Designed for portraiture, landscapes, and astrophotography, the AF 135mm f/1.8 FE from Samyang is a medium-length telephoto prime designed for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras. Offering outstanding resolution, the optical design incorporates three extra-low dispersion elements and an ultra-precision aspherical element, which suppresses both chromatic and spherical aberrations for improved sharpness, color accuracy, and clarity. An ultra multicoating has also been applied to reduce ghosting and flare in order to achieve higher contrast when working in strong lighting conditions.
The lens has a linear STM autofocus motor for quick, quiet, and precise focusing performance, plus a minimum focusing distance of just 2.3" to suit working with close-up subjects. Three different customized buttons for enhanced functionality include a focus hold button, a custom switch, and a focus range limiter switch. It also features an astro-focus function for astrophotography. The weather-sealed construction offers protection against dust, light rain, and snow.
Bild Shop Specials
- E-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
- Aperture Range: f/1.8 to 22
- Three Extra-Low Dispersion Elements
- Ultra-Precision Aspherical Element
Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 Overview
Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 Specs
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Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 Reviews
Impressive price to performance ratio
The astrophotography feature: My main reason for purchasing this lens is for astrophotography. I had already the excellent Zeiss Batis 135mm f/2.8 but I often wished it was a stop faster, and even though it is not a mechanical focus ring, focusing was never as painful as with other fly-by wire focus rings, but still, it is a tedious procedure to get the stars perfectly in focus. Hence, I purchased this lens because of its good reviews and its advertised astrophotography feature. Upon receiving the lens, that was the first thing I tried: With the camera off press and hold the AF button on the side of the lens and turn the camera on. The red light will turn green to indicate that the focus is set to infinity. In my case it did not. Probably due to production variances between lenses, I had to adjust the infinity point. To do so, I manually adjusted for infinity as good as I could, then I used a Bahtinov mask and its patterns verified optimum focus. Then I removed the mask, pressed and held the AF button on the lens for 3 seconds to store the new infinity focus in the ROM of the lens. I took another test shot after turning the camera off, pressing the AF button again while turning the camera on. The result was excellent. The stars are pin point and crisp. Next, I turned the APSC (crop) mode on to get ~200mm focal length. Without having to make new calibrations, the stars are still pin point sharp. I can now switch between 135 and 200 mm mode without having to worry that the stars are not in focus. I am very happy with the results. The optics: The autofocus is relatively fast, I can only compare it against the Zeiss Batis 135mm which seems a bit slower. The lens obliterates the back ground very smoothly, no harsh transitions in the bokeh. But that is subjective to the perceiving eye. The lens is incredibly sharp wide open, corner to corner. I did not notice any discernible deteriorations in the furthest corners. Coma and chromatic aberrations seem to be very well controlled. Unlike with all of my Sony GM prime lenses which do show magenta coloring of the stars. Last but not least: The build quality may not match entirely that of the Sony GM line, or much less that of the Zeiss Loxia series primes, but it is nevertheless impressive, especially if considering the price. Bravo Samyang, I highly recommend this lens. Note: The attached image of the stars was taken under high ambient light from the balcony. Therefore the light intensity of the stars is rather weak. Coma deteriorations become more evident the darker the sky and the brighter the stars. However, the results are already convincing enough.
Incredible lens at a great price.
I've been reading reviews, and watching YouTube videos singing praises of this lens, and when it went on sale I picked it up for $699.95 All I have to say is WOW!!! this lens is a beast, especially considering the price. Optically this thing is phenomenal. Sharp with beautiful out-of-focus fall-off. I was worried about the autofocus speed, but I was wrong. Sony's own 135 FE GM might have faster AF, but this lens is plenty quick. I decided to put the AF motor to the test and shoot my daughter's soccer game wide open at f1.8. In combination with my a7iv, this thing had 0 issues tracking action and consistently nailing sharp images.