Samyang Optics Launches the Premium Photo Lens- XP 50mm F1.2

[Canon Rumors Guy]

<strong>February 20th, 2018, Seoul, South Korea</strong> – Global optics brand, Samyang Optics is pleased to unveil the Premium Photo Lens – XP 50mm F1.2 for Canon full frame DSLR cameras. The XP 50mm F1.2 is the third lens of the premium line up, XP series, created under the motto of ‘Excellence in Performance’. The XP 50mm F1.2 lens is expected to expand the brand power of Samyang in the premium lens market thanks to its great image quality, following in the footsteps of the XP 14mm F2.4, XP 85mm F1.2.</p>
<p><strong>The moment of the drama with absolute resolution

</strong>This lens, built for DSLR cameras, has a resolution of more than 50 megapixels for photography and 8K for video. The XP 50mm F1.2 manual focus lens enables you to capture those dramatic moments in perfect image quality with a bright F1.2 aperture. In particular, it optimizes for portraits, capturing the delicate change of the eye at the time of a portrait, right down to a strand of hair, and bright and beautiful skin colour. You can express unconstrained depth with the bright aperture, while the 9 blades also deliver beautiful bokeh, starburst, and out-focusing effects. Also, you can even achieve high image quality in low light conditions and indoors thanks to the fast shutter speed</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<p><strong>Excellence in Performance

</strong>Produced from a total of 11 lenses in 8 groups, you can minimize distortion and various aberrations while producing crystal clear resolution. The special optic lenses, aspherical lens, and high-refractive lens deliver sharp and vivid images to camera sensors by effectively tuning the light path. Also, flare and ghost effects can be well controlled thanks to the ultra multi coating.</p>
<p><strong>Available from March 2018

</strong>The absolute resolution XP 50mm F1.2 lens will be available in March at a suggested retail price of EUR 949. To celebrate the launch, Samyang Optics will hold various consumer events on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/samyanglensglobal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/samyanglensglobal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Instagram</a>. For more information on the product, visit <a href="http://www.samyanglensglobal.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Samyang Optics’ official website</a>.</p>

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[captainkanji]

Interesting. I’m saving for a Milvus 85, but for that price, I could almost get the Sammy 85 and 50 1.2. I have lots to think about before Christmas.

 

[bergstrom]

price is off the charts for a manual lens.

 

[chrysoberyl]

Interesting. I don't have a 50mm and would like to fill that gap. I wonder how sharp it will be wide open and how it will compare to the Sigma 50mm Art.

 

[BeenThere]

Unusually large for a 50mm. Takes an 86mm filter. Will look forward to reviews.

 

[chrysoberyl]

Unusually large for a 50mm. Takes an 86mm filter. Will look forward to reviews.

Huge! 47% heavier than the Sigma 50mm Art.

 

[mb66energy]

Unusually large for a 50mm. Takes an 86mm filter. Will look forward to reviews.

It has a negative front lens and is therfore a retrofocus construction to get more room for corrective lenses. Maybe it is comparable to other options like Sigma or Otus in terms of IQ. But it is really a beast, substantially large compared to the EF 1.4 85 IS USM.

At the moment I would prefer an 1.4 50 EF IS USM at 1200 EUR without hesitation just if it has less IQ - an IS lens with AF would be much more versatile and I would trade in some IQ for such a versatile lens in a smaller package.

 

[littleB]

Looks like poor man's Otus.

 

[geekyrocketguy]

Weight 1300g. This is the same as the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS v1 (1310g) and 270g more (!) than the Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus (1030g). It also has 86mm filter threads.

I'm not even angry, this is amazing.

 

[Sporgon]

I find the trouble with these optically superb manual lenses is that unless you use them at f/11 or in live view and magnify to focus you're basically stuffed. In a dslr using the AF as AF confirmation is hopeless as the confirmation 'zone' is way too large, the standard screens plus looking through a 'passive' LCD screws any hope of accurate manual focusing. On a mirrorless the focus peaking isn't much better and probably not as good as a 'manual focus' screen in a dslr.

To be quite honest I'm amazed there are enough people out there to buy them to make it viable for the manufacture, unless it's the dslr / mirrorless video crowd who buy them. For still photography I'd recommend staying well clear.

