Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 FE II

A quality lens that performs brilliantly

- Matthew Richards

Specifications

Mount: Sony E

Full-frame: Yes

Lens construction: 11 elements in 8 groups

Angle of view: 45.7º

Autofocus: Yes

Image stabilisation: No

Max aperture: f/1.4

Min aperture: f/16

Diaphragm blades: 9

Min focusing distance: 0.4m

Max magnification ratio: 0.16x

Filter size: 72mm

Dimensions (L x D): 89x80mm

Weight: 420g

The original edition of the Samyang AF 50mm F1.4 FE II (badged Rokinon in the US) was Samyang’s first-ever autofocus lens, launched in celebration of the company’s 50th year in the business. Five years down the road, the Mark II features a new and improved autofocus system, which is faster and more consistently accurate. It’s only one-third of an f/stop slower than the highly acclaimed Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master lens, but barely more than half the weight and only half the price to buy.

Although compact and lightweight for a modern 50mm f/1.4 optic, the Samyang packs some impressive features. Its new linear stepping motor-based autofocus system is super-fast for stills capture and works well for Sony’s face- and eye-detection AF, complete with effective tracking. It also enables smooth autofocus transitions for movie capture, the latter with minimal focus breathing, so the focus position doesn’t change when you adjust the aperture.