The Sigma 35mm f/1.2 DG DN Art is a beautiful beast that Sigma offers, the only lens opening at f/1.2. We are facing here a very good quality lens, but very heavy (1kg), long and expensive. The image quality is also superlative and few optical defects are to note. The lens is at a softer price than the Sony, even if it is close to 1200€. Tip. If the moving distance is long, the camera may shake, so please shoot at a focal length between 35 and 100mm.

The manual focus ring is covered by fine ribbing. It is a focus by wire mechanism, which means that turning the ring sends electronic signals to the focusing mechanism (hence, the ring is not coupled physically to the focusing mechanism). The resistance of the manual focus ring feels good (it does not feel too loose for sure) and what's most important, the scale of the focus by wire mechanism is adequate as well. This means that you will not need to turn the ring a lot to move from close focus to infinity and it has also enough sensitivity to fine tune the focus for subjects in (very) close distance. I would say that there are 3 possible alternatives to this Samyang if you have a bigger budget and are looking for a brighter, sharper, better built lens with less optical defects. This Samyang is more in the entry level (let’s say mid-range) compared to the three lenses below. Size comparsion without lens hood: (from left to right) Sony FE 55mm f/1.8, Samyang AF 45mm f/1.8 FE and Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 Flare is virtually non-existent and even in the most challenging situations there is no obvious loss of contrast, nor are there any artefacts. Focus calibration is this lens' downfall. These Korean lenses have sloppy quality control for focus adjustment, but if you know how to work around this, you can score a bargain.

Viltrox has done a generally good job, however, of nailing consistent autofocus in a very brief period. They are fast learners over there! Viltrox AF 35mm STM Image Quality A few sample images shot with the Samyang AF 35mm F1.8 (on the A7R IV), no editing just crop/resize What other lenses are out there for you to consider? Let’s just get right to the most obvious two categories of competition: You’re either constrained by budget and/or size & weight, …or you don’t care about size/weight, have a decent budget, and just want the best option you can afford. So, which category do you fall into? It is weather sealed and the build quality is good although you feel it is below a GM or Zeiss lens and a little bit less though than the Sony FE 35mm F1.8 The Samyang is also slightly shorter, and this is very much a lens that is designed with travel and casual use in mind. (That’s not to say it’s unsuitable for serious use! Read on.)

Excellents résultats en portrait et photographie de rue : très piqué sans être dur, beau rendu des couleurs, très naturel, et flou d’arrière plan doux With its straight 8-bladed diaphragm, this 35mm f/1.4 should make 8-pointed sunstars on bright points of light. Yes, there's a stop, but it's miscalibrated, so you always need to focus manually at infinity. Beware. Not much magnification, obviously, though the upside is the contrast and detail is actually quite good even at F1.8. This has been a trend for Viltrox lenses – low magnification, but good performance at MFD including good contrast and detail along with a fairly flat plane of focus. If your current firmware version is lower that the version being offered below, please update your firmware now.Although at minimum focusing distance the Samyang does not performs as well as when you use it at normal distance 1-3m. The Sony has better sharpness at min focusing distance Until a few years ago, there were very few options at 35mm for Sony users. Samyang and Tamron introduced f/2.8 lenses, Samyang’s being compact and Tamron preferring macro functionality.