 

[captainkanji]

Fortunately, I have the precision matte focusing screen in my 6D

 

[aceflibble]

I find the trouble with these optically superb manual lenses is that unless you use them at f/11 or in live view and magnify to focus you're basically stuffed. In a dslr using the AF as AF confirmation is hopeless as the confirmation 'zone' is way too large, the standard screens plus looking through a 'passive' LCD screws any hope of accurate manual focusing. On a mirrorless the focus peaking isn't much better and probably not as good as a 'manual focus' screen in a dslr.

To be quite honest I'm amazed there are enough people out there to buy them to make it viable for the manufacture, unless it's the dslr / mirrorless video crowd who buy them. For still photography I'd recommend staying well clear.

1) Video is as big if not a bigger market than stills is, now.
2) People have been manually focusing for decades using all kinds of methods and often with cameras with less-than-perfect viewfinders. The fact cameras now have a big screen on the back showing you exactly what you're going to get makes most manual focusing concerns void.
3) If you're the kind of person buying specialty lenses like this then you're also probably the kind of person who has a camera body which can have the viewfinder screen switched, if you wish.

Looks like poor man's Otus.

Yes and no. (Assuming it follows their 85 and 14 in quality.) On the surface it's like 85% of a Zeiss for 50% of the price... which still isn't exactly "poor" pricing. But the Samyang rendering is, in some respects, nicer than the Zeiss. With the respective 85s, for instance, the Zeiss sure is sharper but the Samyang has the smoother background rendering, and if you're buying a fast 85 you probably care more about getting a smooth background than about resolving every last micron of detail. Zeiss colour is a little more neutral while Samyang's colour appears to be optimised for medium skin tones (even the wide-angle lenses), so which is better there depends on your use.

Having used a lot of both, I'd say that, regardless of price, for 50% of people the Zeiss rendering is better, for 25% the Samyang rendering is better, and for 25% it makes no difference. (In which case the Samyang wins again 'cause you may as well save the money, no matter how big your budget is.)

 

[Sporgon]

I find the trouble with these optically superb manual lenses is that unless you use them at f/11 or in live view and magnify to focus you're basically stuffed. In a dslr using the AF as AF confirmation is hopeless as the confirmation 'zone' is way too large, the standard screens plus looking through a 'passive' LCD screws any hope of accurate manual focusing. On a mirrorless the focus peaking isn't much better and probably not as good as a 'manual focus' screen in a dslr.

To be quite honest I'm amazed there are enough people out there to buy them to make it viable for the manufacture, unless it's the dslr / mirrorless video crowd who buy them. For still photography I'd recommend staying well clear.

2) People have been manually focusing for decades using all kinds of methods and often with cameras with less-than-perfect viewfinders. The fact cameras now have a big screen on the back showing you exactly what you're going to get makes most manual focusing concerns void.
3) If you're the kind of person buying specialty lenses like this then you're also probably the kind of person who has a camera body which can have the viewfinder screen switched, if you wish.

Point two here is a complete load of tosh; the standards and expectations of focus to day and the dynamism of accurate, relatively shallow depth of field is, as a whole, in a different league to the days of manually focusing film cameras. Of course you could focus manually if your subject was still for long enough, and you can indeed do this much better to day with Live View and mirrorless. No more having to stick a loop on the focusing screen of your MF or LF cameras. To say that magnified live view makes most manual focusing concerns void is, as I said, complete tosh. The restrictions that you bring on yourself with these manual focusing lenses is immense. Depending on what you shoot this may or may not be a problem to you.

Point three is debatable; true the 'top of the range" Nikon and Canon dslrs have the ability to change screens, but you are still having to view through the passive lcd. Moving to the bigger selling ranges Canon gave abandoned the interchangeable screen in the 5 series, so if you're a 5 series user like me you have to use an older camera such as the 5DII or 6D, and these won't last for ever. Strangely Canon introduced the user interchangeable screen to the 7 series in the 7DII, which completely baffles me when they didn't include it in the 5DIV. ( But maybe your sources will be able to say why this is Congratulations on getting the Tamron mirrorless zoom right.) I'm aware that you can fit third party screen to the 5 series without in camera automatic exposure compensation - but then the 1 series hasn't this either - weird.

I found manual focus lenses on mirrorless just as restrictive, in fact as I said I found the S screen in dslrs to be better than the focus peaking.

