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Samyang announces 16mm f/2.0 and 300mm f/6.3 Reflex lenses

Jun 13, 2013 at 14:45:00 GMT

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Samyang has announced two manual focus lenses for cameras with APS-C or Four Thirds type sensors, a 16mm f/2.0 wideangle for SLRs and mirrorless, and a 300mm f/6.3 for mirrorless. The 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS offers a 24mm-equivalent angle of view with an unusually bright maximum aperture, and comes in a wide range of mounts to fit almost every brand of camera. Its RRP is £419.99 / €395, or £459.99 / €435 for the Nikon mount 'AE' version. Meanwhile the Reflex 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS is a compact catadioptric or 'mirror' lens to fit Micro Four Thirds, Canon, Sony and Fujifilm models, and comes in a choice of silver or black for £289.99 / €259. Both will be available in July.

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Press Release: Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS
Press Release: Samyang 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS
Specifications
Additional Images

Press Release: Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS

Precise wide angle - Samyang 16mm f/2.0

Ultra wide angle, bright lens Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS was designed with utmost diligence. Its optical structure is based on 13 elements arranged in 11 groups. This includes one ED-type lens of extra low dispersion ratio, one optical glass aspherical lens and one hybrid aspherical. The lenses have multi-layer anti-reflective UMC coating which ensures very good transmission of light. Solid casing and the quality of workmanship aligned with excellent optical parameters make this lens an exceptionally attractive and user-friendly tool both for professional and amateur photographers.

Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS is dedicated for digital SLRs and mirrorless compact cameras equipped with APS-C sensor. The manufacturer ensured wide availability of the product offering mounts for such models as: Canon EF and M, Nikon F, Sony A and E, Pentax K, Fujiifilm X, Samsung NX, MFT and Four Thirds.

Press Release: Samyang Reflex 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS

Light compact mirror – Samyang 300mm f/6.3 Reflex

Samyang Reflex f/6.3 300mm ED UMC CS is a small-size reflex lens dedicated for mirrorless compact cameras. The optical structure contains 9 elements arranged in 6 groups, including one ED-type lens ensuring high contrast and effectively preventing chromatic aberration. Long focal length, exceptionally affordable price and small size (it weighs only 315 g) make this lens a perfect companion for both city and nature photography.

To meet the needs of those users for whom the aesthetics are as important as the quality and functionality of equipment, this lens is available in two colours: black and silver. Available mounts: Sony E, Fujiifilm X, MFT and Canon M.

Estimated retail price of the lenses in Europe is EUR 395 - Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS, EUR 435 Samyang AE 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS and EUR 259 - Samyang Reflex f/6.3 300mm ED UMC CS. Those new products will be available in July 2013.

Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS and Reflex 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS specifications

	Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS	Samyang Reflex 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS
Principal specifications
Lens type	Prime lens
Max Format size	APS-C / DX
Focal length	16 mm	300 mm
Image stabilisation	No
Lens mount	Canon EF, Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X, Nikon F (DX), Four Thirds, Micro Four Thirds, Pentax KAF, Sony Alpha, Sony E (NEX), Samsung NX	Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X, Micro Four Thirds, Sony E (NEX)
Aperture
Maximum aperture	F2.0	F6.3
Minimum aperture	F22.0	F6.3
Aperture ring	Yes	No
Number of diaphragm blades	8
Aperture notes		Fixed aperture
Optics
Elements	13	9
Groups	11	9
Special elements / coatings	1 ED glass element, 1 aspheric element, 1 hybrid aspheric element	1 ED glass element
Focus
Minimum focus	0.20 m (7.87″)	0.90 m (35.43″)
Autofocus	No
Full time manual	N/A
Distance scale	Yes
DoF scale	No
Physical
Weight	583 g (1.29 lb)	318 g (0.70 lb)
Diameter	83 mm (3.27″)	65 mm (2.54″)
Length	89 mm (3.52″)	74 mm (2.90″)
Materials	Metal barrel, metal mount	Metal mount
Filter thread	77 mm
Hood supplied	Yes

Additional images


Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS	Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS

Samyang Reflex f/6.3 300mm ED UMC CS	Samyang Reflex f/6.3 300mm ED UMC CS

LENS NEWS SAMYANG

Samyang 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS

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Samyang Reflex 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS

