Shooting Food with Samyang XP 85mm f1.2

Samyang's stunning XP 85mm f1.2 lens is not just a great lens for portrait photography, it's also a lens that can be used to create beautiful food photography. Due to it's manual focusing system, still life photography seems like the perfect match. With food photography the photographer has time to compose each frame so a speedy auto-focusing system isn't a necessity. I use my XP 85mm via an adapter on my Sony A7RIII and the images that this combination produces are stunning with razor sharp details, vibrant colours and punchy contrast - just what you want when photographing food to make it look as appetising as possible.

When it comes to food photography, getting the right light is essential. As I shoot for a lot of different restaurants it's not always possible to have a location at the restaurant to setup near a window or space where there's a good source of natural light. For that reason I always take a studio strobe and a large softbox. This allows me the freedom to setup anywhere in the restaurant and gives me a powerful, controllable light source that is softened depending on the size of the light modifier - in most cases I use a 120cm x 80cm Phot-R softbox with double diffusion.

Here's my usual setup for food photography

In terms of getting the composition and point of focus perfect using the XP 85mm f1.2 lens I occasionally use a tripod but most of the images in this article were shot handheld so I heavily rely on the amazing focus peaking feature built-in to my Sony A7RIII. This feature shows exactly what's in focus in my EVF or on my screen by detecting edges of high contrast (and therefore most in focus) and displaying a red border around them. I then zoom in (using the camera's focus zoom feature) on the specific area that I want in focus and then rotate the focus ring until it has perfect focus - a very easy process for me with my mirrorless camera. Due to DSLRs having an optical viewfinder this whole process could be a lot more difficult and I'd imagine a tripod would be essential.

I love the bokeh (out of focus blur) that the XP 85mm f1.2 lens is capable of producing. It can help to isolate the subject from the background. Perfect for a side on shot like some of the cocktail images towards the bottom of this article. With a minimum focus distance of 80cm it allows me to get close enough to capture some of the finer details of a dish with precise sharpness. This lens really is a joy to use especially for this specific application. Check out some images below that have been taken with it.

Sony A7RIII - f4, 1/80th, ISO 160

Sony A7RIII - f4, 1/125th, ISO 160

Sony A7RIII - f4, 1/80th, ISO 160

Sony A7RIII - f4.5, 1/200th, ISO 100

Sony A7RIII - f4, 1/160th, ISO 100

Sony A7RIII - f4.5, 1/160th, ISO 64

Sony A7RIII - f7.1, 1/160th, ISO 160

Sony A7RIII - f6.3, 1/125th, ISO 160

Sony A7RIII - f5, 1/160th, ISO 100

Sony A7RIII - f8, 1/160th, ISO 125

Sony A7RIII - f9, 1/160th, ISO 200

Sony A7RIII - f5, 1/200th, ISO 800

Sony A7RIII - f3.5, 1/200th, ISO 250

Sony A7RIII - f2.8, 1/200th, ISO 250

Sony A7RIII - f2.8, 1/125th, ISO 160

Thanks for reading!

Check out my initial review for the Samyang XP 85mm f1.2 featured in this article that I wrote a while back HERE

For more information on Samyang products please take a look at their website - samyanglensglobal.com and subscribe to their newsletter to keep up to date with product news.

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K&F Concept KF13.026 V4 Camera Backpack

K&F Concept KF13.026 V4 Bag

Following on from my review of the K&F Concept TM2324 tripod the brand contacted me again and  wanted to send me some more items to test out - another tripod - the KF-TM2534T (review to follow) and this KF13.026 V4 camera bag. Man, that model name just rolls off the tongue.

Rain cover is a handy addition that most camera backpacks have

My Bags/Cases
I have a few different camera bags and cases to hold my gear - Sony LCS-SC8, Lowepro Flipside 400AW, Lowepro Flipside 500AW and a Peli 1510. I use all of them for different reasons. I mainly use the Peli 1510 to store my main cameras and lenses as I know it's safe and secure in there with its foam interior, watertight casing and crushproof outer shell. Depending on what job I'm shooting I sometimes also take the Peli with me. The frustrating thing for me is that I just hate that I can't fit the lenses and camera bodies that I need in there alonside my laptop, hard drives and a bunch of other things. Plus when it's fully loaded it weighs a tonne. I may need to get a bigger and lighter Peli case like the Peli 1615 Air but these come at a considerable cost. The Sony is a very small bag only capable of holding a camera body and one or two lenses depending on which camera body and lenses I'm carrying so I tend to only use this for trips out for casual shooting. I use both Lowepro bags quite heavily as they can fit a lot of gear, have padded compartments inside, are comfortable to carry and just look pretty good in terms of aesthetic design. I'm yet to test out whether the bigger Lowepro Flipside 500AW would qualify as cabin baggage, I guess this is a risk that I'm not willing to take so when travelling abroad I always take the smaller Flipside 400AW and it's served me very well on trips to New York, Miami, Göteborg and Spain.

