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New 16-50mm lenses added to Samsung’s lineup, including its first premium glass

In addition to the NX30 announced yesterday, Samsung also has two new lenses for NX-mount cameras.

The first is the 16-50mm F2-2.8 S ED OIS. Designed for photographers of any skill level, this particular glass is the first of Samsung’s Premium “S” Series, “which signifies end-users will be given superior optical-technology to meet their photography needs,” Samsung says. This standard 3x zoom has a f/2 aperture at 16mm, f/2.8 at 50mm; Samsung says it’s the brightest 3x zoom in its class. The lens uses an Ultra-Precise Steppping Motor, which is 3x more precise to control and focus on subjects. The lens is splash and dust proof to protect it against the elements. “Coupled with its optical image stabilizer and combination of three aspherical (ASP) lenses, two extra-low dispersion (ED) lenses, and two eXreme High Refractive (XHR) lenses, the ASP lenses reduce and nearly eliminate spherical aberration, whereas the ED elements reduce chromatic aberration and the XHR allows for a more compact and light lens,” Samsung says.

The second lens is also a 16-50mm, but with a f/3.5-5.6 aperture and isn’t as bright as the glass mentioned above. But the 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 power Zoom ED OIS kit lens is a compact lens (not as compact as the premium model) designed for travel, thanks to the light 111-gram weight and 31mm frame. The lens has Silent Auto Focusing for minimal zoom noise – ideal for videos – and an Electro zoom with a seesaw type button, which “allows photographers to simply click to zoom and take a photo from any view or angle, similar to a compact camera experience.”

Pricing and availability to be determined.

Les Shu
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I am formerly a senior editor at Digital Trends. I bring with me more than a decade of tech and lifestyle journalism…
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