New lenses at Photokina 2014

Lenses: A-F

We've already reported on the new cameras at Photokina 2014, but they weren't the only story. No fewer than 20 new lenses were announced in Cologne, so here's a guide to these new optics, their uses and the cameras they work with.

Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM Pancake

Mount: Canon

Price: £179/US$149/AU$168

This tiny lens weighs just 125g and it's a fraction of the size of Canon's regular 18-55mm kit lens. It's designed for speed and travel photography, where 38mm equivalent focal length closely matches the natural angle of view of the human eye and the f/2.8 maximum aperture will allow hand-held shooting even in dim lighting conditions – though this lens does not feature Canon's IS image stabilizer system, so any advantage could be cancelled out by increased risk of camera shake.

What this lens does have, though, is Canon's STM stepper motor autofocus, which delivers smooth, near-silent focusing – ideal when shooting movies. The Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 also has a minimum focus distance of just 0.16m.

Canon EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM

Mount: Canon

Price: £479/US$599/AU$675

Designed as a versatile standard zoom lens for Canon's full-frame cameras, the 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 can also be used on smaller APS-C Canons, where it will offer the equivalent of a 38-168mm focal range. It's equipped with Canon's STM (stepper motor) autofocus system, which Canon says delivers smooth and near-silent focusing. This is especially important for movies, where regular AF mechanisms could be audible in the video, and while short, sharp focus movements are fine for stills, movies need a slower, smoother focus action.

The IS in the name indicates the presence of Canons image stabilizer mechanism, which the company says will deliver a 4-stop advantage in shutter speed. Being a full-frame lens, it's no surprise it weighs in at 525g and takes 77mm filters.

Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II

Mount: Canon

Price: £6,999/US$6,899/AU$7,774

Super-telephoto lenses are usually very large and heavy, but Canon has tackled both problems in this lens using DO (Diffractive Optics) technology. This uses diffraction gratings to alter the path of light rays, and combines with regular optical glass elements to create a high level of correction for chromatic aberration (colour fringing). Canon says its new lens is also highly resistant to flare. It comes with a 4-stop image stabilizer (IS) system, has weather sealing to protect it in tough outdoor shooting environments and has 'advanced' AF controls with full manual override.

The 400mm f/4 DO can also be used with Canon's EF 1.4X II and EF 2X II teleconverters to produce a 560mm f/5.6 or an 800mm f/8 respectively. If the new lens is used on an APS-C format Canon body, like the new EOS 7D Mark II, it effectively becomes a 640mm f/4. The 400mm f/4 DO weighs 2.1kg and takes 52mm drop-in filters. This is common practice on this type of lens because the front element is too large for regular screw-in filters.

Fuji XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR

Mount: Fuji X

Price: £1,250/US$1,599/AU$1802

Fuji is extending its X-mount lens range to appeal to professional photographers, and the new Fuji XF 50-140mm f/2.8 will certainly do that. Fuji X-mount cameras use APS-C size sensors, so this lens is equivalent to a 76-213mm f/2.8 lens – the classic focal range for short-medium telephoto photography. The new lens uses Triple Linear Motor (LM) autofocus for fast, quiet focusing and has optical image stabilisation built in to further boost its low-light capabilities.

Chromatic aberration is often a problem with telephoto zooms, but Fuji says this has been 'substantially' reduced with the inclusion of five ED (extra-low dispersion) elements and one Super ED. The 50-140mm f/2.8 also features Fuji's new Nano-GI (Gradient Index) lens coatings. The barrel length remains constant during zooming – which keeps the lens balanced in your hands – and it's both weather and dust resistant, working down to a temperature of -10 degrees. The all-up weight is 995g and it takes 72mm filters.