Bonus lens cleaning extras included with the bag

Features
The K&F Concept bag sits between the Sony mentioned above and the Lowepro Flipside 400AW in terms of size so it's not the biggest of bags by any means. The design is quite sleek and minimal, it packs quite a lot of features and even comes with a lens cleaning kit (comprising of a lens pen, air blower, lens tissues, a microfibre cloth and a small spray bottle to fill with lens cleaning solution). A very handy addition in my eyes. The bag has a small zipped pocket at the front for storing things like a passport or keys. Behind that is a bigger, zipped compartment which has 3 small pockets, a large mesh pocket and another larger velcro fastened pocket which can fit a standard 9.7" iPad. Batteries, memory cards and other miscellaneous items can be stored here. Additonally, in this area of the bag you will find a small pouch attached via a plastic buckle - inside the pouch is a waterproof cover for the bag to save your equipment from a heavy downpour. Also on the front of the bag it has a small rubber hole where you can pass a headphone cable through - a decent feature. The main section of the bag can be accessed via the two zips at the top of the bag. It's worth noting that these zips join together and have a hole that a small padlock can fit through to keep your equipment secure. Inside this comparment there is room for one camera body, several lenses and other miscellaneous items such as batteries, cables and a lens cleaning kit. On one side of the bag there's a mesh pocket to hold a water bottle. On the opposite side there is a pocket and a strap to secure a small tripod to the bag. I was just about able to attach the relatively small K&F Concept TM2424 tripod to the bag. This pocket would only be suitable for tripods of this size or smaller. There's a handle at the top of the bag which isn't padded. The shoulder straps are padded with a breathable mesh and feel ok. They also have two support straps - one that goes across you collarbone area and the other that would go around your abdominal region. The area of the bag which would come in contact with your back is quite thickly padded again with a breathable mesh for comfort.

A 9.7" iPad fits nicely in the front pocket.

Filled with Mirrorless camera body and lenses

Filled with DSLR camera body and lenses

Conclusion

Water repellent outer

Build quality of the bag itself seems pretty decent - it's made out of a water repellent Nylon and has padding throughout to help protect your lenses and camera from getting knocks. The cost (at the time of writing retails on Amazon for £42.99) is pretty inexpensive for a camera bag with so many features. Due to the size of the bag it's not something I would use as regularly as some of my other bags but it is a welcome addition as I can see that I would use this for casual shooting on short trips where I don't need a lot of kit. All camera bags come with certain caveats, my gripe with this one is that it's just slightly too small to fit my 13" Sony Vaio laptop. Perhaps it might fit a newer 13" laptop like a Macbook Pro or Dell XPS 13. Other than that it's a fairly respectable bag which offers good value for money.

Thanks for reading. Don't forget to check out my other reviews and blog posts.

I'd like to once again thank K&F Concept for sending the bag out to me for testing.

For more information on K&F Conecpt products please take a look at their page on Amazon.

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Samyang & Me

My obsession with Samyang lenses first started in early 2013 when I rented a Samyang 8mm f3.5 Fisheye lens after reading good reviews detailing how good the optics were. I was fairly new to photography at that time and wanted to have the lens for a trip to Miami and New York with my wife. I had great fun with this lens while on this holiday. So much so that I immediately bought my own copy when I returned to the UK. I still to this day use this lens for quirky shots. Take a look at one of my favourite images taken with the fisheye (also one of my most viewed images on Flickr) HERE. Also check out some more images shot with the lens below.

Sony A7R, Samyang 8mm Fisheye

Sony A65, Samyang 8mm Fisheye

Sony A65, Samyang 8mm Fisheye

Since becoming a Samyang Passionate photographer I have added the AF 50mm f1.4 and 24mm f3.5 tilt shift lenses to my arsenal and both come in very handy. I’m looking forward to using the tilt shift more as this is a fairly new lens for me. I have had extensive use with the AF 50mm f1.4 which has speedy autofocus and produces images with stunning bokeh when shot wide open yet sharp throughout the aperture range. I have in recent months worked with Samyang and tested out some truly amazing lenses. The build and image quality provided by both 14mm f2.4 and the 85mm f1.2 from the XP line of lenses is undoubtedly the best I have shot with. Samyang continue to be at the forefront of optical lens technology with the XEEN range of lenses which I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about. I don’t shoot video but would love the chance to test out some of these lenses to see what I could capture with them. The Samyang brand in the last year has really blown up and produced game-changing lenses for photography and videography professionals both in terms of value for money and quality of imagery. I’m excited to see what this innovative company comes out with next.

Sony A7R, Samyang 24mm f3.5 Tilt shift

Sony A7R, Samyang AF 50mm f1.4

Sony A7R, Samyang AF 50mm f1.4

The Brand New Samyang 14mm F2.4 XP Lens

Close-up of the branding on the lens

The Brand New Samyang 14mm F2.4 XP Lens

 

Last week I had an email from Samyang in South Korea explaining that they had just sent out their new 14mm f2.4 XP sample lens to me via express courier direct from South Korea. The email went on to explain that this was the only sample lens in existence to create content globally. A HUGE deal. I was so thrilled and honoured to be able to get my hands on this lens before pretty much anyone. I was fortunate enough to receive one of the 1^st AF 50mm f1.4 lenses in the UK again direct from Samyang themselves for testing and reviewing only a few months ago (review of this lens HERE) so to follow up with another high profile and much anticipated lens was great news for me.