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Samyang SY16MAF-N 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens with Auto Confirm Chip for Nikon (DX) Cameras	$468.00
Samyang SY16M-C 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Canon EF Cameras	$468.00
Samyang SY16M-E 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Sony E-Mount	$447.41
Samyang SY16M-M43 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Olympus/Panasonic Micro 4/3 Cameras	$468.00
Samyang SY16M-P 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Pentax KAF Cameras	$438.23
Samyang SY16M-S 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Sony Alpha Cameras	$468.00
Samyang SY16M-FX 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Fuji X	$444.34
Samyang SY16M-M 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Canon M	$451.38

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Comments

Total comments: 125

This is awesome. A bit much for a manual lens but if the price matches the optical quality it will be worth it. Still not sure if this will be a better buy than the CZ 24 1.8 though.

0 upvotes

waiting the review!!

0 upvotes

hey Samyang,
Thanks for releasing this awesome lens, kindly release the "10mm 1:2.8 ED AS UMC CS" you announced last year

Cheers

0 upvotes

Great work on the 16mm/F2.0, Dear Samyang/Rokinon, and now please, please make it as a cine lens as well.

2 upvotes

Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 is only a bit more expensive than the Samyang 16mm f2, but the difference is not that small.

1 upvote

When I read the title “16mm f/2.0" , what I think is : "Oh YEAH!"
When I read the word " APS-C / DX " , what I think is " Oh my god...."

1 upvote

What a bizarre week of slow lenses.

0 upvotes

f/6.3 is fast for a mirror lens.

4 upvotes

Not that fast... Tamron made a 350 mm f/5.6 back in the day and there has also been some 500 mm f/5.6 lenses. Typically 500 mm mirror lenses were f/8, so this new Samyang lens is pretty much average.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

0 upvotes

Are they really using the same optical design on the 16mm for both DSLRs and CSCs? Doesn't that mean there's a good 20cm or so of wasted space behind the rear element on the mirrorless version, making it unnecessarily retrofocal?

2 upvotes

It does. Probably even 25mm or so.

Comment edited 28 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

16mm.. @ f/2.0 !! :D If its sharp, that would be awesome for astrophotography!

0 upvotes

Exactly what I was thinking!

0 upvotes

Nothing beats a fast prime in any focal length. This 16mm f/2.0 (24mm equivalent) would be a big asset to APS-C camera users for shooting low light and interiors. Samyang has proven to others it can be done.

The downside is perhaps the rather large and heavy construction.

Lets hope DPR can test a production unit soon to determine its quality.

2 upvotes

How come it is so heavy

0 upvotes

It is manual focus, so the lens designers can have free reign using thicker glass to achieve better results without worrying if the auto focus motors could cope with the weight of the elements.

The focusing mechanism is more fluid rather than flimsy because the design has minimum weight consideration of the moving focus barrels.

If you try to use film era primes, you will notice they are all heavier than their modern AF IS VR counterparts.

8 upvotes

Heavier because they almost are made of metal, none of these fantastic plastics. My AIS Nikkor lenses focus action is extremely well damped and super smooth, today manual focussing on an AF lens is a jerky hit and miss affair

0 upvotes

I want a small 28mm equiv for aps-c dslrs.

Not some huge semi-fast prime (77mm filter threads!).

Not some huger, faster (!) zoom.

I'll even take f/4 if it's small.

Either way, more options are better.

1 upvote

easy just buy Coolpix A or Ricoh GR

5 upvotes

I clearly see the advantage of APS-C MILC here. My 16mm F/2.4 Samsung NX lens is much smaller, lighter (90g) and not much slower than this Samyang 16mm F/2.0 lens. It features AF and a 43mm filter thread too. But no supplied hood...

1 upvote

What you want is a Pentax DA 21mm f/3.2 AL Limited pancake!

It's 31mm equiv. in FoV. Don't want to comment on DoF.

0 upvotes

Cosina Voigtlander Color Skopar 20mm f/3.5. It's 30mm (Nikon) or 32mm (Canon) and manual focus, but it doesn't get any smaller - and with good image quality.

0 upvotes

...adding: I also second the Ricoh GR suggestion, or alternatively the Panasonic GX1 (or equivalent Olympus) and the 14mm f/2.5 (equivalent to 28mm f/5.0), altogether less than USD 600 (and for about USD 300 more you can get the G5 or G6, and have a viewfinder and a more SLR-like grip).

Comment edited 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Canon, Nikon and Sony all have reasonable sized 20mm f2.8's - Certainly not 'big' lenses.

