Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE Lens for Sony E

Specification Samyang has long been recognised as a manufacturer of high quality, inexpensive and interesting lenses. The one thing missing has been autofocus, as all their lenses up until now have been manual focus only.

What does this mean ?

The Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE is an autofocus fast prime for Sony’s full-frame mirrorless cameras that costs around £450. With a 75mm equivalent angle of view, it can also be used on Sony’s APS-C E-mount cameras.

• +

  - Fine optics, - Good construction, - Generally quick and accurate autofocus, - Fine optics, - Good construction, - Generally quick and accurate autofocus

• -

  Autofocus can be unreliable at short distances, Not weather-sealed, Autofocus can be unreliable at short distances, Not weather-sealed

Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE, Verdict:

• +

  Fine optics, Good construction, Generally quick and accurate autofocus

• -

  Autofocus can be unreliable at short distances, Not weather-sealed

If you’re a Sony Alpha 7-series user who wants a modern, fast autofocus prime at a sensible price, the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 FE is a great choice.

• +

  Fine optics, Good construction, Generally quick and accurate autofocus

• -

  Autofocus can be unreliable at short distances, Not weather-sealed

The Samyang AF 50 mm f/1.4 FE seems to be a bit less successful lens than its reflex camera brother with the same parameters. Still the latter, even if not so good as other contemporary 1.4/50 rival lenses, was cheaper than them so its price quality ratio looked rather sensible.

• +

  good image quality in the frame centre,, acceptable image quality on the edge of APS-C and full frame,, lack of any problems concerning lateral chromatic aberration,, negligible distortion,, low vignetting on smaller APS-C sensor.

• -

  soft image at the maximum relative aperture,, too high longitudinal chromatic aberration,, huge coma, visible even on stopping down the aperture by 2 EV,, some problems with spherical aberration,, unsatisfactory performance against bright light,, distinct vignetting on full frame.

he new Samyang AF 50mm f/1.4 FE is a very fast and very affordable "standard" lens for Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras that's a viable alternative to the slower Sony FE 50mm F1/8 and Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA lenses.

• +

  Good size and excellent build quality

The lens is very well built and works as expect, it is a bit large for a 50mm however it's roughly the same size as my previous lens+Canon EF to Sony E-Mount adapter attached to the camera so the size doesnt bother me as i was already used to it being that bulky. but some issues need addressing.

Why 1 star this lens so bad auto focus. i dont recommend any one to buy it

positive: Very well built. Fast focus. Sharp wide own, sharper at f2, tack in centre at f2.8, sides catch up through f8. Warm and contrasty colours well balanced on A7ii. Very good value. negative: Focus is very quiet but slight whine may make videoers use MF. Nice focus ring.