Fuji XF 56mm f/1.2 R APD and others

Mount: Fuji X

Price: £1,100/US$1,600/AU$1,803

Fuji already makes a 56mm f/1.2 lens, but this one uses a special 'apodization' (APD) filter to further soften the edges of defocused details in the background. Fuji X-mount cameras use APS-C sensors, so this lens is actually equivalent to an 84mm f/1.2. It's the classic focal length for a portrait lens, and the unsually fast f/1.2 maximum aperture makes it perfect for isolating your subject against a blurred background.

Fuji has a number of other lenses on its roadmap for 2015, including a constant aperture 18-55mm f/2.8 R WR standard zoom, a 16mm f/1.4 R, 90mm f/2 R and a 'super-telephoto' zoom lens thought to be a 140-400mm f/4.5-5.6. If this is confirmed, this would be Fuji's longest X-mount telephoto lens yet, and equivalent to a 210-600mm f/4-5.6. This would take Fuji's X-mount system right into sports and wildlife territory.

Lenses N-S

Nikon AFS 20mm f/1.8G ED

Mount: Nikon

Price: £679/US$797/AU$898

Nikon produces a wide range of G-type zoom lenses using its 'silent wave' AF-S autofocus system, but many of the company's fixed focal length lenses are older, D-type optics, with aperture rings on the lens (now redundant) and a reliance on the older, noisier screw drive autofocus system in the camera body – and Nikon's D3000-series and D5000-series cameras no longer offer in-camera autofocus drive. So although Nikon already has a 20mm f/2.8 D-type lens, this new 20mm f/1.8G ED brings both faster, quieter autofocus and an improvement of more than one stop in the maximum aperture.

The Nikkor AF-S 20mm f/1.8G ED is designed as a super-wideangle lens for full-frame (FX) Nikon D-SLRs but, like all of Nikon's full-frame lenses, it can also be used on the company's smaller-format DX models, though the effective focal length becomes 30mm, so it will act like a medium-wideangle lens rather than a super-wide.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro

Mount: Micro Four Thirds

Price: £1,499/US$1,499/AU$1,689

Olympus produced an extensive range of professional lenses for its Four Thirds format D-SLRs and now it's doing the same for its Micro Four Thirds cameras – you can use the older Four Thirds lenses with these too, but you need an adaptor. The new 40-150mm f/2.8 has a constant maximum aperture and, because of the 2x crop factor of the Micro Four Thirds sensor, it has an effective focal range of 80-300mm. This gives it the edge over the classic 70-200mm f/2.8 pro zooms of other makers. You can also use the M.Zuiko Digital 1.4x Teleconverter to give you the equivalent of a 112-420mm f/4 lens.

The 40-150mm f/2.8 is dust, splash and freeze proof, and Olympus claims a world first: an AF system that powers two lens elements with linear motors for very fast, very quiet autofocus. A clutch system offers a rapid switch to manual focus, and the lens incorporates a unique sliding lens hood so that you don't have to wrestle with a bayonet fitting.

Samsung 50-150mm f/2.8 S ED OIS

Mount: Samsung NX

Price: £1,199/US$1,599/AU$1,802

Samsung has showed its determination to break into the pro market with the Samsung NX1, and it's backing it up with new, pro-grade lenses, too, including the Samsung 50-150mm f/2.8 S ED OIS. This is one of Samsung's 'Premium S' lenses – you can already get a Premium S 16-50mm f/2-2.8 standard zoom. Samsung NX cameras use an APS-C size sensor, so the 50-150mm is actually equivalent to 77-231mm – the classic focal range for a short-medium telephoto lens. It has 4.5-stop optical image stabilisation built in, with 4-axis control and a 6-axis sensor.

Four ED elements and one XHR (eXtreme High Refractive) element are used to combat chromatic aberration, and the SHS (Samsung Hyper Shield) coating on the front lens element is designed to protect against dust, moisture, fingerprints smears and even fogging. The pro specs are boosted by a custom focus range limiter – focus limiters speed up autofocus and reduce errors. The new lens weighs in at 915g and takes 72mm filters.

