellent behavior in video
  • Very good behavior with TC : minor loss of sharpness on TC1.4 and moderate on TC2.0, same AF