If you’re a Sony photographer who’s in the market for a fast telephoto zoom, but don’t want to pay ‘trinity’ G Master prices then the newly announced LK Samyang AF 60-180mm f/2.8 FE (distributed under the Rokinon brand in the USA) will surely tickle your fancy. This affordable alternative to the more traditional 70-200mm f/2.8 has been co-engineered with historic German optical company Schneider Kreuznach.

It’s priced at just $TBA / £899 / AU$TBA making it significantly cheaper than the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS II, while also being much lighter. The Samyang AF 60-180mm f/2.8 FE weighs just 730g, which isn’t far off the weight of the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II.

Short telephoto zooms are a great alternative to a macro lens if you don’t require true 1:1 macro. The Samyang AF 60-180mm f/2.8 FE boasts an impressive minimum-focus distance of 0.35m at the wide end and a maximum magnification of 0.26x. Close-up photography should also benefit from Samyang’s Floating Focus System, which is said to minimize optical degradation at varying focusing distances in a bid to deliver reliable results throughout the frame.

The lens features a nine-bladed aperture and comprises 17 elements in 14 groups, which includes one high refractive, seven extra-low dispersion and two aspherical elements, combining to reduce aberrations and deliver sharper, clearer imagery.

The lens features a linear stepper motor (STM) which is said to deliver autofocus that is fast, precise and quiet for both stills and video applications. As far as physical onboard controls, the barrel features an AF/MF switch, a focusing ring, a zoom lock and a USB-C port for firmware updates.

Filters are accommodated via a 77mm thread, while weather sealing is present at critical junctures to help protect the lens’s internals against water and dust penetration. Samyang specifically states “light rain”, as always, no lens is impregnable, but weather sealing is always a boon for peace of mind.

When it comes to the lens’s build, Samyang has rather cryptically referred to a high-strength, lightweight material that was newly developed in house and is said to provide a “solid yet lightweight structure for reliable use in various shooting conditions.” The Samyang AF 60-180mm f/2.8 FE joins the existing 14-24mm f/2.8 and 24-60mm f/2.8 to complete a budget ‘holy trinity’ for Sony photographers.

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I've been going down the rabbit hole that is the ongoing legal situation surrounding Nikon and third-party manufacturers.

In case you missed it, the Big N’s relationship with Viltrox has been under the spotlight due to a high-profile legal case in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court – with Sirui and Meike also seemingly falling foul of the Z-mount clampdown.

Having discussed Samyang’s strategy for different mounts at CP+ 2026 with its head of product planning, Phototrend reported: “As for a potential move to Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts, the lens maker is still waiting for official licenses from the Japanese manufacturers.”

This won’t be a surprise to Canon photographers, given that the imaging titan is notoriously protective of its RF lenses, but the general consensus has been that Nikon is much more open to third-party optics.

Indeed, Tamron, Sigma and Samyang itself have all contributed to the Z mount, as well as a host of Chinese manufacturers.

However, when you look a little closer, the evidence suggests that the Z mount isn’t perhaps quite as open as you might think.

Granted, Tamron has produced nine full-frame and one APS-C Tamron-branded Nikon Z lenses, but Sigma has only produced three – and they’re all APS-C. In the case of Samyang, the two it produced were manual-focus only. This is crucial, as it seems likely that the infringement case pertains to autofocus lenses.

[Autofocus is also one of the restricting factors for Canon's RF mount, along with image stabilization, with Viltrox and Samyang withdrawing RF lenses from sale a few years ago – Ed.]

We know that Nikon has launched legal proceedings against Viltrox, and both Sirui and Meike have reportedly pulled Z-mount glass from online sale in China.

However, it’s important to note that Asobinet reported that Meike has attributed this to inventory optimization and that the situation is supposedly temporary. And I can find no evidence that Sirui has pulled its own optics due to the unfolding legal situation.

Ultimately, reports suggest that Nikon is pursuing alleged patent-infringement royalties, rather than trying to lock the Z mount down completely. I can find nothing to suggest that such manufacturers have been granted official Nikon licensing, whereas Tamron and Sigma Z-mount lenses are licensed.

So, don't go expecting Samyang glass for the Z-mount until such a time as it gets the license. Although, with it producing both L-Mount and Sony E lenses, the Seoul-based manufacturer is certainly keeping busy.

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Capture the Atlas has revealed its 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection, showcasing 25 of the most striking astrophotography images from around the world.

One standout image by Daniel Viñé Garcia was captured in one of Argentina's most remote regions. Titled My Perfect Night, it shows a vast salt flat stretching beneath a brilliant Milky Way.

"Turquoise waters, in absolute silence, reflecting a sky so pure and clear that it was hard to believe it was real," Garcia recalls. Let's take a look at the story behind the still and Garcia's choice of gear. See the full 2026 Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection on Capture the Atlas' website.

The extraordinary Milky Way photo

The image was captured in Catamarca, deep within the Argentine Puna – a high-altitude plateau between 3,500 and 4,000 meters above sea level.

Reaching the location required traveling across rough dirt tracks far from any light pollution. Its isolation and altitude create near-perfect conditions for astrophotography.

Photographing the Milky Way in the southern hemisphere, Garcia explains, "What made this place particularly compelling was its rarity. I had never seen photographs of this salt flat before, and its untouched character and minimalist landscape immediately stood out."

Garcia adds, "In this moment, the galactic center sits to the left side of the arch, while the Gum Nebula appears on the right, creating a natural visual balance across the sky."

The gear behind the shot

Shot info
Gear: Sony A7 III Astro-modified, Samyang 8mm f/2.8m fisheye (for foreground), Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 *(for sky)
Accesories: MSM Nomad star-tracker, Sunwayfoto T3240CK tripod
Exposure: Sky: 8 x (10 x 30sec), f/1.8, ISO 1250, 16mm, foreground: 4 x 60sec, f/2.8, ISO 1250, 8mm

A lightweight, easy-to-use kit has accompanied Garcia every night.

He explains, "To capture this breathtaking sky, I used the Nomad tracker from Move Shoot Move throughout, along with its wedge, laser and phone mount, which allowed me to align it precisely beneath the southern sky."

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We were amazed by the Schneider-Kreuznach LK Samyang AF 14-24mm f/2.8 when we reviewed it at the end of last year. Full-frame fast wide-angle zooms like this are usually bulky affairs - but this one was much smaller and lighter, and has the distinct bonus of a removable lens hood. The perfect all-in wide option for travel - except that it was aonly available in Sony FE mount. Now, at last, more photographers can take advantge with the announcement that this autofocus zoom will now be available in L-mount - for use on Panasonic, Sigma and Leica full-frame mirrorless cameras.

The result of a design collaboration between Samyang Optics and the legendary German optical pioneer Schneider-Kreuznach, the constant f/2.8 aperture wideangle zoom weighs just  441g / 0.97lb. And its size is epitomized by the fact that the front filter mount is a modest 77mm - facilitating the use of polarizers, NDs and other filters.

The new mount option will be available in May, priced at £1,050.

As usual, the lens will be sold under the Rokinon brand in North America.

Read our full Schneider-Kreuznach LK Samyang AF 14-24mm f/2.8 review

The camera industry has a funny relationship with aperture. Bigger is often presumed better. An f/1.2 must surely be superior to an f/1.4, which must be superior to an f/1.8. It's almost a reflex; like assuming a heavier car is safer, or that a thicker steak is tastier. Samyang's new AF 35mm F1.8 P FE is a direct, confident challenge to that logic.

The lens joins the Korean manufacturer's growing Prima Series for Sony full-frame E-mount mirrorless cameras will be sold (as usual under the Rokinon brand in the USA. It sits at a deliberately slower maximum aperture than Samyang's own AF 35mm F1.4 P FE; a lens the company launched just two years ago. On paper, that reads as a downgrade. In practice, it could be the smarter choice for many.

Because let's be honest: what most of us actually need from a 35mm lens is not maximum aperture. Its reliability, portability, and autofocus that doesn't let you down when something unexpected happens in front of your camera.

Why F1.8 makes sense

The headline difference between f/1.4 and f/1.8 is just under two-thirds of a stop of light. In practical terms, that means the f/1.4 performs marginally better in the dimmest of conditions: a candlelit restaurant, perhaps, or a dark gig venue. But for the vast majority of shooting situations, f/1.8 is more than sufficient. Modern Sony sensors are so capable at higher ISO settings, the real-world gap between the two lenses is narrower than the numbers suggest.

What you'll gain with f/1.8, on the other hand, is tangible. Measuring 71.5mm in length and weighing 216 g, the AF 35mm F1.8 P FE is smaller and lighter than its faster sibling: a meaningful consideration if you're carrying a camera all day. It uses a 62mm filter thread, plays nicely with a wide range of accessories, and its more modest optics allow for a 10-element design that Samyang says keeps aberrations tightly controlled. The new lens is also significantly cheaper.

The company's UMC II coating tackles flare and ghosting, and Linear STM II autofocus (the same motor technology proving itself across the Prima lineup) promises quick, quiet, precise focus that's as useful for video as it is for stills.

Building a system

It's the lens you'll actually carry. The one that fits in a jacket pocket. The one that won't make your wrist ache after a long day's shooting. The lens also includes weather sealing and USB-C firmware update support: practical additions that speak to the kind of real-world durability photographers actually rely on.

In short, if you shoot Sony full-frame and you've been waiting for a compact, capable 35mm wide-angle prime that doesn't ask you to compromise on build quality or autofocus performance, this lens deserves a serious look. The lens can also be used on Sony APS-C mirrorless models, where it will give an effective focal length of 52mm - providing an affordable standard lens.

It's not trying to be the fastest or the most technically impressive 35mm on the market. It's trying to be the most useful. And for most people shooting most things, there's a lot to be said there.

The LK Samyang Prima AF 35mm F1.8 P FE is a full-frame Sony E-mount lens featuring a 10-element optical design (arranged in 8 groups), 9 aperture blades, Linear STM II autofocus, UMC II coating, weather sealing, and USB-C connectivity for firmware updates.

The lens will start to ship in May for around $299 / £299.

As a Sony shooter who loves a versatile do-it-all lens, I’m excited to read reports that the LK Samyang (known as Rokinon in the US) 28-135mm f/2.8 FE lens made in collaboration with Schneider Kreuznach will be available from the end of this year.

We’ve known about this lens for some time, as LK Samyang first displayed it last year at IBC Amsterdam alongside a trio of other lens collaborations with Schneider Kreuznach.

But now, according to a conversation that took place at this year's CP+ show in Japan between the guys from Phototrend and Kim Dubin, head of product planning at LK Samyang, the 28-135mm f/2.8 FE lens is under production.

I think this lens is going to be really well received – and it’s not just because it covers a focal length range I gravitate towards – because the fast f/2.8 aperture is going to give it solid competitive edge.

Granted, in a Samyang you’re not going to get the same build quality as the native Sony FE PZ 28-135mm f/4 G OSS – nor the acclaimed Sony autofocus (AF).

But for the Samyang price, I’ll take an extra stop of subject-background separation and low-light performance for slightly less durability and slower AF.

Phototrend also spoke to Dubin about the 20-50mm f/2.0 FE, another lens for Sony full-frame cameras that we all know Samyang has in the pipeline.

Dubin reportedly said that this lens won’t be available before 2028-29, partly not to take attention away from the recently released Samyang AF 24-60mm f/2.8 FE, but also because it’s in the early stages of development.

I don’t see myself buying the 20-50mm or the 24-60mm, but the 28-135mm f/2.8 is right up my alley. I guess I’ll have to appreciate my Sony FE 24-105mm f4 G OSS a little more until it's ready!

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LK Samyang (known in the US as Rokinon) has again been showing off its 60-180 f/2.8 autofocus lens, made in collaboration with Schneider Kreuznach, most recently at the CP+ 2026 trade show in Japan.

Fans have been awaiting its release for some time now, as it made an appearance last year at IBC Amsterdam, alongside three other Schneider Kreuznach lens collaborations, though its creators have not given away any information on a release date.

The hush-hush around when this lens might finally go on sale has continued in Yokohama this week, as the 60-180 f/2.8 zoom lens has been on show with ‘coming soon’ written on the display tag.

The AF 60-180mm f/2.8 is the latest joint venture between LK Samyang and Schneider Kreuznach – a specialist lens and optical filter manufacturer – building on the AF 14-24mm f/2.8 and AF 24-60mm f/2.8 trinity zoom lenses released last year by the duo.

I can’t tell you too much about the re-revealed AF 60-180 f/2.8, as LK Samyang loves to keep us guessing, but so far we know it features an AF/MF switch, a customizable function button and a zoom lock switch.

My colleague James got hands-on with the lens in Yokohama, and he notes that it's impressively small and light – giving it a size advantage over conventional 70-200mm lenses. The lens' markings also revealed that it has a 77mm filter thread and a minimum focus distance of 0.35 to 0.78m (depending on the zoom).

If the lens performs as nicely as it looks, then it should give the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 a run for its money – at least for Sony users.

Samyang representatives at CP+ were incredibly tight-lipped about further specifications and specifics, including a release date. The closest they came to committing was saying it should be available “sometime in the second half of 2026” for Sony E and L-Mount cameras

The reps mentioned that the L-Mount version of the AF 14-24mm f/2.8 collaboration would also be coming soon, so it looks like a busy year ahead for Samyang, Schneider Kreuznach and Rokinon customers!

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The first images of a trio of Samyang lenses rumored to be showcased at the CP+ trade show in Japan later this week have been leaked online.

Shared by Sony Alpha Rumors, the images show three Sony FE (Sony full frame E-Mount) autofocus lenses: a 20-50mm f/2.0 zoom, a 200mm f/1.8 prime and a 300mm f/4.0 prime.

The standout for me is the 200mm f/1.8 prime, which is an unexpected development as recent buzz was that Samyang would unveil two 300mm telephoto lenses at the CP+ show. However, it now seems like that was partly untrue and that one of these 300mm lenses is in fact the 200mm f/1.8 pictured above.

I think the 200mm f/1.8 will put a grin on the faces of sports photographers more than anyone, as the tasty telephoto-aperture combination should create stellar subject-background separation.

An underserved focal length in prime lenses, Samyang has an opportunity to make a name for itself here too. Aside from the Laowa 200mm f/2 AF FF and Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS Sports, competition is slim.

The Laowa and Sigma lenses retail for roughly $2,000 (approximately £1,500 / AU$2,800) and $3,000 (approximately £2,200 / AU$4,200) respectively. If the Samyang can slide in somewhere between while including respectable autofocus and image stabilization, then we’ve got a new contender for the best 200mm FE telephoto prime.

Coming to the 20-50mm f/2.0; I can see this piece of kit doing well sales-wise. Despite the uncommon zoom range, the fast aperture makes it an attractive prospect for a range of shoots and, with a Samyang price tag, many photographers might say “why not”.

Finally, we have the 300mm f/4.0 prime, confirming that at least half of the rumor around two new Samyang 300mm prime lenses is true.

I can’t see this lens making much of a splash, though, as the the f/4 aperture doesn’t seem competitive enough to make you choose the prime over a zoom alternative such as the Tamron 50-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD or 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD.

However, the word is that the Samyang 300mm f/4 is only a prototype for the manufacturer to test demand, so we’ll see if my prediction is right…

Wider Samyang rumors have been teasing a flurry of FE lenses to be revealed at the CP+ trade show. Reports have come in thick and fast in the past few weeks, including of a 60-180mm f/2.8 FE, a 28-135mm f/2.8 FE and a 28-85mm FE – the latter also a prototype.

All will be revealed in the next few days as the CP+ trade show gets underway, and I'll be keeping our eyes peeled.

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Word on the street is that Samyang will display a pair of 300mm prime lenses for the Sony FE system at the CP+ 2026 trade show in Japan next week.

According to a report by Sony Alpha Rumors, the lenses are prototypes as Samyang wants to confirm interest in these models before manufacturing anything.

The 300mm prototypes will line up with the other Samyang lenses for Sony full frame (FE) rigs reportedly on display at the trade show, including a 60-180mm f/2.8 FE, a 28-135mm f/2.8 FE, a 20-50mm f/2.0 FE and a 28-85mm FE – the latter two also prototypes.

While you can already find the 300mm focal length for Sony full frame models in third-party lenses such as the Tamron 50-300mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD and 28-300mm f/4-7.1 Di III VC VXD, the Samyang prototypes will be the first true Sony FE 300mm prime lens from a third-party manufacturer.

Aside from a friendlier price – the native Sony 300mm f/2.8 prime costs around $6,700 in the US and £5,700 in the UK – what will Samayang users be looking for in the prototypes?

Most certainly, they’ll want a competitive aperture that goes beyond the f/4 of Tamron’s 50-300mm and the f/4.5 of Sony’s 70-300mm zoom lenses. Otherwise, unless a Samyang 300mm prime comes in significantly cheaper, I can’t see the appeal of forgoing the convenience of zoom abilities.

Samyang has previously released a 300mm prime – the 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS Reflex – for Canon EF-M, Fujifilm X and Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras. While f/6.3 can produce subject separation at this focal length, sports and wildlife shooters in particular will be after an aperture that can make the subject pop much more.

Sony Alpha Rumors didn’t report, and my wider research hasn’t unearthed, whether the prototype 300mm primes will be exclusively for Sony E-Mount but, thus far, it appears so.

The CP+ show kicks off February 26 in Yokohama and runs until March 01, so expect more news on the Samyang FE 300mm prime prototypes then.

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Us Sony Alpha shooters know all too well the pain of forking out for a new G Master lens. Thankfully, third-party manufacturers know this too and produce worthwhile contenders at much lower prices.

Enter the Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 FE, a cheaper direct competitor to the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master, normally priced around $799, but now just $599 at B&H Photo.

Designed for Sony E-Mount full frame and APS-C mirrorless cameras, the Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 FE, which we've previously reviewed and loved, goes toe to toe almost the entire way with the native Sony lens.

Here’s a quick summary of the main features so you know why this Samyang lens is worth considering, especially now with a saving of $200.

Firstly, the Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 FE offers the same focal length range and constant f/2.8 aperture. This nifty zoom range enables you to shoot portraits and landscapes effectively, and the f/2.8 minimum aperture means you can get creative in the process.

The Samyang's autofocus (AF) is on par too. It features a linear stepping motor which is fast for stills and enables smooth AF transitions when shooting video, and does so near-silently. Unlike the Sony, though, the Samyang doesn’t feature a customizable AF-hold button.

Both the Samyang and the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 lack optical image stabilizer so neither is better here. However, the Samayang is the heavier of the two, weighing 36oz (1027g) compared to 31oz (886g), although it’s not exactly a major difference.

