Welcome to a guide and list of Samyang Lens Abbreviations and Acronyms. Yes, that is Samyang Optics, we are not talking about noodles here. Let us walk through some of their technical lingoes in this guide – Read on!
PRODUCT LINES
- SamyangMF – Manual focus lenses.
- SamyangXP – Premium XPert, premium manual focus lenses.
- SamyangAF – Auto-focus lenses.
- Cine – Cinematic lens.
- XEEN – Professional cinematic.
- XEEN CF – That “CF” part stands for “compact flexible”, not-so-massive lenses that are meant for video production.
Among all the third-party lens manufacturers, Samyang’s range of lenses is probably one of the simplest. Yep, there are no bells-and-whistles here, just straightforward and easy-to-understand product lines.
LENS MOUNT
- RF – Canon RF mount.
- EF – Canon EF mount.
- F – Nikon F mount.
- Z – Nikon Z mount.
- FE or E – Sony E-Mount.
- VG10 – Sony Nex-VG10.
- FF – Full-frame lens.
- CS – Crop sensor lens.
- MFT – Micro Four Thirds (4/3) lens.
Well, this is as straightforward as it can get. But still, remember to do your research on the lens compatibility before buying.
LENS ELEMENTS
- Aspherical (AS) – Shape of the lens. Read on Wikipedia if you want to learn more about it.
- Extra-low Dispersion (ED) – Lens with low light dispersion, improves sharpness and less chromatic aberration.
- Multi-Coating (MC) – Lens with multiple layers of coating, protects the glass and improves overall quality.
- Ultra Multi Coating (UMC) – An improved version of MC.
- Nano-Crystal Coating (NCS) – Anti-reflection coating.
- X-Coating – An even “betterer” kind of lens coating.
AUTOFOCUS
As above, the only distinction that Samyang makes for their lenses is Manual Focus (MF), Premium Manual Focus (XP), and Auto Focus (AF). Yep, they don’t over-glorify their AF motor technologies nor do any sort of crazy marketing.
SPECIALIZATION
- Tilt-shift (T-S): Produces blur photos, except for one sharp strip. Read more on Wikipedia if you are interested.
- Fisheye: Produces very wide but distorted photos, much like what fishes see. Read more on Wikipedia if you are interested.
- Macro: Able to shoot up-close.
- VDSLR: Lens is specific for SLR video.
- Reflex Mirror: Or known as a catadioptric lens, used for astronomy.
VERSION
Samyang adopts a versioning system that is just like Canon – Mark 1 (MK1), Mark 2 (MK2), etc…
LINKS & REFERENCES
That’s all for this short guide and I hope that it has helped you to better understand the Samyang lens abbreviations. Here are a few more extra links that may be useful to you. Good luck and happy shooting!
- Samyang Optics – Wikipedia
- Samyang lens abbreviations and acronyms with the meaning – Patrice Laborda Photography
