SLRmagic informed via Twitter that the new 12mm f/1.6 lens for Micro Four Thirds will cost around $499 and be available in August. The lens is made of metal and designed froms cratch for Micro Four Thirds.
As you know Slrmagic already makes three lenses (but they are not as good as the new Noktor):
SLR magic 11mm f/1.4 lens you can preorder on [shoplink 22154 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]
Toy Lens 26mm f/1.4 lens on [shoplink 18603 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]
SLR Magic 35mm f/1.7 MC lens on [shoplink 14881 ebay]eBay (Click here)[/shoplink]
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Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge the pictures. All pictures have been taken with the Noktor 12mm preproduction lens!
30 Responses
Seems a bit steep. I’d rather put that money towards a Panasonic 14mm pancake. The Noktor is a little big-ish too, not a big fan. Besides, I got my Computar 12.5mm f/1.3 C-mount lens for $30ish. I can live with the vignetting if it means saving $469.
That said, good luck to them and hopefully the image quality is great.
I want this to be good, but I’m a bit apprehensive about SLRmagic-era Noktor lens
I know why the front of the lens looks like that. They’ve taken a C-mount F1.6 lens, put wide converter at the front and m4/3 adapter at the back.
The price is quite high, the image quality has to be very good for 499 USD. No vignetting, sharp(ish) corners, good at multiple apertures. And all that on 16 MPx, not 2.
I’m afraid you’re right 🙁
The price seems a bit high. For that sort of money I could get almost get the 9-18mm Olympus lens – yes i know that the aperature is not as wide but really thats not a huge deal for me.
Come to think about – all I need is another $300 on top and I could get the Olympus 12/2 which would be a much sharper lens.
yes and if you add another 300 on top of the 12/2 you can get an X100. Another $300 and you get the X1. Can’t really value things this way. Lets see how the IQ will be. This lens looks good for indoor video for concerts
He’s comparing two m4/3 lenses of the same focal length with similar apertures, so it’s a perfectly valid comparison, especially given SLR Magic’s reputation for low-quality glass.
+1: agreed.
Unless you don’t need AF (videographers) then the rug has been pulled from under SLRmagic by Oly’s 12/f2. Still a useful option for some if the quality is there. If it’s not, it will take more than changing brand name to regain any credibility.
I’d prefer something not too expensive, acceptable quality around 45…50 mm (90…100 eq) and faster than 1.4. The Noktor 0.95 would be excellent if the price was at least reasonable…
The Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f.95 is expensive, but as they say, you get what you pay for. Given the all-around level of quality, it seems fairly reasonable. it’s too bad the price jumped $300 in the past few months.
Voigtländer makes other excellent Leica M mount primes that won’t bankrupt you.
There’s a tiny 40mm f1.4 ($479) that gets very good reviews. They also make a 50mm f1.5 for $699. I just got their 35mm f1.4 ($579) that’s extremely nice. I got a Rainbow Imaging adaptor for $16 instead of spending $180 on the Voigtländer adaptor! The lens almost paid for itself! (how’s that for solid rationalization? ;-). )
With the upcoming ZD 12mm f2, I doubt this will sell at this price 🙂
Yes, my thought exactly. Also, the Zuiko will have auto-focus, right?
Some would argue that $100 is too much for the Noktor 50/0.95. Now what was the list price again?
For me the quality just didn’t justify carrying the Noktor around whatever the price. I fear Miroslav’s concerns about the 12mm may be correct. Don’t invest until we get independent tests. Caveat emptor.
Well, according to the possible design of this lens, the kowa 12/F2, it costs more than this 12/F1.6(the kowa 12/2 is estimated about 600 to 700bucks). I just surprise they can make it so cheap if this lens is coming without vignetting.
However, Olympus make the excellent 12mm with AF
in good price range. It appeals me more than the Noktor’s one.
Also the oly 12mm would be an SHG lens. No brainer to go with oly unless this slr magic is below 299 usd.
well what we need is definitely more lenses in the 12mm range! It’s not like we will have, like 4 of them in a few months?
12mm is a pretty standard focal length these days. I prefer it to a 14mm.
The Noktor 12mm looks kind of cool, certainly it would be a conversation piece, if nothing else.
I’d like to see a 10mm f2.8 to match my old Nikon 20mm f2.8 AI lens.
These samples are worth next to nothing (except for the 100% crop) as they are plagued with JPEG compression.
Ugly, too big, massively overpriced, and seems to be pretty soft wide-open. Don’t like the image quality in the other shots either. Looks to me like they’re trying to cash in on a pretty mediocre lens.
+ 1 Agreed. Doesnt look like a “designed from scratch lens”.
Given the outcoming Oly 12/2, I think this lens will have bad sales.
Since the Oly was rumored, they should have made different choices, e.g.
– a 11mm or 10mm fl for wider FOV
– a f/2 or f/2.8 smaller or pancake design
– a cheaper sticker price
– a combination of any of the above.
For me, I would have bought this lens if it was a 11mm f/2.8 small design, at $400 (street). As it is, I have no interest in it whatsoever, even if the price would have been halved.
it’s an odd shaped freak anyway
do they and everybody thinks they are inventing sliced bread. Shame on them, and shame on people who buy this, better give that money for charity… Where the fk is this world going
So I noticed most of SLR Magic lenses sell for $150-$200. What makes them think that we’d pay $500 for this one? Because they’ve acquired Noktor, who makes ‘PREMIUM’ and ‘oh-so-godly’ f0.95 lens?
Personally I question their marketing decision. Noktor already has a bad consumer brand perception due to their overpriced crap – why would they acquire the company in the first place, and why on Earth would they continue selling the lens for $1000?
To me the whole point of a toy lens is a small, light and unobtrusive lens that produces unique results (which I’m not a fan of personally) – I see nothing special from the sample shots. What market exactly are they aiming at? The results are neither unique nor spectacular, and it makes the lens kind of a half-assed effort. For $100-$200, sure, I see people actually paying that price – but not at $500.
Said it once say it again.
SLR Magic are nothing but a dodgy HK seller rebranding cheap C-mount CCTV lenses as their own with a ludicrious hiked price.
You have to be a idiot to buy one.
Unless bright coloured lens rings are your thing!
indeed a very insteresting, fun lens, but with $600 price tag, I don’t think so, I just ordered Pan-Leica 25mm 1.4 for $600. Wait till their inventory start to pile up, and you can get it much cheaper on ebay…was that company once on the verge of closing its door?
“Said it once say it again.
SLR Magic are nothing but a dodgy HK seller rebranding cheap C-mount CCTV lenses as their own with a ludicrious hiked price.
You have to be a idiot to buy one.
Unless bright coloured lens rings are your thing!”
This is so true. What crap!
who’s really going to buy that lens at that price? a waste of time
why is everyone a hater?
a 12/1.6 seems as good as it’s gonna get right now. I’d upgrade to that from my Panny 14/2.5, if the IQ is good. Ideally it’d be a 10mm f/1.4 but take what u can get.