New Samyang 135mm lens tested at Photozone, ePhotozine and Per Kylberg.

March 28, 2015
reviews
61 Comments

Peter Kylberg tested the Samyang 135mm f/2.0 Emount lens on the A7r and A6000:

135mm is a very interesting focal length, for its perspective and creative possibilities. The Samyang is affordable, not too heavy and the image quality is better than Sony 70-200/4. I like it a lot.
Ergonomic it is a mixed bag: Nice to hold and handle on both A7R and A6000, but the grip on the aperture ring is too slippery in relation to its firmness.
Compared to the 70-200 it is of course not very versatile. The zoom has OSS, the 135 has 2.0
Using enlargement on the EVF it is rather easy to nail sharpness – essential on a tele. Color peaking is not accurate enough. Above image is free hand but at 1/2000 sec.
Another thing of interest for A7R owners: No problem at all with shutter vibration loss of sharpness! I can’t say that about the 70-200 which can have that problem (also on tripod) 1/40 to 1/250sec.
Color: Sony(Zeiss) lenses on A7R tends to go towards yellow. (create color profiule with colorchecker passport i my solution). The 135/2 tends to go in the opposite direction, to be a bit cool.
Finally: I really like this lens! Planing to go to the mountains as soon as midnight sun sets in I will probably chose the 135 over the 70-200. Despite versatility, despite OSS.
Want to check out more test shots?
http://perkylberg.smugmug.com/

Both lenses also got tested on a Canon camera at:

Photozine (Click here) tested the Samyang 135mm T/2.2 ED UMC Cine version:

The image quality is almost stunning with very good results at T2.2 and an excellent if not outstanding quality at medium aperture settings and across the image frame. A very low amount of lateral CAs also helps to increase the sharpness perception. Distortions are absent whereas the vignetting is quite typical for a full format lens in this class.

ePhotozine (Click here) posted the Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC Lens Review:

Those interested in a fast 135mm, who are either on a budget or don’t need autofocus for their work, should certainly consider this lens. It’s more than capable of delivering sharpness on a par with high-end lenses, but at a fraction of the cost. This, coupled with the excellent build quality and smooth manual focus action make this lens an excellent buy overall.

You can get the lens at BHphoto:
135mm f/2.0 for Sony A-mount (Click here) and Sony E-mount (Click here).
135mm t/2.2 Cine for Sony A-mount (Click here) and Sony E-mount (Click here).
And via Korean sellers on eBay:
[shoplink 33060 ebay]Samyang 135mm E-mount (here n eBay)[/shoplink] [shoplink 33061 ebay]Samyang 135mm A-mount (here n eBay)[/shoplink]