FS5: Samyang Sigma compared
- Thread starter Brinkey
- Start date
David W. Jones
Veteran
Different manufacture, different lens coatings.
And I now know why my whites on the Samyang needed CC.
Cary Knoop
Veteran
Right!
And in addition there are sight variations in exposure as lenses with the same F stop can have different T stops.
BarryLichtner
Active member
To me the Rokinon looks white balanced correctly and the Sigma looks like it has a magenta cast due to WB issues. I'd also expect 35mm vs. 35mm to be closer than that (which probably also accounts for some of the DoF difference). Your DoF "should" rely on your aperture setting, though the amount of light getting through (your T-stop) can vary by manufacturer. Does everyone else see the Sigma as the properly colored lens?
Cary Knoop
Veteran
I agree, but different lenses should be white balanced separately, I do not know if that happened here.
The exposure is clearly lower for the Sigma.
broughtonfilm
Well-known member
How can you tell if Sigma is a "properly colored lens" without knowing what the color of that wall really was and /or if there was anything affecting the color of it (such as color of the source of light, objects in the room creating a color cast, etc.) ?
Ben Scott
Veteran
QC on the Samyangs / Rokinons is all over the place and so there tends to be a lot of variance between any two lenses. They introduced the DS range with a slightly higher price and these were supposedly colour matched more but that's still a subjective change and not a manufacturing one. With the introduction of the Xeens etc I believe they may have more continuity now but stuff like QC is where budget brands make savings compared to high end or mid-range brands.
The Sigmas have more continuity across their range but their coatings do impart a certain look, just like Zeiss or Leica's do as well. For what it's worth I think the Sigmas cut brilliantly with Zeiss glass and if you add a 1/8 Black Pro Mist it's cut really well with the older Contax Zeiss or Standard/Superspeed cine lenses too.
The Sigmas have more continuity across their range but their coatings do impart a certain look, just like Zeiss or Leica's do as well. For what it's worth I think the Sigmas cut brilliantly with Zeiss glass and if you add a 1/8 Black Pro Mist it's cut really well with the older Contax Zeiss or Standard/Superspeed cine lenses too.
nutropolis
New member
Wow, that is really interesting! I have not noticed that issue when comparing my Rokinon 85mm to Canon but like Ben said, their quality control is all over the place, especially with focus markings however for the price I guess it's to be expected. Still pretty sharp!
Maybe I'm just missing something, but this is an odd test to me. I don't see how much you can tell from this comparison except that there is a color difference which is very common from lens to lens and even between lenses by the same manufacturer (esp DSLR lenses.) I guess you can judge bokeh differences and slight exposure, but aside from that you certainly can't tell anything about sharpness or CA which tends to be a big problem on 35mm lenses at wide apertures. I don't like to be negative so straighten me out if I'm wrong.
Last edited: