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Verdict: This lens offers very smooth focusing, though it is manual. It’s super sharp at f/2.8 and certainly rivals other lenses in this respect. The features of this lens are quite basic but it does what it says on the tin.
At a hefty 730g, this aluminium alloy lens is the third heaviest and second longest in test, owing to its whopping 15 elements in 12 groups. Historically, Samyang has favoured all-manual lenses, making them a great choice for serious videographers, and the same is true here, except for the Nikon-fit model which comes with a circuit chip allowing for exposure control through the camera.
SAMYANG'S 100MM MACRO DELIVERS SMOOTH FOCUSING AND IS SHARP AT F/2.8
The focusing ring is both tight and very smooth, and the aperture ring has reassuringly distinct clicks. The lens itself contains its own UMC (Ultra Multi Coating) technology to reduce flare, which appeared to do its job in our tests. Chromatic aberration is non-existent, although there is some light vignetting at f/2.8, which disappears between f/5.6 and the maximum f/32.
The centre sharpness rivals that of other lenses in our test and the fall-off towards the edge of the images appears relatively minimal by f/2.8. At f/8, however, the image is universally sharp.
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