Speaking of build quality, the Samyang is weather-sealed at seven positions, including all joints in the barrel, the ‘Custom’ switch and the mounting plate.

The Samyang 24-70mm f/2.8 FE holds its own among third-party alternatives for the Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master and you can now get it for $599, a solid saving of $200.

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IBC 2025 in Amsterdam offered more than just broadcast tech this year; it also gave photographers and filmmakers a tantalizing look at the future of the L-Mount lens ecosystem.

At the Samyang booth, four new autofocus zooms were on display, including the latest fruit of the brand’s partnership with Schneider Kreuznach.

From what I have seen through images taken on the show floor, the lineup covers everything from wide to telephoto zooms: a 14-24mm f/2.8 and a 24-60mm f/2.8, both already familiar to E-mount users and now confirmed for L-Mount, alongside a pair of fresh announcements in the form of a 60-180mm f/2.8 and an ambitious 28-135mm f/2.8 for L-Mount and later Sony FE.

No prices or release dates have been given yet, other than a ‘coming soon’ tag, but it’s clear that these lenses are set to launch late 2025 / early 2026, continuing a noticeable trend of fast f/2.8 zooms becoming more abundant across the market.

What excites me here is not just the specs of the zoom lenses but the momentum. The Schneider Kreuznach and Samyang partnership, announced in March this year, blends Schneider’s optical legacy with Samyang’s modern technology, and while the early releases caught attention, these new zooms feel like the real statement of intent.

For L-Mount shooters, they open up creative possibilities across travel, landscape, portraiture and even all-in-one filmmaking, while Sony FE users are also likely to benefit once those versions land.

The bigger story, though, is how quickly the L-Mount Alliance is evolving. What started as a fairly limited ecosystem now feels genuinely competitive. Lens options are multiplying, third-party support is growing and, with Samyang joining the fold, affordability and accessibility look set to improve, too.

Personally, it’s made me start to reconsider my own kit decisions, because with this kind of glass on the horizon, the L-Mount system is becoming harder to ignore.

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The Schneider-Kreuznach and LK Samyang partnership is back with another release: the AF 24-60mm F2.8 FE, a standard zoom lens designed to deliver full-frame quality in a compact form factor. And it's set to be officially unveiled on September 12 at IBC in Amsterdam.

Following on from their success of the AF 14-24mm F2.8 FE, Samyang and Schneider-Kreuznach are launching a second lens in the series – a compact, 24-60mm, constant-aperture zoom lens designed for the full-frame Sony E-mount system. A portable, pro-grade optic built for photography, video, and content creation – this could be one of the most interesting hybrid zooms of the year.

While full specs and pricing are still to come, the press release confirms a constant aperture, promising a strong low-light performance and depth of field. The lens is also described as "lightweight and compact", designed for creators who need mobility without sacrificing image quality.

A 24-60mm range is slightly unconventional – most standard zooms land at 24-70mm – but trimming that extra reach could be the trade-off that makes this lens lighter and more compact. If it's anything like the 14-24mm in size, it could seriously appeal to travel shooters, documentary filmmakers, and vloggers.

Given that the Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II weighs 695g, I would expect the new AF 24-60mm F2.8 FE to fall in the 500-550g range (similar to the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 G2).

While no official pricing has been released, it's fair to expect the lens to land in the US$800-1,000 range, especially considering Samyang's reputation for offering pro-level optics at accessible prices. That would place it well below Sony's G Master lineup and potentially even under Sigma's Art series.

We'll have to wait for the official unveiling on September 12 at IBC Amsterdam – but for now, this looks like one of the most exciting new zoom lenses coming to Sony E-mount this year.

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Samyang is a South Korean company that was founded in 1972, and has steadily been building its business of making high-quality, competitively priced lenses ever since. Manual-focus lenses make up most of the company’s back catalog, also being sold as Rokinon in the USA, but there have been a growing range of autofocus lenses coming on stream more recently. Last year the company changed its name to LK Samyang.

The lens that I’m reviewing here is the AF 12mm f/2, which I originally saw in its Sony E mount edition, back in 2021. A Fujifilm X version has also been available and now the lens is also offered in Canon RF-S mount, to suit APS-C format Canon EOS R system mirrorless cameras. The last of these aims to be one of the best Canon wide-angle lenses on the market.

LK Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S: Specifications

LK Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S: Price

It’s hard to compare the LK Samyang 12mm with own-brand Canon RF-S prime lenses, simply because there aren’t any yet (at least not while I'm writing this review). Naturally, you can use full-frame compatible Canon RF lenses on APS-C format EOS R system bodies. A couple of ‘prime’ candidates in terms of compact, lightweight build and budget-friendly prices are the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM at $219 / £219 / AU$364 and the Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, at $329 / £319 / AU$454.

The RF-S mount version of the LK Samyang 12mm doesn’t exactly look like a low-cost option at $449 / £335 / AU$604 but it’s still keenly priced for an ultra-wide-angle lens. It also comes complete with weather-seals and a hood, which are absent in both Canon lenses, hoods being sold separately.

LK Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S: Design & Handling

Think ultra-wide-angle lenses and you might well be thinking of big, hefty affairs. The LK Samyang 12mm is surprisingly compact and lightweight, measuring just over a couple of inches long and weighing a mere 213g / 7.5oz. It feels a brilliant match for the likes of the similarly space-saving Canon EOS R10 that I used for testing it. Whether you’re pounding city streets, trekking into the hills or venturing further afield, the expansive viewing angle of this lens and its extreme portability make it extremely travel-friendly.

The viewing angle itself equates to 96.8 degrees, which isn’t quite as wide as the 99.1 degrees of the Sony E and Fujifilm X mount versions of the lens. That’s due to Canon’s 1.6x rather than 1.5x crop factor of its APS-C format cameras. As such, the lens has an ‘effective’ focal length of 19.2mm on Canon EOS R system APS-C cameras, whereas it’s 18mm on Sony and Fujifilm bodies. Either way, the viewing angle is a whole lot wider than a standard zoom lens can deliver at its shortest setting.

Ultra-wide-angle lenses are perennially popular for landscape and cityscape photography, as well as for real estate and architectural interiors. They’re also great for getting in really close and exaggerating perspective, and for vlogging or taking selfies when you want to put yourself in front of the camera and set the scene with an expansive background. The LK Samyang neatly ticks off all these boxes on the ‘can do’ list. Meanwhile, the f/2 aperture rating is sufficiently fast to put astrophotography within the remit of the lens, if you want to capture a starry night sky.

For astrophotography, manual focusing is often preferred but for everything else, autofocus is generally the order of the day. This lens actually has its roots in the Samyang 12mm F2.0 NCS CS manual lens, which was launched back in 2014, but adds a linear stepping motor-based autofocus system. That’s the norm for lenses designed for mirrorless cameras, as it has the potential for fast subject acquisition and tracking when shooting stills, along with smooth and virtually silent focus transitions when shooting video. I like that even though the lens is very compact, LK Samyang has squeezed an AF/MF focus mode switch into the design. It saves hunting through camera menus to make the change.

The optical layout appears to be the same as in the original manual lens, which is no bad thing. There are 12 elements arranged in 10 groups, featuring one aspherical, one hybrid-aspherical and three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) specialist elements. The aim is to optimize sharpness and clarity while minimizing chromatic aberrations, distortion and sagittal coma, the last of these further boosting the lens’s potential for astrophotography by avoiding stars taking on irregular shapes towards the edges and corners of the image frame. LK Samyang’s ‘Ultra Multi Coating’ is applied to combat ghosting and flare.

Given the suitability of ultra-wide-angle lenses for landscape photography, I’m glad that this one has a removable hood that enables the provision of a filter attachment thread. That’s not always the case as lenses that have an even greater viewing angles often have a built-in, integral hood and no filter thread. That creates a real challenge for using the likes of neutral density graduated filters when shooting landscapes. The filter thread in this case is fairly small at 62mm, which makes filters relatively inexpensive to buy. One slight niggle is that although the petal shaped hood is removable, you can’t reverse it and fit it backwards on the lens to reduce stowage size.

LK Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S: Performance

Shooting at medium aperture values, there’s very good sharpness across the whole image frame. I found that sharpness dropped off a little more at the widest available aperture of f/2, compared with the previous Sony E-mount version of the lens that I’ve reviewed. The real-world shooting results were confirmed in our lab tests. A plus point is that the short minimum focus distance of 0.2m / 0.66ft enables a fairly tight depth of field at f/2 when shooting close-ups. That gives the option of shooting small objects against an expansive blurred background for creative effect.

Barrel distortion is very well controlled, much more so than in very many modern lenses designed for mirrorless cameras. Indeed, the Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM which gives a broadly similar perspective on full-frame cameras can’t be used without automatic in-camera correction. That’s typical of many Canon RF and RF-S lenses, as well as those from other manufacturers.

While distortion is fairly minimal, I did find that color fringing was quite noticeable towards the edges and corners of the image frame. As with distortion and vignetting (or peripheral illumination) automatic in-camera correction is available which eliminates any fringing.

LK Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S: Sample Images

The following gallery of sample images was shot on a sunny morning at the Bristol Floating Harbour in the south west of England, pairing the lens with a Canon EOS R10 camera body.

LK Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S: Lab Results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

In our lab tests, we noticed that sharpness dropped off at the widest aperture of f/2 a little more than with the Sony E-mount version of the lens. Even so, center-sharpness is still pretty good at f/2, and very good in the aperture range between f/2.8 and f/8. Apertures of f/5.6 and f/8 deliver the best edge/corner-sharpness.

Fringing:

Color fringing can be quite noticeable around high-contrast transitions towards the edges and corners of the image frame, like dark tree branches against a bright sky. Automatic in-camera correction eliminates the problem.

Distortion: -1.55

There’s remarkably little optical distortion for a modern lens designed for mirrorless cameras, especially taking the ultra-wide-angle focal length and compact build of the lens into account. As with color fringing, in-camera correction is able to give a complete fix.

LK Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S: Verdict

I think there’s a lot to be said for shooting with an ultra-wide-angle prime lens. It’s great for street photography, travel, landscapes, architectural interiors and astrophotography, to name but a few genres. This LK Samyang gives an ‘effective’ focal length of approximately 20mm in full-frame terms, when mounted on a Canon APS-C format EOS R system camera. To my mind, that gives an expansive viewing angle without going overboard. I like the speedy and consistent autofocus, the short minimum focus distance and the super compact and lightweight yet weather-resistant build of the lens. Image quality is very pleasing with very good sharpness and clarity, along with impressive resistance to ghosting and flare. All in all, it’s a very tempting proposition for any APS-C format Canon EOS R system camera, as well as for Sony E and Fujifilm X bodies in its alternative mount options.

Alternatives

LK Samyang is the new name of South Korean manufacturer Samyang, whose lenses are also often badged as Rokinon in the USA. The company has been ramping up its business since it launched back in 1972, making a gradual shift from manual-focus and fully manual lenses to autofocus lenses, often with a fair number of bells and whistles, or at least handling extras.

The lens I’m reviewing here is the first in a new ‘Prima’ series, aiming to bring pro-grade quality to the masses in a compact, lightweight, and affordable package. It certainly looks relatively basic compared with the second-generation Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE II that I reviewed back in 2022, itself representing a major upgrade from the original Samyang AF 35mm F1.4 FE that I reviewed back in 2020. Let’s see what the new kid on the block has to offer, and if it can cut the mustard as one of the best lenses for Sony cameras.

LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE: Specifications

LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE: Price

The LK Samyang AF 35mm Prima is designed to be affordable for an f/1.4 fast prime, priced at $699 / £528 / AU$1,099. That’s certainly a whole lot less expensive than the own-brand Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 G Master, which sells for $1,498 / £1,429 / AU$2,099.

Then again, the Sony lens is in a whole different league when it comes to build and handling, boasting an aperture ring with click/de-click switch, an AF/MF focus mode switch and a customizable function button.

The LK Samyang looks a very bare-bones affair by comparison. But for further comparison, it’s a little less expensive than the previous Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE II. I’d put it in the same ballpark as the similarly priced Nikon Z 35mm f/1.4, which retails for £649 / $539 / AU$964.

LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE: Design & Handling

Let’s fact-check some those marketing claims made for the lens. It takes its Prima name from the Latin for ‘First’ and ‘Important’ and, as I mentioned at the outset, the keywords are portability, practicality and convenience. Let’s start with portability. LK Samyang says it’s the lightest 35mm f/1.4 lens for full-frame Sony cameras and I’m not going to argue. However, it’s actually marginally longer than the Sony G Master lens and only 54g / 2oz lighter, at 75x99mm / 3.0x3.9in and 470g / 16.6oz. The LK Samyang is also bigger and heavier than the equivalent Nikon lens although, naturally, that’s for a whole other breed of camera.

As for practicality, the key design elements in this respect are the fast f/1.4 aperture which enables true creative expression, especially combined with the short minimum focus distance of 0.3m / 0.98ft. Further practical values include a fast and near-silent stepping motor-based autofocus system, which is also designed to ensure minimal focus breathing. This makes the lens a practical option for videography as well as for shooting stills.

LK Samyang also lists autofocus as a tick in a box from a convenience perspective, in that it’s fast and consistently accurate. Other factors in the convenience stakes include multiple weather-seals so rain needn’t stop play, and a USB-C port built into the mounting plate, so unforeseen Sony changes needn’t stop play either, thanks to the easy application of firmware updates.

One thing that’s less convenient is the lack of any handling extras. I’ve grown to like an AF/MF focus mode switch, so I can make the change without resorting to camera menus. I also like an aperture control ring, preferably de-clicked for shooting video, and a customizable function button for the likes of AF-On or AF-Hold. The LK Samyang has none of these. Instead, it’s a very straightforward lens in terms of handling, with just a manual focus ring. At least the ring works with smooth precision.

On the upside, the lens features some specialist glass, including no less than three aspherical elements, an ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element and an HR (High Refractive index) element. The aim is for sharp images with good clarity and minimal aberrations. Coatings are applied to resist ghosting and flare, and the lens comes with a reversible bayonet-fit hood.

LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE: Performance

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say, and there’s nothing wrong with the image quality of this lens. Technically, it’s not as razor-sharp as the much pricier Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 G Master but it’s still very impressive, right across the whole image frame, even when shooting wide-open at f/1.4. As usual, it pays to stop down a little for the best edge/corner-sharpness.

For creative photographers, sharpness is only half the story – maybe even less. One of the biggest attractions of any ‘fast’ lens is that it enables a tight depth of field for isolating subjects and blurring busy backgrounds. Especially for close-ups with a short focus distance, the lens is capable of a tight depth of field and delivers beautifully smooth bokeh. Again, the quality of bokeh doesn’t quite match that of the Sony G Master lens, especially when stopping down a little. That’s mostly due to the Sony having a better-rounded 11-blade diaphragm, compared with the Samyang’s 9 blades. Even so, bokeh does remain very appealing when narrowing the aperture a little.

Lateral chromatic aberration can sometimes be slightly noticeable towards the edges and corners of the frame but automatic in-camera correction is available to fix this completely. The same goes for the fairly small amount of barrel distortion. Longitudinal (or axial) chromatic aberration can be more of a problem for fast lenses and sure enough, the Samyang does show a little color fringing just in front of and behind the plane of focus when shooting wide-open. Back on the plus side, the lens is very good at minimizing ghosting and flare. All in all, performance is highly impressive.

LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE: Sample Images

The following gallery of sample images was shot on a sunny morning at the Bristol Floating Harbour in the south west of England, pairing the lens with a Sony A7 II camera body.

LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE: Lab Results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

Center-sharpness gets off to a very good start wide-open at f/1.4 and gets even better when stopping down a little. Apertures of f/5.6 and f/8 deliver the best sharpness across the entire image frame, right into the edges and corners.

Fringing:

Lateral chromatic aberration can be a little noticeable, mostly towards the edges and corners of the frame, but this is easily taken care of by automatic in-camera correction. ‘LoCA’ or Longitudinal chromatic aberration can also be a little noticeable and is harder to correct.

Distortion: -2.11

Native distortion is much less than in many modern lenses designed for mirrorless cameras. As such, the LK Samyang relies a lot less on automatic in-camera correction for barrel distortion, compared with many lenses that are unusable without it.

LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE: Verdict

I have to admit to being a bit underwhelmed when I first clapped eyes on the LK Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE. It’s certainly a very straightforward lens with no handling extras beyond the absolute basics, but perhaps that’s part of its charm. It sets out to be a fast f/1.4 prime with impressive image quality, in a relatively compact, lightweight and affordable package that’s simple to use. And it does that very well indeed. All things considered, I could easily get hooked on this lens for street photography and general shooting.

Alternatives

Two of the world's leading optical specialists have teamed up for an exciting new lens, the Schneider-Kreuznach x LK Samyang AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE – also known as the Samyang AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE.

First shown off to the world at The Photography & Video Show in early March, and currently offered for Sony cameras, the full-frame AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE is Samyang's first ever super-wide zoom lens.

Jointly developed by Samyang and Schneider-Kreuznach, it marks a return of sorts for the renowned German brand – which holds the distinction of winning an Oscar for its cinema lenses.

Founded in 1913, Schneider-Kreuznach has a specialist in small, medium and large format optics for well over a century, having partnerships with everyone from Kodak and Rolleiflex to Hasselblad and now Samyang.

The AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE boasts an ultra-wide view spanning 114.2° - 84.1°, combined with a constant f/2.8 aperture that makes this an attractive lens for applications like landscapes, interiors, travel, architecture and astrophotography.

With its 0.18m minimum focusing distance, it's a capable close-up lens. It also accepts front filters, which isn't always the case for ultra-wide optics. With a 77mm thread, landscape shooters can unleash the usual array of neutral density filters and polarizing filters – and the weather sealing means that this lens can be used in all conditions.

With its small footprint and lightweight design, the AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE is easy to throw into even the busiest camera bag, measuring a mere 88.8 x 84.0mm and tipping the scales at just 445g.

In addition to the auto / manual focus switch, the lens also packs a customizable button along with a USB-C port – enabling fuss-free firmware updates.

The Samyang AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE will be available in Europe in May, carrying a price tag of £1,049 / AU$1,999  (US price and availability are still to be confirmed).

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The Photography & Video Show 2025 kicks off today at the ExCel in London, UK, featuring a wide range of brands showcasing the latest photography and video equipment.

One lens that is sure to grab attention is the new Samyang x Schneider-Kreuznach AF 14-24mm f/2.8. This collaboration brings together traditional German engineering and modern mirrorless lens design.

