Watch them end up with a year-long backlog... I guess the price is fairly reasonable for what it is and what the preproduction lenses have demonstrated. Interestingly it's about the same price as a 50 Lux ASPH... which would you prefer? I doubt I will go for the SLR Magic partly due to the size and instead hope the M10 will significantly improve high ISO performance, giving a bit more flexibility with f/1.4 lenses.
rscheffler wrote:
Watch them end up with a year-long backlog... I guess the price is fairly reasonable for what it is and what the preproduction lenses have demonstrated. Interestingly it's about the same price as a 50 Lux ASPH... which would you prefer? I doubt I will go for the SLR Magic partly due to the size and instead hope the M10 will significantly improve high ISO performance, giving a bit more flexibility with f/1.4 lenses.
Yes the Summilux 50 ASPH Is a tough lens to beat regardless of aperture...I prefer it even to the Noct .95.
Did everyone expect them to release it for under $2,000 or something? Not a chance considering the only competition is the Nocti (I don't think the CV50 f/1.1 is in the same league), therefore they have a lot of leeway about where to set the price.
Yeah, looking at Steve Huff's rolling review, this thing is tack sharp wide open with gorgeous bokeh. I'd imagine they'll sell out three years production in the first two months.
I think this will be one amazing lens! If the production runs, albeit hand assembled are anything like the pre production samples, there will be a large back log of customers waiting inline. The pricing for this lens is not unreasonable and market will determine its place very quickly
I was expecting $3000, so it's a tad over priced to me, but if the production samples are as good and if production only lasts a few years, I'd expect prices to climb to $6000.
You can order the lens with a black or green ring for the front, so black IS NOW an option.
Why the green ring? Envy?
Many people rag on the CV 50 f/1.1 and for the price, I don't know why. Maybe I won the lottery on this lens, but mine is appreciably sharp in the center, even wide open. Yeah, it has halation, fudgy point sources of light when shot wide open (horrid purple!) and some really questionable background blur (bokeh) properties but I am very happy with mine. I shoot in the dark with it, and it delivers. Stopped down, it is also great. It may not have that nice, spherical glow that the older Summiluxes or even Noctiluxes exhibit, but it's a fantastic lens for the price. And frankly, beyond it, what would one buy if the pricey Leica gl(ass) isn't an option?
Since this is probably MSRP, the real price is likely going to be lower. Still a lil' bit high for me (that, and I'd rather have the non-RF version for the NEX anyways ). Who knows.
You can order the lens with a black or green ring for the front, so black IS NOW an option.
Something's telling me the green ones aren't going to sell well.
If anyone is in Hong Kong and wants to see the lens, you can visit the SLR Magic shop at — Shop 316, 47-51 Shan Tung Street, Sim City, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
I was expecting less than $2,000 because the company has no track record and all anyone knows about them is some VAR device they tried to peddle for a some crazy marked up price (which everyone said sucked). So I was assuming they would want to build a name for themselves by releasing something almost as good as the LUX but for a nice price!
IMO only a tard company would do what they have just done by pricing it so close to the LUX with nothing to go on. So now I guess everyone will just get the LUX. It has a proven track record and the resale value we all know holds high. Yup, sounds like a SLR tard Magic move to me. At something like $1.8k even I was thinking about trying one. At $4k ?... only
Even $2.5K is too close to the LUX in my opinion... No? I guess anyone who has $2.5K to spend on a single lens can (and probably would) go the extra and get the LUX. Is that wrong?
Un, it's $7,000 cheaper than a Noctilux...with almost the exact same capabilities. Steve huff is saying in some ways it's a better lens for $7K less. That's not 'a little cheaper.'
I mean, you can buy this and a summilux for several thousand dollars less than a Noctilux. I don't think people will just say "What's another 7 grand?" that's a huge amount of money. Frankly, if this really is as good optically, I can't see anyone buying a real Noctilux except as a collectors item...it's just stupidly expensive as a photographic tool when you can get the same performance and even an almost identical look for almost 1/3 the price.
I was going to crack some jokes about it being suitable for the Sigma SD1.. but then I read the review. If Steve Huff is right (and I don't say he is) and the performance is comparable to the 0.95 Nocti then:
1) My hat off to SLR-magic if they managed to do it without all that exotic glass, floating elements and ASPH elements. A 0.95 Nocti actually costs more to produce than they sell them for. If SLR-Magic managed to do it at less than half the price and still kept a profit margin, then I'm really impressed.
2) Had this been released a year ago when I was building my rangefinder kit and spent a lot of time doing photography then I would have bought it immediately.
3) If I had to choose between a 50 Lux and a 0.95 Nocti or this one.. I would have chosen the 50 Lux. It's simply a much better and useful lens. The f/0.95 thing is awesome, but it can't be your primary 50 as it's too bulky and heavy. Plus the 50 Lux runs circles around it in the f/1.4-f/5.6 range.
"The lens will be rangefinder coupled of course, and SLR Magic is also creating a CINE version without RF coupling for $2988, for use on NEX, Micro 4/3, etc."
That is pretty sweet. Big discount for someone like me, who would use it on a NEX. Not that I'm going to spend $3000 on a lens right now, but still - significant price drop nonetheless.
Overpriced and over hyped from a company that has no track record?
I would definitely consider if it was closer to $2.5k to $3.2k. And knowing these Chinese companies, the markup on this lens is probably 1000000%? Companies like Leica and Zeiss have been around a long time.. but this one? and some of the parts are supposingly made in China too.
FlyPenFly wrote:
Probably a good chance SLR Magicians sent Huff a cherry picked sample. He gets a lot of traffic.
To be fair, he said there are 6 lenses in existence. So, I'd imagine they'll all perform pretty similarly, and 6 isn't exactly a large sample to pick from. They are hand made and can only produce 10 a month due to the way they're manufacturing them. My guess is that their tolerances are very tight because they don't want this to be a bust.
joe88 wrote:
Overpriced and over hyped from a company that has no track record?
I would definitely consider if it was closer to $2.5k to $3.2k. And knowing these Chinese companies, the markup on this lens is probably 1000000%? Companies like Leica and Zeiss have been around a long time.. but this one? and some of the parts are supposingly made in China too.
It's a little early to say if its over priced, and judging by the images it certainly doesn't look to be over hyped. Everyone has to start somewhere, but this line of thinking is exactly what Leica wants you to think, so you shell out an extra $7K for a lens that performs identically.
I am looking forward to Steve Huff's testing over the course of the next few months, as he said he's going to be stressing it to see if it holds up mechanically and such, or whether it will have build and calibration problems over time. Only time will tell.
Remember that Samyang was once viewed as a piece of garbage company who only made ultra-cheapo lenses, and now, they are viewed as producing exceptionally good optical designs for a very reasonable price. Now people get really excited anytime a new Samyang prime is announced. This looks like they've done the optical magic, but unlike Samyang, they're also really focusing on build it seems....it'll be interesting to see how it holds up, but if it does, it's a good price for a lens of this quality.
Please note that I will be unable to afford this lens regardless, but I always love seeing new great lens designs.
