In a move that’s received shockingly minimal media coverage in the photography world, Samyang Optics has partnered with Schneider Kreuznak to release a new line of lenses geared at professionals in 2025. They have already announced the 14-24mm f/2.8, a compact, lightweight ultrawide f/2.8 zoom lens that stands in a league of its own in terms of size and weight for the lens class at 445 grams. I'll eagerly await the preorder: time will tell whether the quality is up to par, but with Samyang's recent advancements, I have no doubt it will be strong at minimum.
Samyang has already proven to be an excellent prime lens manufacturer, if not outright underrated. When looking for a fast budget portrait lens for the Sony E-Mount system, they’re second to none in options. And no, I promise, I’m not sponsored by Samyang; I’m just a huge fan. Samyang was my starting point with portrait lenses on Sony and although I’ve upgraded on some, their 135mm f/1.8, 100mm f/2.2, and 24mm f/1.8 are staples of my camera bag as a wedding and portrait photographer.
My first lens for Sony E-Mount was Samyang's 35mm f/1.4, followed quickly by their 85mm f/1.4, used to photograph this engagement session at Montrose Park in Georgetown, DC.
That’s what excites me so much about Samyang’s upcoming line of lenses. Samyang’s biggest selling point for me, aside from affordability, has been the compact size and light weight of their lenses. The 14-24mm f/2.8 AF lens they’ve announced has already given us a glimpse of things to come in terms of portability. My back is already feeling relieved to have a lighter ultrawide zoom on my second camera body for wedding and event photography.
Now, here’s the question: what are Samyang’s next moves with lens offerings? Three more pro-level lenses have been teased at CP+. This may be Samyang’s chance to do what Sigma did with their 35mm f/1.2 and create a lens that stands in a league of its own, and more importantly, stamp their footprint on the map as a strong third party manufacturer and firmly leave behind their manual-focus-only days.
Samyang promises a new standard zoom, a new wide prime, and a new telephoto prime lens in 2025. Here’s what I think could (or should) be coming, based on the market as it stands and Samyang’s current offerings.
Standard Zoom
The dream? A 20-70 f/2.8 - this would be a unique, compelling offering in today’s market. Sony currently offers a 20-70mm f/4 lens. With f/2.8 lenses currently being eschewed in the name of the 35-150 f/2-2.8s and 28-70 f/2s of the world (or the new Sony 50-150mm f/2), this would make a strong case for pros to pick up f/2.8 glass in this day and age. 8 extra millimeters at the wide end is a very tempting trade off for one less stop of light.
Likely reality? Probably a 24-70 mark ii that’s compact and (crucially) doesn’t break off at the mount, as Samyang’s first foray into zoom lenses infamously experienced.
Sigma's 35mm f/1.2 changed the game when it was released in 2019. Time will tell if Samyang will do the same.
Wide Prime
Given that Samyang has already released a refreshed 35mm f/1.4 this year, we’ve likely ruled out a 35mm f/1.2, too - but with Viltrox’s 35mm f/1.2 release and Sigma’s promised refreshed model on the way for Sony E Mount, who knows.
The dream? A 28mm f/1.4 that is small and lightweight while still being optically excellent. That’s something that simply is not offered in Sony’s roster or any of its third party offerings. The same could be said, to a lesser extent, of a 20mm f/1.4.
Likely reality? A compact 18mm f/2. This wouldn’t be bad by any means, but it likely wouldn’t be groundbreaking enough to get Samyang-skeptical YouTube reviewers to give them a try (looking at you, Jared Polin!) or convince customers who’ve been burned in their earlier eras to give them another try.
Samyang's 135mm f/1.8 is impossibly light and optically excellent, especially for the price. It's a staple of my camera bag for events to complement the 28-70mm f/2 from Sony for sneaky candid shots.
Telephoto Prime
The dream? An 85mm f/1.2. If Samyang were the first lens manufacturer to put an 85 1.2 on the market for Sony E-Mount, they’d finally have to start getting treated with respect. Frankly, it’s shocking that one still doesn’t exist for the Sony. But unfortunately, based on the image we’ve seen, it’s likely too compact to be this (at least, I'd be shocked if this was released based on how it looks). It’s also worth noting that Viltrox is rumored to be releasing their own 85mm f/1.2 LAB series lens for Sony E-Mount this year.
The harsh reality? This is a tough one to predict. There’s not much that Samyang hasn’t done in this category. Their 135mm f/1.8 is optically superb and is compact and lightweight, relatively speaking, not to mention extremely affordable. Their 100mm f/2.2 lens is also phenomenal and even smaller and lighter, almost impossibly so. They have two 85mm f/1.4 lenses already out and there’s plenty more on the market where that came from, whether it’s the new release by Sirui or even the existing Sigma that outperformed the GM in its first generation. My only real guess as to what Samyang could have in store is an autofocus macro lens. That’s the one telephoto they don’t have in their portfolio.
Overall, this is an exciting time for Sony shooters, from Viltrox’s new releases, to Sigma’s prospective next steps, to Samyang’s opportunity to shake things up. Third party Sony E-Mount lenses are thriving in 2025 and there’s no signs to suggest the market is slowing down. Let's see how Samyang makes their next moves.
