# Samyang Teases 100mm f/2.8 Macro



## Canon Rumors Guy (Mar 30, 2015)

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Samyang has begun their usual teasing of  a new lens on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SAMYANGOPTICS/photos/a.253977127947864.74886.251090761569834/962876513724585/?type=1" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. This time it’s the 100mm macro.</p>
<blockquote><p>With immense focus and unparalleled features, <a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/samyangoptics" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}">#Samyangoptics</a> will introduce the latest product. Stay tuned.</p></blockquote>
<p>How many of you own Samyang lenses? Sound off on the forum.</p>
```


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## Maximilian (Mar 30, 2015)

As stated before in the rumor thread about this lens
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=25662.msg506115#msg506115
this one should have something unique to justify the rumored pricepoint of $800.

Some days waiting and we'll know...


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## Sith Zombie (Mar 30, 2015)

Maximilian said:


> As stated before in the rumor thread about this lens
> http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=25662.msg506115#msg506115
> this one should have something unique to justify the rumored pricepoint of $800.
> 
> Some days waiting and we'll know...



Maybe its crazy sharp like the 135mm is reported to be? but will that be enough, when your not getting IS or AF??


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## Chapman Baxter (Mar 30, 2015)

I can't remember the last time I used AF for macro and I usually use a tripod (for focus stacking as well as stability) so if that's your style of macro shooting, the lack of AF and IS might not be a problem. But I agree with others about the ambitious pricing of this lens.


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## risc32 (Mar 30, 2015)

i never us AF for macro stuff either, so if i was in the market for a macro i would consider a samyang. but then again without AF, for me at least, it would pretty much be a one trick pony. i would also be considering nikon lenses at that point. so the competition has increased, plus, aren't just about all macro lenses excellent? and with the limited DOF of macro stuff anyway are we talking about a 15% improvement over an area of 1 mm? but the more the merrier, i hope they bring it.


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## gsealy (Mar 30, 2015)

I have the Rokinon 35mm and 85mm (T1.5) cine style versions. I like them a lot. They are completely manual (both focus and aperture). They are nicely sharp without fringing at about T2.5.


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## surapon (Mar 30, 2015)

Yes, Dear Samyang.
Please make a great quality of Lenses and Great DSLR in a GOOD / CHEAP PRICE, And That will be the same as " Made in Japan" since 1975 All the Cars, Trucks / Made in Japan are top hit in USA, up to 2-3 years ago---That " Made in Korea" start to beat " Made in Japan"
That Samyang Great and Cheap Lenses will make Canon fan ( Me Too) might spend more money for Korea. and Less money for Japan.
Surapon.


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## weixing (Mar 30, 2015)

Canon Rumors said:


> Samyang has begun their usual teasing of a new lens on their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SAMYANGOPTICS/photos/a.253977127947864.74886.251090761569834/962876513724585/?type=1" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>. This time it’s the 100mm macro.</p>
> <blockquote><p>With immense focus and unparalleled features, <a class="_58cn" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/samyangoptics" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}">#Samyangoptics</a> will introduce the latest product. Stay tuned.</p></blockquote>
> <p>How many of you own Samyang lenses? Sound off on the forum.</p>


 "Unparalleled features" includes no IS and no front and back focus issue because we have no AF... ha ha ha ;D

Anyway, I think most people doing macro don't use AF much, so I think this lens will sell if sharp and cheap... 

Have a nice day.


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## NancyP (Mar 30, 2015)

If it is a true APO lens and has excellent microcontrast, then there's a market for it - individuals who would like to get the Zeiss 100 f/2 but don't have the money.


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## MARKOE PHOTOE (Mar 30, 2015)

I own only the Samyang 14mm f2.8 lens and it is crazy sharp. Really depend on this lens 100%. Its lightweight and has little distortion throughout the range. I've got the Zeiss 100mm f2.0 and as far and color and clarity, these are very close.

