Fujifilm X users get a super-wide lens with autofocus
(Image credit: Samyang)
While Samyang is mostly known for its manual-focus optics, the firm has also started filling out its stable of autofocus lenses for various systems. The latest addition is this lens for Fujifilm X mirrorless cameras – the Samyang AF 12mm F2 X.
Essentially it’s an upgrade to the Samyang 12mm f2.0 NCS CS Lens for Fujifilm X, adding autofocus and a few other improvements across the board. Fujifilm isn’t the first system to gain this particular upgrade – the Samyang AF 12mm F2.0 E for Sony APS-C cameras arrived earlier this year, and impressed our reviewer with its image quality and snappy, silent autofocus.
The Fujifilm X version is also designed to provide high resolving power across the entirety of the frame. On APS-C sensors, it delivers an equivalent focal length of 18mm in full-frame terms, and its optical construction consists of 12 elements in 10 groups, with five specialized elements including extra-low-dispersion, high-refractive and aspherical. These help to correct aberration for a sharper, cleaner image.
Samyang has also included a 14-layer Ultra-Multi-Coating, designed to suppress backlight. It has a minimum focusing distance of 20cm, making it useful for close-up work as well as landscapes and wider shots. The autofocus works via a Linear STM (Stepping Motor), and according to Samyang, it’s smooth and quiet enough to be useful for video as well as stills. A seven-bladed aperture is handy for creating smooth bokeh and shallow depth of field.
The lens is relatively compact, measuring 59.2mm in length and weighing 212g. The manufacturers have pointed out that this is another useful feature for video users, as it allows the lens to be used on a gimbal if combined with a lightweight enough Fuji X camera.
Samyang has also included weather-sealing on the chassis of the lens – handy for outdoor shooting – and rear protective glass. The focus ring is made with micro-patterned rubber for a more comfortable grip.
The RRP of the Samyang AF 12mm F2 X is listed as £402, and it’s set to be available from early November 2021. It will be sold under the Rokinon brand in North America.
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Jon spent years at IPC Media writing features, news, reviews and other photography content for publications such as Amateur Photographer and What Digital Camera in both print and digital form. With his additional experience for outlets like Photomonitor, this makes Jon one of our go-to specialists when it comes to all aspects of photography, from cameras and action cameras to lenses and memory cards, flash diffusers and triggers, batteries and memory cards, selfie sticks and gimbals, and much more besides.
An NCTJ-qualified journalist, he has also contributed to Shortlist, The Skinny, ThreeWeeks Edinburgh, The Guardian, Trusted Reviews, CreativeBLOQ, and probably quite a few others I’ve forgotten.
