Meiki’s New Air f/1.7 Primes Could Be a Cheap, Lightweight Hit for APS-C Shooters

Third-party lens makers have been getting more and more interesting over the last few years, and Meike looks like it wants a bigger slice of that pie. While wandering the show floor at The Photography Show 2026, we stopped by the booth.

We had a chat with Richard, who told us all about Meike’s latest releases, including a new trio of compact APS-C primes and an updated full-frame 85mm f/1.4.

New Meike Air Series 25mm, 35mm & 56mm f/1.7 lens trio

The headline announcement at the Meike booth was the company’s new “Air” series for APS-C lenses. The range currently consists of a 25mm f/1.7, 35mm f/1.7, and 56mm f/1.7, and the big idea here is size and weight. They’re all designed to be compact, lightweight lenses, coming in at around 200g, and they all share the same overall size and weight.

That might not sound like a huge deal on paper, but in practice, it could make them very useful. If you’re shooting on a gimbal, for example, or even something like a drone setup where balance matters, having lenses that all match physically makes life a lot easier. Swap one out for another, and you’re not suddenly throwing the whole rig out of whack.

Meike says the Air series is planned for Sony E, Nikon Z, and Fujifilm X mounts, with Micro Four Thirds potentially coming later. As someone who still shoots Micro Four Thirds, that definitely caught my attention.

As for availability, Richard said they should be landing in May. Pricing isn’t confirmed yet, but the current estimate is around £100 per lens. That sounds extremely low, so I’d treat that as very provisional for now. Still, even if they end up coming in higher than that, they could be very interesting budget autofocus options if the performance holds up.

Meike 85mm f/1.4 Mark II

Meike was also showing a larger lens aimed at full-frame shooters: the new 85mm f/1.4 Mark II. This is an update to the existing 85mm f/1.4, and Richard says the company has taken on board customer feedback from the first version and used it to refine the new one.

One of the big changes is weight. The Mark II is said to be around 100g lighter than the original, which is always welcome with an 85mm f/1.4. Meike has also added some more video-friendly features, including an aperture lock and improved aperture control for both stills and video shooters.

Internally, it’s also had a motor upgrade. Richard says the previous version used an STM motor, while the new model moves to Hyper VCM, which should offer faster and quieter autofocus. The company is also apparently researching BCM motor technology for future products, so it sounds like autofocus development is something Meike is putting real effort into right now.

The new 85mm f/1.4 M2 is expected to be released for Sony E, Nikon Z, and L-Mount systems.

Are We Getting Canon RF Mount Lenses?

Naturally, I had to ask about Canon RF, because that’s always the awkward one in these conversations. Richard didn’t have anything concrete to announce, only saying that licensing is still a hurdle and that the company is in contact with Canon. So, no RF confirmation yet, but it’s clearly something Meike would like to do if it can.

And then there was one last tease.

Right now, Meike’s lens lineup is all primes, but Richard said the company won’t be stopping there. He hinted that at least one zoom lens is expected this year, with both APS-C and full-frame zooms in development. He wouldn’t say exactly what was coming, but it sounds like zooms are finally on the way.

So, Meike’s plans for 2026 look pretty ambitious. The little Air primes could end up being a fun, affordable option for APS-C shooters. The updated 85mm f/1.4 suggests the company is also serious about continuing to improve its more premium full-frame glass. And with zoom lenses apparently in the pipeline, this could be a brand worth keeping a closer eye on.

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