Not a part of this forum but I've wondered how others cover their landscape ranges. Here is the short list for landscape work I'm doing.

14mm Samyang
16-35 f4L IS Canon
24mm Canon TSE (Archt'l)
35mm Sigma Art
50mm Zeiss 2.0 (Pano's)
100mm Zeiss 2.0


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## ikral (Mar 30, 2015)

Could this be a tilt-shift macro? "unparalleled features"....


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## jebrady03 (Mar 30, 2015)

"We know photographers hate AF and IS so here at Samyang, we've removed them from our lenses, thereby making THAT a feature! Samyang - Unparalleled Features!"


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## lintoni (Mar 30, 2015)

ikral said:


> Could this be a tilt-shift macro? "unparalleled features"....


No - the outline of the lens is shown in the tease picture - no tilt-shift....


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## risc32 (Mar 30, 2015)

forgot to add that i own a samyang 14mm. it's better optically than the 16-35mm v2 canon i had. maybe the new "feature" is being considered disposable. that's how i see my 14mm. i treat it gently as i don't think there is any service center or after purchase support at all. but at that price that's a trade off i made. at some 800$? i can't imagine how i could possibly consider it over a MF nikon or nearly any of the Af options out there from canon or third party makers. 

btw- it is just me but it seems that pretty well anyone can make a VERY good lens these days?


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## captainkanji (Mar 30, 2015)

If the price is right, I'd definitely consider this lens. I recently bought the 14mm and hope to get more use out of it once winter goes away.


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## bholliman (Mar 30, 2015)

I use my Canon EF 100/2.8L macro as both a macro and a short telephoto lens. I probably use it more as a short tele than macro, so AF is important to me. This Samyang lens would be a great option for those who only shoot macro with it.


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## SoullessPolack (Mar 30, 2015)

MARKOE PHOTOE said:


> I own only the Samyang 14mm f2.8 lens and it is crazy sharp. Really depend on this lens 100%. Its lightweight and has little distortion throughout the range. I've got the Zeiss 100mm f2.0 and as far and color and clarity, these are very close.
> 
> Not a part of this forum but I've wondered how others cover their landscape ranges. Here is the short list for landscape work I'm doing.
> 
> ...



I'm using the same gear, minus the Zeisses. When I say using, it's more "have" than "use" recently. Most my work recently has been through backpacking deep in the backcountry, where I've gone to ultralight gear all around (minus the camera/tripod), so I no longer can bring a plethora of lenses. All I bring now is the camera + 16-35 f4. There are times I wish I had the Samyang 14mm, or the TSE, but in the end, the 16-35 f4 performs well enough that it is a fine substitute. Which is kind of sad, because the Samyang is so good, and has tremendous performance for the price. 

However, I've told all my friends to get the 14mm. It's so cheap for a lens of its caliber, that you could consider it almost free, and there's no reason you shouldn't own one. Unfortunately, I wish their newer lenses had this same performance for the price, which they don't. The newer lenses are certainly good, but they're not priced much differently than their AFing counterparts.


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## 9VIII (Mar 30, 2015)

lintoni said:


> ikral said:
> 
> 
> > Could this be a tilt-shift macro? "unparalleled features"....
> ...



Dang it, that was my next guess and most desired feature.
A 2x macro with amazing optics would still be a day 1 purchase.


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## Dutchy (Mar 30, 2015)

I own the Samyang 8mm f3.5 fisheye, which is a nice, well built lens. It needs to stopped down to f5.6 minimum to be sharp, manual focus is not an issue, everything further than 30cms is in focus.

Last weekend I visited a Photography "trade show" (Professional Imaging, in The Netherlands) and visited the Samyang booth. I had a look at their new 12mm f2.8 fisheye (which is the full frame equivalent to my 8mm "APS-C" fisheye) and their new 135mm f2.

I'd like to get the 12mm fisheye and sell my 8mm, but I don't use the fisheye all that much. I'd rather spend money now on a 135mm f2 but the manual focus puts me off, plus there's no EXIF info in the pictures you take at all, which is not convenient.

