Wide 85mm prime is the sixth autofocus lens in Samyang's FE range for the Sony E-mount Alpha cameras
Samyang is unveiling its sixth autofocus prime lens for the Sony E-mount - as used on Sony Alpha mirrorless cameras such as the A7 III and the A6500. The lens is being launched at The Photography Show, which runs from 16-19 March.
With its wide maximum aperture of f/1.4, the 85mm telephoto is of particular use for portrait and wedding photographers looking for bokeh-blurred backgrounds created by the very limited depth of field that can be achieved with this lens.
As is usual, the lens will sold under the Rokinon brand in North America.
The Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 FE is made of 11 optical elements in 8 groups - and four of these elements are HR (high-resolution) glass, whilst one uses ED (extra-low dispersion) glass. The lens has nine diaphragm blades. It has weather sealing to protect it from the elements.
The lens takes 77mm filters, and measures 99 x 88mm, and weighs in at 568g.
This full-frame lens is designed primarily for use on full-frame models in, but can also be used on APS-C models where the effective focal length becomes 127.5mm.
The lens benefits from autofocus that uses a Dual Linear Sonic Motor (DLSM), and has a minimum focusing distance of 0.9m.
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Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 FE
The Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 FE will go on sale later in the spring for £599.
It will be available in North America as the Rokinon AF 85mm f/1.4 for $799.
The lens is the latest of a series of releases by Samyang in its Spring Collection. The first of this collection of eight lenses was the Samyang XP 10mm f/3.5, this was followed by Samyang's first lenses for the Canon RF full-frame mirrorless mount, the MF 85mm f/1.4 RF and MF 14mm f/2.8 RF manual focus primes.
Chris George has worked on Digital Camera World since its launch in 2017. He has been writing about photography, mobile phones, video making and technology for over 30 years – and has edited numerous magazines including PhotoPlus, N-Photo, Digital Camera, Video Camera, and Professional Photography.
His first serious camera was the iconic Olympus OM10, with which he won the title of Young Photographer of the Year - long before the advent of autofocus and memory cards. Today he uses a Nikon D800, a Fujifilm X-T1, a Sony A7, and his iPhone 15 Pro Max.
He has written about technology for countless publications and websites including The Sunday Times Magazine, The Daily Telegraph, Dorling Kindersley, What Cellphone, T3 and Techradar.