Samyang 12mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS Fish-eye

Mount: TBC

Price: TBC

Samyang's new fisheye lens is designed for full-frame cameras, and it's the company's widest full-frame lens yet, with an angle of view of 180 degrees. It's also quite advanced, with three ED (extra-low dispersion) elements and featuring Samyang's own nanocrystal anti-reflective lens coating. This is used alongside the company's regular UMC coatings to improve contrast and colour reproduction.

There's no news yet on the mounts this new lens will be available in, or the price. You can use full-frame fisheyes on APS-C format cameras, but this is one instance where the crop factor of the smaller sensor doesn't work to your advantage – the point of a fisheye is its extreme angle of view, and much of this would be lost on a camera with a smaller sensor.

Schneider Xenon 35mm f/1.6, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/2.4 Makro Symmar

Mount: Canon, Nikon

Price: TBC

Schneider Kreuznach has launched a new series of lenses 'recalculated' for today's high-resolution D-SLRs and designed for full-frame Nikon and Canon DSLRs. These are premium-quality 'old-school' manual focus lenses.

The Nikon versions have preset iris rings, mechanical automatic iris and electronic connection to the camera, whereas the Canon versions have motorised iris control and electronic connection to the body (if you use a Canon, the aperture is controlled by the camera body). Schneider is keen to preserve the optical 'look' of classic lenses while matching the resolution of today's camera bodies.

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM C/S

Mount: Sigma, Canon, Nikon, Sony

Price: Contemporary TBC, Sports £1,600/US$1999/AU$2,090

Sigma has announced two 'hyper-telephoto' lenses which could easily get confused because the specifications are the same. In fact, the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 comes in both Contemporary and Sports versions which have optical as well as physical differences. The Contemporary version is optically less complex and a little smaller and lighter, and is designed for handheld use.

The S (Sports) version is larger, heavier and more advanced. It's designed to give maximum image quality. Both can be used with Sigma's new teleconverters, the TC-1401 (1.4x magnification with a 1-stop loss in maximum aperture) and TC-2001 (2x magnification with a 2-stop loss in maximum aperture). These are both 'DG' lenses, which means they can be used on both full-frame and APS-C cameras. Both have Sigma's optical stabilisation system built in. The full specs for the Contemporary version have yet to be announced, but the Sports version weighs in at 2.86kg.

Lenses S-Z

Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM

Mounts: Sigma, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Pentax

Price: £500/US$579/AU$677

Sigma's new superzoom lens is designed for APS-C cameras, and offers a huge 16.6x zoom range – though it has been trumped by the slightly wider Tamron 16-300mm. The Sigma 18-300mm does, however, offer a 0.39m minimum focus distance, making it very good for close-ups – and you will also be able to get a close-up lens attachment to offer a 1:2 magnification ratio, which gets close to the magnification offered by true macro lenses.

Sigma claims this lens features a newly-developed OS (optical stabilisation) system to reduce shake, and there are four FLD (low dispersion) elements and one SLD (special low dispersion) element within the lens to minimise chromatic aberration at longer focal lengths – this is often an issue with superzooms. The price is competitive and the weight is a manageable 585g, so this could be the ideal all-in-one lens for photographers who want one zoom that can do practically any job.

Sony FE PZ 28-135mm F4 G OSS

Mount: Sony E

Price: £2,500/US$2,500/AU$2,818

Sony has announced what it claims is the world's first 35mm full frame lens with power zoom capability. The PZ 28-135mm f/4 looks (and is) fabulously expensive, but it's designed with the very specific requirements of videographers in mind.

Variations in the angle of view while focusing (it's called 'breathing') are minimised, as are changes in focus when you change the zoom. These are relatively unimportant for stills photography but highly significant for video. There are three control rings for zoom, focus and iris adjustment – again, a video-specific feature – and the power-zoom mechanism provides a smoother, more progressive zoom action.

Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD

Mounts: Canon EF-S & EF, Nikon DX & FX, Sony

Price: TBC

The new Tamron SP 15-50mm f/2.8 is designed for full-frame sensors, and offers a tantalising alternative to the premium own-brand lenses from camera makers. The combination of a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture and Tamron's own VC (Vibration Compensation) technology should make it very effective in low-light conditions, and its 9-bladed diaphragm is designed to produce a smooth, attractive bokeh in out-of-focus backgrounds.

The new lens is equipped with Tamron's USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) autofocus with full-time manual override, and the front element is water and dirt repellent – which is especially handy on super-wideangle lenses with large, convex front elements. You could also use this lens on APS-C cameras with compatible mounts, but it will lose its super-wide angle of view. It's a pretty substantial-looking lens with a weight of 540g – but that's par for the course with fixed-aperture super-wide zooms.

Tokina AT-X 70-200mm F4/4 PRO FX VCM-S

Mount: Nikon

Price: £699/US$1,099/AU$1,238

Tokina's new 70-200mm f/4 is designed as a step up from regular consumer telephoto zooms and a more affordable alternative to professional zoom lenses. The fixed f/4 maximum aperture will make the Tokina handy in low light, especially at longer zoom settings, and Tokina's own VCM (vibration control module) image stabilisation system should help keep images sharp even at marginal shutter speeds. The 'S' in the name denotes the use of a high-speed ultrasonic AF motor.

The Tokina 70-200mm f/4 is designed for full-frame cameras, but you can also use it on APS-C models, where it becomes the equivalent of a 135-300mm f/4 lens. It feels fairly hefty at 980g, however, and competes head-on with Nikon's own, lighter, 70-200mm f/4.

Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4

Mount: Canon, Nikon

Price: £3,429/US$4,490/AU$5.060

Zeiss Otus lenses are full-frame, fixed focal length lenses designed for photographers who want the best possible quality. The new 85mm f/1.4, first shown at Photokina 2014, is a classic 'portrait' lens, though lenses of this type are also ideal for general photography, combining a short telephoto angle of view with a wide maximum aperture.

The Otus 85mm f/1.4 uses special glass with 'anomalous partial dispersion' to counter longitudinal chromatic aberration – colouration around the edges of out-of-focus objects. The Canon version is designated ZE, while the Nikon version is designated ZF.2. These are both pretty solid lenses, weighing in at 1,200g and 1,140g respectively.

Zeiss Loxia 35mm f/2 and 50mm f/2

Mount: Sony E

Price: £985/US$1,299/AU$1,464 (35mm f/2), £720/US$949/AU$1,069 (50mm f/2)

These new Zeiss Loxia lenses are designed specifically for Sony's full-frame E mount cameras. They are manual focus only but they do feature an electronic interface that can activate a magnified view on the camera.

Both lenses use a mechanical aperture control, though the click-stops can be disabled to allow smooth, stepless aperture adjustments while shooting video – more and more lens makers are making lenses with videography in mind. The maximum aperture of f/2 makes it possible to shoot in low light at lower ISO settings (therefore less noise) and to create shallow depth of field effects with blurred backgrounds.

Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS

Mount: Sony E

Price: £1,199/$US1,349/AU$1,521

Designed for Sony's new full-frame E-mount cameras, the Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 is a super-wideangle zoom that complements Zeiss's existing 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses for this camera. Unlike the Zeiss Otus and Loxia lenses, this one does offer autofocus – it also has OSS (Optical SteadyShot) lens-based image-stabilisation.

The T* in the name stands for Zeiss's own T* lens coating, which minimises ghosting and flare. The f/4 maximum aperture is not quite as wide as the f/2.8 apertures on some rival brands, but it does make the Zeiss relatively light and portable – it's also dust and moisture resistant. These full-frame E-mount Zeiss lenses are actually a joint branding exercise between Sony and Zeiss, which is why you'll see them for sale on the Sony Store website.

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