Samyang Cine AF 100mm T/2.3 FE Lens Announced

Lens News

by Omri Keren LapidotFebruary 1^st, 2024

The new Samyang V-AF 100mm T/2.3 Cine tele prime is the most recent addition to the Korean manufacturer’s V-AF series. Like its sisters, the new 100mm T/2.3 is an E-Mount lens. It has similar physical attributes, buttons, and switches, and the same unique front bayonet. The series is touted as “The world’s first Cine AF lens series”, which is a bit provocative. That said, the V-AF set of lenses does possess some unique traits.

Samyang’s V-AF series is quite unique. The series incorporates traits and features from both stills and cine lenses. A true hybrid. The stills “side” contributed the compactness, autofocus, fly-by-wire manual focusing, and some focus breathing. The cine “side” brought long-throw, linear manual focusing, geared focus ring, visual consistency, and physical similarity. Samyang sprinkled some additional features, such as programmable buttons and a unique front mount, and voila!

Having started with three classic primes, the series quickly grew. The new Samyang Cine AF 100mm T2.3 FE lens joins four earlier lenses: 24mm, 35mm, 45mm, and 75mm, all T/1.9. A sixth lens is due to launch in March 2024 – a 20mm T/1.9. All lenses are extremely similar in size and weight to allow quick and easy switching when working on a gimbal or a rig. The new 100mm is a tad longer, at 85.3mm, and tips the weight at 272g, in line with other V-AF lenses and on the lighter side in general terms. The lens also forgives a bit of aperture diameter, dictated by the strict physical limitations. We’ve recently seen a similar approach from Panasonic with their new LUMIX S 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens.

Tech specs

As with other V-AF lenses, the new 100mm T/2.3 includes a 58mm front filter thread. Around it, we’ll find the front accessory mount. A broad focus ring occupies most of the barrel, and behind it are a focus-stop button and an M1/M2 switch. The switch will change the focus ring function so it will control the aperture, and the focus button may also be programmed as a “Focus Save” function, to save at a specific distance and return to it with the push of a button. Both button and switch may be reprogrammed using the optional Lens Station. The lens also includes two tally lamps, generating green or red light depending on the recording status. One is positioned to the left side of the lens mount and one is on the front mount, facing the talent. The aforementioned Lens Station is required to stop their operation, which is a bit cumbersome in my opinion.

The lens is constructed to be as light and compact as possible, so most of it is made of plastic, with no claims regarding weather sealing.

The potential of the V-AF front mount – only in theory?

The unique front mount generated quite a stir when first introduced. Filmmakers and reviewers alike speculated on interesting possibilities. Among those were electronic variable ND filters, anamorphic adapters, etc. As of now, Samyang released a single accessory attachment – a Manual Focus Adapter. While nice, it’s quite lonely. Compared to the potential of such an innovative approach, it’s a bit disappointing in my opinion.

Are the Samyang V-AF series Cine lenses?

While Samyang boldly touts the V-AF series as “The world’s first Cine AF lens series”, such a claim requires substantial evidence. The V-AF series do follow some of the key traits defining a Cine lens:

• A geared focus ring with a long focus throw
• Physical consistency across the line
• Optical consistency across the line

Alas, it does fall short on some other key aspects:

• Focus breathing is quite heavy on some lenses
• Chromatic aberrations are quite visible at wide aperture settings
• Optical quality is not as pristine as in other, admittedly pricier options

In the end, things come down to the good old price performance dilemma. Indeed, the V-AF series presents us with some impressive features, alongside some unimpressive flaws. But when taking the relatively affordable price tag and compact size into consideration, the deal seems quite fair, at least in my eyes.

Alternatives

One may find a slew of semi-fast 100mm lenses around, but when considering alternatives for the Samyang Cine AF 100mm T2.3 FE lens one should probably consider the V-AF line’s added value. With this in mind, I believe the closest competition comes from Panasonic. The LUMIX S line consists of more lenses and covers a wider focal range (LUMIX spans from 18 to 85mm with f/1.8 compared to Samyang’s 24-75 at T/1.9, or 20-75 once the next lens is launched). The LUMIX line is also better regarding focus breathing across the line and is also weather-sealed. Though the LUMIX 100 f/2.8 is slower, it boasts true 1:1 macro abilities.

Price and availability

The Samyang Cine AF 100mm T2.3 FE Lens is available for pre-order and is priced at $699.

Will you opt for the new V-AF 100 T/2.3 as your next moderate tele prime? Do you use other V-AF lenses as part of your filmmaking kit? Let us know in the comments.