Samyang and Astrodesign Join the L-Mount Alliance

Industry News

by Jakub HanJuly 14^th, 2023

Founded in 2018, the L-Mount Alliance is greeting two new members – Astrodesign and Samyang. These new additions expand the alliance to seven members and promise to bring more L-Mount lenses as well as new camera technology to customers.

The L-Mount Alliance has existed since 2018. The three founding companies – Leica, Panasonic, and SIGMA – were later joined by two additional industry players in 2021 – DJI and Leitz. The alliance has continued to grow and now includes a total of seven companies:

• Leica Camera AG
• Panasonic
• SIGMA
• Ernst Leitz Wetzlar GmbH
• DJI
• Samyang
• Astrodesign

As the name implies, the Alliance revolves around the Leica-developed lens mount standard for image sensors up to full frame. With its 51.6mm diameter and 20mm flange focal distance, the L-Mount is currently being utilized on 12 cameras and over 60 lenses.

While all the companies in the L-Mount Alliance continue to compete, they also collaborate and work with each other. Leica writes the following about the L-Mount Alliance:

The partners in the alliance utilize the L-Mount Standard for cameras and lenses that are offered under their own brand names. They market their respective products as competitors, and each with their own product and marketing strategies. The alliance works together on advancing the technology of the L-Mount Standard.

Leica Camera AG

Astrodesign and Samyang join the L-Mount Alliance

The two recent additions to the alliance promise to bring new lens options and new camera technology (and possibly new cameras?) to L-Mount customers. I believe that especially the inclusion of Samyang, a South Korean lens company, will appeal to many, as it will offer affordable lens options for L-Mount camera users.

Especially with the recently released autofocus lenses, I think that Samyang has become a respected lens manufacturer in the industry. For instance, the Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 lens (announced in April 2023 exclusively for Sony E-mount) is THE lens I would like to see on L-Mount cameras. Other autofocus primes or the 24-70mm f/2.8 from Samyang would also be a welcome addition to the L-Mount lens portfolio.

Astrodesign is a Japanese company specializing in high-resolution video solutions. Coming from a broadcast background, we have seen the company focusing on 8K technology. Back in 2018, we reported about the Astro 8K camera concept and recently, we wrote about a new Bosma G1 8K camera, which seems to be connected with Astrodesign. Anyway, I am curious to see if the company comes up with an interesting L-Mount camera anytime soon.

Do you use L-Mount cameras or lenses? Which company would you like to see joining the L-Mount Alliance next? Let us know in the comments section underneath the article.

Source: Leica