p.4 #2 · Am I not worthy - I am not worthy...of stellar lenses
Funny how my post about not seeing the difference between excellent lenses and the apparent summum of lenses became one comparing the summum with a cheap Chinese one.
Look, I do like the Viltrox and other cheap Chinese lenses I have (but selling them because I’m selling some full Nikon and Fuji kits), but I never expect them to compete with the best. They’re just convenient, esp when you’re not fully committed to a camera brand and just want to test the waters.
p.4 #3 · Am I not worthy - I am not worthy...of stellar lenses
rscheffler wrote:
My impression is that these lenses are held as examples to educate us about why we are being ripped off and overcharged by the mainstream brands, and especially Leica. If brand X out of country Y can sell an optically complex and advanced lens design for $200 that is 95% as good as one that sells for $1500, or $5000, clearly we are being ripped off. Or?
"...clearly, we are being ripped off."
no, i don't see it that way at all.
maybe i gave Viltrox (which applies to all Chinese brands today) too much credit.. there are other compromises that needed to be put in place to hit that 200USD price point. For one, they did not officially license the Z mount...no R&D to pay for, and virtually no customer support...and honestly that ugly-ass design language (which is important to me...i mean, imagine that Leica spent $$ to design their own fonts for their lens labels and icons for their camera menu system!)...among other things...and they certainly benefitted from the legacy optical companies (not to mention AI) to build whatever they have today. it's the same reason why I would prefer a Tesla or a Rivian over any other Chinese brand even if they start selling it here in the US (note that I hate Elon Musk like it's a full-time job)
what i'm more concerned about is that it undercuts any future efforts companies would do to further improve photography to combat the el-cheapo companies that produce profit with much less investment.
Like, think about it... when was the last time Leica produce an ORIGINAL SL lens design? most of their releases are rebadged Panasonic and Sigma lenses... I bet the new rumored 100mm macro will be yet-another rebadge.