The 14-24mm f/2.8 was first displayed at CP+ 2025 last week, generating excitement with the return of the renowned German optics specialist, Schneider-Kreuznach. The announcement of this collaboration came as a surprise, but seeing the lens in person and speaking with a Samyang representative at the show made it clear that this partnership makes perfect sense.

Recently, Samyang has impressed with its mirrorless lens offerings, contributing to the rise of high-quality third-party lenses from Asia that provide excellent autofocus and optical performance at an affordable price point. This makes Samyang's autofocus lenses appealing to both photographers and videographers. However, the Samyang lineup has predominantly consisted of prime lenses, lacking zoom options – until now, with the introduction of Schneider-Kreuznach.

Notably, the Samyang x Schneider-Kreuznach AF 14-24mm f/2.8 is only the second autofocus zoom lens from Samyang. It leverages Schneider-Kreuznach's long history of premium optics, produced at their factory in Japan.

While the lens is currently a working prototype and final designs are yet to be confirmed, it offers a compact and versatile zoom with quick and accurate autofocus. Additionally, it features a constant wide aperture of f/2.8, allowing for impressive subject separation and smooth bokeh.

With its 14-24mm focal range, this lens is an excellent choice for landscape and astrophotographers, as well as being lightweight and travel-friendly.

The lens also includes a USB-C interface on the underside, enabling firmware updates and improvements without requiring a separate dock.

This lens is expected to be the first of several new Samyang Schneider-Kreuznach zoom lenses, enhancing Samyang's offerings while keeping the Schneider name active in the photography industry.

Currently available only for the Sony FE mount, discussions are underway for potential future mount options. The Samyang x Schneider-Kreuznach AF 14-24mm f/2.8 is scheduled for a May 2025 release, with pricing yet to be confirmed.

You can view this lens and other Samyang products at The Photography & Video Show 2025 at booth B30.

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First Zeiss, now Schneider-Kreuznach; vintage lens manufacturers are making a comeback as Samyang unveils a new lens at CP+ 2025, designed in collaboration with Schneider-Kreuznach.

Schneider-Kreuznach, commonly known as Schneider, is a German lens manufacturer that you may not have heard about in many years. Founded in 1913, it established itself as a leading name in optics, producing lenses for photography, cinema, and industrial applications. While Schneider remained active in specialized fields such as large-format and cine lenses, its presence in the consumer photography market had largely faded, which makes its return with South Korean lens specialists Samyang a surprising and intriguing development.

On display at CP+ 2025, and presented via Photo Rumors, is the Samyang X Schneider-Kreuznach AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE, a full-frame ultra-wide-angle zoom lens designed for Sony E-mount cameras. Notably, this is Schneider-Kreuznach’s first mirrorless lens, marking a significant shift for the brand as it adapts to modern digital photography. This collaboration combines Samyang’s expertise in producing affordable third-party lenses with Schneider-Kreuznach’s optical heritage – perhaps an exciting sign of things to come.

The lens is the world’s first 14-24mm Sony E-compatible super-wide zoom that facilitates front filters with a 77mm filter size. It also enables ultra-close-up shooting with a minimum focusing distance of just 0.18m. Despite its wide focal range, the lens remains compact and lightweight, weighing only 445g.

Despite the announcement, there is still very little information about the extent of Schneider-Kreuznach’s involvement in the design and manufacturing of the lens, except a line stating "Jointly developed with Schneider-Kreuznach". Whether Schneider played a major role in the optical formula or primarily contributed branding and legacy expertise remains unclear. There is also no official news on the availability or release date of the lens.

This collaboration highlights an evolving trend in the photography industry. Established European manufacturers like Schneider-Kreuznach are joining forces with modern, innovative brands such as Samyang. At the same time the growing presence of young Chinese lens manufacturers is shaping the future of the market.

As lens development becomes increasingly reliant on software and advanced optical technology rather than purely mechanical engineering, partnerships between heritage brands and newer players are becoming more common. This dynamic exchange of expertise brings together the best of both worlds; decades of optical craftsmanship meeting cutting-edge advancements in lens technology.

For now, the Samyang X Schneider-Kreuznach AF 14-24mm f/2.8 FE lens stands as an exciting revival of a historic name in photography, albeit in an unexpected form.

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Samyang's first lens for the Canon RF-S mount is now available to pre-order, with a retail price of $449/£348. Sold under Rokinon branding in North America, the AF 12mm f/2 RF-S is the widest prime lens available for Canon's APS-C RF-S mount cameras like the EOS R10, R7 and R100. You can of course go even wider with Canon's own RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM lens, but you'd have to settle for a much narrower maximum aperture.

The lens features three extra-low dispersion elements and two aspherical lenses, which Samyang says will deliver sharp, distortion-free images with minimal chromatic aberration and sagittal coma. The lens's focal length is equivalent to 18mm on a full-frame camera, which combined with the large f/2 aperture gives the lens excellent versatility. It's suitable for everything from landscapes to architecture, and even astrophotography.

Unusually for RF-S lenses, the AF 12mm f/2 RF-S is also weather sealed, protecting it from light rain, snow and dust. At 213g (7.51oz) and measuring 2.25in (57.2mm), the lens is easily portable for photographers on the go. Unlike some third-party lenses which are manual only, the Samyang includes a full set of electronic contacts to enable lens-body communication, and inside is a Linear STM (stepping motor) autofocus system that Samyang claims is both silent and precise, while also being compatible with Canon's tracking modes for following fast-moving subjects.

The Samyang/Rokinon AF 12mm f/2 RF-S can be pre-ordered now from B&H and Wex.

The Samyang Remaster Slim is one of those lenses that needs a little explaining. Indeed, the bit that looks like a lens isn't actually a lens at all; it's a module.

It's into this module that you insert the lens – one of three, tiny, hot-swappable lenses: a 21mm, 28mm or 32mm. So the Samyang Remaster Slim is basically a pancake lens where you can swap the elements, just like Lensbaby lenses enable you to swap the Optics. Only this is incredibly slim. And boasts autofocus. And electronic aperture control.

It's a bit mad, but also a bit brilliant. After all, if you're the sort of person who wants a pancake lens, you're probably the sort of person who wants all your lenses to be small. But rather than make three pancakes, Samyang just made one pancake with three lenses that you can switch out. It's the smallest lens system I've ever seen.

Take a look at my TikTok video below and it'll make sense. And after you've watched it, I'll tell you more about this ingenious little optic…

ABOVE: Watch my video overview of the Samyang Remaster

Samyang Remaster Slim: Specifications

Samyang Remaster Slim: Price & availability

The Samyang Remaster Slim has an attractive price tag. In the US it retails for $399, while in the UK its RRP is £335 but it's widely available for £269 – which is absolutely irresistible, considering you effectively get three lenses for that price. (Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be officially available in Australia right now.)

For comparison, the Sony E 20mm f/2.8 is currently selling for $348 / £265, while the Samyang AF 35mm f/2.8 is going for $250 / £340. Again, that's just for a single focal length – reinforcing what good value the Remaster offers.

Samyang Remaster Slim: Design & handling

While I likened the swappable lenses to Lensbaby Optics, the Samyang Remaster Slim probably has more in common with the old Lomography Neptune. Lomo's "Convertable Art Lens System" employed the same principle: it comprised an adapter that sat in your camera mount, and gave you three different lenses that could be attached to it.

The difference is, the Neptune was massive. And manual focus. And manual aperture. And it was expensive. The Remaster Slim is a teeny tiny pancake lens. And it has autofocus. And the aperture is electronic. And it's incredibly inexpensive.

As you can see in the above TikTok video, at just 19.5mm thick the module keeps your camera loadout as small as possible – with each lens fitting completely inside, rather than sticking out like a lightbulb (as was the case with the Neptune). And to swap a lens, it's a simple case of twisting and pulling to remove and then pushing and twisting to replace.

It takes a little bit of practice to line things up and pop a lens in quickly and cleanly, but you quickly get the hang of it. Just be aware that removing the lens does expose your sensor (as you can see below), so handle with the same care you do when changing regular lenses.

The whole kit comes in a small Pelicase-style box, with an individual mini plastic case for the lenses. So if you have your camera around your neck, you don't even need a camera bag – you can just slip the two extra lenses into your lapel pocket. Heck, you could probably fit one of them in the tiny change pocket on your jeans.

The lens module itself is stacked with features – truly putting some other pancake lenses with fixed focus and fixed apertures to shame. The Remaster Slim has a manual focus ring, which is very skinny but still very usable, along with an MF / AF switch to toggle between manual and autofocus. There's even a filter thread! And a USB-C port!

As with most pancake lenses, you won't really be handling the lens (sorry… module) very much. The manual focus ring does its job perfectly well, but honestly I control everything from the camera whenever I use a pancake so my fingers barely touched the Remaster, save changing the lenses. The main thing is that it's so small and light (just 66.5g, with the 32mm lens) that you forget it's even on your camera.

So, in short, not only is this one of the most ingeniously designed lenses you'll ever see, it's also one of the most fully featured – irrespective of its super-low price or the fact that it's a pancake lens. It's also a pretty sexy-looking thing, sleek and clean and with a funky slim lens cap.

Samyang Remaster Slim: Sample images

Samyang Remaster Slim: Performance

Samyang has made some great glass, but I must admit some initial fears – I worried that the Remaster Slim would be a neat bit of design, but that the pictures would let everything down. However, I'm very happy to report that this is not the case; despite the lenses being almost impossibly tiny, the performance of all three is really good!

While they're not going to outperform most dedicated 21mm, 28mm and 32mm primes (though they certainly perform better than some that I've used), I would be absolutely happy packing the Remaster Slim and leaving those three primes at home.

I've got no complaints about the sharpness, as all three lenses resolved impressive levels of detail that were perfect for the street and reportage environments in which I tested them. Indeed, I even used the 32mm for a bit of portraiture and was very, very happy with the results.

The 32mm was my favorite lens, and the one that I found the most useful. It helps that I use the 35mm focal length quite a lot in my work, and it's rare that I go as wide as 21mm in regular shooting. But the faster f/2.8 aperture enabled me to create separation in the environmental portraits – and by jumping into APS-C crop mode, I had an effective nifty fifty focal on demand as well.

Autofocus is speedy and snappy. Again, I'm not going to pretend that dedicated primes aren't faster – but nor am I going to pretend that they're faster in any meaningful way. I was using the Samyang Remaster Slim on a Sony A9 III, with one of the most advanced AF systems on the market, and all three lenses had no problem keeping up with it.

Of course, the fact that it has autofocus speaks to the fact that it has electronic contacts – and I love the fact that you get full EXIF data with all your images (which was especially useful when labeling them for this review!). Clicking over to manual, despite being slim the focus ring was still very useable – whether you're pairing it with focus peaking or you want to try zone focusing.

There are a few compromises, though, as you'd expect given the size and design constraints. While the 32mm lens has an f/2.8 aperture, the 21mm and 28mm lenses both top out at f/3.5 – which didn't make a huge amount of difference in practical terms, though when I started to lose the light I certainly would have welcomed a bit more speed.

As you can see in our lab tests below (and in a couple of the sample images), there's quite a bit of distortion on the widest and longest lenses – but nothing a couple of clicks in Photoshop won't fix, and a completely acceptable tradeoff given what the Remaster Slim offers.

Samyang Remaster Slim: Lab tests

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

Considering how tiny each lens module is, sharpness scores are pretty good. Center sharpness from the 21mm module is very consistent throughout its aperture range, while the 28mm and 32mm produce their best center sharpness at around f/5.6-f/8. Corner sharpness is relatively disappointing from all three lenses, though it's acceptable if you stop down to f/11.

Fringing:

The 21mm and 28mm modules manage exceptionally low levels of color fringing at all apertures. Only the 32mm module produces visible aberrations, though they're not severe.

Distortion:

21mm: -3.98
28mm: -0.53
32mm: 2.23

The 21mm produces pronounced barrel distortion, whereas the 32mm is the opposite, generating moderate pincushion. The 28mm sits, as you'd expect, in the middle, with just a trace of barrel distortion.

Samyang Remaster Slim: Verdict

I had an absolute blast shooting with the Samyang Remaster Slim! It's not often you come across camera kit that's genuinely fun, and truly makes you want to pick up your camera and go out to play. But that's exactly what the Remaster does; it inspires you to create.

On top of that, it's a great little Swiss Army knife for your camera bag, giving you 21mm, 28mm and 32mm focal lengths in a single optic – or, if you're an APS-C user, 31.5mm, 42mm and 48mm focal lengths. If you're someone who shoots wide, you can shed a lot of weight from your camera bag – and potentially even shed the camera bag entirely, if this is the range you work in.

Really, the only criticism I have of the Remaster Slim is the selection of lenses – and it's as much a reflection of my own shooting style as anything else. As someone whose widest everyday prime is a 35mm, the Slim maxes out at the start of my comfort zone. But of course, given that a large swathe of E-mount users are APS-C, many folks will effectively be using longer focal lengths.

Still, I actually found that to be part of the fun; not only did this setup inspire me to get out and shoot, it challenged me as well. And while I would have loved some longer lens options, I've no doubt that achieving them will be very difficult in optics this small. All that said, I think that the 28mm lens is a bit of an odd man out; for me it was a bit too close to the 32mm, and I would have got more use out of something like a 16mm instead.

TLDR, this is a truly brilliant little lens. It's an instant conversation starter, and for good reason: it succeeds as a pancake lens, as an optical Swiss Army knife, as a do-it-all wide-angle for full frame users and as arguably the perfect street photography and travel companion for APS-C shooters.

It's also incredible value. It's a bit pricier in the States, at $400, but right now in the UK it's available for under £270 – making it an absolutely essential purchase. My one regret is that it's only available for E-Mount – I would kill to have this on RF. Come on, Canon… unlock those doors!

Samyang Remaster Slim: Alternatives

Samyang is today unveiling two brand new lens models – one kicking off a brand new Prima series of lenses, and the other the company’s first foray into making lenses for Canon’s RF-S mount.

Samyang has quickly become a firm favorite manufacturer of camera lenses among photographers and videographers for its incredibly competitive prices, without sacrificing quality – and Samyang lenses continually score top marks in our reviews and lab tests.

New Prima Series – Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE

The Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE is the inaugural product in Samyang's new Prima Series, which Samyang claims will emphasize “portability, practicality, and convenience”. As is usual, we expect this to be sold under the Rokinon brand in North America.

Weighing just 16.6oz (470g), the AF 35mm f/1.4 lens stands out as the lightest autofocus 35mm prime lens for Sony E-mount full-frame cameras – perfect for some of the best travel cameras like the Sony a6700 or Sony A7C II where portability is paramount. The lens is also weather-sealed which should protect it from the elements while out and about.

With a wide aperture of f/1.4, you can expect an impressive level of background blur from the lens as well as top low-light capability. The Prima 35mm can also focus down to 0.98ft (0.3m), and as it's designed for both photographers and videographers, Samyang is also promising minimal focus breathing.

And ticking off the convenience criteria – the lens firmware can also be easily upgraded via the USB-C port built into the lens – no additional accessories needed.

Kriss Hampton-Joyce, Head of Technology at Holdan, a distributor of Samyang products in the UK, notes that the Prima Series is aimed at making high-end optical performance more accessible. "This series offers exceptional image quality combined with enhanced practicality at a price point that welcomes creators of all levels".

The AF 35mm f/1.4 P FE is available for pre-order right now, with shipments expected in January 2025.

Samyang's first RF-S Lens – Samyang AF 12mm f/2 RF-S

Marking Samyang’s first RF-S mount lens, the AF 12mm f/2 RF-S is tailored for Canon's APS-C mirrorless cameras, and in fact, it is now the widest-angle autofocus lens available in the Canon RF-S lineup. The lens is designed to appeal to photographers specializing in landscapes, architecture, astrophotography, and travel – perfectly suited to cameras like the Canon EOS R7 or Canon EOS R100.

The lens boasts a bright f/2 aperture for better low light performance – great for astrophotography, and with a seven-blade aperture, the lens is designed to give a “starburst effect” bokeh. The optical construction incorporates three extra-low dispersion (ED) elements and two aspherical lenses (1 ASP, 1 H-ASP) which Samyang says will combine to deliver sharp, distortion-free images with minimal chromatic aberration and sagittal coma.

There is a full-time AF/MF switch, and the lens features a quiet STM autofocus motor for speedy focusing which should be able to keep up with fast-moving subjects in Canon’s latest tracking modes. The lens can also focus down to just 7.87in (0.2m) for close-up work with a unique 12mm perspective.

Weighing only 7.51oz (213g) and measuring 2.25in (57.2mm), the AF 12mm f/2 RF-S is very portable for photographers on the go – where full weather-sealing will help keep the lens safe from some rain and dust.

Kriss Hampton-Joyce praised the lens, saying, "This marks a significant step forward for the RF-S system, offering creators more tools and options to empower their artistic visions."

The AF 12mm f/2 RF-S is also available for pre-order immediately, with deliveries slated for January 2025.

Check out our guides for more of the best Sony lenses or the best Canon RF lenses.

Canon’s crop sensor cameras could soon have more third-party optics to choose from, if the latest reports come to fruition. Chinese social media posts appear to show a Samyang AF 12mm f/2.0 RF-S, a move that would mean more third-party Canon RF lenses with autofocus from manufacturers beyond Sigma and Tamron.

A translated post from the Association of Independent Photographers on Weibo, a social network popular in China, appears to introduce the Samyang AF 12mm f/2.0. Samyang itself has yet to confirm the lens' existence.

The lens’ RF-S designation indicates an APS-C format optic, compatible with crop-sensor cameras like the Canon EOS R50 (or full frame models in crop mode). Aside from the RF mount's 12 electronic contacts, the lens pictured on Weibo looks largely the same as the existing Samyang 12mm f/2.0 lens for the Sony E Mount.

While the Canon RF mount has a variety of third-party manual focus lenses available, autofocus glass has only recently started to trickle out after multiple third-party brands pulled their RF lenses without an official explanation in 2021. Samyang (also sold under the brand name Rokinon) originally launched RF lenses but pulled them from its website in 2021, along with Viltrox.

Sigma and Tamron both announced APS-C lenses for the RF mount in April 2024, noting that the optics were made with a licensing agreement with Canon. While the announcement brought sanctioned third-party autofocus lenses to the RF system, it did so only for the crop-sensor RF-S format. Third-party RF lenses with autofocus have not yet launched for Canon’s full-frame cameras.

If the Samyang AF 12mm f/2.0 RF-S does in fact exist, the optic would cover a 35mm equivalent of about 19mm. Canon does not currently have an RF prime lens covering that focal length, though it does have zoom lenses hitting that wide angle.

