Samyang unveils AF 135mm f/1.8 FE

The AF 135mm f/1.8 FE prime lens completes Samyang’s Auto Focus f/1. FE series, which also includes 28mm, 35mm, 45mm and 75mm lenses

Samyang has announced the launch of the full-frame AF 135mm f/1.8 FE prime lens, which boasts superb resolution, smooth bokeh effects and fantastic AF performance.

The latest lens is an enhanced version of Samyang’s MF 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC telephoto lens, which was initially praised for portrait photography but later became a popular choice for landscapes and astrophotography. This sowed the seed for the AF 135mm f/1.8 FE, which incorporates advanced AF to offer users a lens that caters to all genres and users’ needs. It can even be used for shooting video.

The AF 135mm f/1.8 FE claims to deliver astonishing corner-to-corner resolution, with an 18.9˚ angle of view for full-frame and 12.5˚ for APS-C. It combines Sony’s full-frame image sensor with a sophisticated optical design of 13 elements in 11 groups to achieve sharp, crisply-defined images in all areas of the image. The lens’s large-diameter aperture allows users to capture images with a smooth background blur, separating the subject from the background using a shallow depth of field. Beautiful bokeh can be achieved when shooting portraits, close-ups or cityscapes, thanks to the incorporation of an Ultra-precision Aspherical lens. It has a short minimum focal distance of 0.69m which means you can also use this lens for close-ups.

The addition of autofocus is what takes this lens to a new level. Users can now track subjects quickly and accurately, without noise interference from the stepping motor when shooting video.

Additional features include a Focus Hold Button, which keeps the lens locked to a set focusing distance, a Custom Switch, which allows users to adjust the aperture silently with the focus ring, and a Focus Range Limiter switch, which helps to speed up focusing once the focal distance has been determined.

You can also rest assured that this lens comes with all the expected protection needed for outdoor use, including a micro-patterned rubber focus ring and a weather-proof design.

The suggested retail price of this lens is £799. For more information, visit Samyang’s website.