Viltrox announces 85mm F1.8 autofocus lens for Sony E-mount cameras

That's not part of the rumor...

I have the Samyang. It's a nice lens, and I got it for just $500 during the year-end sales. But, it's bigger and heavier than I'd like, and I really don't need f1.4. F1.8 or f2.0 would strike the right balance for me between portability and low-light capability. Ironically, I'd be happy to pay more for a 35/1.8 than I did for the 35/1.4, especially if it performs as well as the latter or Sony's 85/1.8 and has Sony's barrel button. While we're at it, how about a 24/1.8, too? Yeah, I know there's the Batis 25/2...

@leonche64: the following indicates "Micro Four Thirds and Sony E mounts".
https://www.sigmaphoto.com/56mm-f1-4-dc-dn-c
HAGD Bob

I think this is a first generation of lenses, market testing and also to getting the experience or high quality lens production, probably the next step will be AF lenses, of to buy some manufacturer of lenses, I think... Other companies make lenses 30-50-100 years, Chinese companies just now began to do it, and its not easy process, especially to create good lenses in cheap prices...

rsser - Yes they did, but companies change their policies in line with market demands. Canon RF and Nikon Z are both destined to become extremely popular mounts.

Sigma would be foolish not to tap into that market - they can't rely on selling DSLR lenses indefinitely. In 5 years time the demand for DSLR lenses will have greatly diminished.

People will demand lighter, smaller optics for RF and Z mounts, and won't want "extended" DSLR lenses on their mirrorless devices.

@ pro photo.... exactly.

Or is a full frame eMount just a profitable quick and dirty stint in the market without mount development costs which will not run in the long term and was never meant to? Time will tell.

American20 samyang has great AF at least on my 35mm 1.4 after a few trips to the repair center... It's not that it can't be done. It's just that the QC isn't that good..

And for RF mount it won't take much time for those leses to be released... They don't need to be native. Canon uses a dumb adapter, so all they need to do is use EF protocol with a RF mount on a E-mount design.

PAntunes - Yes of course - I retract what I said about the need for independents to fathom out RF protocol, and apologise for misleading anyone.

Theoretically Samyang, Sigma, Tamron etc could design completely new short-flange lenses for RF, but it's far more likely that they'll simply add tubing and an RF mount to existing EF designs, as this enables them to use the same lens design for multiple mounts.

They can use FE designs. The FE designs would fit the RF mount and Z mount. Samyang is doing lens for FE only, so they think it's better to do that than just adapting EF.

PAntunes - But how many FE designs do Sigma have?

As far as I can see, all of their FE lenses are just DSLR designs with extended barrels..

Actually, the MF version is heavier, as it is an all metal design. Like you, I love MF lenses, and this one is right up there with the best of them in quality. It also has the usb update port for some reason.

Interesting. They've probably done market segmentation and figured MF shooters will also appreciate the all metal construction for the haptics and longevity.

Oh I know that. I prefer lighter rather than heavier lenses. But I think the perception is that a lens that is metal outside will also be metal inside and thus be better mechanically both in feel and in repairability. Although with 3D printing one s/d theoretically be able to create plastic repair bits even easier than going to a machine shop. Of course it is the electronic bits needed for AF that are the real challenge and turns lenses into throwaway items unless you have a super expensive telephoto prime.

On the contrary the MF version should be heavier because of brass focus helicals(at least half brass half aluminum), and the longer the range of movement of the elements the heavier the focusing mechanism. An ultrasonic motor should be lighter in most cases.

I am not sure about this. Japanese can do a much better job if they want to do it. Chinese companies could swallow the low cost portion. From mid-level and up, it is basically controlled by Japanese and German. Samyang/Rokinon/Bower/... could be between Chinese and Japanese. So far, I would bet Samyang will survive and kill some lower end Chinese lens makers very soon, because Samyang made better lenses.

The Canon EF 40/2.8 STM pancake lens, works great.

@captura but with the adapter it's not a pancake already.
Btw, there is Samyang AF 35mm f2.8 and it's very compact.

David - are you ill?

It will take a few months for third party brands to see if the RF and Z sell well enough to make it worth their while.

I assume you guys are DSLR users and are not aware how things work on modern camera systems?

No USB port is needed to update any mirrorless lens. Sigma lenses for Sony E are updated like any other Sony lens, as far as I know. No need for any docks or USB ports.

I don't know exactly how update procedure looks like for Sony, but here's an example of how this works in Micro 4/3 world (at least that's how I do it):
1. I connect my camera to a computer via USB
2. I run camera updater app and it checks if there's an update for the camera or for the lens
3. If there is an update, I click the button to update and the firmware gets updated.

The above works for any lens of any manufacturer.

@Astrotripper I have been using Sony for years, have updated my lenses (native and Sigma) through the camera body with Sony's process. I know how it works.

I also think its reasonable and normal for a third party to put a USB port on their lenses to have their own firmware upgrade process. Perhaps they also want to allow performance tweaking of lens parameters and diagnostics for lenses sent for repair that the Sony firmware upgrade doesn't accommodate in the open API.

Samyang updates its AF FE lenses via a dock. I've updated a EF mount Yongnuo with a USB port, and it worked well. I haven't bought the Samyang dock and my lenses do have firmware updates available.

Just look at it. it IS massive.

Anyone remember old school 85 lenses like Nikkor 85/1.8 AF-D? Yea I know it sucked wide open but come on there has to be some middle ground.

@techjedi the old Canon 85 1.8 EF has great IQ, costs the same and weighs half as much. This thing better have phenomenal IQ and AF.

@techjedi

You seem to have a lot of faith in Viltrox. :-)

I would not dare to assume this is a particularly high quality lens. It really will be a great achievement if it would match Sony's 85/1.8. Although the weight suggests it should be on the level of Tamron 85/1.8 (which I very much doubt).

Androole - It's hard to tell from the photo, but it looks to me that the port is very close the the outer edge of the mount, precluding the possibility of the manufacturer adding a gasket to a later version of the lens.

The only option would be to redesign the internals as well as the mount, to allow the port to be moved inwards to create space for a gasket.

According early reviews from the manual Focus version, this lens have excellent center sharpness wide open, very good color reproduction and nice bokeh (almost matching Zeiss 85mm) the only drawback apparently is some vignetting wide open that can be easily corrected in post using Zeiss 85mm profile, considering the price and metal construction I think is a great "budget" 85mm option