The biggest draw for Canon photographers, however, could be price. The introduction of more third-party lenses tends to open up more budget-friendly optics.

Samyang's similar E-Mount lens sells for around $400 / £350 / AU$750. Sigma’s launch into the RF system adds more options, including the 16mm f/1.4 DC DN | C and 30mm f/1.4 DC DN | C that sit in the same price bracket. Canon’s list of RF primes under at a similar price is a short one, with the RF 16mm f/2.8, RF 28mm f/2.8 and RF 50mm f/1.8.

With the Samyang lens only rumored, and Sigma and Tamron's Canon RF options not yet available, photographers may be interested in the Canon RF 16mm f2.8 STM in the meantime.

Photographers impatient for the rumored new Samyang RF-S lens may want to take a look at the best Canon RF lenses, the best cheap Canon cameras, and the best lenses for the Canon EOS R50.

Watch video: Clear the streets! Remove people from your photos

Some of the world’s most popular and spectacular locations are unsurprisingly very popular as tourists flock in droves, whether it’s Rome’s Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower in Paris or the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Even busy cities like Edinburgh or seaside beach towns are often full of people and tourists going about their day. 

As a photographer you may be able to perfectly wait for a time when there’s a gap, and you’re able to take a shot without any people. However, for many locations this just isn’t possible due to the high footfall. Another option would be to beat the crowds and arrive early, but this restricts you to the type of available lighting you’ll get at those more unsociable hours.

So, in this project, I'll look at two different ways you can work around this issue for cleaner scenic shots – one in-camera and another method using Photoshop. Let’s get to it! 

Technique 1: Stack and stitch your shots

1. Set up on a tripod

You’ll be taking multiple images of the same scene and stitching together the best parts in your editing software. To make the stitching process as simple as possible, it’s best to set up on a tripod and lock off the focus and settings for consistent results.

2. Wait for movement

Now you’ll need to take multiple images, patiently waiting for there to be enough movement between frames, so you have enough of the ‘good’ parts of the scene thaht you can stitch together to make a totally clear street shot in post-production.

3. Blend in Photoshop CC

Select all your images in Adobe Bridge and go to Tools > Photoshop > Load Files into Photoshop Layers. Click the Add Layer Mask icon, then with a soft black Brush tool paint over the area where people are to reveal the clear scene on the layer below.

Technique 2: Blur people with a long exposure

1. Attach your filters

Another technique is to use a long exposure to blur the people in-camera to remove them, so that only the stationary buildings are left sharp. Set up on a tripod and attach filters like a neutral density or polarizer which will both reduce light flow.

2. Get set up in a busy location

This busy coastal path in Lyme Regis was perfect to demonstrate this effect, as I wanted a shot of the colorful beach huts without the crowds of people that looked a bit distracting. I set up on a tripod and focused about a third of the way in.

3. Take a long exposure

Your exposure time will depend on the strength of the ND filter you use and also how much time is needed to blur the people – if they don’t move much during the exposure they will appear as a dark blur, so you’ll need a longer exposure.

If you're serious about scenery, take a look at the best cameras for landscape photography along with the best lenses for landscapes.

We wrote last week that we had a sense Samyang's first lens after joining the L-Mount Alliance would soon be announced, and that day has finally arrived. 

Samyang has officially unveiled the Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 for L-Mount. Sold under the Rokinon label in North America, its a super-fast full-frame all-round zoom lens that provides a versatile and affordable zoom lens option for L-Mount users. 

The lens may already sound familiar to Sony users as it has been available for Sony FE mount since 2023, and during our review, it shone due to its versatility. 

The lens offers a maximum aperture of f/2 at the widest end of the focal range, and f/2.8 at the telephoto end. The focal range covers the most common prime lengths in 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 135mm, and 150mm making the 35-150mm f/2-2.8 feel like you have 5 fast primes in one lens. 

Not surprisingly having this much of a wide focal range at a wide aperture, means there is a lot of engineering in design and construction. The lens includes 21 elements in 18 groups, with 2 Aspherical, 1 Hybrid-Asherical, 3 HR, and 6 ED elements which promise to 'deliver superior optical performance throughout the entire zoom range'. This does, however, increase the size and weight of the lens. 

Samyang / Rokinon has not been making AF for long but has impressed with recent lens releases. The 35-150mm f/2-2.8 features Samyang's popular STM (Linear Stepping Motor) providing fast and responsive AF performance and tracking for both photography and videography. 

Video use has been considered during development as the lens features a digital parfocal function that enables the user to maintain focus on a subject when zooming. Additionally, Samyang has also reduced the effects of focus breathing. 

Versatility is key in today's varied world of content creation, and having equipment we can rely on to fulfill several different jobs is a huge benefit. The L-Mount alliance has further enhanced this as this lens will be compatible with Leica, Panasonic, Sigma, Blackmagic Design, and DJI L-Mount users. 

The Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 for L-Mount is available for pre-order now for $1,499 |£1,194 (Australian pricing to be confirmed), with shipping scheduled to start in late June/ early July. 

For an idea of what to expect from this lens be sure to check out our review of the Sony E mount version. 

You may also be interested in our guides to the best L-Mount lenses, and the best Panasonic lenses. 

Have you ever taken a scenic photo in portrait orientation and thought to yourself, it might have been better in landscape format? Or, sometimes, it’s just interesting to see what new versions of old images you can create. 

That’s where Photoshop 2024’s new Generative Fill tool can come in handy, adding realistic content to enhance an image or give it a different perspective. 

Previously, Content Aware Fill could be used to expand the canvas of a photo but it was limited because it was generating the image extension directly from elements in the image itself. It couldn’t create new content and, the larger the canvas extension, the higher the possibility of generating repeating patterns. 

Generative Fill differs in two ways; firstly that it can fill much larger areas, and secondly that it can create new content not derived from the original image. So, here’s an image of a tree in a lake, in portrait orientation – but what would it look like as a landscape orientation image?

1) Expand the canvas

Firstly, increase the canvas size to the new format by going to Image > Canvas Size. The original was 4000 x 6000 px, so enter the new values of 9000 x 6000 px to create the blank panels at the sides. Select the Magic Wand tool and click in the left-side white area to select it all.

2) Feather the selection

Go to Select > Modify > Feather and enter a value of 100 pixels. A feathered edge helps blend the new content with the old. Ensure that the box to apply the feathering along the boundary is not selected, so only the right side of the selection is feathered.

3) Create new content

At this point the Contextual Task Bar should appear. You can also go to Edit > Generative Fill. Now, like Content Aware Fill, you can just hit Generate and it will create the new content based on what’s in the image. However, you usually get better results by spelling out what you want.

4) Look at the variations

In the Contextual Task Bar you can click on the arrows to scroll through three versions of the new content, to see which is best. Hit Generate to create another three versions if you didn’t like the first three. Also look to the panel on the right, where there are thumbnails of all the versions.

5) Select and blend

Find one you particularly like and check for errors and also matching brightness. Select the new layer and use Image > Adjustments > Curves to match the exposure more closely. Use the Clone Stamp / Spot Healing Brush / Patch tool to remove errors (you’ll be prompted to rasterize the layer first).

6) Finishing up

Select the original layer and repeat the process for the right-hand side of the image. If you need to clone over the boundary edge between the new content and original image, select the new content layer, the Clone Stamp tool and tick the box for Sample: Current and Below. Merge the layers and save your new landscape.

If AI is your thing, take a look at the best AI mage generators. If you prefer doing the edits yourself, check out the best photo editing software and the best free photo editing software – and you might want one of the best photo-editing laptops to handle all the processing!

Last year Samyang joined the L Mount Alliance, providing another brand option for photography and video production for L-mount camera users - and now its lens for this mount is about to go on sale.

Although the lens will not be officially announced until next week, the Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 was first revealed at CP+ 2023 back in February and was met with much anticipation. The lens will provide the L mount with a fast zoom lens ideal for video and photography. As is usual, the lens will be sold under the Rokinon brand in North America.

The L Mount Alliance was a partnership between brands created in 2018, intending to provide one unified lens mount standard. Developed by Leica the L mount enables users to switch seamlessly between lenses and cameras from different brands without needing additional adapters. 

At the time of writing the L Mount Alliance is currently comprised of Leica, Sigma, Panasonic, Leitz, DJI, Astrodesign, Samyang, and Blackmagic Design, with more brands being added year after year. 

• See our review for the Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 FE

The 35-150mm f/2-2.8 is constructed from an all-metal barrel and mount, with a supporting weather sealing outer enabling use in different environmental conditions. The E mount version has 12 points of weather sealing enabling protection in 'dust, rain, and snow', so you can expect the L mount to follow suit.

An STM will enable fast and efficient AF, providing the user with continuous face and eye tracking, for people and fast-moving subjects. AF is relatively new for Samyang, but reviews have praised the AF system on the newest lenses. 

The lens will also feature a zoom lock, focus ring, zoom ring, focus hold buttons, and three custom options. 

As the lens is already available on the Sony E mount we know roughly what to expect from the L mount version. We reviewed the Samyang lens after it was released for Sony and it stood up well to testing, offering 'several popular primes in one lens'. The only downside was the large form factor which will hopefully have been reduced for smaller L mount cameras. 

In a bid to generate hype for its first L Mount lens, Samyang is looking to recruit freelancers to test the lens (you can see details in the post above). This could be a great opportunity to get your hands on the new lens, although there may be a recommended follow count to be classed as an 'influencer'. 

Rumors suggest the Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 lens will be released as early as next week in the region of $1,399 | £1,399 | AU$2,000, although this is not officially verified.

You may also be interested in our guides to the best L mount lenses, the best Leica cameras, and the best Panasonic cameras.

Is your editing feeling a little jaded? Does your processing leave you feeling stale? Well buckle up, I’ve got something that’ll boost your photos, your editing and your creativity. Even more, you’ll inject a shot of fun into your computer time. 

Optics 2024, from Oscar-winning Boris FX, gives big-screen quality effects on your still images. After years of doing walkthroughs on hundreds of plugins, this is hands down my favorite plugin ever. 

Optics 2024 was created as a mix of the old Tiffen Dfx, which had cool gobo effects (drop gothic window light in anyone?), blurs, film stocks, and color grading combined with Sapphire and Particle Illusion, two of Boris FX’s popular movie plugins. The plugin suite works with Photoshop CC, Lightroom, or Photoshop Elements.

Sapphire: the editing gem

Sapphire is a light-generating engine that does everything from light leaks to night skies. Want a scene that has the night sky from the date on location you were born? No problem. Fancy a little JJ Abrams Star Trek lens flare on your nighttime portraits? Easy. Rays, sparkles, or vignettes? Again, all part of the fun. Or maybe Glow which adds a soft, ethereal light, enhancing portraits with a dreamy quality or making your landscapes appear otherworldly. 

Use your Particle Illusion

Particle Illusion provides powerful tools for adding dynamic particle effects. Imagine enhancing a dancer's leap with sparkling dust trails, creating a magical sense of motion. These effects are fully customizable, allowing you to adjust particle size, velocity, and color to enhance your creative vision. Fog, smoke and explosions sit alongside transporter effects and wormholes. Because this tool is video-based, you can choose frames in a timeline for a more unique effect. 

The Film Look

I love the concept of color grading like the movies but don’t know how to balance colors. Optics has you covered. Whether it’s choosing a film stock, damage, or cross-processing, Film Lab will come to the rescue.

Masking made EZ

You may not want effects on the whole image, and Optics has a range of masking options, like Paint, Gradient or Spot. The king of masking tools within Optics is EZ Mask. Left-click and paint where you want to keep, right-click for where you don’t want the effect, and EZ Mask will detect the transitions automatically. It’s especially useful for placing effects behind your subject. 

Step Back

Optics runs seamlessly as a Smart Object, so your photo can always be edited and tweaked in the future, effectively making it non-destructive. It also remembers your last edit, so if you’ve messed up and take the original image back into Optics, you can regenerate your layers and tweak again. 

I see the Light!

Boris FX Optics was love at first sight for me. The pristine lens flares, where you can build your lenses from scratch or modify existing ones, had me hooked immediately. Of course, that’s one of the 180 filters with thousands of presets to get you started. Take your editing in directions you never thought possible and inject that fun back into your post-processing with Boris FX Optics. 

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Samyang's V-AF cine lens lineup is now complete with the introduction of the Samyang V-AF 20mm T1.9, a fast full-frame wide-angle lens and the widest of the series. 

Samyang historically specialized in budget third-party manual focus lenses, but in recent years it has expanded to offer users not only AF options but cine lens options. Pushing this even further Samyang combined these and created the world's first AF cine lenses with the Samyang V-AF, considered by many to be on par with the best cine lenses on the market - and the three that we have tested so far, all perform extremely well given their highly-affordable price. 

What is the Samyang V-AF range?

As mentioned, V-AF is the world's first AF cine lens lineup, focused on making video and cine lenses more accessible to 'single-person video creators to small productions as well as filmmakers'.  

These lenses make approaching video-making, with cine lenses, easier for users new to capturing motion and used to the AF functions of stills cameras or camera phones. The fast autofocus makes it easy to capture moving subjects with an added cinematic touch. 

The price point also separates the V-AF from the majority of lenses in the cine lens market. Despite having an AF system, they are significantly cheaper than other cine lens equivalents, lowering the entry point further. 

The lineup consists of the following full-frame cine prime lenses: V-AF 24mm T1.9, V-AF 35mm T1.9, V-AF 45mm T1.9, V-AF 75mm T1.9, V-AF 100mm T2.3, and the newly introduced 20mm T1.9, all of which are available on Sony E mount (FE). This even spread of focal lengths provides users with an AF cine lens that can cover most, if not all, shooting scenarios. The range of V-AF lenses are also sold under the Rokinon brand in North America.

As is the case with most higher-end cine lens ranges, uniformity among the V-AF line is paramount to its versatility and flexibility. Each lens has an identical size and weight meaning swapping lenses on stabilizers, gimbals, and drones is seamless and negates the need to recalibrate. Again, this is the case across the entire focal range as each measures just ∅72.2 x 72.1 and weighs only 280g.

Despite the small form factor, the V-AF series supports resolutions up to 8K and is color-matched for consistent image quality. Nine aperture blades provide a soft and natural-looking bokeh, adding to the cinematic quality. 

Other notable features across the lineup include a tally lamp to indicate the filming status, weather sealing, and a customizable switch and button. This last feature is often associated with photography lenses, and is typically reserved for higher-end cine lenses adding the feature 'focus-save function'. 

As a photographer looking to dip my toes into the pool of filmmaking, these lenses are certainly at the top of my list of lenses to try. Factoring in the smaller price than other cine lenses and the compatibility with the new Samyang anamorphic adapter ( the new 20mm is too wide to be compatible, mind), they become exciting lenses capable of creating a cinematic look. 

The Samyang V-AF 20mm T1.9 completes the V-AF lineup and will start shipping in May 2024 and will be available for just $700 | £568 | AU $1,077. 

You may also be interested in our guides to the best Sony video lenses, the best Sony cameras, and the best cinema cameras. 

Adobe Max London, held earlier this week, is a regular fixture in the calendar of Adobe, the software giant behind Photoshop and the Creative Cloud ecosystem that envelops it. So it seems a good occasion to ask the question: where is Photoshop and the Creative Cloud heading?  So I sat down with two Adobe executives, to find out their thoughts. 

Obviously, no one is expecting Adobe to have a crystal ball. As the old Yiddish saying goes, "Man plans, God laughs". But at the same time, it's still interesting and useful to hear the official line from Adobe, particularly in this time of mounting disruption in the tech world. Especially because, right now, everyone at Adobe seems to be signing with the same voice.

If you didn't read our roundup of the announcements, then let me summarise it for you in a single word: AI. Generative AI didn't just take centre stage this year; it was all anyone was willing to talk about. (My questions on Figma, a design app they recently pulled out of buying, fell on deaf ears). All the new features for Photoshop this time around were harnessing this cutting-edge technology.

But this raises some big questions. Where is this headed? What could Photoshop look like in five years as AI continues its rapid advance? I sat down with Deepa Subramaniam, vice president of product marketing for Adobe's Creative Professional business, and Stacy Martinet, Adobe's vice president of marketing strategy and chief communications officer, to get their insights.

"Our mission is to empower creativity"

"Five years is a long time when you look at the pace of innovation we're seeing around generative AI," says Deepa. "What I can say, though, is that our mission is around empowering creativity. So as generative AI matures, we'll continue leveraging the best technology to further that goal."

"At the fundamental level, Adobe believes creativity is a uniquely human trait," she continues. "And our mission is to empower that creative expression in any everyone and anyone. Generative AI empowers creators: it doesn't replace them. It helps save time on tedious tasks so they can create more efficiently and bring to life what's in their mind's eye."

As you may have guessed already, "empowering creativity" is a phrase you hear a lot at Adobe Max events. In fact, it's become such a mantra, some attendees were talking about starting a drinking game, where you do a shot every time it's mentioned. But what exactly does it mean?

Well, essentially Adobe are saying: we're not trying to put photographers and other creatives out of work, we're just trying to help them do their work. And to be fair, they're putting meat on those bones too.

For example, the new generative AI features that landed in Photoshop this week include the ability to generate new backgrounds or object variants with a click, and a Reference Image tool that lets you provide a reference for how you want an AI-generated element to look.

Is that actually useful to photographers? Well according to data shared by Subramaniam, two of the three most popular features in Photoshop today are already AI-powered: the Generative Fill tool and the Contextual Taskbar that anticipates your next desired action. Adobe has even captured data that suggests that occasonially they're being used more than the Crop tool.

In other words, AI has rapidly become mainstream for Photoshop users looking to speed up their creative workflows. But how far can we go down that path before it actually replaces photographers? After all, another new feature in Photoshop announced at Adobe Max London was the ability to Generate Image: literally, conjure an entirely fresh photorealistic picture out of thin air.

"Ethical, responsible, accountable"

Adobe's excecs wouldn't be drawn on that issue one bit. Instead, they kept repeating the mantra that they're empowering creativity rather than replacing it. And you can hardly blame them really. 

After all, what else are they going to say? "Yes, you'll probably lose your photography job eventually, but for now, please keep paying your Creative Cloud subscription?"

And to be reasonable, whether or not Adobe develops Gen AI is arguably irrelevant to that question, because every tech giant under the sun is pouring billions into it themselves. Which means that, ultimately, Adobe can position itself as the ethical alternative that has creatives' backs in the new AI world.

Because let's be fair. Adobe is taking a distinctly different approach to others when it comes to generative AI, in a number of ways. 