0 upvotes

Jefftan, I was thinking about the GR, but I really love the OVF and manual focusing.

My other course of action is to buy a 6D or 5d3 and use my Contax 28/2.8 as it was originally intended, but that costs more than a lens.

0 upvotes

Well, how about the Fuji 18mm f2 while we're at it, the only downside is that you'd have to get a smaller body :P.

Comment edited 37 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Between this 16mm and the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8, APS-C is really starting to be interesting as a format. Until recently it has essentially had to suffer a fate of using it's big brothers lenses that don't quite fit properly (so to speak) and the occasional bone thrown by the OEMs to have FL coverage - if with utterly slow zoom lenses.

With the advent of mirrorless system cameras, companies are designing lenses SPECIFICALLY for those systems / formats and everyone is getting on board! Take Canon for example, they have NEVER offered any fast primes that are EF-S specific and nothing wider than 35mm is remotely 'cheap', now they have the 22mm f2 for EOS-M giving a proper 35mm equiv. Fuji have their 23mm 1.4, 14mm 2.8, 18mm 2 and 27mm 2.8. Sony have their 16, 20 and 24, plus the wide converters and the Zeiss 12. m43's have the 12, 14 and 3 17's plus 20.

Yet in SLRs the closest thing to a fast wide prime from the OEMs is a hand-me-down, super expensive, FF, 24mm f1.4 for a measly $2000 ;)

1 upvote

I don't understand what you are trying to say. This is 32mm f/4 on m4/3 and 24mm f/3 on APS-C.

Both canon and Nikon make 24 mm f/2.8 lens for approximately 400-700$. You can buy used Canon 24mm f/2 (old lens for $100-200). If you want manual focus wide prime then Samyang make a 14mm f/2.8 for $300.

From a DOF perspective these are equivalent or slightly better to the 16mm. From a light gathering perspective the FF advantage in stops pretty much cancels out the aperture advantage.

Don't get me wrong, I like the portability advantage of MILCs but to say there are no cheap primes on FF is not true.

0 upvotes

I didn't say there were no cheap primes on FF did I? I said that crop sensors have suffered as a format because hardly anyone makes crop sensor specific lenses other than a few token wide angles to give them a similar FOV. Canon make 1, count them... 1 prime lens for crop sensors specifically and it's a macro. Sigma make exactly 1 as well - it's a 50mm equiv. Sony and Nikon make 2 50mm and 75mm equiv. Pentax is in the same boat. Tamron makes 1 macro as well. Nobody makes fast wide primes specifically for crop sensors - until we started seeing MILC cameras that are DESIGNED for the APS-C format, rather than adapted to it for cost reasons.

And no, it is a 16mm f2 lens, regardless of what you attach it to - that is why that is exactly what is PRINTED on it.

2 upvotes

Re. "Pentax is the same boat": looking at the slrgear index I count 13 (yes, thirteen!) aps-c primes (DA in Pentax nomenclature).

0 upvotes

@Gryfster correct regarding the field of view 32/24mm 35mm equivalent, but f/2.0 remains. Think about it from a light beams perspective coming off a specific point in the scene. ALL the light that hits the lens from edge to edge that is within the reduced field of view focuses on the same point on the sensor plane. It does'nt affect the f/2.0 at all.

0 upvotes

...adding re. the comment about wide primes: Pentax makes both a 14/2.8 and a 15/4.0 (the 15 is part of the very compact and high build quality "limited" series).

I'm using a 5DIII but, given my preference for primes, if I was using a crop camera it would be a Pentax.

0 upvotes

@neelin Yes f/2.0 is better than f/2.8 from pure light intensity point of view. FF sensors do perform a little better in low light so I think its a wash (at worst you can go up ISO to get equivalent shutter speed). But again I am not knocking APS-C or m4/3s

I was just asking a clarification on @abortabort's initial statement. Which I now understand to refer to the lack of dedicated small sensor fast wide primes.

Honestly, I think maybe CanNikon view the strengths for pro-level cameras with APS-C sensors to be at the long end where the FOV gives the benefit of extra reach (such as birding and sports photography) so a quality DX/EF-S wide prime was probably low on their development priorities. And how often do you really shoot a wide lens, wide open?

Also a wide FF prime on a APS-C has better corner to corner sharpness and less vignetting and I do not see much of a size benefit (unlike on the long zooms). So maybe they thought the FF equivalents were good enough?

