Samyang SYIO35AF-E 35mm f/2.8 Ultra Compact Wide Angle Lens for Sony E Mount Full Frame, Black

It is so small and lightweight... its like not having a lens at all. At 85g it is a perfect walk around lens for a mirrorless camera. Why buy an rx1 when you can put this lens on a a7ii for so much cheaper, and still have lots of other lens options. This lens is on my camera 75% of the time. Sometimes I will stick my A7ii with this lens into my jacket or cargo shorts pocket. I cannot do that with any other lens, or full frame ILC ever. My copy is very sharp, even sharper than the Sony 50mm 1.8, and much sharper than the kit lens. The AF is quieter than the 50mm 1.4 af, and it hunts less. It is still not a great option for video. For the price, this lens is fantastic. Even at 2.8, you can get some nice background blur (bokeh) when you get close to your subject. I think anyone with an A7 series camera should own this lens. The Sony 28 f/2 is the only lens that compares in price, but it is twice the size/weight and almost twice the price. The sony 28 f/2 is better for video with faster, silent AF. If AF and that extra speed are more important than size, I would go for the 28mm and pass on this lens. If you want the size, and this focal length, the Sony Ziess version is slightly sharper, quieter and slightly better AF for 3x the price. For full frame hobbyist photographers, this Samyang is 90% of the Ziess at 1/3 the price.

Show more

I thought Id give this tiny little lens a chance and it blew me away. Ive had the Zeiss version of this lens from Sony and the results are almost identical for half the price. Sure... it doesnt have the blue badge of honor. But it weighs next to nothing, and its the smallest full frame lens available for the full-frame Sony E-mount system. It makes your camera almost pocketable which is amazing. If Im just walking around town and I can only choose one lens this is almost always what I choose. (Plus at 42 MP, I can zoom way in if I need to!)

Show more

I am very pleasantly surprised with this lens on my Sony A7rii. I have just used it for one day but it is sharp, focuses fast and produces excellent images. My other lenses purchased in the past are Canon L glass and currently the Sony 70-200 f4 and the 85 1.8 both that are really sharp. Over time I will update this review if I find my opinion changes, but as of right now I am very pleased with this lens as a walk around lens.

Show more

I shoot architecture and real estate for a living. I was looking for a light and small carry around lens for weekends and vacations. I heard a few good things about this lens, so I decided to give it a try. It blew me away. I swear if I had to have just one lens for the rest of my life, this would be it. Are there sharper and faster 35mm lenses? Sure for $800 OR $900 more you could get a sharper faster lens, but it would also be twice the size and weight five times as much as this lens. This lens is such a pleasure to carry around. I have heard some say that its not a good video lens because the Auto focus makes a tiny amount of noise. I suppose an on camera mic could pick it up, but for the type of video work that I do with my A7RII mounted on my Ronin M and the audio being recorded using off camera wireless mics and it works fantastic. The AF with my A7RII is fast and accurate. So. are there any drawbacks? Well the lenses are plastic, so I suppose that if youre not a tiny bit careful you could scratch them, but you would have to work at it.

Show more

Dont allow the brand name to fool you, this lens is legit! I have used this on several shoots over the past few months and the quality is unbelievable. This lens is incredibly small and lightweight making it a perfect option for street photography. For the money you will not find a better option for a 35mm, and the quality is better than the Sony native option in my opinion. I must mention is that the lens produces a warmer tone to the images which may or may not be a good thing depending on your taste but this is an easy fix in post. Additionally, this lens can be noisy when focusing so it is not a good option for video. If youre looking for a solid performer that wont break the bank, this it it! Its lightweight, incredibly sharp and an unbeatable value.

Show more

I bought this lens as a light weight single prime on my Sony A7RIII for a holiday to Hawaii. I felt that $295, including tax, wasnt a big loss if the lens didnt work out. I brought my Humongous 24-105 F4 Sony lens along in my luggage just in case the Samyang didnt work out. I was blown away by the image quality and portability of this lens and the the 24-105 Sony lens never left the suit case. It was a joy to hike around with this light weight outfit. Images were tack sharp from center too edge, with only a slight edge fall off at F 2.8. I was able to do extensive image cropping , allowed by the 43 mega pixel sensor, without any fall off in sharpness. 35mm was the sweet spot for single prime lens photography and satisfied all my image taking needs. Close focus was excellent, allowing me to take amazing pictures of Hawaiian flowers. I am extremely satisfied with this lens and it is now made my A7RIII the light weight carry around camera/lens combination that I can take on long hikes. Highly recommended.

Show more

Amazing that this tiny little lens can produce such a great picture, even in fairly low light. I didnt expect much from this lens to be honest. Autofocus is fast, low light performance is good, good sharpness and color (especially at center), but seriously...the weight to quality ratio is off the charts. This is the perfect casual all-day walk-around lens. Easy on the arms, back, shoulder, etc. And with its low profile, it is the perfect choice when you want to get quality pictures and 4k video without drawing too much attention. I use it on a Sony a7 iii. When shooting 4k video, I use the cameras crop-mode and clear zoom feature for a lot of "zoom" flexibility. I get a lot of use out of this little lens. :)

Show more

This is a very affordable full frame lens. Im using it on a crop sensor, but really love the f stop on this bad boy! I plan on eventually getting a full frame so this will move to that kit.

Show more

Small form factor, very light, easy manual focus, fast autofocus. I really like this lens. I do a fair amount of street photography and this lens makes my full frame Sony less conspicuous. The real shock is how well it does with landscapes. Cannot believe the sharpness and color saturation for such a small lens. Highly recommend.

Show more

This lens is fantastic. Nearly as good as the $1k lenses I have used a fraction of the cost. I have an A7RII and the only thing this prime lens has difficulty with is some blurring at the extreme edges, easily cropped or adjusted.

Show more