Point one I accept. What I'm saying is that from my experience, if you're a stills photographer and doing anything other than set piece, non dynamic photography you may be frustrated by these manual lenses, especially the really good ones because the IQ, when focused accurately is exceptional.

 

[aceflibble]

I don't think you understand what words like "most" mean.

As for focusing screens, no idea on the 7D2 or why it was dumped from the 5D line. I've heard a few people complain about switchable focus screens as being a potential point of mechanical failure, or blamed them for dodgy automatic exposure, so maybe for the newer 5Ds Canon decided it wasn't worth the aggro and locked it all down. But, hey, I tend to hear more about lenses for SLR systems and bodies for mirrorless, than vice-versa. SLR bodies aren't an area I have much insight in beyond a basic "I asked a rep about it once" level.

Anyway. If I, with my bad back and surgically (semi-)repaired spine can hold up and manually focus a 500mm f/4 lens on a 2' kestrel flying at approximately 40mph, you can manually focus a 50mm lens on a portrait subject.

What I was referring to about past techniques were the many people who focus(ed) without looking through the viewfinder at all; some go by the dof scale, some simply use their judgement, built from experience. And no, we're not talking about comparing the standards of analogue photography to today, either; digital's been around for a solid three decades now, you don't have to go back to film to talk about things people have used well for decades, plural. And now we have aids like Live View (with or without magnification, focus peaking, etc), the simple ability to instantly check a shot, and so forth.

It's literally never been easier to work with manual focus.

But yes, sure, manual focus is a huge pain. That's why the rest of the Samyang line has failed so hard, Zeiss are penniless, and Canon's TS-E lenses died years ago and have never been remade. Live view focusing is useless for portraits, which is why Fujifilm and Sony are doing so poorly. Better not tell Studio Harcourt that manual focus is unusable, they wouldn't survive the shock!

When Zeiss, of all people, are one of the few manufacturers consistently making money hand-over-fist, yet their cine lenses are not their biggest-selling products, I'm pretty certain there's no need to worry about the popularity or use of manual focus lenses for stills photography of any kind.

 

[tmroper]

I don't know much about the market for a lens like this, but it does seem to show that Samyang thinks Canon DSLR's will be around for awhile yet to come.

 

[pmjm]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I do not trust my ability to pull manual focus at f/1.2 with any kind of consistency at all.

 

[aceflibble]

50mm f/1.2 gives you about 3" of sharp focus from seven feet away. That's about the same as a 70-200 f/2.8 at the long end from twenty feet away. If you were shooting 50mm at f/2 you'd only get about another half inch of sharp focus, so you can think of it this way; if 50mm f/2 doesn't scare you, 50mm f/1.2 shouldn't, either.

But also remember, nobody is forcing you to use every lens at its widest aperture, and in daily work, you'd rarely want to anyway. You don't really buy f/1.2 lenses to only ever use them at f/1.2. You buy them because they typically have the best transmission, keeping the viewfinder bright even in dark places, and their rendering tends to be softer and more flattering for portraiture even when stopped down. For example, the Canon 50mm f/1.2 and 85mm f/1.2 are technical dogs wide-open and you really don't want to use them like that, but put them down to f/2.8 or so and they have absolutely marvelous rendering in a way that no other lenses at f/2.8 have.
(And the Samyang 85mm f/1.2 is much the same, so we should be bale to assume this 50mm f/1.2 will follow suit.)

 

[Kit Lens Jockey]

You don't really buy f/1.2 lenses to only ever use them at f/1.2.

I don't? :

You buy them because they typically have the best transmission, keeping the viewfinder bright even in dark places

But modern focusing screens are frequently not set up to be able to take advantage of any lens wider than f2.8, causing the viewfinder to be no brighter with a fast lens.

 

[lexaclarke]

^My Sigma 35mm f/1.4 makes the viewfinder on my 5D mark II noticeably brighter than when I use the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8. Just the regular default focus screen.

 

[hne]

^My Sigma 35mm f/1.4 makes the viewfinder on my 5D mark II noticeably brighter than when I use the Tamron 24-70 f/2.8. Just the regular default focus screen.

There's a difference both in transmission and aperture. The focusing screen on the 5DmkII has a limit at about f/2.5, after which no brightness increase will happen with larger apertures. A lens with better transmission percentage will still be brighter.