We would be hard-pressed to find a photographer who wasn't familiar with mega-brands Tamron and Sigma offering lower-priced lenses to rival the designs put out by the giants: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and more. This week, there has been buzz in the nerdy sublayers of photography sites about a new lens coming out: the Samyang 35-150mm f/2-2.8. Let's dive into this.
In the history of photography as a whole, Samyang is a newer player in the game. Hitting its 50th anniversary just last year, this Korean brand aims to create high-quality lenses at even lower prices than other third-party options. Their newest design, the 35-150mm has some buzz online, with comments ranging from excitement to questions about the design.
One writer commented: "[It's] just a rebadged Tamron with differences in the body. Same specs other than being slightly heavier." Another added: "This one's significantly cheaper. If it's build quality is same, then it will give Tamron a run for its money."
Tom Calton provided an in-depth comparison of the two lenses and the results surprised me.
Coming in at $600 less than the Tamron version, this lens is sure to shake things up. Have you ever used a Samyang lens? Up to this date, I've been a diehard Canon girl. They just always do it right in my book. The color. The sharpness. The focus. Everything. Since being hired over a year ago at Fstoppers, I've had to test and review brands that I've never considered using before. Almost every time, I've been surprisingly impressed. Am I ready to make a jump to a Samyang? Maybe not yet, but I can say that having more brands in the space really seems to be creating great lenses at more palatable prices. What are your thoughts? Drop them below.
At the time of reading this article I’ve only been able to find two “reviews” of this lens from some relatively unknown you tubers (one of which is featured in the article). I suppose if you squint you could call that “creating buzz” but I digress.
Personally I’m going to wait to plunk down my money until I see something from some more established/neutral sources. As much as I want to believe in “just as good or better than Tamron but significantly cheaper” I also know that economics exist, and the face validity of the claims are questionable in that context.
It seems too good to be true. And if it seems too good to be true… 🤷♂️
Perhaps reaching a bit on the title- I'll take the criticism as fair. I'm a little bit on your camp- when something seems to good to be true I tend to be skeptical. However, I did find the review extremely thourough and it seemed objective. I'll be interested to see what more people say when the lens gets into more hands.
Michelle,
There are important questions I have that your article did not address.
What mounts is this lens reported to be made available in?
Will this be an autofocus lens, or a manual focus only lens?
What will the minimum focus distance and resultant magnification ratio be at 35mm and at 150mm?
I would value at least a little bit of technical info / specifications on this lens. Hard to have any thoughts or opinions when we haven't been told anything that would help us know if this will be useful or not.
Just a quick look at those images: You can easily see that AF/MF switch, which answers one of your questions.
Of course, technical details would have been nice, but can be found:
https://www.samyanglens.com/en/product/product-view.php?seq=621
It's a lens for Sony FE mount only.
Great feedback. This wasn't a gear review article. We have not been sent the lens for testing and review. The intention of the article was more in the direction of pointing out that a 3rd party lens is making a copy of a third party lens at a notably lower price. Also, I wanted to raise the question if this is competition is going to mean better prices for us. Since it's not a gear review- I didn't go into that but I did link the website where Samyang put all their specs.
Michelle,
Thanks for the reply - it is appreciated.
Somehow I can't find the link that you said you included - the one where you said that Samyang put all their specs. Is that link in the article, or somewhere in the comments? All I see is a link to B&H where a rather comprehensive listing of Samyang lenses appear ... yet the lens you wrote the article about does not appear there.
The video-oriented aspects of the lens are very interesting (and part of a general push by Samyang to incorporate video features). Linear mf, focus save, a vertigo effect assist mode, and supposedly parfocal (with AF adjustments, I infer.)
Yes I saw that when reading through the website. It seems they have recently been working heavily in lenses designed to target video for Sony. Seems like somewhat a niche interest they have there
If that price holds once they start shipping, I might have to sell my Tamron 70-180.
I would be really interested if you try one- ping me in the comments. When something seems to good to be true I'm always skeptical but I thought this gear review video seemed unbiased, and detailed and it really made me interested about the lens.
I'm rethinking my attitude toward this lens (and the Tamron). I shoot events with three bodies and primes, and was disappointed to find these zooms are f2.8 at 85mm and 135mm, which is a big step backward from my 85/1.4 and 135/1.8, so I wasn't too thrilled. However, I've noticed a some things in my work lately that have me rethinking. First, I recently needed my 135 but didn't have time to get it out of my bag and mount it. Second, There are many times where I could get by with f2.8. Third, while I love my 35/1.4, I often shoot it at f2.0 as light allows for that extra bit of sharpness.
Now I'm thinking that I could have a 35-150 on one body, a 24/1.8 on the second, and a nicely petite 75/1.8 on the third. I'd rely on the 35-150 for its wider and longer focal lengths and hold the 135/1.8 in reserve for really dark conditions. I'd still have plenty of shots not made with the zoom (in case it got decentered onsite), and I'd have enough primes (combined with Crop Mode) to complete a job if the zoom died. The zoom is quite heavy, but I wouldn't have to lug my 35/1.4 and 85/1.4 any more.
What do you think? Bad idea? I'm still undecided.
Really, really impatient for some objective test results from this lens. Anyone here used it who can comment, particularly on corner/edge sharpness? I guess I could rely on my 35/2.8 and 24/1.8 stopped down for sharpness across the frame on large group portraits if the zoom is a bit lacking in this area.
Selling my 35/1.4, 85/1.4 and 24-105/4 would finance the purchase. The 24-105/4 is a better walkabout lens, but my 28-60 & 70-300 often comprise my walkabout kit anyway.
Hmmm...