Firstly, a key principle is ensuring ethical and transparent AI development. "We're creating models with deep domain expertise in areas like imagery, video, and design," says Subramaniam. "And we're building these models in a commercially-safe way, only using data we have proper rights and licenses for like Adobe Stock. That's different from some other generative AI models out there."

In other words, if you've posted your photography online then, in theory at least, Adobe won't be analysing your work and learning to copy it.

In practice, there have been a few bumps in the road here that means the company isn't quite as saintly as all that. For example, some Adobe Stock is itself based on AI, so the content scraping is merely at one remove. Also, the updates to Premiere Pro mean you'll soon allow you to access non-Adobe AI tools within the interface, although this will be "sandboxed" in some way that protects the ethical integrity of Firefly. Whatever that means.

Again, though, what do we expect Adobe to do here? If it doesn't at least meet the demands of users halfway, there's the risk of them decamping to rivals altogether. And you can argue that at least Adobe is talking about being ethical in its use of content, whereas the makers of Midjourney et al seem conspicuously silent on the issue.

"Content credentials give people transparency"

When it comes to the second part of Adobe's ethical stance, it seems to be on more solid ground. That's because it's putting a lot of effort into giving people the tools to check whether photographs are real, manipulated or entirely faked. 

To make this a reality, Adobe is a founding member of the Content Authenticity Initiative, a coalition of over 2,500 members from academia, media and technology companies like Google and Facebook. The initiative is working to bake digital provenance directly into content through watermarking and other metadata trails.

"We've been advocating for transparency around digital content since 2019," Subramaniam notes. "As generative AI proliferates, understanding where content comes from and whether it was computer-generated is crucial for maintaining trust. It's about furthering things like transparency and content generation and digital content creation. These things are fundamental to our approach and continue to be principles that we're very proud of."

And Adobe are putting real tools in place to make this happen. For instance, they revealed at the show that content credential metadata will now be integrated into products like Premiere Pro. And their stated ambition to repeat this with all Adobe tools, without exception.

This tech is also integrated directly into its evolving generative AI models, automatically embedding credentials into any AI-generated imagery.

"Ultimately, consumers should have the ability to decide for themselves if AI-generated content is something they want to consume or not," says Subramaniam. "Content credentials give that transparency."

"The pace of innovation is incredible"

So where could this all be heading in five years' time? Martinet acknowledges there are still many unknowns as the generative AI space rapidly evolves.

"We're really at the start of this compelling next era," she says. "A year ago, most of what we're announcing this week didn't exist yet. The pace of innovation is incredible. Use cases and hypotheses we had six months ago are already being made obsolete by new advancements."

However, Martinet believes some key principles will continue guiding Adobe's approach, even as AI capabilities expand. Foremost in their minds is the focus on (ready to drink that next shot?) empowering creators rather than replacing them.

"The tools demoed on stage are saving creators time, not replacing their creativity," she says. "We'll stay focused on developing AI that enhances, not replaces, the creative process."

This could mean much more powerful AI assists that streamline common workflows. It could allow creators to brainstorm and iterate on ideas more rapidly by quickly visualizing different concepts. The potential seems vast, if developed responsibly. And Martinet makes a strong case that this will actually happen.

"We've been doing AI for over a decade at Adobe, even before generative AI," she points out. "As part of that, we committed to developing AI in an ethical, responsible, accountable, and transparent way. Those principles will continue guiding us."

Unsettling times

Martinet isn't naive, though, and she acknowledges the future impact of generative AI is still unsettled across society. Both legal and ethical frameworks are still being established around issues like copyright, consent, and misinformation through tools like deep fakes. 

"We're at the beginning of this new era and technology," she says. "There are implications we understand, and others we can't yet foresee until we're further down the line. It's a valid concern and important to have a dialogue around."

But she believes Adobe's role is to develop the technology responsibly and work with others to get it right. "Partnerships between technology companies, legal entities, creative communities, publishers and more will be key," she says. "We all have a shared responsibility to shepherd this in an ethical way that empowers rather than harms society."

While the next five years of Photoshop remain to be written, one thing is clear: the era of AI-powered creativity is no longer on the distant horizon. It has arrived in style, and is evolving at an accelerated pace. Adobe is embracing the possibilities while trying to get the ethical foundations right.

Whether that vision resonates with you or causes concern, there's no disputing it's full speed ahead. Time to buckle up, it could be a bumpy ride.

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I'm at the Adobe Max London conference, and I've also shared with you the big changes to Photoshop announced today. But that's not all I have to share. 

After the main keynote, Adobe evangelist Terry White came back on stage for 'Sneaks', a popular segment in which the software giant teases stuff they're currently working on. And there was one that really got the audience's attention.

People Distractions is a forthcoming Photoshop feature that's tailormade for those situations when you're at a tourist site, you want to shoot an amazing building, but there are other people all over the place ruining your photo. 

Sometimes if you're patient enough, you can just line up your shot, wait for long enough and eventually you'll get a clear view. Other times, you think: 'No chance' and either resolve to come back at five in the morning or just not even bother.

A third option is to just take the shot, bring it up in Photoshop later and painstakingly edit out all the errant humans. But if there's a lot of them, that can be quite a longwinded and painful process. So the new feature cuts out all that effort, and lets you do it with one click. 

Terry demoed this privately to me last night, and then again this morning on stage, using a photo of Rome's Colosseum that was littered with tourists. And it really is simple: you just click a single checkbox, and then the generative fill engine in Photoshop does the heavy lifting of removing the people and refilling the scene. It's worth noting that if there are specific people you want to keep, you can easily deselect them.

Once you click on Remove, Photoshop then gives you three possible people-free images to choose from. In the results we were shown, you really couldn't see the join in any of them; but the software also gives you the choice to zoom in and examine the image close up to make sure.

• Gen AI is coming to Lightroom
• How to make Adobe Firefly generative AI work for you, not against you
• “It's awesome. It's also terrible, and that's what I love about AI"

If news about Photoshop tends to pique your interest, you may have seen mention in the past of Adobe Max. This is a slightly odd 'creative conference' in which the software giant invites people to spend around £100 to hear talks on the latest Creative Cloud features from Adobe's experts, as well as a few non-Adobe speakers. 

The company will typically time the global release of new software features to coincide with the event, and that's exactly what's just happened this morning.

I'm at Adobe Max London at Evolution in Battersea, along with 1,500 other people, and the company has just announced a slew of features for Photoshop. These are all contained within the new version of its generative AI tool, Firefly – which it's catchily dubbed Firefly Image 3 Model.

So why have AI features become the main obsession for Adobe, what can they offer photographers, and what are the newest additions to this toolkit?

What's Firefly doing in Photoshop?

First, a little context for the uninitiated. Standard generative AI tools such as Midjourney and DALL-E 2 are basically about generating an image from scratch using a text prompt: something like "cat dressed as a fireman holding a hose and spraying water onto a burning house".

This will generally look like a bad cartoon unless you add a term like 'photorealistic', in which case it'll look a bit more like a photo. But while the quality of outputs is improving all the time, mostly it looks pretty bad. So while generative AI can be useful for things like storyboarding and ideation, in my opinion, it's not going to replace photographers any time soon.

What's different about Firefly in Photoshop, though, is that it's not about replacing photographers, but helping photographers improve their photos, without a lot of time-consuming effort. So for example, you could select an area of an image and use the Generative Fill tool to add in a tree. 

It usually does a pretty good job. And it even does this ethically, compared to other tools, because the AI is only trained on its own stock images, where the creator has agreed for their work to be scraped. For more details on the practicalities, see How to make Firefly work for you.

But are they any good? Well, it seems Photoshop users think they are. Because as Adobe's Deepa Subramaniam revealed to me last night, the two features used most often in Photoshop are AI tools: Generative Fill and the Contextual Bar, which is a taskbar that anticipates the next most useful action in your workflow. Yes, you read that right. They are now more popular than the Crop tool, which has now been relegated to third on the list.

In other words, you may like, loathe or feel ambivalent about the use of generative AI in Photoshop. But in reality, millions of people are using them daily. So it's at least worth knowing what they are.

New for 2024: the Reference Image tool

So what's new for Firefly in Photoshop? Well, the headline new feature is Generate Fill with Reference Image. As the name suggests, this allows you to give Adobe a steer in how it generates AI images for you, by uploading a reference image. 

Last night Terry White, principal worldwide design and photography evangelist for Adobe, demonstrated an example of how this might work for you in practice. He uploaded a photo of himself on stage wearing a jacket. He didn't like how the jacket looked, so he wanted the AI to replace it with another one.

As a reference image, he uploaded a stock image of an entirely different jacket. And then, without any clicking or text prompting required, Firefly replaced the jacket in the first photo, in an entirely convincing way. Yes, you had to wait a couple of seconds for it to do so, but it was definitely worth the wait.

Here's another example that Adobe just shared in a press release.

Anyone who's spent ages writing a long, complicated prompt and still not getting the right results – when you know exactly what you want the image to look like – will appreciate this addition to the generative capabilities of Photoshop. In this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

Because Adobe is taking an 'ethical' stance to image generation, it makes it clear in its terms and conditions that you need to have permission to use the reference image in question. Whether or not people actually stick to this, of course, is another matter.

New for 2024: Generate Background

Another headline feature is Generate Background and it does exactly what it says on the label. Last night, Terry showed me a photograph of his dog being cute in his backyard, and then used the new feature to effortlessly switch between backgrounds. It really all did happen in a single click, and although I didn't examine the images with a magnifying glass, they all looked pretty convincing to me: I certainly wouldn't have been able to tell which was the original and which was the edited version at first glance.

"You wouldn't believe how many people come to Photoshop every day to change a background," says Terry. "This new tools make it so much easier." Here are a few more examples shared by Adobe today.

New for 2024: Generate Similar

Generate Similar is another variation on this theme. This time you get to upload an image (which may be your own, a stock image or another AI image) and ask for Photoshop to generate similar images. Again, pretty quick and straightforward in use and it's quite fun to play around with, even if it's just to give you fresh ideas.

Other new additions to Photoshop include Adjustment Brush, which enables you to easily apply non-destructive adjustments to specific portions of images, pretty much like you can already do in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw. 

Meanwhile, the Enhance Detail feature is designed to fine-tune images, enhancing their sharpness and clarity. An improved Font Browser makes it easier to get real-time access to Adobe’s over 25,000 fonts in the cloud – without leaving Photoshop. And the ability to make your own customized Adjustment Presets have been added to Photoshop. (In case you didn't know, Adjustment Presets enable you to easily change the appearance of images with filters that apply effects in a single click.)

All these new features are available in beta form in Photoshop today, globally. You can access it via the Firefly web application at firefly.adobe.com. Adobe offers both free and paid plans that include an allocation of Generative Credits for the use of generative AI features powered by Firefly in Adobe applications. 

The unique feature of Samsung's affordable V-AF cinema lens range is that it has a bayonet mount at the front. At the time of its original launch, we had little information as to what it would be used for. 

On view at the UK's The Photography & Video Show, the Samyang 1.7x Anamorphic MF Adapter is the first of the accessories that take use of this mount. It turns the Samyang V-AF 35mm T1.9, V-AF 45 T1.9, V-AF 75mm T1.9, and V-AF 100mm T1.9 into an anamorphic lens. So you no longer need a separate set of cinema lenses to create anamorphic effects – you can simply attach this one converter to your existing set of cine primes.

The adapter can also be used on the V-AF 24mm T.9, but here usage is restricted to shooting in Super 35 (APS-C) format.

Anamorphic lenses are very on trend in the movies – creating a unique oval bokeh, and giving a cinematic look through the way they create horizontal streaks of light across the frame.

 The attachment turns the lenses' operation to manual focus, but electronic communication from the lens to the camera body remains.

The range of V-AF lenses are also sold under the Rokinon brand in North America - and for the moment at least are only available in the Sony FE mirrorless camera mount. A V-AF 20mm will be the next model in the Samyang series, but this will not be compatible with the anamorphic adapter.

The anamorphic adapter is due to go on sale later this year, and we are told should be available for around £800 - so well under US$1,000.

The Photography & Video Show continues until Tuesday 19 March.

Three days ago the media was in uproar over image agencies issuing a so-called kill-notice over some fairly easily spotted Photoshopping in the Princess of Wales's family photo. Now the incident is in the rearview mirror, with an admission of "experiment[ing] with editing" made by the princess herself, the real lesson might be more interesting – the royal social media accounts have surged by a total of over 110,000 followers in the brief window since the image was posted.

Even on accounts with very large numbers of followers – @princeandprincessofwales on Instagram now has 15.2 million – that's a substantial jump in a short period. It's also been only one of a number of royal accounts to have gained, apparently as a result of the attention, including @theroyalfamiily.

Not only that, but with the exception of the usual lunatic fringe determined to find evidence of some kind of conspiracy, most have been broadly supportive. Photographer and technique writer James Paterson said there was "nothing nefarious going on" (though to be fair he wasn't impressed with the editing prowess!).

That seems to be apparent in the charts we've made using the Instrack.app platform too, with the average likes rising as well as the engagement rate after the posting of the image in question.

Now I'm not naïve enough to suggest that all amateur photographers can learn from Kate Middleton's apparently disastrous image editing and turn it into what, ultimately, seems to be – under the surface – something of a win, but there is still a lesson for non-professionals.

It's something a lot of photographers don't always like to admit – but most people are a lot more literate when it comes the processes of image editing than they were even a few years ago. And a lot more forgiving too. As one comment – with over a thousand likes – said "Who cares if it’s photoshopped or not!"

Whether all pros will agree is another matter.

(Note: The facts of this story, while accessible to everyone who cares to look, were pointed out to me by several sources, including, but not limited to, OnlineCasinos365 who have undertaken the research. I checked all the stats myself, hence the use of Instrack.app.)

With Princess Catherine currently recovering from surgery and out of the public eye there has been extra scrutiny – and inevitably talk of conspiracy – about the now notoriously manipulated "Kate-Gate" Mothers’ Day family photo. But the idea that the royal press department would piece together a fake scene for Mothers’ Day to hide a more sinister truth – and do such an obvious job of it – seems absurd.

The Prince of Wales took the photo, or more likely a set of photos, while the Princess of Wales oversaw the editing. I may not be privy to the inner Photoshoppings of the royal family, but I’m certain there is nothing more nefarious going on here than a bit of harmless head-swapping. 

I spent my first seven years as a photographer shooting family groups (at a studio in Marlborough where, coincidentally, Catherine – back when she was Kate – went to school). I soon learned a valuable lesson: the best way to get that perfect group photo of adults and children all posed together, all looking at the camera, and all smiling at the same time was to make a fart noise.

The next best way was to rattle off a half dozen frames in quick succession. That way, if the strongest frame was ruined by a blink or a funny expression, then after a bit of Photoshop head-swapping, I could still come out with a family photo to please everyone and a framed print that might hang on the wall for generations. 

Those framed prints were expensive (based on what I was getting paid to shoot them, I couldn’t have afforded to buy one), but I knew if I had that blandly perfect group photo in the bag there was a much better chance of a sale. The royals wanted to sell the perfect family photo, too. Unfortunately, there were as many as 20 reasons why their family photo was rejected by five news agencies – including dodgy sleeves, ghostly strands of hair, abruptly vanishing zips, and discrepancies in the focus point. To me, these are all signs of an attempt to stitch together several frames.

I’m not sure if Catherine had much to do with the shoddy photo editing, but the tone of her brief statement – "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing" – kind of implies that she was the one wielding the errant Lasso tool. 

I’ve swapped out many heads in my time, but I’ve never done as rough a job as this. Although, full disclosure: I did once spend an afternoon photographing the King – back when he was Prince Charles – with a hired lens that turned out to have a severe case of back-focusing. His eyes came out slightly soft in every frame. Never had the future King’s sideburns been captured in such tack-sharp clarity. 

It turns out that photographing a royal – or a child, or a royal child, or any person really – can be hard, and silly errors happen. It may have dodgy seams, but as a Mother's Day photo of a happy, relaxed family, the Prince of Wales' photo is a success. Besides, family photos are inherently untruthful. What’s real about four people elegantly posed in a diamond formation, all staring at the same point and smiling together in unison? Family photos exist to present people, not to be a record of them.

• "I do occasionally experiment with editing" says Kate Middleton
• Lessons of Kate-Gate: Bad Photoshop = good publicity! Royals gain 110K followers
• What camera does Kate Middleton use? 
• Kate Middleton becomes new patron of the RPS.
• Kate Middleton photographs Camilla for Country Life cover
• Do your kids hate you taking their photograph? Kate Middleton can relate

Royal-fans were quick to spot problems with the sweet family portrait of the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and her three children which was taken by Prince William himself and distributed from Kensington Palace with the message "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C".

The photo was distributed yesterday (Mother's day in the UK) not just by the family, but through Associated Press, Getty, Agence France (AFP), and Reuters. Afterward it sparked a flurry of attention amongst royal watchers (a not inconsiderable number of whom are conspiracy theorists at the best of times), all the more so because it was the first official photo since Christmas, and since some surgery.

In any case, the wider public was quick to spot that some of the cardigan on Princess Charlotte's left sleeve didn't line up properly – appearing like some clumsy work with the Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, or perhaps layering of images? Possibly some dubious AI?

AFP's dramatic phrasing was "Mandatory kill. Due to an editorial issue this photo by the Prince of Wales has been withdrawn … and may no longer by used in any manner. Please immediately remove it from all your online services, stop using it in any other fashion and delete it from your servers."

Associated Press told The Guardian that "Minor edits" are acceptable – cropping, toning and color adjustment" but the jist of it is the agency says photos must "maintain the authentic nature." Amongst the things they don't consider authentic, interestingly, are removal of red eye, or blurring of backgrounds – I'd be prepared to bet a lot of photographers would disagree there.

Only the UK agency the PA has not withdrawn the image, but instead told the BBC that it is "seeking urgent clarification." It isn't unusual for the Royal couple to stake their own photos and distribute them to the press in this way, but this has caused a spate of comedians on social media to come up with their own manipulated royal images online. 

Who knows? Perhaps we'll see Prince William (in dark glasses, a big hat, and a false moustache – and possibly a newspaper with holes cut out – if my grasp of espionage from cartoons is anything to go by) at The Photography Show this weekend, looking to pick up some Photoshop tips to avoid something like this happening again!

To be fair to him, many of us have made mistakes like this. Perhaps the mistake is distributing via the agencies rather than simply posting to Instagram (which they did too). I'd hazard a guess that folk can be a bit more forgiving when the Royals use the same platform they do – though whether photographers can be quite so happy at the idea of Prince William stepping in on their turf is another matter!

In the last few minutes the Kensington Palace social feed has posted "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."

Check some of the best books on photography.

