Samyang AF 85 mm f/1.8 P FE review - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh

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Samyang AF 85 mm f/1.8 P FE

17 November 2025

Maciej Latałło

7. Coma, astigmatism and bokeh

Crops below show quite clearly that the small Samyang 1.8/85 doesn't have any meaningful problems with coma correction. As you move away from the frame centre the dimension of these point-like sources of light increases slowly. In the corner of the APS-C/DX sensor this increase is barely noticeable but in the corner of full frame it is much more accented; still it would be difficult to call it bothersome.

Center, f/1.8	Corner APS-C, f/1.8	Corner FF, f/1.8

Center, f/2.5	Corner APS-C, f/2.5	Corner FF, f/2.5

In order to make the situation clear and comprehensive we decided to present also crops taken from photos of the sky taken from the upper right-hand corner of full frame. This time we show shots by f/1.8, f/2.5, and f/3.5. This kind of test proved to be more demanding and revealed more detail in a form of a blue 'ghost' that is able to turn a star into a classic comma. Its presence, though, can be noticed only and solely in case of the brightest celestial objects.

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Corner FF, f/1.8	Corner FF, f/2.5	Corner FF, f/3.5

Astigmatism, understood as an average difference between horizontal and vertical MTF50 function values, amounted to just 2.3%. It is a negligible value and, what's more important, this aberration remains low even at the maximum relative aperture.

Defocused circles of light provided by the Samyang 1.8/85 look really nice. In its optical construction there are no aspherical elements so there is also no onion-ring bokeh. Inside of the circles show a very even light spread and the outer rim is not especially intense. Everything looks splendid indeed.

Mechanical vignetting is a problem though, a predictable flaw taking into account the dimensions of the tested instrument. At the maximum relative aperture its level is high and remains bothersome even on stopping down the aperture by 2 EV. In the next chapter we are going to find out to what extend it influences the performance of the lens.

Center, f/1.8	Corner APS-C, f/1.8	Corner FF, f/1.8

Center, f/2.5	Corner APS-C, f/2.5	Corner FF, f/2.5

Center, f/3.5	Corner APS-C, f/3.5	Corner FF, f/3.5