I will probably order the SLR magic. At almost half the price of the Rokinon I can't really go too far wrong.

35/1.4 Tests. Looks better than the Rokinon/Samyang's to me:

I think testing with the Heliopan wasn't a good idea (Of course) but I am glad that they put the lens under the scrutiny of ETC mode on the GH2. That will tell you how center sharpness fairs and knowing that there's a Heliopan on this, bodes well. Could definitely be noticably sharper at all apertures.

My interest is in the 35/0.95, but seeing this makes me even more interested in that lens. Good stuff.

Seb Farges also tested with the GH1.

Oh I forgot to say I like the 35mm T1.4 lens :)

I bet it's gonna be good match with 12mm T1.6. Prolly gonna be popular choice.

Slightly modified (contrast & exposure & saturation) JPG photos from SLR Magic 35mm T1.4. Although the lens is not super sharp, its color tone feels nice. Its color contrast is definitely lower than Panasonic m43 lenses. The low contrast is like having softening filter. I guess that's why some people say it has "cinematic character". At max aperture, CA is acceptable. Of course CA became more obvious when the saturation was boosted during post-processing. The bokeh looks nice.

Nice build quality. Almost no play like Panasonic m43 lenses. Smooth focus ring. Tighter aperture ring. Yes the barrel extends. Easy to do hand-held. Definitely a keeper.

Samyang 35mm F1.4 (non-cine ver) seems sharper at max aperture. Samyang's color contrast is higher than SLR Magic 35mm T1.4. Also flatter color tone. I really like SLR Magic's bokeh.

For heavy color grading, I'd pick Samyang. For no or light color grading, SLR Magic.

I think the lenses don't overlap. Samyang has modern look. SLR Magic has vintage look.

@stonebat

I purchased the SLR Magic 35mm t1.4 and returned it the next day due to a "dry" focus ring. It was smooth in a sense but I could hear & feel metal on metal as the focus was being pulled. If you pay close attention to your focus ring as you turn it, do you hear or feel what I experienced at all? It's kind of hard to explain as it was not exactly "grinding" per se, but it did not feel like a newly dampened or greased helicoid.

@Stone, thanks for the info.I'm more interested and they'll take care pretty sure this lens

Can you upload some footage to vimeo with this glass?

Manu4Vendetta,

Wow, you're fast! I uploaded that last night as I was going to bed with the intention of linking to it this morning but you beat me to it! Thanks for saving me the trouble!

I really like the lens a lot. My 50 year old eyes definitely have to work to achieve critical focus with it using the LCD screen, but I love the way it looks when you nail it.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to try some handheld shots in the next couple of days to see what it looks like moving around. The build quality is great and the packaging was superb. This was all with existing light and I was able to keep ISO pretty low throughout.

Tony

@sherwood - that's Tony I think - but indeed - uncanny resemblance.

http://assets.rollingstone.com/assets/images/story/henry-rollins-on-election-season-i-really-dont-like-all-this-anger-20120926/1000x306/20120926-henry-rollins-06-x306-1348673067.jpg

This flare is very rare, at the minuto 0:57

http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/01/09/the-slr-magic-35mm-t-0-95-hyperprime-lens-review-part-1/

Please read this before buying the SLR Magic 35mm T1.4.

I found a big flaw with the SLR Magic 35mm T1.4 for anyone who plans to use focus markers. The focus ring is unreliable for repeat focusing. If you just focus from point A to point B, it's fine, but if you find a third point and go back, it'll throw all the markers off.

When I told SLR Magic about this, they were kind enough to let me exchange the lens for another one. The new one also exhibited the problem. When I told them this, they explained to me that it's because the T1.4 is a budget lens and recommended that I look into their 0.95 lens. They offered a refund to which I agreed on January 9th, but they still haven't responded.

Here is a video showing the problem: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1017296/SLR%20Magic%20Lens%20Problem.mp4

As shown in the second portion of the video, the lens can focus fine between two points, but once you overshoot the focus point and try to go back, the focus point shifts. I still hold that it's a sturdy lens with a beautiful image and bokeh, but the focusing issue makes it unusable for my purposes. If SLR Magic doesn't respond soon, I'll put it up for sale with a deep discount.