I also own the Canon 100mm f2.8 macro (non-L) and use that for portraits too, so I would not be a customer for their 100mm MF macro.


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## vscd (Mar 30, 2015)

I *really* like the Samyang lenses. I own the 35mm 1.4 and the 14mm 2.8, both with an excellent quality and sharpness. The buildquality is L-Like and the Focusring well damped.

The only thing I miss is an automatic aperture, hell knows why they didn't include a simple chip in it. The optics of the 35mm are even better than the 35mm Sigma Art and the 14mm knows no Coma at all. To announce a 100mm Makro with "unparalleled features" really is a word, but I can't imaging what they mean. The Canon L is at the same price, a fantastic performer with a hybrid-IS and weathersealing. To beat the 100L at the same price they need at least a 2:1 Makro or something mindblowing...

I'm more curious about it, than waiting for...


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## ScottyP (Mar 30, 2015)

vscd said:


> I *really* like the Samyang lenses. I own the 35mm 1.4 and the 14mm 2.8, both with an excellent quality and sharpness. The buildquality is L-Like and the Focusring well damped.
> 
> The only thing I miss is an automatic aperture, hell knows why they didn't include a simple chip in it. The optics of the 35mm are even better than the 35mm Sigma Art and the 14mm knows no Coma at all. To announce a 100mm Makro with "unparalleled features" really is a word, but I can't imaging what they mean. The Canon L is at the same price, a fantastic performer with a hybrid-IS and weathersealing. To beat the 100L at the same price they need at least a 2:1 Makro or something mindblowing...
> 
> I'm more curious about it, than waiting for...



Exactly. Why no chip for auto aperture??? You can buy one for Linder $20 and glue it onto these lenses, so why in the world would they not include something that cheap that adds so much functionality? I can't understand it.


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## grainier (Mar 30, 2015)

ScottyP said:


> vscd said:
> 
> 
> > I *really* like the Samyang lenses. I own the 35mm 1.4 and the 14mm 2.8, both with an excellent quality and sharpness. The buildquality is L-Like and the Focusring well damped.
> ...



Because chip alone won't give you automatic aperture. You can glue it on and it will give you partial EXIF, depending on how codable it is, but to have automatic aperture you need a camera-controlled mechanism that will move the blades, meaning probably some sort of electromagnetic actuator wired to the chip.


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## slclick (Mar 30, 2015)

I never use AF for Macro either but I do use my macro lens for things other than macro and thus, AF is nice to have. If you have a good copy, there are few lenses sharper than a Canon 100L.


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## CanoKnight (Mar 30, 2015)

Looks like Samyang wants to do to the Japanese (Canon/Nikon) what Hyundai did (is doing) to Toyota and Honda, or what Samsung did to Sony and Panasonic. That is steal sales by offering high quality/competitively priced products. I see them still being a long way in that respect but they do have my admiration.


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## yorgasor (Mar 31, 2015)

I'm loving these new Samyang releases. I have a modified Nikon D3s (w/ a Canon split prism focusing screen of all things). Between the focus screen and the camera's focus dot indicator, I have a lot of success with MF lenses. I'm disappointed the 5D3 or 7D2 don't have better manual focusing aids. I use Magik Lantern on the 5D3, which is a huge help unless you're outside in bright daylight.


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## scott_m (Mar 31, 2015)

maybe it'll be f/2 (t/2?) and go to 1:1 reproduction ratio - which if I'm not mistaken would make it the only 100mm lens with those specs available, by anyone? Perhaps it'll go _*beyond*_ 1:1 and still have infinity focus?

In any case I look forward to this release, but it better be awesome for $800 with no AF/IS...


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## Maximilian (Mar 31, 2015)

bholliman said:


> I use my Canon EF 100/2.8L macro as both a macro and a short telephoto lens. I probably use it more as a short tele than macro, so AF is important to me. This Samyang lens would be a great option for those who only shoot macro with it.