Overview of the lens

Having recently looked into the options available to me as a Sony shooter for ultra-wide lenses I think that I know the market pretty well. I wrote a blog post a few months ago (give it a read HERE) where I looked at a few different options in my search for a full frame ultra-wide angle lens. In the end I went with the stellar Canon 16-35mm F4L IS USM. A decision that has definitely paid off for me as the images that the lens produces are superb with sharpness throughout the frame and not just in the centre of the image. Enough of my waffle about the Canon lens. This review is about the new Samyang. Samyang is renowned for making great lenses at an affordable price and so a lot of photographers find that these lenses are a very accessible option. Samyang has quite a few options that would be classed as ultra-wide lenses and in fact have recently added to their line-up with the launch of their new 14mm AF f2.8 lens which has been received really well by photographers worldwide. The older 14mm f2.8 (manual) focus is also very well thought of lens with many a landscape photographer. So, they have a manual 14mm f2.8 and an autofocusing 14mm f2.8 and now they've introduced the 14mm f2.4 which will allow half an f-stop of extra light into the camera. This can then allow for lower ISO or faster shutter speeds in low light situations.


Lens design and specs
The lens has been designed very differently to how the rest of Samyang's lens' look but then again this is a totally different line of lenses that they are starting to produce aimed at a higher end of the market with performance to match. The look of the lens is kind of similar to the very sleek Zeiss Milvus range of lenses where the lens hood flows seamlessly into the body of the lens. The build quality of this lens is superb with emphasis made on optical excellence. It's made from aluminium alloy and feels very solid and quite heavy at 791g. The rubber focussing ring feels nice and has a really long focus throw meaning you can really 'nail' focus as precisely as possible. However, it does attract a little dust and dirt. Inside the lens are 18 elements in 14 groups, so a very complex construction which justifies the 'Premium' tag for these lenses. There are 2 aspherical, 1 hybrid aspherical, two extra low dispersion and 3 high refractive elements. This all helps minimise distortion and chromatic aberration. It's worth noting that the lens is not weather sealed. This is no big deal to me as I tend not to take my camera out in harsh conditions and would mainly use this lens to shoot interiors and on the odd occasion shoot landscape scenes.

See more about specs in the table below:

1/50sec - f10 - ISO 100

Fixed focal length (Prime) lenses in their nature do tend to be sharper than their variable focal length (zoom) lens counterparts so its no surprise to find that this lens is tack sharp throughout the frame given the amount of glass that goes into the construction of this lens.

As you can see from the image below the lens is capable of capturing beautifully crisp images which are sharp corner to corner. This image has been shot directly into the sunlight and flare has been kept to a minimum due to the sheer amount of elements within the Premium construction.

1/50sec - f13 - ISO 160

Below are some examples showing the same composition shot at different apertures. I mistakenly had my EV step value set to 0.3 instead of 0.5 so as a result the widest aperture showed up as f2.2.

Shot at f2.2 (Noticeable vignetting)

Shot at f4 (slight vignetting)

Shot at f8

Shot at f11

Shot at f16

Shot at f22

1/60sec - f10 - ISO 100 (Vertical lines corrected in Photoshop)

Conclusion

During my relatively short time with this lens I've tried to test it out in various locations and situations to showcase the lens' capabilities and have been left impressed time after time at how sharp the images are that it produces throughout the frame and not just the centre. The build quality is solid as it's made from aluminium alloy so you know that this thing is built to last. Distortion and chromatic aberration are kept to an absolute minimum with this lens. The focus ring has a long throw so you can focus precisely on your subject to create killer compositions. A 14mm lens is a focal length I would probably use while shooting restaurant/bar/hotel interiors in my day to day job so yes I would like to have this lens in my bag for times when my 16-35mm just isn't quite wide enough and I know that I will still maintain quality of image. Releasing this line of Premium lenses is a great follow up to introducing autofocusing lenses for the first time in the company's history earlier in the summer and I have no doubt that these lenses are sending Samyang more than a step in the right direction.

Thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed my review. More test images are below. Please check out my Facebook page and website for more of my work or follow me on Flickr.

The lenses will be globally available in 2016, with suggested retail prices announced at a later date.

I'd like to thank Karin and all involved at Samyang Korea for sending the lens out to me for testing. 

1/100sec - f8 - ISO 100

Samyang 14mm f2.4 Premium

1/60sec - f11 - ISO 100

Size in hand (I don't have the biggest of hands)

Shot at f2.4

Shot at f10

Samyang 14mm f2.4 Premium (Canon fit), Sony A7R & Commlite Adapter

Samyang 14mm f2.4 Premium front element

Samyang 14mm f2.4 Premium

13secs - f2.4- ISO 640 (253 images stacked)