Watch video: Do the can-can

If you want to bring an extra level of dynamism to your still life or product photos, why not try playing with gravity and motion like this? With a combination of shooting skills, precise placement and a little Photoshop CC magic, images like this are within the reach of anyone with a camera. As for the lighting, we used three flashes to light our scene here, but if you want to keep things simple you could forego the flash altogether and use the ambient light from a window. In the steps below we’ll go behind the scenes to see how a gravity-defying still life can be achieved. From the lighting setup to the careful posing to the simple post-processing, we’ll look at each stage in the workflow, and explain key photography skills that can prove invaluable for all kinds of creative projects.

Our budget here didn’t stretch to 21 watering cans plus five assistants to pour the water, so instead we shot our set of just three watering cans in stages over several frames, using a tripod to keep the frames in alignment. This is one of the advantages of having control over the lighting, the positioning of the subjects, and the framing. It gives us the freedom to shoot our image in several stages, making sure one part of the frame is perfect before moving on to the next. Once the set of images are captured, it’s a fairly simple task to bring elements together in Photoshop. 

1. Camera and lens

Prime lenses tend to be sharper than zooms (in the same price bracket), so they’re ideal for studio and product photography, where optimum sharpness and quality can make a huge difference. A nifty fifty like the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM is ideal for studio work - a middle aperture value gives the sharpest results.

2. Watering cans

All sorts of objects could work for a creative still life. We had three red watering cans to work with, each suspended in the air with thin hanging wire and hooks. Gaffer tape also came in handy to attach the wires to parts where they could not be tied. The thinner the wire, the easier it is to remove later on in Photoshop.

3. Position the objects

With all still-life work the key is in posing the objects in the most pleasing way. Here our positioning is a bit like a jigsaw puzzle. Each time we moved a can, we needed to ensure it’s position matched up with the previous arrangement. We moved two cans at a time, leaving the third in it’s previous position.

4. Use a tablet

Connecting the camera to a tablet can be hugely useful both for arranging the still life and firing the shutter. A larger screen makes it easier to judge the composition and fix the lighting. We stuck bits of masking tape to the screen to plan out where the watering cans would go.

5. Backlight the water

Water drops stand out best when they are backlit for an extra sparkle. Our bare flash placed behind and to the right here creates the backlit effect. It also creates an attractive halo around the edges of the cactus. When backlighting like this, be aware that lens flare may fog the image so keep the flash out of the frame.

6. Pouring the water

With everything set up we could pour water into one can then capture it trickling into the next. It’s impossible to keep out of the frame when doing so. So when we’re in the frame like this it’s important not to block the lights as this will alter the overall effect and make it harder to combine the shots in Photoshop.

7. Load your files into Photoshop layers

Open Adobe Bridge and Cmd/Ctrl+click to select all the images that you want to combine, then go to Tools>Photoshop> Load Files into Photoshop Layers. Once open, go to the Layers Panel and drag the layer you want to use as a base to the bottom. Alt-click the eye icon on this layer to hide all the others.

8. Paint on layer masks

Highlight and reveal the layer above then hold Alt and click the Add Layer Mask icon to add a full black mask. Grab the Brush tool, hit D then paint with white over areas you want to be visible. If you need to hide any of the elements, hit X and paint with black. Continue revealing and masking the layers, one at a time.

9. Remove the wires

Make a new empty layer at the top of the layers stack. Click on the Remove tool from the Toolbox and check Sample All Layers in the tool options at the top, then paint to remove wires, tape and anything else until the image is totally clean. Click once, hold Shift and click again to make a straight line, useful for deleting wires.

If you're serious about scenery, take a look at the best cameras for landscape photography along with the best lenses for landscapes.

Canon has been looking into the future and sees that VR has a part to play in its portfolio. The company already has the RF 5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye lens as part of its full-frame lineup. In fact, some new VR lenses were on display while in development concept guise, for APS-C based cameras and a standalone device for capturing VR while working in run-and-gun mode.

All of these were interesting devices; some might have competition in our guide to the best 360 cameras, but clearly Canon are preparing for a new wave of content creation for devices like the Apple Vision Pro, Meta, and Sony goggles.

As an integral component of the EOS VR System, the RF 5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye lens is designed to be paired seamlessly with the EOS R5 C, EOS R5 (firmware 1.5.0+), or EOS R6 Mark II (firmware 1.2.0), in conjunction with one of Canon's VR software solutions. Together, they enable the creation of immersive 3D content that can be enjoyed on compatible head-mounted displays, such as the Oculus Quest 2 and others.

I tried the content created from the lens / platform as I visited the Canon stand today at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, and wore a VR headset while watching a band play. The experience was fully immersive and enjoyable. While not in full 360, the same video is displayed when looking behind you.

Nice to see a camera company start experimenting with new ideas and content creation methods. I hope to try and see if I can get some content from my next trips to Alaska captured in VR. We shall see!

Kandao's pre-show spoiler seen in the flesh

On the subject of 360, Kandao had already given us forewarning of the new Qoocam 3 Ultra 360 8K dual-sensor camera for CES this year and think it could be a bit of a hit. The company also makes some great 360 hardware for conferencing as well as “action” cam style 360 cameras and this one is the newest of the range and out later this year. We now know that pricing will be less than $1000 when it arrives in the US this year. 

At Sony's press conference, the company had a lot to talk about, and creatives were clearly important to the company, though with Sony-owned Colmbia Pictures celebrating its 100th anniversary, the film studio's birthday was top of the agenda. 

Photographers and videographers will have been pleased to see the "world's fastest full-frame camera," the Sony A9iii (which you can preorder now) making plenty of appearances in the presentation, but in general the more interesting tools for creatives on display are connectivity tools for remote musical performance.

Like other companies, Sony seem concerned with the authenticity of creations – the battle to protect original content is being fought at Sony as well as elsewhere.

Sony's success with PlayStation is well-known, and of course they took the opportunity to talk about the PS5's 50 million sales and the PSVR2, but a new worn device – targeting a more professional & creative audience – also emerged.

This looks like a stripped down version of the PlayStation VR2, and didn't even get a name, but does come with a kind of controller wand ring. Pricing will be announced later in the year, when the device is due, so presumably what we're seeing here is Sony's attempt at establishing itself against the Apple Vision Pro. It'll be powered by the just announced Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 which can drive dual 4K OLED microdisplays and cope with the user / space tracking. Oh, and there will be 'video see-through'.

Toward the end of the presentation, it's time for the latest version of the Sony car which – just for fun – is being controlled using a PS5 controller. Apparently this won't be a feature of the final product, a partnership with Honda and now, it seems, Microsoft. Perhaps it'll use the new AI button!

See our guide to the best Sony lenses and the best Sony cameras.

CES is always an exciting time for product reviewers – it’s like our second Christmas. This year was no different and there were plenty of gadgets and gizmos to keep us entertained. As content creators, however, we’re always specifically on the lookout for devices that can make our lives easier and the images and videos we produce, better.

It didn’t take us long to gravitate towards the Infinix ZERO 30 5G, a phone which seems to have everything an aspiring vlogger could wish for. This got us thinking about what we truly need in a smartphone in 2024. Our phones are at the heart of everything we do and as more and more of us choose to capture life as it happens, we need vlogging features which take the hard work out of the process. Inspirational products like the ZERO 30 5G encourage young and aspiring creatives to push boundaries and take advantage of the tools they are afforded today. The team at Infinix kindly let us play with the ZERO 30 5G, since this will, without a doubt, set a new standard and be the vlogging phone all others will be compared to. So let’s take a look at what truly makes this phone stand out from the competition and why it's our top pick from all others at CES 2024.

The ZERO 30 5G's amazing vlogging features

Buttery Smooth Video A casual glance at the spec sheet of the ZERO 30 5G reveals how far technology has come in a short time and gives us a taste of tomorrow’s vlogging tools today. While only five years ago, a 20 megapixel cameraphone sensor would have been considered extreme, the ZERO 30 5G offers a whopping 108MP BSI (back-side illuminated) CMOS chip for its stunning OIS Ultra-Clear Camera. While great for stills, this also enables the gorgeous 4K video recording for which vloggers will want to get this phone. The Cinematic Front Camera has the option to shoot at 60fps, providing extra scope for altering the look of your movies. It’s great to see this level of customisation available in a pocketable device. At this frame rate, it’s possible to create choppy, edgy footage that looks great in action scenes. Just imagine vlogging your morning run and capturing your Personal Best for all of your followers, with maximum drama. 

Supercharged speed We also have to draw attention to extended RAM capacity. This has come along massively in recent years and, on the ZERO 30 5G, it’s huge! At 21GB, this phone isn’t going to be running slow any time soon. This is a pet hate of ours on the Digital Photographer Magazine team. There is little point in squeezing a huge resolution into a vlogging phone, along with a bunch of other clever features, if there isn’t sufficient memory to support it. It’s an element we’ve been disappointed by in past years, on other phones, so it’s great to see Infinix’s forward-thinking philosophy. This is complemented by a vamped-up 5G Power Processor MediaTek Dimensity 8020, which ensures the ZERO 30 5G can keep up with our busy vlogging lives.

Ultra-crisp optics One of the concerns many videographers have about using a phone is the danger of image noise creeping into low-light scenes. However, in addition to the processing power, we were happy to see that Infinix has the hardware to back this up. The ZERO 30 5G front camera has a maximum aperture of f/2, which lets in bags of natural light, allowing you to keep your ISO sensitivity down. This produces lovely clean files while also controlling background detail through subtle depth-of-field fall-off. This is what sets apart average footage from great video – noise-free shots and shallow focus give clips a more professional feel. The rear camera takes this even further with f/1.65 on offer. 

Pro-level power

Thankfully, none of these amazing vlogging features come at the expense of battery performance. When buying a smartphone for vlogging, it’s important to remember that you live your life all on one device – you have to leave juice for everyday usage too. The ZERO 30 5G features an excellent 68W Super Charge with 5000mAh Long Lasting Li-Polymer Battery, which has a 5000 mAh capacity – more than enough for the vlogging enthusiast who finds themself shooting all day long. 

Conclusion

We are at a turning point in portable image-making tech. Vlogging features are no longer a luxury in a smartphone, they are a necessity. While the race is on across all brands, Infinix already has a foot in the door and the ZERO 30 5G phone is a remarkable product and a true standout device right now.

Tutorial: Top steps to better vlogging clips

Step 1: Open up the aperture

Let as much light into the lens as you can by shooting at maximum aperture. This might be something like f/2.8, f/3.5 or, where possible, f/2 and wider. Remember, the lower the number, the more light gets to the sensor.

Step 2: Control the frame rate

In cinema, filmmakers often shoot at 24 frames per second (fps), so for a natural look choose this option. For a sharper video style, and to allow better slow-motion clips in post, select 50 or 60fps where available.

Step 3: Be aware of backgrounds

Don’t forget about what’s behind you! You want your followers to be looking at you in your vlogs, not a distracting detail in the background. Avoid bright lights or strong colours here, so your audience’s eyes aren’t drawn away.

Find out more about Infinix

Follow Infinix on Facebook, Instagram and X (Formerly Twitter)

French smart telescope maker Unistellar has launched two new smart telescopes at CES 2024. 

The Unistellar Odyssey ($2,499/£2,199) and Odyssey Pro ($3,999/£3,499) join the eQuinox 2 and eVscope 2 in the company's four-strong lineup of smart telescopes. Both can be aligned and controlled remotely using a newly developed smartphone app.

While Unistellar's two legacy smart telescopes – the eVscope 2 and eQuinox 2 – deal primarily in dim and distant deep sky objects such as galaxies, nebula, and star clusters, the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro can also image the solar system. Unistellar also reports that it has surpassed 10,000 sales of its smart telescopes. 

Both the new smart telescopes are 3.35-inch/85mm reflector telescopes with a focal length of 320mm. Smaller and more affordable than their 4.5-inch/114mm reflector/450 focal length forebears, the two new smart telescopes use Unistellar's proprietary Multi-Depth Technology, which allows the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro to switch instantly from observing deep-sky objects to planets and the moon. They each have a field of view of 34 x 45 arcminutes and a battery life of five hours. 

While the Odyssey doesn't have an eyepiece, the Odyssey Pro adds one that, like the eVscope 2, has a Nikon-made eyepiece. The Odyssey Pro also increases the resolution of its astrophotography from the Odyssey's 3.4 megapixels to 4.1 megapixels. 

"They represent the ultimate technological innovation in telescopes," said Laurent Marfisi, co-founder and CEO of Unistellar, to Digital Camera World in a press briefing. "They provide people who are not familiar with astronomy or with space exactly the same kind of meaningful and emotional experience as people who already have knowledge about astronomy." 

He added that the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro are designed to help people curious about the night sky but have no idea where to start. "People don't know what's out there in space, so we're bridging that gap with an app that is easier to use and hardware that is super-powerful but even more user-friendly than before," said Marfisi. 

The Odyssey and Odyssey Pro are available now from the Unistellar website. In April, Unistellar will also sell the Odyssey Pro Red Edition (£3,999). Both the eVscope 2 and eQuinox 2 will continue to be sold. 

Read more: 

The best telescopes

The best camera for astrophotography

The best CCD cameras for astrophotography

The best lenses for astrophotography

The best light pollution filters

Sony is one of the biggest brands exhibiting at CES 2024 and, while nothing official has been announced ahead of time, it looks like the manufacturer is going all in on content creation, teasing "various technologies and initiatives that support creators" for its official press conference – which you can watch in the link down below. 

The company has teased its presser with a fascinating image that depicts cameras, headphones, Microphones, VR (specifically what looks like PlayStation VR) and, um, Ghostbusters (with 2024 being the 40th anniversary of the original film, along with the launch of the new Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire movie). 

"At CES 2024, Sony will showcase various technologies and initiatives that support creators, based on Sony's purpose to 'fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology.'"

So what could this mean, in terms of the tech on show? Well, while CES is a general technology event, rather than a showcase of imaging equipment, the focus on creators certainly seems like a big signpost towards video – and we know of two such products that are expected to arrive this year.

The first is the Sony ZV-E10 II, successor to the enormously popular Sony ZV-E10 vlogging camera. This feels like a bit of a no-brainer to me, if Sony is targeting vloggers in specific. 

Another potential candidate is the Sony FX3 II, which is the follow-up to the well-received Sony FX3 that was a halfway house between video-oriented mirrorless body and full-fledged cinema camera. The FX3 is already a great hybrid for creators and, given recent rumors that the FX3 II could replace the Sony A7S line of cameras (which is a go-to for high-end vloggers), CES could be the ideal launchpad.

Whatever Sony announces, you can watch the entire press conference live in the YouTube livestream below on January 08 at 17:00 PST / 01:00 GMT / January 09 11:00 AEST. You can also watch the presser with ASL interpretation here.

Check out the best Sony cameras along with the best Sony lenses to use with them. You might also be interested in the best cameras for vlogging, the best cameras for video and the best cameras for filmmaking.

I've been reviewing the Kandao QooCam 3 for a few weeks and it's an excellent 360-degree camera, but before I've even finished we've learned the camera is to get a more powerful bigger brother with the addendum 'Ultra' to its name.

That makes a lot of sense given that Kandao have a wealth of high-spec 360-degree camera experience, which we've seen not only in consumer cameras but in their numerous contenders for best conferencing cameras like the Kandao Meeting Pro. It also makes sense in the context of the competition; if the QooCam 3 has broadly the same specs as the Insta 360 X3 – perhaps the best-known consumer 360-degree camera – then this is a swipe at that company's prosumer option.

The QooCam 3 Ultra will be revealed at CES 2024, the massive consumer electronics show which runs January 9-14 in Las Vegas. Styled like a taller version of the square QooCam 3, it has dual 1/1.7 sensors and fish-eye lenses, four built-in microphones, and a six-axis gyroscope. In-camera live-streaming and even live stitching will be supported, suggesting Kandao are aiming to dominate a future in which streamers don't even need to point their cameras, and viewers might be using goggles.

The maximum video capture will be 8K at 30fps, while 5.7K can be recorded at 60fps. The Ultra will also support 10-bit HLG video recording, while the camera can capture stills at 96-megapixels. A DNG8 Raw+ algorithm will allow, say Kandao, "capturing enhanced panoramic photos that preserve rich image details and deliver exceptional quality."

Admittedly we'll need to reserve final judgement on the QooCam 3 Ultra until the pricing is announced. One of the big advantages of the QooCam 3 is that it is relatively affordable, which I imagine will serve to further ignite interest in the 360-camera field (personally I first got hooked before the QooCam 3 came out with the aforementioned Insta360 X3, and am still enjoying experimenting with this new way of thinking about imaging). 

For many thinking of taking the leap, a bit more resolution will make a difference (remember that the 8K is across both lenses, so once you start editing you tend to crop out detail). Will Kandao make the price as appealing as the package?

Check our guide to the best 360 cameras or if you would rather choose direction, check out the best action cameras.

Samyang has expanded its popular V-AF lineup with a compact 100mm cine lens.

The new Samyang V-AF 100mm T2.3 FE, as the name suggests, is designed for the Sony FE mount and provides even further focal length choice to the existing V-AF range. With a host of great features, the new lens looks quickly to become one of the best Sony lenses for vlogging and filmmaking. It will be sold under the Rokinon brand name in North America, as is the convention for all Samyang lenses.

Building on the success of the existing cine lenses which currently consist of the Samyang V-AF 24mm, V-AF 35mm, 45mm, and V-AF 75mm T1.9 FE lenses, this lens provides more depth and increases the focal range. A V-AF 20mm T1.9 lens is due to be launched in March 2024.

(Mar 2024)The 100mm focal length coupled with the T2.3 aperture is ideal for capturing people, excelling at shooting portraiture and videos such as talking head interviews, but is also great for product and still life. 

The Samyang Cine autofocus series has been praised for its fast and efficient AF, which is vital for tracking and subject detection when recording video. The 100mm will boast the same AF system, ensuring tack-sharp video quality across the board. Another area where the V-AF lenses shine is through the color tones, and this lens further adds to this, enabling further consistency across the line.

The Samyang V-AF 100mm T2.3 FE will also include all of the cinematic features on the other V-AF  lenses such as 8K support. It also has a customizable dial on the side of the lens that can be set to use manual focus or allow aperture adjustment by turning the focus ring.

The lens does differ slightly in terms of length, measuring 13mm longer than the existing series. This is due to its construction of 9 elements in 8 groups, where 2 HR and 2 ED lenses have been incorporated for 'superior optical performance'. Despite being 13mm longer than the rest of the series, it shares the same weight, focus ring position, and size front meaning that there is no need to reconfigure a gimbal when switching between focal lengths.

