Samyang 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 MC Auto Zoom, One-Touch Macro (Manual Focus)

Samyang 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 MC Auto Zoom
One-Touch Macro (Manual Focus)

2017.01.21 - First published

2021.07.30 - Re-written from scratch

2021.08.17 - Re-written, re-edit video

Samyang made lenses for other labels starting 1973 and began marketing lenses under their own name from early 1980s. No information comes up about this obscure Samyang 35-70mm f/3.5-4.5 MC Auto Zoom (One-Touch Macro Lens). There is a two-ring version, also manual focusing; and then there is the AF version from mid-1980s. My lens has serial# 886146 (made 1988).

The one I have is a 'one-touch zoom' where the focusing and zooming are combined into a single control ring, instead of the old style two-ring design. The advantage is that this design allows you to shoot manual and nail focus quickly instead of fiddling two separate rings. However, my lens has problems with the mechanism, it jams or hits the aperture mechanism inside, which prevents me from enjoying it fully.

The minimum focusing is 0.8m but allows you to continuously focus down to 40cm at 70mm, no additional switches. It is only 1:4 magnification at that point (true macro lenses are 1:2 or 1:1). One thing I really liked was the use of bold colors like red, green and orange; lenses that are nothing but black bodies and mostly white markings are boring.

Antireflective coating seems to be present on all lens elements but they look very thin and almost not there. Other Samyang lenses of the time had strong green sheen on the elements. When shooting indoor, it gives a decent output -- the contrast is fine, color is better than neutral but not too saturated, and it could be soft even stopped down to f/8. When shooting outdoor or with bright light, the lens seems to totally lose all of its contrast particularly in the center area, and it even glows like old 1900s films. I could never use this lens for any normal use but it suits well if you want a genuine vintage vibe without editing.

I have owned two other Samyang lenses (Alfo 28/2.8, Alfo 135/2.8) and they both produced superior image quality. This experience may not be representative of all copies of this lens; it could be from ageing or deterioration of the coatings by cleaning or heat during storage. Or probably this particular lens was really just crap.