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 3 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

Absolutely, Pentax are MILES in front when it comes to primes for crop sensors. That said, they have stuff nothing in the way of anything fast in anything remotely resembling a wide - However I should clarify what I think is 'fast' first: Basically I used to consider f2.8 to be fast in full frame lenses shooting film, so I consider f2 to be fast for crop lenses.

Sony, Nikon and Canon all have 'fast' 24mm's, because that is the widest reasonable limit for an f2 or faster lens on FF, so that is the fastest widest option they have. On crop, this translates to around a similar FOV as a 35mm and costs more than any crop sensor camera any of those three make - So not a likely target market. None of them make a lens that is wider that is f2 or faster, not does Pentax. So there is no such thing as a 'fast prime' in the wide angle market for crop sensors. The fastest wide lens is the Sigma 20mm f1.8 which is roughly a 30mm FOV.

0 upvotes

Theoretically crop sensor specific lenses should be -

Smaller
Faster
Cheaper
Lighter

Yet with most manufacturers we are getting peddled crazy expensive full frame lenses, rather than them developing lenses specifically for the format in which the majority of their SLR cameras are designed (which you can guess who that is to better serve).

0 upvotes

"Theoretically crop sensor specific lenses should be -
Smaller
Faster
Cheaper
Lighter"

To some extent, yes, but on the other hand a 24mm f/2 lens must have at least 12mm diameter front element to have f/2 maximum aperture no matter what the sensor size is. The only possible size savings from smaller image circle come from having less need for edge corrections and thus maybe simpler optical construction. Then, again, a small sensor camera has shorter flange distance, which might mean a longer lens! So the equation of smaller sensor = smaller lenses at the same focal length does not exactly hold true.

1 upvote

@ Petka, I think you will find that a 24mm lens will have to have a larger diameter than that for the front element. You are of course referring to the size of the relative aperture, which is in no way the same thing. Not sure where the internet myth came from about front element size.

At any rate, even if what you are saying is true, my point is there should have been a 16mm f2 ages ago as a fast 24mm equiv and it should have been cheaper than a 24mm f2.

But it is ok, everyone just be complacent that Canon and Nikon are providing you with the best possible solutions. Any solutions they aren't providing, mustn't be worth their (and therefore your) time.

0 upvotes

A 24 mm f/2 lens must have at least 12mm aperture, which might mean even larger front lens diameter. This is regardless the sensor size, and is no myth. "Fastness" of the lens means the maximum relative aperture and is one of the very basic facts of optics and photography. All the (mostly pointless) talk about equivalent apertures now so fashionable are crossly misleading, relating only to DOF, and have nothing to do with the "speed" of the lens. After all the lens does not know or care where it is attached to, and can not change the optical parameters depending what happens to be behind it.

1 upvote

Interesting that this mirror lens is so much more expensive than Samyang 500 mm mirror (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/859194-REG/Samyang_SY500MF6_3_500mm_f_6_3_Mirror_Lens.html).

0 upvotes

Samyang has increased its brand value over the years. And the old 500mm lens is not very good, let's hope this new lens performs better.

0 upvotes

I haven't tried it, but there's according to some reviews the old Samyang or Centon 500 mm mirror lens is a really bad and nearly useless in practice.

0 upvotes

I'd like to see that reflex 300 in a CX mount (810mm equivalent)

1 upvote

The price of 16mm is very expensive. It is more expensive than the FF 14mm. I'd buy the zoom lens Canon 15-85mm instead.

0 upvotes

15-85 is almost 2 stops slower. The price of this is high because there really is not competition and wide/fast primes are fairly complex to make. The 14mm is "only" f2.8, which means less than half the diameter

2 upvotes

The 14mm is also a stop slower and cannot take filters. The 15-85? Well if that is what you want, then clearly this lens isn't for you!

1 upvote

You people criticizing mirrors for donut OOF highlights do realize that you don't SEE these things unless there ARE specular highlights, right?

1 upvote

Of course, but there often are specular highlights and it can look absolutely atrocious. Moreover, catadioptric lenses for cameras often have extremely reduced contrast and are not as sharp as refractive designs.

Now, add that to a fixed unchangeable aperture which is somewhat slow for a 300mm prime and you have to consider nd filters to lower the light in extremely bright situations.

Many, including me, find this type of lens very hard to keep still and hold off of a tripod. They are very short for their length which makes balancing quite hard hand holding. I'm not saying it can't be done, just not as easily as other optics.