+1 
Of course there is "serious" macro photography, with tripod, no need of AF and so on. 
And if the Samyang has really, really great IQ then the price might be right. 
But I also love taking an occasional macro photo while hiking or walking around. 
Not planning for it, no need for taking a tripod with me, etc. So I found "my" macro lens: 100L.


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## Zv (Mar 31, 2015)

I have two Samyang lenses - the wonderful 14mm f/2.8 and the 8mm fisheye for the EOS M. Both are great fun to play about with. I have a Dandelion chip on my 14mm but I might have not bothered as the only useful thing about it is that it now reports 14mm as the focal length instead of 50mm (man that must have confused a few folk on Flickr!) 
Kudos to Samyang though for making these focal lengths accessible to budget users. 

I think Samyang are on a hot streak and I'm looking forward to hearing more about this macro lens. I don't own a macro lens but if the price is reasonable I might look into it. If not the Canon non L will do just fine.


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## Marsu42 (Mar 31, 2015)

Sith Zombie said:


> Maybe its crazy sharp like the 135mm is reported to be? but will that be enough, when your not getting IS or AF??



Proably it's "sharp enough" to work with Canon's 50mp sensor, because for the legacy 20mp sensors the 100L is certainly as good as it gets concerning sharpness. Bokeh for portraits could be improved a bit though, but to be fair the 100L is a macro lens that is just dual-usable for portrait.


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## Mr Bean (Mar 31, 2015)

I do use AF for macro work. Mainly for wildflowers, orchids, with the camera on a tripod (so no IS required), I like the ability to move the focus points around to suit the subject. And on occasion, I used the AF to photograph flying insects. A challenge, but it can work well.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Apr 1, 2015)

I've owned several older Samyang lenses, they were low priced, and pretty much junk quality. These were before the digital camera era.

When I saw all the hype about their 14mm lens for Canon, I thought it might make a good wide angle lens for my 1D MK III. 

First, I read the manual they included, and was disappointed to read that it was optimized and recommended only for crop cameras (How many read the manual).


Then, I tried it on my 1D MK III, and it locked up the camera such that exposures were badly overexposed. Then putting a EF lens on the camera also would no longer work. 

I did a total camera reset, and was then able to take a photo, but the entire left side of the image was horrible, and contrast was lower than I expected. I put on my Canon 15mm FE, and it was wonderful by comparison, and I had paid $100 less for it.

Even though the lens was obviously defective, I had to pay return shipping.

Some people think their wonderful, I just shake my head, I've even had a Samyang spotting scope, same story, just cheap junk.


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## Sunnystate (Apr 1, 2015)

Have to say that, I agree but to some point. 
I got one for astrophotography and tested against my Canon 14mmII, in daylight for normal use Canon wins on most counts. But at night when shooting broad milkyway captures lack of coma in Samyang beats Canon's 14mmII, mustache distortion really does not play any role, others like vignetting are not that much worse than that of Canon and easy to fix in PS.

"For the price" as most people usually states in the reviews you can't beat the Samyang, and it is not that hard to understand how many people will never be able or willing to spend 2-3K for a super wide Canon lens, so lets respect the fact that they have an option that for the price is actually very good 



Mt Spokane Photography said:


> I've owned several older Samyang lenses, they were low priced, and pretty much junk quality. These were before the digital camera era.
> 
> When I saw all the hype about their 14mm lens for Canon, I thought it might make a good wide angle lens for my 1D MK III.
> 
> ...


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## jdramirez (Apr 1, 2015)

Chapman Baxter said:


> I can't remember the last time I used AF for macro and I usually use a tripod (for focus stacking as well as stability) so if that's your style of macro shooting, the lack of AF and IS might not be a problem. But I agree with others about the ambitious pricing of this lens.



