French photography publication Phototrend chatted with Samyang’s head of product planning, Kim Dubin, and Samyang is up to some extremely exciting things, including a flagship 200mm f/1.8 lens that will showcase Samyang’s optical engineering chops.
PetaPixel already reported on the company’s latest collaborative effort with German optics company Schneider-Kreuznach, the upcoming 60-180mm f/2.8 full-frame telephoto zoom lens. However, the South Korean lens maker is doing a lot on its own, too, including developing the AF 200mm f/1.8 FE OIS and AF 300mm f/4 FE OIS lenses for full-frame cameras.
These long prime lenses are fascinating. After a lengthy quiet period, the 200mm prime market has suddenly burst back to life. Last year, Laowa released the 200mm f/2 C-Dreamer and Sigma launched the exceptionally good 200mm f/2 DG OS Sports.
And now Samyang might add a third lens into the mix, and the fastest one yet in the mirrorless era. It hearkens back to Canon’s legendary EF 200mm f/1.8L USM, lovingly referred to as “the Eye of Sauron” by some photographers thanks to its massive 130-millimeter front element. Samyang’s prototype AF 200mm f/1.8 lens doesn’t look quite that big, but it’s definitely a beefy prime with a big front element.
It is worth hammering home the “prototype” aspect of these two telephoto lenses. Sometimes a “prototype” lens shown at a trade show like CP+ is pretty close to final, essentially “prototype” in name only because the company has finalized all the key features and design elements. However, in this case, the prototype designation is doing heavy lifting. As Phototrend‘s photos show, these lenses were presented as 3D-printed mocks. The two primes will have optical image stabilization (OIS), something Samyang has never done before. The company is still developing this technology.
Samyang tells Phototrend that a 200mm f/1.8 lens could be very expensive, but the South Korean lens maker wants to have a flagship lens in its lineup that demonstrates its optical technology and prowess.
Samyang also showed off some fascinating zoom lenses, which, like the telephoto primes above, are in early development. The AF 20-50mm f/2 full-frame could be very exciting, but photographers will need to wait a bit, as Samyang’s Kim Dubin told Phototrend the lens won’t be released until 2028 or 2029.
Another fast zoom is in the works: the AF 28-85mm f/2-2.8 FE. Samyang originally wanted to approach this focal length with a constant f/2 aperture, but early mockups were just far too big and heavy. This could arrive as early as late 2027.
These are all really interesting lens concepts. Although none of them are just around the corner, they all have serious appeal for a wide range of photographers. Speaking of which, Samyang may reach an even broader audience of photographers in the coming years. Alongside expanding its L-Mount offerings, which Dubin told Phototrend are doing well in China and Europe, Dubin also told the publication that it is “waiting on official licenses from the Japanese manufacturers,” meaning Canon and Nikon.
There’s no reason to believe Canon will sing a different tune about third-party full-frame autofocus lenses for its RF mount, but Nikon? Depending on how the company’s legal situation with Viltrox and others pan out, Samyang launching lenses on Z mount is perhaps not so crazy an idea.
Image credits: Header image is for illustrative purposes only.