There are several third parties out there offering mirror lenses on the cheap and they still don't sell or perform very well. All the camera makers have stopped bothering with them, including Sony who had one of the best. Nikon and Canon had a selection is various focal lengths up to 1000 f/11 long since dropped.

1 upvote

It's not just specular highlights, even foliage can look a bit weird if there's a range of colours

http://m4.i.pbase.com/v3/88/582688/1/48533534.0smsigchimp6898.jpg

But then, who says that's always bad?

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4077/5394380056_55d1a78863_z.jpg

0 upvotes

Heavy body, metal barrel, metal mount, slow heavy focusing movement.

Welcome news for video makers.

Better video capabilities compared to lightweight, flimsy, plastic barrels and very thin lens elements (due to IS or VR).

Priced right, these should sell well.

The big hurdle is brand awareness, among video buffs.

2 upvotes

I don't think that Samyang / Rokinon are struggling there - Especially with their video-centric T-Stop rated, follow focus geared, declicked versions of their popular lenses for literally thousands less than other cine type equivalents

0 upvotes

The 16mm may interest me if it's IQ is not compromised to offer the fast maximum aperture. I'm into landscape, architecture and travel, so for me WA lenses are optimal if they are sharp across the frame and limit distortion and flare. I'm hoping Samyang have done well with this one. If it performs well it could be successful for them with these specs.

0 upvotes

Mmmmmmmm... donuts...

9 upvotes

There are plenty of 300mm options. If you don't like donuts you can use one of the big lenses.

1 upvote

I have both Rokinon 8/f3.5 and 85/f1.4 and they're fantastic on the Sony A99. A pity this tempting 16/f2.0 is for APS-C only. The 8mm is also for APS-C, but it's fun to use it on FF and get an almost a "disc" view!

Comment edited 29 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

your Rokinon is also an APSC lens ?

0 upvotes

Samyang offers a very good 24 1.4 and 14 2.8 for FF.

3 upvotes

Exactly - the 24mm is the 1-stop faster FF equiv. The 14mm f2.8 is about as wide as you are going to get at that speed on FF.

If you want faster / wider the fastest widest lens available on FF is the Sigma 20mm f1.8

Comment edited 46 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Yes, Hibolta. The Rokinon 8mm/f3.5 is the same as the Samyang and APS-C.

0 upvotes

EUR 435 for a Samyang fully manual lens is not such a bargain..

0 upvotes

Yes, I say you get one of the other 16mm f2 lenses available with AF... Oh wait...

No wait, get one of the cheaper 16mm f2's that are manual... Oh wait...

NO wait, get ANY other 16mm f2... Oh wait...

4 upvotes

I take it you are referring to APS-C DSLRs specifically - because in Four Thirds, Micro Four Thirds, Fuji/Sony mirrorless, etc, there are much better, autofocusing, equivalent lenses available:

* Zuiko Digital 14-35mm f/2.0
* M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f/1.8
* Fuji 18mm f/2.0 and 14mm f/2.8
* etc

1 upvote

In what sense are any of those lenses equivalent to a 16mm f/2 on APS-C?

* m4/3 14-35 f/2 is equivalent to 19-47 f/2.7
* m4/3 17mm f/1.8 is equivalent to 23mm f/2.4
* f/2.8 is not f/2

The closest in specs to the new Samyang lens is the Fuji 18mm f/2, which has terrible barrel distortion which degrades its quality.

The new Samyang is unique in its class for how fast and wide it is. If it is also high quality, it will be a must-have for certain uses.

1 upvote

Samyang has been doing great things since the excellent 35 1.4 was released a few years ago. A potentially sharp 24 f/2 lens on APS-C will a great option to have.

The m43 mount was surely added less for still shooters, and more for GH3 videographers and Black Magic Cinema Camera users since wides with proper manual focus rings are scarce in that mount.

6 upvotes

A 16mm f/2.0 lens for micro 4/3 with infinity stop (32mm equivalent) would be a very useful focal length for micro 4/3. That will be a better alternative for micro 4/3 users.

Most important, it must be optically more superior to the 17mm f/1.8 from Olympus.

Currently, I feel there is a lot of room for improvement on quality for micro 4/3 lenses. Too much is done for the amatuer market.

Interesting to see what Samyang can do.

