Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC Macro
Summary
The Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC Macro is a strong optical performer — a telephoto prime (150mm equivalent) with f/2.8 maximum aperture. The lens is priced at approximately ~$750 USD. Please check the official product page for sample images, manuals, and firmware updates.
Genre Suitability
- Excellent for: Landscape, Architecture, Portrait, Sport, Wildlife, Macro
- Adequate for: Nightscape, Street, Travel
Strengths
- Well-controlled aberrations
- Smooth, pleasant bokeh
- Negligible distortion
Weaknesses
- Noticeably soft corners wide open
- No built-in optical stabilization
Specifications 19/20
| Optical construction | 15 elements in 12 groups (1 ED, 1 HR) |
| Coating | UMC |
| Focal length | 100mm |
| Max aperture | f/2.8 |
| Sweet spot | f/5.6 |
| Aperture blades | 8 |
| Sunstar points | 8 (sharp — straight blades) |
| Max magnification | 1x |
| Min focus distance | 307mm |
| AF motor | Manual focus |
| OIS | No |
| Weather sealed | No |
| Aperture ring | Yes |
| Clickless aperture | No |
| Focus ring | Yes |
| Focus by wire | No |
| Distance scale | Yes |
| Rotating front | No |
| Tripod mount | No |
| Weight | 700g |
| Diameter | 72.5mm |
| Length | 149.4mm |
| Filter thread | 67mm |
| Year | 2016 |
MTF Charts
| Position | 10S | 10M | 30S | 30M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.92 | 0.92 |
| 5mm | 0.97 | 0.97 | 0.90 | 0.90 |
| 10mm | 0.97 | 0.96 | 0.88 | 0.82 |
| 15mm | 0.98 | 0.95 | 0.90 | 0.80 |
| 20mm | 0.95 | 0.94 | 0.77 | 0.67 |
| Position | 10S | 10M | 30S | 30M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.98 |
| 5mm | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.97 |
| 10mm | 0.99 | 0.99 | 0.95 | 0.95 |
| 15mm | 0.99 | 0.98 | 0.93 | 0.90 |
| 20mm | 0.99 | 0.95 | 0.95 | 0.78 |
Optical Quality 14/14
| Center (wide open) | 1.5 |
| Corner (wide open) | 0.5 |
| Center (stopped) | 2.0 |
| Corner (stopped) | 1.5 |
| Coma | 1.0 |
| Astigmatism | 2.0 |
| Spherical aberration | 2.0 |
| Longitudinal CA | 2.0 |
| Lateral CA | 1.5 |
| Distortion | 2.0 |
| Vignetting (wide open) | 2.0 |
| Vignetting (stopped) | 2.0 |
| Bokeh | 1.5 |
| Flare resistance | 1.0 |
Sharpness
- Good center sharpness wide open
- Noticeably soft corners wide open
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Good corner-to-corner sharpness stopped down
Aberrations
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Well-controlled lateral CA
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
- Negligible astigmatism
- Excellent spherical aberration correction
Rendering
- Smooth, pleasant bokeh
- Minimal vignetting even wide open
- Vignetting essentially gone by f/5.6
- Acceptable flare resistance with modern coatings
Distortion
- Negligible distortion — straight lines stay straight
All optical scores are based on lab measurements and field tests from trusted review sources. For details on how we score lenses, see our scoring methodology.
Genre Fit
~ Nightscape Photography 3/5
Nightscape Photography prioritizes coma control, astigmatism correction, and a fast aperture for short star exposures.
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
- Negligible astigmatism
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Well-controlled lateral CA
- Good center sharpness wide open
- Noticeably soft corners wide open
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Minimal vignetting even wide open
- Excellent spherical aberration correction
✓ Landscape Photography 4/5
Landscape Photography prioritizes corner-to-corner sharpness at stopped-down apertures and good flare resistance.
- Good corner-to-corner sharpness stopped down
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Negligible distortion — straight lines stay straight
- Well-controlled lateral CA
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Vignetting essentially gone by f/5.6
- Acceptable flare resistance with modern coatings
- Negligible astigmatism
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
✓ Architecture Photography 4/5
Architecture Photography prioritizes geometric precision with minimal distortion and even corner sharpness.
- Good corner-to-corner sharpness stopped down
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Negligible distortion — straight lines stay straight
- Well-controlled lateral CA
- Vignetting essentially gone by f/5.6
- Acceptable flare resistance with modern coatings
~ Street Photography 3/5
Street Photography prioritizes sharp stopped-down performance and a fast enough aperture for low light.
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Good center sharpness wide open
- Acceptable flare resistance with modern coatings
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Moderate coma at the extreme corners
~ Travel Photography 3/5
Travel Photography prioritizes balanced image quality in a lightweight package.
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Heavy at 700g
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Acceptable flare resistance with modern coatings
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
✓ Portrait Photography 4/5
Portrait Photography prioritizes smooth bokeh and critical center sharpness wide open for subject isolation.
- Smooth, pleasant bokeh
- Good center sharpness wide open
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Excellent spherical aberration correction
- Minimal vignetting even wide open
✓ Sport Photography 4/5
Sport Photography prioritizes sharp wide-open center performance to freeze action at fast shutter speeds.
- Good center sharpness wide open
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Well-controlled lateral CA
✓ Wildlife Photography 4/5
Wildlife Photography prioritizes center sharpness across apertures for distant subjects.
- Good center sharpness wide open
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- Slow f/2.8 aperture
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Well-controlled lateral CA
✓ Macro Photography 5/5
Macro Photography prioritizes stopped-down center sharpness and high magnification for close-up detail.
- Outstanding center resolution stopped down
- 1x magnification
- Negligible distortion — straight lines stay straight
- Well-controlled lateral CA
- Virtually no longitudinal chromatic aberration
- Excellent spherical aberration correction
- Smooth, pleasant bokeh