Another feature that will excite existing, and intrigue potential, Samyang Cine lens users is the introduction of a new anamorphic adapter for the V-AF series! Scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2024, the adapter will add anamorphic features to the V-AF series, including the new 100mm.

The Samyang V-AF 100mm T2.3 FE will be available at the end of December 2023 but is available to pre-order now. Samyang has always delivered fantastic affordable options and this lens is no different available for just $540 / £540.

Samyang has been developing some exceptional lenses of late and since its foray into AF lenses, they haven't looked back!

See our helpful guides for more information on the best Sony lenses, the best camera for filmmaking, and the best Sony camera.

Watch video: Festive fun portraits

Here’s a fun project to try over the festive break, and a great way to learn new camera and editing skills. Over the next few pages we’ll show you how to make a Christmas snow globe composite. We’ll shoot two separate images for this – first the children then the snow globe, and blend the two together in Photoshop.

To add a little extra depth and colour to the composite, we have also supplied a collection of lovely bokeh images for you to use (download here onto your computer's hardrive), either in this project or to add an atmospheric glow to any festive photo. The key is to match up the details in both photos. The more consistency between the two, the easier they’ll be to blend together. 

So we need to think about consistent lighting, camera angle and depth of field. As the aim is to place our kids behind a glass globe, we can recreate the situation by shooting them through a window while they press their hands and faces to the glass. As such, many of the camera skills demonstrated here can be used for many different sorts of festive photos.

When it comes to blending our photos, we can use simple Photoshop masking skills to cut out the kids and combine them with the globe, then use blending mode tricks to add  snowflakes on top of the figures. It’s easier than it looks and, like the best Photoshop projects, relies more on your in-camera skills then digital wizardry. 

1. Cut out the kids

Open the image of the children (download here). Mask the background with Select > Subject and click the Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers Panel to hide background. Zoom in to check the edges and paint black on the mask to hide or white to reveal areas. 

2. Position the layer

Open snow globe image from the download. Grab the Move tool and drag the cut-out layer up to the tab of the snow globe image, then down and in to copy it over. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T for Free Transform and use the box to resize and position the kids inside the globe.

3. Mask the layer

Hit Cmd/Ctrl+G to convert the layer into a group, then click the Mask icon to add a mask (this lets us ‘nest’ a second mask and keep the first). Grab the Brush tool and paint black over parts that obscure reflections. Hide any other areas to blend it with the globe.

4. Blend the snow

Highlight the bottom layer and grab the Lasso tool. Select some of the snowflakes and hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy to a new layer. Drag the layer to the top of the stack and change the Blend Mode to Lighten, use the Move tool to position it on the kids. Copy to add snow.

5. Add more bokeh

Open a bokeh image from the download, drag it in with the Move tool and set the Blend Mode to Screen, then position it over the scene. If needed, add a layer mask and paint black to hide any parts of the bokeh. You can add more bokeh images in the same way.

6. Enhance the colours

Highlight top layer and use Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E then go to Filter > Camera Raw filter. A colour shift will help everything to gel together, so use the tonal sliders to adjust and enhance the tones, and try out different profiles in the Profile Browser.

If you're serious about scenery, take a look at the best cameras for landscape photography along with the best lenses for landscapes.

Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements are perfect for photo and video editors who don't want to tie themselves to a monthly subscription and you can now get it for 40% off at Adorama making both packages just $89.99.

Aimed at amateurs and novices, these lighter versions might not have the enormous number of tools that you find in Adobe Photoshop CC or Adobe Premiere Pro CC but they still cover all the basics. You can crop an image, change the exposure and apply a color grade, or stitch video clips together, add text or adjust the shadows and highlights.

Adobe recently released an update for Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements which adds loads of useful AI features you can find on the full versions such as automatic skin smoothing, subject selection, background replacement and colour matching. 

Premiere Elements has also benefitted from an automatic highlights reel feature that stitches together the best clips of your video, it will apply the same cinematic color grade and AI audio effects such as reverb, vocal enhancer and dehummer will make it sound even more professional.

AI has completely transformed the way we edit - it makes the boring jobs such as removing objects and retouching so much faster giving you more time to focus on the actual photography or videography side of things. Initially only those who paid for a monthly Creative Cloud subscription were able to access these powerful tools but now Adobe has made it so that even people who make a one-off payment can too!

When I first started out in photography, I was shocked by how much I had to fork out for the full version of Photoshop CC and had I seen a deal like this I would definitely have invested! You don't even need to wait for a disk to arrive, you will be able to download the software as soon as it is paid using a download link.

If you are only interested in either Photoshop Elements or Premiere Elements, you can also buy them as stand-alone packages for $59.99 - but we recommend investing in both as the two really do go hand-in-hand.

Adobe Black Friday sale slashes sensational 50% off Creative Cloud All Apps

Samyang has issued highly unusual beta firmware updates for a number of its lenses, as they were unable to perform in AF-C mode with Sony's most recent cameras. 

Samyang is a third-party lens manufacturer that is well known for creating affordable manual focus lenses, but over recent years it has been creating AF optics for most of the major camera mounts. However, it has issued an incompatibility notice between its AF lenses and the Sony A7C II, A7C R, A6700 and FX6, where they were unable to work with continuous AF.  

In response, Samyang has issued a 'Beta Version firmware update notice'. It is not very often that camera or lens manufacturers release a beta version of a firmware update – I certainly haven't seen it before. In the official notice, Samyang states:

"Thank you to all of the Samyang lens customers.

We have been aware that there is a compatibility issue with some recently released Sony cameras and Samyang AF lenses. We are currently evaluating official firmware to resolve this issue, and releasing the Beta Version firmware files as follows, to minimize any inconvenience for customers may experience.

Compatibility Issue Camera Models

• A7C II (ILCE-7CM2)

• A7C R (ILCE-7CR)

• A 6700 (ILCE-6700)

• FX6 (ILME-FX6V)

Compatibility Issue Symptoms

•AF-C (Continuous AF) does not function properly"

Judging by the wording of the release, Samyang is unsure what has caused the incompatibility but is working on finding out – and is releasing a beta version to keep customers happy in the meantime.   

The firmware also looks to be a tad complicated to update as there are many lenses and, depending on the type of lens, you have to update it a different way. However, there is a step-by-step photo guide on how to do it on Samyang's website, , once you figure out which firmware update suits your lens. Hopefully, this is an issue that can be fixed quickly!

Take a look at the best Samyang lenses across all formats. For Alpha lovers, check out the best Sony lenses for the best Sony cameras!

Thanks to the design freedoms afforded by the mirrorless camera configuration, we are becoming accustomed to seeing more exotic lenses, especially zooms. The shorter flange back distance and, in many cases, wider throat of the mirrorless camera mounts provide more scope for optimizing lens performance without requiring complex and expensive optical constructions. And optical correction for distortion and optical aberrations can be assisted by in-camera corrections, so lens designers are generally becoming more adventurous. 

Samyang’s AF 35-150mm f/2.0-2.8 FE is both ‘everyday’ and exotic. Also available under the Rokinon range, the focal range initially looks to be quite conservative until you appreciate that it spans a whole bunch of classic focal lengths – 35mm, 50mm, 90mm (for photographers, 85mm for video-makers), 135mm and 150mm – with, of course, all points in between. It’s a lot more versatile that you might initially think, made more so by the fast maximum aperture range of f/2.0 to f/2.8 which is advantageous for low-light shooting as well for using selective focusing via the shallow depth-of-field, especially at the shorter focal lengths. The ‘FE’ designation in the model number indicates that the mount is for Sony’s full-frame Alpha series bodies, but now that Samyang has joined the L Mount Alliance, it’s not unreasonable to expect a version in this fitting will arrive at some point. 

If you think that this particular focal range and lens speed look familiar, you’re absolutely right because there’s a similar Tamron 35-150mm F/2-2.8 Di III VXD which is available for both the Sony FE and Nikon Z mirrorless mounts. The latter is the result of Tamron’s long relationship with Nikon which has given it access to the Z mount protocols and it’s although noting that Tamron earlier made a 35-150mm f/2.8-4 Di VC OSD zoom – albeit a little slower – for the Canon EF and Nikon F DSLR mounts. It’s proved to be very popular which is no doubt why the focal range is being reprised in the mirrorless mounts… and Sony FE users actually have a choice of two models. 

They’re also quite similar in size, weight and external design, but there are some key differences in the optical construction and, not surprisingly, the Samyang model is the more affordable. Significantly, as we’ve come to expect from Samyang, this saving doesn’t come at the cost of either performance or capabilities. In fact, Samyang continues to load up its newest AF mirrorless lenses with ever more features and functions. 

Having built its reputation with solidly performing manual focus primes, Samyang now seems equally adept at building autofocus zooms. 

Specifications

Mount: Sony E (FE)
Full frame: Yes
Image stabilization: No
Autofocus: Yes
Lens construction: 21 elements in 18 groups
Diaphragm blades: 9
Minimum aperture: f/16-22
Minimum focusing distance: 0.33m (W) 0.85m (T)
Maximum magnification ratio: 0.18x (W) 0.175x (T)
Filter size: 82mm
Dimensions: 92.8x157.4mm
Weight: 1,224g / 43.2oz

Handling

The fast maximum apertures make the 35-150mm a big lens and result in a screw thread filter diameter of 82 millimetres. It weighs in at a substantial 1.23 kilograms so even on the most compact of Sony Alpha bodies, it’s still quite a handful. A tripod mounting collar would probably be beneficial, but it’s comfortable to use handheld although shooting over longer periods – say at a sports event – would likely become more of a challenge. 

The zooming collar is quite wide, so it affords a firm grip, and the zooming mechanism is telescopic so the lenses increases in physical length as the focal length is increase. There’s a zoom lock to secure it at the 35mm setting, and prevent the barrel extended when you’re carrying the lens on-camera. However, in practice, we found that the zooming mechanism is stiff enough to prevent any creep. 

The manual focusing collar is also a decent size and has a nicely weighted feel despite being an electronic ‘fly-by-wire’ control. The 35-150mm has a number of other controls on the barrel and these comprise an MF/AF switch, a pair of focus hold/memory buttons – set at the 12 o’clock and three o’clock positions – and a ‘Custom’ switch which is becoming a common feature on Samyang’s most recent lenses, both zooms and primes. On the 35-150mm there’s three setting positions and a total of four mode settings straight out of the box. With the lens set for AF operation, the Mode 2 setting switches the MF control ring into a manual aperture collar, allowing for stepless adjustment from f/2.0-2.8 to f/16- 22. With the lens set for manual focusing, the ‘Custom’ switch settings then vary how the MF control collar works – non-linear, linear or what Samyang is calling the “Dolly Shot” function. With non-linear adjustment, the amount of focus shift is governed by the rotation speed of the focus collar… in other words, if you turn it quickly, you’ll make big adjustments, but turning it slowly allows for more precise control thanks to the smaller degrees of change. With the linear-type adjustment, the focus is shifted at a constant speed according to the rotational angle of the focus ring. The latter allows for more uniformity of adjustment – i.e., more linear – which is something video-makers often require when using focusing creatively. There’s also a long focus ‘throw’ of 300 degrees which is also something that video makers like for more precise focusing control. With the Mode 3 “Dolly Shot” function, the focusing collar and zooming control are linked so, once you’ve established the size of your subject, you can zoom out while moving in and it will be maintained, but obviously the perspective of the background will change. It doesn’t quite replace the versatility of a proper dolly, but if you only need to use this effect occasionally and only over short distances, then doing it via the Samyang’s zooming ring is a lot cheaper and, in practice, just as effective. And, of course, you can achieve it single-handedly. The other main stipulation is that you need to be relatively close to your subject (Samyang recommends no further out than a couple of metres). 

Being a fully supported Sony FE mount lens, the focus hold buttons can be programmed for different functions from the camera body such as ‘Hybrid AF’ and ‘Eye AF’. With manual focusing, the hold buttons can be used to store a distance setting that you can then immediately return to. You can also reprogram the Custom mode settings, but for this you’ll the need the optional Samyang ‘Lens Station’ docking module. 

The main barrels are made from metal alloy with extensive sealing to prevent the intrusion of dust or moisture. This includes a rubber gasket around the lens mount which is even more important on a mirrorless camera where the sensor is more exposed than with a DSLR. The lens looks – and feels – exceptionally well-made and has Samyang’s “hidden red ring” – so named because it can only be seen from the front of the lens – which is a cosmetic feature of its premium models. 

Design

There are no fewer than 21 elements at work inside the Samyang 35-150mm zoom and they’re arranged in 18 groups. A total of 12 elements are special types which indicates that Samyang has gone to considerable lengths to provide a high degree of optical correction. The specials include one hybrid aspherical element (‘H-ASP’), two aspherical (‘ASP’) types, six with extra-low dispersion (ED) characteristics, and three made from glass with a high refractive index (HR). Together, these correct for distortion, chromatic aberrations (both lateral and longitudinal) and spherical aberrations, as well as minimizing the fall-off of both sharpness and brightness towards the corners of the frame. Samyang’s ‘Ultra Multi-Coating’ (UMC) prevents internal reflections thereby reducing both flare and ghosting. By the way, a hybrid aspherical element is one made by shaping optical-standard resin over a glass spherical which allows for more powerful corrective capabilities. 

Autofocusing is via a stepping-type motor (STM) which delivers a faster response – due to its low inertia – and then faster operation. This speed is particularly important when tracking fast-moving subjects. STMs are also very quiet which is a plus for video shooters. The minimum focusing distance is 33 centimetres at 35mm and 85 centimetres at 150mm which gives a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:5.5. Importantly for video-makers, the optical design is parfocal which means that a manually-set focusing distance won’t shift when zooming. Interestingly, Samyang describes it as “Digital Parfocal” which suggests the lens is automatically re-adjusting the focus during zooming to maintain the set distance. Makes sense given just how expensive an optically parfocal design can be. Also, good news for video-makers is that there’s no evidence of focus ‘breathing’ so the image size remains unchanged across the lens’s distance range. 

The aperture diaphragm employs nine blades to give smoother, more rounded out-of-focus effects. There’s no optical image stabilization so dealing with camera shake relies entirely on the in-body systems in the full-frame Sony Alpha cameras. 

Performance

As noted previously, Samyang has worked hard to optically correct the 35-150mm zoom as effectively as it can, and it shows in the optical performance. The center sharpness is exceptional across the focal range and while there is some fall-off towards the corners at 35mm and f/2.0, it’s not as much as might be expected. By f/4.0, the centre-to-corner sharpness is impressively uniform as is the brightness. Again, there’s slight vignetting when shooting at the widest focal length and wide open, but it’s not excessive and may not even be enough to warrant any post-camera correction (depending on your personal preferences). 

Distortion is very well-controlled with a tiny amount of barrel-type bending at the wide-angle end which then becomes pincushion-type bending from around 50mm. This progressively increases towards the telephoto end, but only slightly and so, overall, distortion just won’t be noticeable in a great many real-world subjects and scenes. Lateral chromatic aberration isn’t evident at all so crisp definition is maintained along all the high contrast edges. Longitudinal chromatic aberration, if it occurs, is only very slight when shooting wide-open and is effectively countered by stopping down. 

Given the large expanse of front element, using the supplied lens hood is a must with strong side lighting, but some flare is unavoidable when the sun is the frame. However, closing down to f/16-f/22 converts the flare into nicely defined sun stars. 

This zoom is nicely contrasty and delivers a convincing impression of depth with the very smooth roll-off from the in-focus to the out-of-focus. For portraiture, backgrounds can be rendered softly blurred thanks to the fast maximum aperture that’s maintained across the zooming range. On the other hand, if you want sharpness and definition, the Samyang 35-150mm can resolve the tiniest of details and the most intricate of patterns… so it’s easily a match optically for Sony’s growing line-up high-res 61 megapixels Alpha bodies, such as the Sony A7R V. 

Verdict

There’s no shying away from the size and weight of Samyang’s AF 35-150mm zoom, but there’s plenty of reward for effort here too. The zooming range covers all those focal lengths that we now consider ‘classical’ because they have proven universally useful. Importantly, the f/2.0-2.8 maximum aperture range means that you aren’t sacrificing a whole lot of speed compared to using primes, especially at the telephoto end. And, of course, carrying a set of fast primes would be a much heavier load… with a lot of time-wasting involved when changing focal lengths compared to the convenience of simply zooming. Samyang backs up this practicality with a solid optical performance all round and excellent affordability which makes the value-for-money proposition hard to ignore too. 

When it comes to AI, Adobe is certainly making sure it isn’t left in the dark with the release of Adobe Elements and Adobe Premiere 2024. The one-off payment photo and video editing software now features some exciting tools powered by AI that will give users more creative power at the click of a button. 

Since the launch of Adobe Firefly, Adobe has been relentlessly updating its image and video editing platforms to include generative fill AI tools that make editing quicker and easier. Until now, these tools were only available to users who paid for a Creative Cloud subscription but now Adobe Photoshop Elements users have access to a range of quick actions such as skin smoothing, JPEG artifact removal and background selection that free up more time to focus on the important side of editing - being creative. 

• Check out the best photo editing software enabling you to retouch, fix or transform your photos

Along with the introduction of AI-powered tools, Photoshop Elements also has a brand new look featuring modernized icons, better fonts and the option to work in either light or dark mode. The new match color feature gives users the power to completely transform the look of an image by matching the colors to one of Adobe’s built-in presets or to one of your own photos making it easy to crank up the vibrance, turn an image black and white or add some more cinematic color grading. 

In a world where so many of us consume and create content on our camera phones, Adobe has also added a new feature that allows users to create and share beautiful photo reels. Users can select from a variety of layouts including 9:16 (perfect for mobile), 1:1 or 16:9, add text captions, photo filters and graphics such as borders or stickers then export them as MP4s and GIFs to share on Instagram, Facebook or TikTok. 

Keeping mobile in mind, Adobe has also added some handy tools to the mobile companion app giving users the power to perform simple edits such as image straightening, auto corrections and background removal directly from a mobile device. These images can then be saved and uploaded to the cloud so they can be accessed on the web app to make more in-depth creative edits. This latest update also gives users access to Adobe Stock - an extensive library of thousands of images that you can use to create surreal imagery, replace a background or create standout posts for social media using Quote Graphic. 

Not forgetting about Adobe Premiere Elements, just like Photo Elements, users can match color to give videos a completely new look. Using AI and automation, Premiere Elements can now stitch together the most exciting part of your videos using Highlight Reels. It focuses on action, people and faces to create an engaging video without the hassle of choosing your own shots. It will also apply the same cinematic filter across all your clips to give it a seamless finish. 

