A Look at the New Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 AF Zoom Lens

A 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is the workhorse of choice for a lot of creatives, offering a wide maximum aperture and a versatile range of focal lengths. However, they are often rather expensive. Samyang's new 24-70mm f/2.8 AF Zoom comes in at a price significantly lower than many first-party options, making it an intriguing alternative option, and this excellent video review takes a first look at the image quality and performance you can expect from it in practice. 

Coming to you from John Sison, this great video review takes a look at the new Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 AF Zoom lens. At $999, the 24-70mm f/2.8 is much cheaper than first-party options, but it still comes with a range of advanced features, including: 

  • 17 elements in 14 groups
  • Weather-sealed body 
  • Parfocal design, making the lens especially useful for video work
  • Three high-refractive elements for increased resolution
  • Two aspherical elements for reduced distortion and increased sharpness
  • One HB element 
  • Three extra-low dispersion elements
  • UMC coating for reduced flares and ghosting and increased contrast
  • Linear Sonic Motor for quick autofocus 
  • Manual focus override
  • Minimum focusing distance of 13.8 inches (35 cm)
  • Torque of focus ring specifically designed to match that of a manual focus lens when shooting video in manual focus mode
  • Nine diaphragm blades
  • Custom switch for switching manual focus ring to aperture control 
  • Cine Kit available separately with focus gearing, follow focus, and tripod mount

So far, it looks like Samyang may have another winner on their hands. Check out the video above for Sison's full thoughts on the new lens. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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1 Comment

Impressive looking and specs for a $1k lens . Looks like Samyang is pushing hard to make their mark as a quality third party lens manufacturer.
Parfocal, weathersealed , maybe good focus tracking. I myself love an aperture ring but like an old fashioned dedicated one . Nikon is doing this here what Samyang is doing. Then if you are doing an aperture ring make the resistant detents strong enough it stays in place and also declickable.
I can see this application if it’s mostly a video lens and you use it for that all the time . But still seems like it could be easily bumped and moved while in use .