Samyang XP 50mm f/1.2 Review

The Samyang XP 50mm f/1.2 lens is an incredibly capable lens with sharp optics, punchy contrast, and smooth bokeh. It is quite large and heavy, but its performance makes it highly recommended.

The Samyang XP 50mm f/1.2 is the Incredible Hulk of 50 lenses. It's huge and a bit heavy, but it's incredibly capable, offering sharp optics, punchy contrast, and smooth bokeh.

The build quality is exceptional with a solid metal construction and a weather sealing gasket.

The Samyang XP 50mm f/1.2 lens is an incredibly capable lens with sharp optics, punchy contrast, and smooth bokeh. It is quite large and heavy, weighing 1.2 kilograms, but the build quality is exceptional with a solid metal construction and a weather sealing gasket. The lens features a manual focus design, but the focus ring is nicely rubberized and turns extremely precisely. In terms of image quality, it performs excellently on various cameras, showing high resolution and sharpness, with little color fringing at wider apertures. However, it exhibits moderate barrel distortion and heavy vignetting, although this can be corrected with in-camera features on Canon cameras. Close-up image quality is just okay at wider apertures, and the lens handles bright lights well, exhibiting minimal flaring artifacts. Overall, the Samyang XP 50mm f/1.2 offers exceptionally sharp optics and build quality, making its price reasonable for professional use, although its size and weight may be a deterrent for some users.

The lens exhibits exceptionally sharp optics and handles bright lights well, exhibiting minimal flaring artifacts.