Samyang Unveils Its First AF Lenses! A 50 f/1.4 and a 14 f/2.8 for Sony FE

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Bokeh lovers on a budget rejoice! Samyang today made its long-awaited foray into the world of autofocus lenses with two new pieces of glass: a 50mm f/1.4 and a 14mm f/2.8, both designed for Sony full-frame E-mount cameras.

Samyang (also sold as Rokinon and Bower) are long-time purveyors of manual focus lenses for the photographer on a budget, but this marks the very first time a third party budget brand has been allowed to add proprietary autofocus to their glass. To paraphrase Anchorman Ron Bugundy, “these lenses are kind of a big deal.”

The lenses are being touted by Samyang as the widest and brightest available in the mirrorless market, and they’re, “specifically designed to work in harmony with full frame mirrorless cameras in Sony E mount.” On the technical side, both lenses sport internal focusing mechanisms optimized for both Phase Detection and Contrast AF, both boast an all-metal design, and the 50mm lens gives you a 67mm filter thread to work with.

The final bit of info, the one we’re most interested in, is the only piece Samyang isn’t giving away just yet: price. The lenses will become “globally available” officially in July, and will be on display at the Photo & Imaging 2016 in Seoul, South Korea, but pricing and availability details are still TBA.

You can read the official Samyang announcement here.

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