Samyang Rokinon AF 135mm f/1.8 FE Lens Officially Announced

Samyang (branded Rokinon in US) AF 135mm f/1.8 FE Lens is now officially announced. It is a medium-length telephoto prime lens designed for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras for portraiture, landscapes and astrophotography.

Offering outstanding resolution, the optical design incorporates three extra-low dispersion elements and an ultra-precision aspherical element, which suppresses both chromatic and spherical aberrations for improved sharpness, color accuracy, and clarity. An ultra multicoating has also been applied to reduce ghosting and flare in order to achieve higher contrast when working in strong lighting conditions.

The US price of the Lens is $999, and available for pre-order at B&H.

Samyang Rokinon AF 135mm f/1.8 FE Lens Features

• Medium-length telephoto prime designed for full-frame Sony E-mount mirrorless cameras, however can also be used with APS-C models where it provides a 202.5mm equivalent focal length.
• Bright f/1.8 maximum aperture benefits working in low-light conditions and also affords significant control over depth of field for working with selective focus techniques.
• Three extra-low dispersion elements reduce color fringing and chromatic aberrations in order to produce greater clarity and color rendering.
• Ultra-precision aspherical element provides natural and refined bokeh.
• Ultra multicoating reduces flare and ghosting for increased contrast and a neutral color balance.
• Linear STM autofocus motor works in conjunction with Sony cameras’ focusing systems for quick, quiet, and precise AF control.
• Custom switch can be used for lens-based control over select exposure or shooting functions, such as aperture selection, with additional settings coming via future firmware updates.
• Focus hold button lets you keep the lens locked to your desired focusing distance. Also allows you to assign functions such as Eye AF in settings on the camera body.
• Focus limiter switch lets you constrain the focusing to two different ranges to suit different applications: 27 to 79″ for closeup shooting or 59″ to infinity for standard shooting.
• Astro-focus mode for astrophotography.
• Eleven-blade diaphragm contributes to a pleasing out-of-focus quality that benefits the use of shallow depth of field and selective focus techniques.
• Weather-sealed construction helps protect against dust and moisture.
• Included lens hood helps to block stray light from causing flare and ghosting.

Samyang AF 135mm F1.8 FE lens has a linear STM autofocus motor for quick, quiet, and precise focusing performance, plus a minimum focusing distance of just 2.3″ to suit working with close-up subjects. Three different customized buttons for enhanced functionality include a focus hold button, a custom switch, and a focus range limiter switch. It also features an astro-focus function for astrophotography. The weather-sealed construction offers protection against dust, light rain, and snow.

Evolution of Samyang Optics’ Best Manual Focus 135mm F2.0 Telephoto Prime Lens

The Samyang MF 135mm F2.0 ED UMC is a telephoto lens that has been loved by many people for its excellent resolution since its launch in 2015. Typically, it was admired as a lens for portrait photography, but over time, the MF 135mm went beyond portraits and also became popular for shooting landscapes and astrophotography. Accordingly, Samyang Optics has decided to release an AF evolution of this lens, adding convenience for every user and genre of photography.

Samyang Corporation, which recently expanded its autofocus F1.8 series lineup, has decided to introduce the AF 135mm F1.8 FE lens, equipped with various additional functions to meet the new demands of the many people who have used the existing MF 135mm F2.0 lens.

The new AF 135mm F1.8 FE telephoto lens is optimised for portraits, astrophotography, landscapes and video shooting. It includes Samyang’s key features, such as: focus lock button, custom switch, and focus range limiter switch.

With Samyang’s announcement of the new AF 135mm F1.8 FE, its Auto Focus F1.8 FE series now includes: 24mm, 35mm, 45mm, 75mm and 135mm focal lengths, completing the lineup from wide-angle to telephoto.

AF 135mm F1.8 FE Key Features

Superb Resolution
Unsparing application of Samyang’s most advanced optical technologies has produced a large-aperture prime telephoto lens that delivers outstanding corner-to-corner resolution. The AF 135mm F1.8 FE delivers an 18.9˚ angle of view for full-frame and 12.5˚ for APS-C. It features a bright maximum aperture of F1.8 throughout the entire image, as favoured by full-frame camera users. In particular, optimum resolution is achieved through the optical design of 13 elements in 11 groups (1 U-ASP, 2 HR and 3 ED). Combined with Sony’s full-frame image sensor, this lens delivers superior sharpness and contrast in all areas of the image.

Able to deliver extremely narrow depth of field, with beautiful bokeh
The AF 135mm F1.8 FE uses a large-diameter aperture to provide smooth background blur. It effectively allows separation of the subject from the background, by using a shallow depth of field. Also, it is equipped with a UA (Ultra-precision Aspherical) lens, which delivers natural and refined bokeh. Using this smooth bokeh, you can freely create images highlighting your subjects against stunning backgrounds, whether shooting portraits, close-ups or even cityscapes.

Fast and quiet auto focus performance
Tracking the subject accurately and quickly, the AF also operates quietly and smoothly when shooting video. Samyang’s Linear STM (Stepping Motor) satisfies both photographers and videographers with quieter and more accurate control of the focusing lens groups.

Enhanced operability and reliability
Important features include customisable: 1. Focus Hold button, 2. Custom Switch and 3. Focus Range Limiter. Overall, this is a lens that meets or exceeds professional requirement for control and reliability for both stills and movies.

1) Focus Hold Button
Pressing this button on the lens will keep the lens locked to that focusing distance. You can assign functions such as Eye AF in settings on the camera body.

2) Custom Switch
There is a custom switch, which can be set to allow adjustment of the aperture silently by rotating the focus ring. Using the optional Lens Station, you can set up the mode to suit your own preference*.
(*More functions will be added through firmware updates in the future.)

3) Focus Range Limiter switch
The Focus Range Limiter only operates in AF mode.

• It is useful when the distance from an object has been determined.
• Move the Focus Range Limiter forward or backward to the focus range.

– FULL : The AF range is set to infinity at a minimum focus distance of 0.69m. (AF search may take slightly longer.)
– 0.69m – 2m : The AF range is set between 0.69m and 2m, which is suitable for close-up shooting.
– 1.5m – ∞ : The AF range is set from 1.5m to infinity, which is suitable for normal shooting.

Short minimum focal distance of 0.69m
Although this is a 135mm telephoto lens that effectively controls aberration at all focusing distances, Samyang has made it possible to achieve a minimum focus distance of just 69cm (2.26ft) and a maximum magnification of 0.243x for close-up photography. Small accessories and other subjects can be captured with remarkable resolution and beautiful, soft background bokeh.

Modern design and weather-sealing
The AF 135mm F1.8 FE has been developed and enhanced, taking into consideration not only the design features but also the user’s shooting environment. It has a micro-patterned rubber focus ring, which feels great to operate and the weather-sealing protects the lens from light rain, snow and dust.