0 upvotes

It'll be interesting to see what the image quality is like on that 300mm. Their past mirror lenses have been nothing to write home about... Or at least nothing positive to write home about ;)

0 upvotes

Slight error in the mounts on the 16 f/2.0. It says Canon EF when it should probably say Canon EF-S. What do you think? After all, it's not FF capable.

Given that, even as inexpensive as it is, there's just about no price, including free where I'd really want a mirror lens. I'm a bit surprised they brought it out. Everyone else has long since discontinued theirs.

Sony/Minolta had the last one and it might have been one of the best. It was the only auto focus mirror lens I've heard of and I think it was pretty much a stinker. I guess if you like donut hole bokeh and poor contrast on not the sharpest images, a mirror lens might work for you. It is small and light. We'll just have to wait and see if it is a typical fixed aperture mirror lens.

2 upvotes

Technically it's an EF mount, which means it will fit on Canon full frame SLRs (and the original D30 and D60, for readers with long memories). EF-S is Canon's own designation for its modified mount that allows shorter back-focus; no third-party manufacturers make lenses to this spec.

Regarding mirror lenses - Kenko Tokina also have a 300mm F6.3 for mirrorless. The idea is to give extreme 'reach' in a tiny overall package. Chances are it won't be at all easy to focus hand-held on anything other than Olympus bodies with IBIS, though.

Comment edited 8 minutes after posting

5 upvotes

"Given that, even as inexpensive as it is, there's just about no price, including free where I'd really want a mirror lens."

I'm not convinced of the point of a short-focal-length mirror lens, when short refractive lenses up to 300mm or so aren't all that expensive. But what about when you need a really long lens?

This was taken with a 1.6-crop camera looking through 945mm f/6.3 optics that cost $500. I've shot it at 1500mm and f/10 as well. How else are you going to come close to that type of focal length and resolving power for anywhere close to that price? And, to me, this image quality isn't bad at all.

http://photos.imageevent.com/sipphoto/samplepictures/T2i_5476.jpg

1 upvote

I agree that mirror lenses aren´t obsolete, for the reasons you state.
And I don´t think a 300mm mirror have to be a bad idea.
I once, in the film days, had a Panagor 300/5,6 mirror lens that i used on my Contax camera. It had really good IQ, yet you could put it in you pocket.
I would really like to have one of those today.

On my Nikkor 70-200/2,8 VR II I sometimes get OOF donuts when using a 1,4 TC, so I´m used to it ;)

0 upvotes

Thanks, Andy and guys. I'm not a Canon shooter, so I was curious on whether or not the EF designation might be confusing to some. I guess Canon owners would know.

With respect to catadioptric lenses, I've not at all been happy with them over the years. I tried Nikon's 500 f/8 and also the 1000 f/11 and still have Tokina's 500 f/8 in F-Mount today. i think the IQ is on the very poor side on any of them. Trying to hand hold them can be close to futile and extremely frustrating.

The OOF regions can be very busy and annoying as well. The contrast can be very poor especially in the shadow area to the point of almost being unusable unless carefully repaired in post.

They shouldn't be any less sharp than a refractive design, but most are not that sharp in my experience. It could just be the perceived IQ via the poor contrast. Maybe my imagination but I don't think so.

Add it all up and I don't think they represent a good investment. Maybe your mileage may differ. :-)

1 upvote

They (Samyang) had already announced 2.8/10mm lens for APS-C DSLR`s, and nothing till today. The lens release date was supposed to be November 2012...
Should I believe them now for 16mm?

0 upvotes

Is that the "street price" for the 16mm, 435 Euro?

2 upvotes

I would much rather have the Panasonic 100-300mm lens for about the same price as the 300mm Samyang.

6 upvotes

You are missing the point. If you don't demand a tiny 300mm lens, you wouldn't ever choose a mirror lens. There are fairly inexpensive and good 300mm zooms for every mount. But they aren't less than 3 inches long and 300g.

4 upvotes

"There are fairly inexpensive and good 300mm zooms for every mount."

True for SLRs but not for mirrorless. I know Sony does not have a 300mm option for NEX and do not think any of the other APS-C mirrorless cameras do either. There are a lot of people that occasionally need a 300mm lens but do not want to switch to m43 or a SLR for just one lens. Some third party lens maker could sell enough of those to make it worth their while.

2 upvotes

....and another one bites the dust

0 upvotes

I don't think they will sell a lot of these lenses in m4/3 mount. The Oly 17mm f1.8 weighs less than a quarter, as compared to this Samyang lens. And it offers AF and doesn't cost that much more.

