Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC Lens for Nikon F (AE Chip)

In 2014, I bought the AE version of this lens as the first 35mm pairing for my Canon 6D. It quickly became my go-to lens for anything that didn't absolutely require AF. The bokeh quality, vignetting, and color rendition of this lens are unbelievable for such an affordable piece of glass. If this is near the top of your budget, buy this lens right now. Even with the manual focus and no stabilization, I'd rather shoot this lens over the plasticy, chromatic aberration-ridden Canon 35mm f/2 IS USM. Of course your own shooting conditions may make the Canon a better value with IS and AF, but for me, just walking around town or shooting posable scenes, this lens rocked. For a while that is.. A few weeks ago, I booked a trip for which I knew I wouldn't be able to comfortably hack it with my B+ manual focusing accuracy. Enter the champion, the legend, the Sigma 35mm 1.4 Art. This Samyang blew me away two years ago, but the Sigma is in a league of it's own. I still have to tip my hat to Samyang for delivering such wonderful optics at such low prices. Not to mention the build quality feels better than lenses that cost twice as much. Samyang / Sigma Art sharpness, and chromatic aberration comparison image attached. The image speaks for itself. In the time that I've owned the Samyang, I'd guess I've taken around 16k-18k different photos through it. Different meaning re-focusing, so not including any exposure bracketing. 18k rotations of the focus ring is a lot I suppose, but I'd expect any decently made lens to be able to handle such a task without issue. The focus ring grip still looks brand new, and hasn't loosened on the barrel at all. I'm quite happy with that. However, the dampening mechanism has developed a crunch to it when focusing with any kind of speed. It's not a foreign debris issue either, it feels like the tolerances of the focus ring have loosened over time, resulting in a dampening slip. Unfortunately I can comment of the cost to repair this issue. I haven't had it repaired since the issue didn't affect focusing accuracy. The only other (superfluous) con to this lens I can think of is the omission of the red alignment dot on the barrel's exterior. Instead of the dot on the exterior of the lens, Samyang decided to imprint it into the face of the metal mount surface. Not a huge deal, but it's a bit awkward to look at the face of the mount and creep it toward the camera like you're looking for the remote under a couch or something. Coincidentally, one of three barrel screws in the exact spot the alignment dot would be on a Canon lens, I'm not sure if that gives any insight into why Samyang chose to move it from the normal position.

This is a great lens. I find that I love using it because of its 1.4 maximum aperture that allows me to use it for low-light situations. However, at 1.4, you have to be very calculating about the area you want in focus, because that depth of field is indeed shallow. I can't even compute how much but less than a pinky finger's thickness is right, probably a fraction of that. I purchased it because of its affordable price-point. However, I am returning it because it has opened my eyes to other f1.4 lenses that offer autofocus. Thank you, Samyang, for this opportunity - your product is a gateway for me to the world of fast lenses. I love the professional look this lens has offered me (shallow DoF, high-level detail from having a low maximum aperture, and overall excellent image-making quality). Only cons would be the manual-only focusing ability and the fact that the plastic rear end cap scratched easily, making me question the quality of the lens barrel.

I ordered this lens primarily for night and low light photography. My tests indicate that it is very well suited for those uses in addition to being a good lens for full-frame daytime work.