You can also enhance your storytelling with new audio effects such as reverb, vocal enhancer and dehummer which will make your videos sound more professional and improve the overall listening experience. Just like in Adobe Photo Elements, it’s now even easier to add graphics and sync videos so you can access them on the Cloud. 

The world of editing has completely changed with the introduction of AI-powered tools. Fiddly time-consuming tasks have been replaced by one-click tools and the integration of mobile-optimized features makes it faster and easier than ever to create beautiful photos and videos to share online. While AI continues to cause controversy in the photography world, we have nothing but good things to say about Adobe’s AI additions. 

Premiere Elements 2024 and Photoshop Elements 2024 are available to buy now for $99.99 each, or for $149.99 for both. 

Check out the best video editing software designed to help you create beautiful, cinematic videos

Blackmagic has just joined the L-Mount Alliance – a LeBron-like superteam consisting of some of the biggest names in the imaging industry, such as Leica, Panasonic, Sigma and DJI. With a lineup like this, does it now rival the likes of Canon of Sony?

With the launch of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K last week, Blackmagic launched its first L-Mount camera and officially joined the all-star Alliance – an Alliance that has grown from a "big three" of Leica, Panasonic and Sigma when it was announced in 2018 to a "big seven" just five years later (technically it's a "big eight", though the Red Dot family is represented twice with both Leica and Leitz). 

Individually, none of these players – which also includes Samyang and Astrodesign – is a match for Canon and Sony. We need only look at the most recent market share data to see as much: Canon owns 46.5% of the market, Sony has 26.1%, Nikon 11.7%, Fujifilm 5.8%, followed by Panasonic in a distant fifth with 4.2%. 

On paper, even when you add the shares of all seven members, the Alliance is still but a blip on the radar compared to the market leaders. But there's more to it than that. 

Photographers and videographers buy brands, first and foremost. But after that, they buy cameras – they don't buy lens mounts. For example, they buy the Canon EOS R5; they don't buy the RF mount. They buy the Sony A7 IV; they don't buy the E mount. 

The landscape, however, is changing. With the rise of affordable third-party lenses – and particularly the cheap but increasingly fantastic Chinese glass – customers are starting to pay more attention to what a specific lens mount has to offer. And this is only intensifying with Canon restricting third-party optics for its cameras (and Nikon doing something similar). 

The idea of selling a unified camera ecosystem, supported by the biggest boutique manufacturers in the business, is a highly compelling one. It's the same playbook run by Panasonic (déjà vu) and Olympus with the Micro Four Thirds format – which again includes Sigma, DJI and Blackmagic, along with 40 other manufacturers.

If the average customer goes to a camera shop, and the sales assistant tells them that the EOS R5 is the best camera in the world but it has a very restricted lens lineup, but the Panasonic S1R is almost as good and has some of the best brands in the business all making lenses for it, which would they go for?

I don't know. But it's certainly going to be interesting to find out. 

Take a look at the best L-Mount lenses, along with the best Panasonic cameras, the best Leica cameras, the best Blackmagic cameras and the best DJI drones. 

When we talk about great landscape photographers, Ansel Adams has to be the first name on the list. His starkly beautiful images of the American wilderness displayed flawless technique and a uniquely crafted vision. Most of his work made use of monochrome film; lens-mounted filters (usually yellow or red) to emphasize skies; and darkroom techniques that added contrast and controlled detail.

All of these great effects are simple to recreate. The first step is to convert our image to mono. Some methods for this are better than others. The best tools give you control over the brightness of individual color ranges in the image during the mono conversion. One such tool is the HSL panel in Camera Raw, within Photoshop. Just as Adams used filters, we can use HSL to control color brightness for a dramatic sky. Our technique differs slightly from the normal approach to Camera Raw mono, in that we’ll use HSL’s saturation sliders for greater control.

Adams’ prints were painstakingly crafted using his Zone System to ensure the best gradation of tones. Similarly, we can use Photoshop tonal tools to ensure we have rich shadows and delicately detailed highlights. Adams wasn’t averse to a little dodging and burning, despite his emphasis on ‘pure’ photography, so we’ll follow suit.

You can follow along using our start image (click to download the image to your computer as a Zip file), or use your own image. NB the exact values in this step-by-step guide will need to be adjusted if using your own image.

Step 1: Fix the fringing

Navigate to our tutorial image in Bridge, right-click and choose Open in Camera Raw. We’ll start by quickly fixing the fringing you find in areas of high contrast, such as where the mountain meets the sky. Click the Lens Correction panel on the right, then go to the Color tab and tick Remove Chromatic Aberration.

Step 2: Remove the color

Click on the HSL Panel, then go to the Saturation tab. Drag all eight sliders back to -100. The reason we’re removing color like this rather than ticking Convert to Grayscale is that this way we can use the Temp, Tint, Saturation, and Vibrance sliders to fine-tune the look of the black and white later.

Step 3: Darken the blues

Click the Luminance tab, then use the sliders to change the brightness. We want to darken the sky and lighten the foliage, so set Oranges to +84, Yellows to +65, Greens to +54, Aquas to -65, Blues to -58 and Purples to -58. Use the Targeted Adjustment tool to drag over the image to change colors.

Step 4: Add a grad

Grab the Graduated Filter tool from the Toolbar, then click and drag down from near the top of the image towards the middle. Hold Shift as you drag to keep the line vertical. Next, go to the Graduated Filter sliders on the right and set Exposure to -2.30. Make sure all the other sliders are set to their default values.

Step 5: Set white and black

Click the Basic panel. Set Contrast to +18, Shadows to +24 and Clarity to +18. Hold Alt and drag the Whites slider right until you see areas appear in the image. Set the Whites to a point just before the areas appear, at about +17. Do the same for the Black slider by dragging until the areas disappear at about +10.

Step 6: Play with temperature

Now we can use the Temperature and Tint
sliders to fine-tune the black and white conversion. By dragging the Temperature slider to the left, we can shift the colours, which results in a different black-and-white look. Next, set Temperature to 5900 and Tint to +22.

Step 7: Increase the saturation

We can also use the Saturation and Vibrance sliders to vary the contrast and intensity of the mono effect. Set Vibrance to +18 and Saturation to +58. The changes are quite subtle, but add to the control you have over the look and punch of the black-and-white effect.

Step 8: Add more punch

Click the Tone Curve panel and go to the Point tab. Click to add one point near the top right of the diagonal curve line, and drag up to lighten the image. Add a second point near the bottom left of the line and drag it down to darken the shadow tones, increasing contrast.

Step 9: Paint an adjustment

Grab the Adjustment brush from the Toolbar. Paint roughly over the mountains and the foreground. Use ] and [ to resize your brush as you paint and press Y to toggle the mask overlay on and off. Set Exposure to +25 and Clarity to +42 to change the area covered by the mask.

Step 10: Lighten the water

Click New in the Adjustment Brush settings to the top-right, then click to set a second pin in the patch of water at the front. We can use another adjustment to lighten the reflection. Paint over the water, reset the previous settings, then set Exposure to +1.45, Contrast to +18 and Clarity to +33.

Step 11: Burn the rocks

The rocks look a little too bright. Set a new pin on them then paint over the area. Try ticking Auto-Mask to snap onto the edges of the rocks as you paint. Set Exposure to -1.25. Next, set a fourth pin and paint over the right side of the mountain, then set Exposure to +0.80 and Contrast to +25.

Step 12: Add a vignette

Press N for one more pin and set it in the bottom-left corner. Paint over the lower left and right sides left then set Exposure to -0.50 to darken down the areas. This kind of subtle vignette helps to draw the eye into the image. Paint over the clouds on the left too.

Step 13: Fix the noise

Go to the Detail panel and double-click the Zoom tool for 100% view. Tackle grainy noise by setting the Luminance slider to 45. Next, apply sharpening. Set Amount to 48 and Radius to 0.8. Double-click the Hand tool to zoom out, then hold Alt and drag the Masking slider to 31 to mask the sharpening.

Step 14: Open in Photoshop

Click the blue text below the image window to access the workflow options. Set Depth to 16 Bits/Channel for the highest possible quality, then click OK. Next, click the Open Image button to the bottom-right to render the changes made in Camera Raw and open the image into Photoshop.

Step 15: Make a ‘dodge-burn’ layer

Hold Alt and click the New Layer icon to access the New Layer box. Name it ‘Dodge Burn’. Set the blending mode to Overlay, tick ‘Fill with Overlay-neutral color’ and click OK. Grab the Brush tool, press D then X to set to white. Press 1 for 10% Opacity, then paint over the smaller clouds to lighten them slightly. 

Most landscapes will benefit from selective lightening and darkening to balance land and sky, and draw the eye towards the subject. This becomes even more important with black-and-white images, as the absence of color emphasizes the play of light across a scene. A layer filled with neutral grey and the blending mode set to Overlay lets you dodge and burn non-destructively by painting with black or white.

Step 16: Merge a copy

Press X to flip the color to black, then paint to burn in any areas that look a little too bright, such as the small patch of grass at center bottom. When you’re happy, press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Alt+E to merge a copy of both layers, then right-click the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object.

Step 17: Apply High Pass sharpening

Go to Filter>Other>High Pass. Set Radius to 2.3 and click OK, then go to the blending mode drop-down at the top of the Layers panel and choose Overlay. This creates a nice sharpening effect. If you think the sharpening is too strong or weak, double-click the smart filter and tweak.

18: Correct the banding

The gradient applied to the sky has led to some noticeable banding. To fix this, press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Alt+E again, then go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Set Amount to 2 and Distribution to Gaussian, and tick Monochromatic. Don’t worry if the grain looks strong: it’s less so when printed. 

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This may be a bit controversial, but it seems that when a camera maker opens its lens protocols to third-party manufacturers, its system benefits in a number of ways. Sony, of course, is the prime example, and making licenses freely available right from the start has undoubtedly put it where it is today. The staggering choice of FE mount lenses is great for the system’s users, and often the third-party offerings fill in the ‘gaps’ in a camera brand’s own line-up. What an open system also says is that the camera maker is confident in the quality of its own lenses – which is very much the case with Sony – and the independents can either compete on performance or price (or sometimes both). Either way, these lenses need a camera body so, really, everybody wins one way or another. 

Since Fujifilm opened up its lens protocols for the X mount, there’s been a steady flow of new autofocus lenses for the system from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and others. Samyang and sister-brand Rokinon – now very much a mainstream players in third-party lenses rather than niche brands – joined in with the AF 12mm f/2.0 ultra-wide prime (equivalent to 18mm) and now there’s the AF 75mm f/1 .8 X (equivalent to 112.5mm). The quality of Fujifilm’s own Fujinon XF lenses is well recognized – and a key reason for many photographers adopting the system – so the bar is set high for anybody else wanting a piece of the action. Samyang already offers a number of its manual focus primes in the X mount, but the new AF lenses obviously tap into more capabilities beyond just autofocusing, including the automatic in-camera corrections 

Importantly too, both the 12mm and 75mm don’t have direct competitors in the current Fujifilm XF system – there’s an XF18mm f/2 R and an XF80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro – so you can already see where Samyang is offering something a bit different. 

Specifications

Mount: Fujfilm X
Full frame: No
Image stabilization: No
Autofocus: Yes
Lens construction: 10 elements in 9 groups
Angle of view: 21.9 degrees
Diaphragm blades: 9
Minimum aperture: f/22
Minimum focusing distance: 0.69m
Maximum magnification ratio: 0.14x
Filter size: 62mm
Dimensions: 70x69.3mm
Weight: 257g

Handling

The Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 X is actually a reworking of the full-frame Sony E-mount Samyang AF 75mm f/1.8 FE model with a new, sleeker exterior design and the addition of weather sealing. The weather protection is an essential feature given how much emphasis Fujifilm puts on this with most of its X-mount camera bodies (with the exception of the X-S models). 

The matte finish looks smart and Samyang’s “hidden red ring” – so named because it can only be seen from the front of the lens – adds a nice cosmetic touch. 

Despite the fast maximum aperture of f/1.8, the 75mm is a very compact lens, and it weighs in at just 257 grams thanks mainly to the high-grade polycarbonate barrel tubes. It actually feels pretty solid in the hand, but the small size makes for a very comfortable balance on the more compact X-T series and X-S series bodies. 

The lens mount is stainless steel and surrounded by a rubber gasket as part of the weather protection measures (there are a total of five seals). Importantly, there’s the full complement of 12 contacts needed to provide the full interface with the Fujifilm X mount camera bodies. The manual focusing collar features the finely-textured ‘micro pattern’ grip Samyang has used on a number of recent lenses and, of course, it’s an electronic ‘fly-by-wire’ control so there are no end stops. Unlike many electronic focusing rings, the 75mm’s feels more mechanical in its resistance so its possible to adjust it quite precisely. 

There’s no aperture control ring so manual adjustment is from the camera body. This is also the case with Fujifilm’s XC lenses, but the XF lenses have manual aperture collars so some users may have to change the way they work when shooting with the aperture-priority auto or manual exposure modes. 

There’s only one other control on the lens barrel and that’s the two-position ‘Custom Switch’. The settings are labeled ‘M1’ and ‘M2’ and, on the 75mm f/1.8, the latter engages a new feature called ‘Preset Aperture Control’. Essentially, it’s a click-less – or stepless – aperture control that is primarily designed for video shooting, but obviously be used for photography too. 

If you like being in charge of your apertures in order to vary the depth-of-field, ‘Preset Aperture Control’ is an option, but obviously it means that you can’t have manual focusing as well. It works pretty well in practice, but with one anomaly which is that the aperture settings displayed by the camera don’t change (but obviously you can see the depth-of-field changing in the EVF or the monitor screen). This happens because, as is explained in Samyang’s own description of the feature, “… the AF 75mm f/1.8 X intentionally disconnects the communication with the camera body and the lens itself on the Preset Aperture Control function, so it is possible to smoothly adjust the exposure without flickering”. 

Design

The optical construction employs ten elements in nine groups with five special elements, namely three with extra-low dispersion (ED) characteristics and two which have high-refractive (HR) index glass. Collectively, these special elements correct for chromatic aberrations. 

Samyang’s ‘Ultra Multi-Coating II’ (UMC) reduces minimizes internal reflections to reduce both ghosting and flare. A bayonet-fit lens hood is supplied. The 75mm’s nine-blade diaphragm has curved blades to give more rounded and smoother out-of-focus effects (aka the bokeh). 

Focusing is performed internally and the AF drive employs a linear-type stepping motor (STM) to give more precise control while also being both smooth and quiet for shooting video. The minimum focusing distance is 69 centimeters which delivers a modest magnification ratio of 1:7.7. Being primarily a portrait lens – although, of course, there are other applications – close-up capabilities aren’t its strong suite. 

Performance

Having been primarily designed as a full frame lens is very advantageous for the ‘APS-C’ version of the 75mm f/1.8 as it’s only using the central area of the imaging circle. This greatly benefits both the corner sharpness and the brightness, with very little fall-off in either case even at f/1.8. The overall sharpness is exceptional and the lens performs extremely well up to f/11 when diffraction starts to soften the finer details. For JPEG capture, the Fujifilm camera’s ‘Lens Modulation Optimiser’ (LMO) corrects for diffraction and the metadata will also be appended to a RAW file. LMO dates back to the X-T2 (it first appeared on the fixed-lens X100S) and actually reconstructs some of the lost edge data. LMO also corrects for any sharpness fall-off in the corners of the frame, but is the only lens correction that is switchable on an X mount camera. With JPEG capture, the in-camera corrections for distortion, vignetting and chromatic aberrations are performed automatically. 

With no aspherical elements in the optical mix, there’s some spherical aberrations which result in a slight softening of detail in low-contrast areas while preserving it in the high-contrast areas. This creates more of a real-world ‘naturalness’ which is really what you want in a portrait lens when too much sharpness doesn’t always look very flattering. If, however, you do really want some more punch, using the Clarity control’s plus adjustments – on X-mount bodies such as the Fujifilm X-T5 – works very effectively. The AF 75mm f/1.8 is certainly able to complement Fujifilm’s 40.2 megapixel’s ‘X-Trans CMOS 5 HR’ sensor (as also used in the X-H2) for resolution and tonality. 

Distortion is minimal with just a hint of pincushion-type bending (which is completely corrected in the JPEGs), and there’s virtually no lateral chromatic aberration to speak of either. The color fringing in high-contrast areas caused by longitudinal (or axial) chromatic aberration is a little more evident when shooting wide-open (when, inevitably, more of the frame is out-of-focus due to the shallow depth-of-field), but still minimal and certainly not enough to compromise edge definition. There’s a pleasing smoothness in the tonality and the transition from in-focus to out-of-focus is nicely linear which are both welcome characteristics in a portrait lens. 

Some flare is created with strong contra-jour lighting and can cause a loss of contrast, but fitting the supplied lens hood – which is quite deep – effectively fixes the issue. However, when the sun is actually in the frame, you’ll have to live with some ghosting effects. 

In terms of autofocusing performance, the AF 75mm f/1.8 and the X-T5 played together very nicely. This camera’s AF is very slick in terms of its responsiveness and speed, and the Samyang lens certainly maintains these attributes, snapping into focus in an instant. The face/eye detection works as well as with any in-house XF lens, as does the subject recognition. Subsequent tracking looks to be very reliable, but there wasn’t the opportunity to really challenge the lens with some really fast-moving such as a racing car. 

Verdict

Once again, Samyang has come up with an appealing combination of performance and price which, this time, Fujifilm X mount shooters can also take advantage of. The AF 75mm f/1.8 X is nicely compact so it feels right at home on the likes of the X-T series bodies on which it handles very comfortably indeed. The optical performance is excellent with a high degree of optical correction for chromatic aberrations and distortion if you’re shooting RAW, with Fujifilm’s in-camera correction playing back-up for JPEGs. The overall look – particularly in terms of the pleasingly smooth tonality – very much suits portraiture, but compliments many other subjects too. 

Consequently, this lens is a great alternative to the short telephoto primes on offer in Fujifilm’s XF system, but with comparable optical quality and functional capabilities. The absence of a manual aperture collar is the only negative if you particular like the classic operation of the X-T series cameras and so regularly use this control to switch exposure modes as well as set the aperture. However, it’s arguable easily outweighed – no pun intended – the Samyang lens’s superb compactness and lightness, not to mention affordability (especially with the various discounted prices for the AF 75mm f/1.8 X currently available). As with many things in life, when it comes to lens systems, having more choices is A Very Good Thing. 

See also best Fujifilm lenses, best lenses for Fujifiilm X-T4, and the best Fujifilm cameras