Samsung S Lens 50-150 F/2.8 officially revealed

Samsung has officially revealed its latest high-end NX lens, the S Lens 50-150 F/2.8, at its Photokina press conference in Cologne. Launched alongside the premium NX1 CSC , the telephoto lens is designed for sports, wildlife and portrait photography and should be an ideal match for the professionally-minded NX1.

Built entirely from metal and finished in black, the S Lens 50-150 is every bit the premium piece of glass. It is both dust-proof and water resistant, includes a detachable tripod mount and has a 35mm zoom equivalent of 77-231mm. It uses Samsung's Ultra Precise Stepping Motor (UPSM) for quiet zooming when shooting video.

Samsung has added its A dvanced Multi-Axis optical image stabilisation, which allows for four stops lower shutter speeds at the near and far ends of the zoom range, but up to 4.5 stops in the mid-range. Combined with an F/2.8 aperture, it should still be able to add bokeh and depth of field effects to zoomed shots.

The iFunction button lets you use the manual focus ring to control ISO, aperture and shutter speed, white balance and other shooting modes without using the on-camera controls. We've seen it before on Samsung's other NX lenses, but it makes a lot of sense on a long zoom like this; you don't have to take your eye off the subject to change settings, which should mean you have more usable shots at the end of a day's shooting.

The S Lens 50-150 F/2.8 should be going on sale later this year alongside the NX1 camera, although Samsung has yet to set an exact release date or price.