This may be a bit controversial, but it seems that when a camera maker opens its lens protocols to third-party manufacturers, its system benefits in a number of ways. Sony, of course, is the prime example, and making licenses freely available right from the start has undoubtedly put it where it is today. The staggering choice of FE mount lenses is great for the system’s users, and often the third-party offerings fill in the ‘gaps’ in a camera brand’s own line-up. What an open system also says is that the camera maker is confident in the quality of its own lenses – which is very much the case with Sony – and the independents can either compete on performance or price (or sometimes both). Either way, these lenses need a camera body so, really, everybody wins one way or another.
Since Fujifilm opened up its lens protocols for the X mount, there’s been a steady flow of new autofocus lenses for the system from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina and others. Samyang and sister-brand Rokinon – now very much a mainstream players in third-party lenses rather than niche brands – joined in with the AF 12mm f/2.0 ultra-wide prime (equivalent to 18mm) and now there’s the AF 75mm f/1 .8 X (equivalent to 112.5mm). The quality of Fujifilm’s own Fujinon XF lenses is well recognized – and a key reason for many photographers adopting the system – so the bar is set high for anybody else wanting a piece of the action. Samyang already offers a number of its manual focus primes in the X mount, but the new AF lenses obviously tap into more capabilities beyond just autofocusing, including the automatic in-camera corrections
