As part of Samyang’s Spring Collection, the company introduced its first lenses for the new Canon mirrorless camera. The MF 14mm F2.8 RF and MF 85mm F1.4 RF are… manual focus lenses.

Samyang has a huge collection of manual lenses for different cameras, but the company has also launched some autofocus lenses, so when the first rumors about RF lenses from Samyang appeared, the question was: manual or AF? Well, the first Canon RF lenses from Samyang have manual focus, which for some will be a reason to skip them.

This decision from users goes against Samyang’s expectations, as the company declared, announcing the lenses, that it was quick responding to customer demand as, says the company, “there are currently no Canon EOS R EOS RP camera lenses from brands other than Canon itself”. While the move, adds the company, “also proves the competitiveness of Samyang as a leading optical manufacturer”, it may not be exactly what the market wants, as manual focus lenses will not explore completely the new cameras from Canon, in terms of focus speed.

The Spring Collection campaign

Still, and for those that like the Samyang brand and don’t mind to use manual focus, the two lenses represent an interesting coverage for anything from landscape to portrait. These lenses were suggested when the company announced its Spring Collection campaign. Samyang said, then, that “taking into consideration the rapid growth of the mirrorless camera market, which offers excellent portability high-resolution, the Samyang ‘Spring Collection’ will introduce new auto focus lenses, greatly enhancing Samyang’s position in the industry”.

At the time Samyang also said that “following their first AF launch in 2016, this campaign will also introduce new lenses with high optical performance new camera mounts”.  The first lens introduced as part of the campaign was the XP 10mm F3.5  for Canon full-frame DSLR camera, with a version for Nikon F promised to arrive later in 2019.

A wide-angle for astrophotography

The pair for the Canon R mount is the second announcement for this campaign, which will introduce eight new lenses. The Samyang MF 14mm F2.8 RF now announced is an ultra-wide-angle, manual-focus lens with, says the company, excellent sharpness, even at its maximum aperture. The optical design, with 14 elements in 10 groups, includes ASP, H-ASP, ED and HR lenses to adjust the course of light and deliver clean yet lively images to the sensor. Flare and ghost effects are well-controlled by Samyang ultra-multi-coating technology.

The 115.7˚ wide angle of view of Samyang’s first lenses for the Canon RF mount, makes this lens ideal for wide landscapes, interiors and astrophotography. The built-in petal-shaped lens hood effectively blocks unnecessary stray light and maximizes image quality.

A portrait lens for Canon R

The MF 85mm F1.4 RF is a classic focal length for portrait. This design includes a total of 9 elements in 7 groups and Samyang says that “a H-ASP lens minimizes various aberrations and maximizes the image quality and contrast from corner to corner even when using a wide aperture”. The company says that “this lens is recognized as the optimal lens for beautiful bookeh with exceptional performance at wide open apertures”, another sign of how important bookeh seems to be as a marketing buzzword in 2019, as I’ve written previously. With the round-shaped aperture with 8 curved blades, the MF 85mm F1.4 RF creates a soft mood in your photographs with beautiful bokeh, especially in shots of portrait and city lights where the background is out of focus, adds Samyang.

Weather sealing for protection from light rain and snow are characteristics of the MF 85mm F1.4 RF, also present in the MF 14mm F2.8 RF. The first two RF lenses from Samyang will be displayed at CP+ 2019, in Japan, until March 3^rd, and will the company will also present them at other international events. The MF 14mm F2.8 RF & MF 85mm F1.4 RF will be available soon on the market, says the company.