Spyro P. wrote:
I know Gordon, but its 10%, not 30% that Kit mentioned.
There's actually also a 5% duty charge that goes on before tax.
And what peeves me the most is that you have to pay tax on the shipping cst as well !!
sequence: combine purchase price and shipping, a 5% duty fee is payable on that figure (it also gets added to the 'value' of the item...) and then 10% is charged on top of that total (also payable), PLUS a hanling fee of about $30 like you said :\
I totally forgot about our import threshold when I bought my 5D, it ended up costing me $300 extra
It would be a looong list if one were to note all the things Leica has stated that later turned out to be not quite truthful. Not saying there will be a Leica MFT but going by what Leica states has proven time and time again to not really be accurate.
Empire wrote:
There's actually also a 5% duty charge that goes on before tax.
And what peeves me the most is that you have to pay tax on the shipping cst as well !!
sequence: combine purchase price and shipping, a 5% duty fee is payable on that figure (it also gets added to the 'value' of the item...) and then 10% is charged on top of that total (also payable), PLUS a hanling fee of about $30 like you said :\
I totally forgot about our import threshold when I bought my 5D, it ended up costing me $300 extra
Don't get me started about the cost of importing stuff to Norway!
Navyblue wrote:
I'd say it's quite ridiculous considering 50/1.8 is the cheapest lens in most systems and it takes less glass to make one for M43.
Or is it the slim form factor that are justifying?
I have a feeling Panasonic fancies themselves to be quite the high-end lensmaker. They seem to inflate their lens costs well beyond what their peers charge. Previously they were able to stick a Leica sticker on their lenses, which seemed to make most people ignore their high prices, but now that they're going it their own, they haven't lowered their prices.
I'd love a 20/1.7, but I'm not going to pay $400. I'll wait for a price drop.
What makes one think that in this day and age that name makes any difference in lens quality? Panasonic may just be just as good as Leica ... or anyone else .... in this robotics driven world.
It seems ok price wise when you consider that pani will sell every one they can mint.
Pavel wrote:
What makes one think that in this day and age that name makes any difference in lens quality? Panasonic may just be just as good as Leica ... or anyone else .... in this robotics driven world.
It seems ok price wise when you consider that pani will sell every one they can mint.
I agree! Panasonic has truely made a name for itself in the recent past. While I am a long-time Nikon fan (since purchasing my first one back in 1984), I have been very impressed with the three little Lumix's I purchased (FZ-50, LX-3, and TS-1). The lens on my TS-1 doesn't seem to have a brand. The manufacturer specs indicate that it is Leica, but it does't say it anywhere on or near the lens. I suspect it is a Panasonic. The interesting thing is that to me it doesn't matter. I would probably have gotten the same images with this camera if the lens was a Panasonic or Leica lens!
I'm sure that panasonic will sell all of these new cameras as it has the LX-3. The price seems ok but a bit steep for me at this time. I will probably wait until (if) it drops in price a bit. In the meantime I will continue to shoot with my little LX-3,
Me as well snegron. I've waited a long while for a cam like this ... I can wait a while longer. I tried the Pani G1 and found the image quality superb ... very much Leica M8 like with very good per pixel sharpness but I found the ergonomics less than what I was willing to put up with. This one is such that even if the ergonomics have not improved one bit - I can overlook it because it is so much in line with what I want. I don't exactly need pocketable but I do appreciate the lack of the bulging grip. This is really the new Leica, though the Leica-philes don't seem to know what time it is yet.
I want a 30 f 2 or faster or perhaps a 40 ... as long as it gets fairly shallow dof the most. I wonder how good a substitute the 45 macro may make for a portrait lens in the meanwhile?
Pavel wrote:
I want a 30 f 2 or faster or perhaps a 40 ... as long as it gets fairly shallow dof the most. I wonder how good a substitute the 45 macro may make for a portrait lens in the meanwhile?
Jordan Steele posted a cool thread showing his use of the Voigtländer Nokton 40mm on his EP1.
Thanks ... that is a very good review, much better than the average. I really like the manual focus implementation of the Pani G1 except that there a few few too many button pushes with adapted lenses. I hope that this GF1 model has a one button push to zoom into focus - that would be a killer for convenience and fast operation with all these fabulous MF M mount lenses.
I keep telling myself to wait ... but its getting harder and harder not to pre-order.
Pavel wrote:
I want a 30 f 2 or faster or perhaps a 40 ... as long as it gets fairly shallow dof the most. I wonder how good a substitute the 45 macro may make for a portrait lens in the meanwhile?It's awfully big for the job, but Sigma does make the 30 1.4 DC HSM in 4/3 mount.
Pavel wrote:
What makes one think that in this day and age that name makes any difference in lens quality? Panasonic may just be just as good as Leica ... or anyone else .... in this robotics driven world.
It seems ok price wise when you consider that pani will sell every one they can mint.
No argument here.
What I'm saying is, Panasonic skirted by charging a LOT of money for their lenses by reminding people of their Leica partnership. People said "oooh! Leica!" and plunked down $1000+ for a superzoom or "50/1.4".
Now that Panasonic isn't hiding behind Leica's skirt, how are they going to justify these high prices? On optical quality? None of their recent solo efforts (LX3, 14-45, 450-200, 14-140) have been that impressive once you take away the software corrections.
It seems to me Panasonic is pricing their lenses as if they were a prestigious brand. I just don't see it.
