Samyang and Astrodesign are the L Mount Alliance’s newest members. The former is probably less well-known to photography lovers, but Samyang is a well-known company that has gained some reputation in recent years.

“Exciting news! Astrodesign and Samyang Optics have joined the L-Mount Alliance, bringing the total number of companies to seven. This collaboration will lead to innovative products benefiting a wide range of photo and video applications,” Leica Camera AG says on Twitter.

Since Astrodesign is not a well-known brand, it probably needs some introduction. Astrodesign, a company specializing in real-time high-speed digital signal processing and claiming to have created numerous “world’s first” or “first in Japan” devices, including numerous 8K cameras, was founded in 1977.

Although the company has been around far longer and was founded in 1972, Samyang is a much more well-known name among photography aficionados because it has produced lenses for consumer cameras since roughly 2009. It began by producing inexpensive, entirely manual lenses, much like Laowa, AstrHori, TTartisan, or other well-known companies from China. However, the Korean manufacturer has made significant progress and now provides some highly regarded lenses with full electronic connectivity to an attached camera and even the capability for autofocus.

Samyang had previously concentrated on bringing these kinds of lenses to DSLR mounts like Canon EF, Fujifilm X-Mount, and Sony E-mount, but now that the company has joined the L Mount Alliance, photographers can anticipate these lenses now to support Sigma, Leica, and Panasonic full-frame cameras.

Leica, Sigma, and Panasonic were the first members of the L Mount Alliance, first introduced at Photokina in 2018. Leitz Cine was eventually added, and DJI joined the group last year. Any company is welcome to apply to the Alliance, but not every applicant will be granted admission.

The organization’s website states, “The L-Mount Alliance is not a completely open alliance.” “Leica Camera AG granted Panasonic and Sigma licenses, which is how it happened. Nevertheless, if certain requirements are met, other partners might be accepted.

Seven logos are proudly displayed on the official L Mount Alliance website, demonstrating how much the organization has expanded in the last five years.