Korean lens manufacturer Samyang Optics, announced the latest addition to their ‘Tiny Series’ lens line-up, with the introduction of the new AF 24mm F1.8 FE large-aperture wide-angle prime lens, for Sony full-frame E mount cameras. The lens is tiny and lightweight, perfectly matched to Sony E-Mount camera systems.
The Samyang 24mm F1.8 FE weighs only 230g, measures 71mm in length, and uses 11 elements in 8 groups (7 special elements – 2 ASP, 3 HR, 2 ED). It has a 9-bladed iris, 58mm filter thread, and a close focus distance of just 19cm.

The AF 24mm F1.8 FE lens features a new function called “Custom Mode”, with a “LED indicator” for astrophotography. The “Custom Mode” can be operated through the newly- designed Focus Hold button. This function allows you to automatically move the focus directly to infinity, by clicking the button when entering the Custom Mode. Since the factory default value may differ very slightly on each camera body, this is a convenient function that allows you to tune, save and use the precise infinity focus value, according to your own camera body. If the focus value set through the LED indicator does not match, it will be shown with a red LED. If you then click the button, your focus value will automatically adjust to the saved value, changing the LED to green. For astrophotography enthusiasts, this is an extremely useful function for those who need to spend long periods in darkness, with confidence that their lens is set at infinity.

The lens also features a custom switch, which allows the focus ring to be used as an aperture ring (Mode 1 for AF, Mode 2 for aperture). Below is a sample gallery of images taken with the lens, provided by Samyang:

The Samyang AF 24mm F1.8 will be available in June 2021 for $549.
More info on Samyang’s website.