New images of Meike Air lenses leaked – but are these just knock-offs of Viltrox’s namesake series?

Leaked images of the Meike Air APS-C lens series are causing chatter online – and it now seems set in stone that the prime lenses are on their way soon.

The images, leaked by Sony Alpha Rumors, show the 15mm, 25mm and 56mm f/1.7 prime lenses – which have an equivalent angle of view of 22.5mm, 37.5mm and 84mm respectively – in black with a silver band, and the 56mm in white, also with a silver band.

Details of the lenses are limited to what’s shown in the leaked images and, that they’re reportedly for Sony E-Mount, Fujifilm-X Mount and Nikon Z-Mount. But we only have to look to Meike's competitor, Viltrox, to get a pretty good idea of what’s to come.

Viltrox and Meike have made names for themselves producing budget-friendly, lightweight, autofocus lenses, but Viltrox beat Meike to the punch with the Air series.

Last year the brand began releasing its own range of very similar Air lenses for Sony, Nikon and Fujifilm APS-C cameras, consisting of the Viltrox AF 15mm f/1.7 Air, the 25mm f/1.7 Air and 56mm f/1.7 Air.

It’s easy to see where Meike got its inspiration from and, on paper, it looks like its namesake series is more about staying competitive than bringing anything innovative to the market.

Viltrox’s equivalent Air models feature at least 11 optical elements, autofocus powered by an STM stepping motor, and prices starting at $238 (approximately £175 / $AU338). So, it's a safe bet that we’ll see similar features and price points in the Meike range.

Meike has even gone as far as naming the forthcoming range of lenses the same as its competitor’s, which will surely ruffle some feathers at Viltrox.

Although, as Meike’s Air lenses are seemingly set to be carbon copies of Viltrox’s, it makes you wonder if this is some sort of joint venture between the manufacturers – pure speculation, of course.

What’s for sure is that Viltrox and Meike are both leading the drive for wider access to solid APS-C prime lenses.

Meike’s Air lenses remain a rumor, albeit a very concrete rumor, and no release date has been given as yet.

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Read our review of the Viltrox AF 50mm f/2 Air and our take on the best APS-C compact cameras – ideal if you want a simple point and shooter that packs a punch.