The last time I did any macro work, I killed my subject so they wouldn't move. I don't think the cops are going to come knocking at my door over a stink bug... but generally I tripod mount, use really small apertures like f/11 or smaller, what I would like to do is get some cheap spacers and still have control over my aperture and focus. Huh. $800... nope. I'm out of the market... at least the new market. I might be in around $600 new... and then wait to buy a used wait at $450... 

I loved my two 100L's... but at minimum focusing distance and f/11ish... my depth of field was crazy thin and while I could work with it... it isn't what I wanted...

With a samyang 100 and a spacer... I'm probably looking at even small dof... So maybe... I just get out while the getting is good.

I did consider the 65mm mp-e... but I really did want a focus ring... huh...


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## dadgummit (Apr 1, 2015)

jdramirez said:


> Chapman Baxter said:
> 
> 
> > I can't remember the last time I used AF for macro and I usually use a tripod (for focus stacking as well as stability) so if that's your style of macro shooting, the lack of AF and IS might not be a problem. But I agree with others about the ambitious pricing of this lens.
> ...



At $450 you can pick up a mint Canon 100 USM Macro which has auto aperture and AF and have enough left over for a nice lunch. If you are one that does not use AF the Canon 100 does MF too. Though there is a chance that on a focus chart the samyang may be marginally better but it would have to be better AND cheaper than the alternative for me to give up auto aperture. 

The 14mm f2.8 at about $275 is a great deal because any alternatives are thousands of dollars more. If this lens is just a little sharper than the canon but gives up AF, auto aperture, EXIF reporting, and canon quality it is a no go even at $400 much less than $800.

BUT if it is a 2X macro or better with the ability to infinity focus as well that changes everything!


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## jdramirez (Apr 1, 2015)

dadgummit said:


> At $450 you can pick up a mint Canon 100 USM Macro which has auto aperture and AF and have enough left over for a nice lunch. If you are one that does not use AF the Canon 100 does MF too. Though there is a chance that on a focus chart the samyang may be marginally better but it would have to be better AND cheaper than the alternative for me to give up auto aperture.
> 
> The 14mm f2.8 at about $275 is a great deal because any alternatives are thousands of dollars more. If this lens is just a little sharper than the canon but gives up AF, auto aperture, EXIF reporting, and canon quality it is a no go even at $400 much less than $800.
> 
> BUT if it is a 2X macro or better with the ability to infinity focus as well that changes everything!



The spacers I would use cost fifteen bucks. So they don't communicate the aperture or auto focus from the body to the lens... Which is why I would be ok with a manual aperture. I could hit the dof preview, but that is one step more than I'm willing to do


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## grainier (Apr 1, 2015)

scott_m said:


> maybe it'll be f/2 (t/2?) and go to 1:1 reproduction ratio



How often do you see macro shots done wide open at max magnification?


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## mackguyver (Apr 1, 2015)

grainier said:


> scott_m said:
> 
> 
> > maybe it'll be f/2 (t/2?) and go to 1:1 reproduction ratio
> ...


I see far too many on the web, actually ;D


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## jdramirez (Apr 1, 2015)

Who wants to point me to a good tutorial on macro focus stacking. I know how it is done... but I imagine I need a better head/tripod if I use a 65 mp-e... or a better system of moving the focus ring...


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## Xenol (Apr 2, 2015)

Just been released: http://www.syopt.com/en/camera/photo-lenses-100mm-F2.8-ED-UMC-MACRO.php


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## vscd (May 11, 2015)

Can someone point out the "Magic New Thingy" on the lense, now that it's available? I don't see anything special at all.


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## Maximilian (May 11, 2015)

vscd said:


> Can someone point out the "Magic New Thingy" on the lense...


Marketing?


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## NancyP (May 11, 2015)

Michael Erlewine has written some tutorials on focus stacking. check out spiritgrooves.net for list of free pdfs and youtube videos.


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## vscd (May 11, 2015)

...but focus stacking has nothing to do with the lense, does it? ???


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