It may, however, be interesting for some APS-C DSLR owners who haven't been blessed with a fast wide angle from their respective camera makers by now.

2 upvotes

Well, it will be a wider angle for APS-C, more comparable to something like a 12mm lens for MFT. That Samyang has thrown in MFT as an option, it is really a lens designed for APS-C.

4 upvotes

hrm.. FOV [equivalent] of:
16mm @ ff
24mm @ aps-c
32mm @ m43

so, depending on how vignetting occurs with this lens, and how much light the lens transmits at the center of the image, this could be an absurdly fast 32mm lens for m43 and a really fast 24mm lens for aps-c and a competently fast ultrawide prime for full frame.

i think it'll appeal to a certain type of m43 shooter..

0 upvotes

It's VERY interesting for APS-C shooters. There really are no wide prime options this fast.

0 upvotes

"this could be an absurdly fast 32mm lens for m43"

I don't think so, since there is already a 17.5mm f/0.95 available for the mount. Now that's "absurdly fast" - but also only equivalent to a 35mm f/2.0 on 35mm, or a 75mm f/4.5 on 6x7cm medium format - both of which are very common.

0 upvotes

the sensor size doesn't change the ratio between the aperture and the focal length of the lens.. or the size of the image it projects. just the area of the projection that is recorded. that alters the field of view.. it's still an f2 lens.. a rather large one at that. and there are no details as to how much light is actually transmitted at the center.. fstops aren't tstops

0 upvotes

Oh boy! Dark donuts for mirrorless!

0 upvotes

Samyang, I was rather awaiting your 10mm f/2.8 that was delayed by almost a year...

0 upvotes

There is already a Tokina 300mm f/6.3 Mirror-lens which looks much better.

0 upvotes

When you say mirrorless here, what you mean is m43's. The Tokina isn't available for APS-C mirrorless systems.

0 upvotes

I didn't say mirrorless. Quite the opposite.

0 upvotes

16 & 300mm, that's all the range I need. OK, maybe one in the middle somewhere....

1 upvote

Mirror lens for mirrorless cameras? So they won't be mirrorless any more...

28 upvotes

Samyang is the new Tamron (remember Adaptall days?).

1 upvote

Except the Samyangs are good lenses as far as optical quality goes, unlike most of the old Tamrons.

1 upvote

True, Samyang appears quite good. I was referring to the zeal of pursuing the market share. That mirror lens from Samyang also reminded me of the old Tamron 500 mm Adaptall mirror lens.

0 upvotes

Well, no. Unfortunately, these lenses are not being made in a universal mount, but have any of a variety of camera-specific mounts that are not user changeable. I wish they at least made all their lenses in good old M42....

4 upvotes

Yes, I understand that. I was just referring to a specific period in Tamron's history.

0 upvotes

Back in the eighties many of the Tamrons were competitive with other third-party lenses, if not the best from the big guys. They were good value and very sturdy. I still have an 80-210 in case I need to club an intruder.

2 upvotes

The Tamron adaptalls were not bad lenses, they were about the equiv to OEMs then as Samyang is now.

0 upvotes

Nice to see more options for the mirrorless and APS-C crowd. I'm not sure I see the appeal of the 16mm for micro four thirds specifically, since we already have the 17mm f/1.8, 20mm f/1.7 and 14mm f/2.5, which are all pancakes compared to the 16mm... But for APS-C dSLRs there are few dedicated fast wide angle primes.

2 upvotes

Few as in none.

1 upvote

Those two lenses translate to 23mm-F/2.4 and 19mm-F/3.3 on APS-C. Certainly that latter one is available for APS-C. The former one is also available (and even brighter), but it's way expensive. Of course there's that recent Tuoit lens from Zeiss that's 12mm/2.4 which translates to 9mm-F/1.8 in MFT which I'm pretty sure there's nothing close to that available.

0 upvotes

These are APS-C lenses. Samyang just added the m43 mount as a courtesy, to sell more, and because it could.

1 upvote

The m43's will be interesting to GH1/2/3 shooters as well as BlackMagic Design shooters as the native lenses have very poor manual focus for video use - So yes, there is a point.

0 upvotes

MF in 17/1.8 is not poor at all - just pull back the MF ring.

0 upvotes

Terrific to hear that they're made with the "utmost diligence". Certainly preferable to carelessly throwing them together in a haphazard fashion with negligible regard to quality control and utter contempt for potential purchasers, I'd say. Others may disagree.

Comment edited 48 seconds after posting

21 upvotes

Marketeers...If we could put them in a dedicated circus, imagine what could be charged for admission.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

3 upvotes

A lot of hyperbole in any press release, but the photo ones we read on dpreview are right up there with the best of them, Leica included.

0 upvotes

Anyone knows if there will be a cine version of the 16mm lens?

Comment edited 12 minutes after posting

1 upvote

Samyang's doing some great stuff making modern manual lenses.

The utility of a 16mm f/2 is obvious.

I have an old Spiratone 300mm f/5.6 mirror lens and I can honestly say it's pretty useful too. The only problem with the 300mm f/6.3 is that being lightweight and tiny doesn't help one hold it steady, and my NEX cameras don't have sensor-shift anti-shake, although the multi-shot anti-shake works surprisingly well. It would be nice if Samyang could put optical anti-shake in... even if that required the lens to have it's own little battery (to avoid mount-specific power connections).

2 upvotes

Samyang continue to impress - now if they could do A/F and keep their low prices......

3 upvotes

Yeah and put a Unicorn in every lens box...

4 upvotes

I agree--AF would particularly be useful on the 300mm IMO.

0 upvotes

Huwhah? The wide angle is kind of cool, but that long lens strikes me as mostly useful for daytime paparazzi work. Even the OMD 5-axis IBIS will have a grand old time trying to keep up with that beast.

1 upvote

It's faster than Olympus' 300mm zoom and only 1/3 a stop off of the standard f5.6 zooms. Not really going to be an issue.

1 upvote

I really admire Samyang, for being relentless and delivering quality without a premium. Although, it likely helps that they are fully manual lenses (very much welcome in my world). That being said, I'm also curious to see if Samyang is indeed ready with AF options for Sony NEX (E-mount) as was supposedly promised last year and scheduled for 2013.

It will be even more impressive, if Samyang delivered a 14mm f/2.8 compactized and designed for Mirrorless.

0 upvotes

A slow, manual focus 300mm mirror lens? That on anyone's shopping list?

2 upvotes

Within the context of mirror lenses, f/6.3 /is/ fast.

6 upvotes

There is lots of people buying those lenses second hand, in asia they are quite popular and the the donught like bokeh can give in teresting results, specially if they have macro capqabilities

0 upvotes

Is there such thing as a fast mirror lens? The big advantage is its size/weight. The typical zoom will get you 300mm f/5.6. This mirror lens is only 1/3 stop slower.

As for manual lens... it is something the target market enjoys.

0 upvotes

They're also apochromatic, unless you really something up in the design.

0 upvotes

Yes, indeed. It could be a very useful lens. My experience with Samyang (all fisheyes to date) has been excellent. In a time when the camera companies seem to pump out body after body, with lens production lagging (in particular, NEX and m4/3) kudos to Samyang for producing a variety of interesting and *quality* lenses at excellent prices.

If done right, and I expect it to be, the mirror lens should be APO.

2 upvotes

Comical. If lenses that produce weird bokeh, little DOF and poor sharpness are greeted with such fanfare by 4/3 & NEX users, then there must be a desperate shortage of good glass for those systems.

1 upvote

The fastest mirror lenses were Schmidt cameras, the film was inside. Specs were like 200mm f/0.5. Mirror lenses are not apochromatic, only the mirror's imaging is. The corrector lens is usually a single element (except in the case of some of the old Russian ones) and as such, some residual colour is usually present.

Comment edited 45 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

It's a fixed aperture so I'd prefer an f8 anyway.

Contax made this mistake, they had some groovily fast catadioptrics but you had to use ND's to get the aperture down in good light. Speed sometimes isn't everything.

1 upvote

In the late seventies, there was the famous Minolta Rokkor RF250mm/5.6 that had the size of a 50mm/1.4 even if it was for ff. Very useful for war zone photography.

0 upvotes

I wonder if it would be worth grabbing the samyang 16mm f2 as I already have the da* 16-50 f2.8.

I guess I'll need to see some image samples to see how well it work's, it should be better than the wide end of my zoom and being a stop faster is always handy but it will have to be noticeably better for me to spend money and get a spot in my bag.

I do love there 8mm fisheye.

0 upvotes

the da* 16-50 is ridiculously soft at 16mm.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 125

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