I got some more confirmation that Schneider will (finally!) release the new MFT lenses this summer. The final production version lenses will be displayed at Photokina in September. The lens release have been delayed because of production capability issues. Schneider wanted to first produce enough of their highly requested Cine lenses. The three new MFT lenses are confirmed to have AF support. What I don’t know if in the meantime Schneider changes some of the originally unveiled lens specs which are 14mm f/2.0, 30mm f/1.4 and the Macro 60mm f/2.4.
Let’s see…
Current Schneider lenses (non MFT mount):
[shoplink 27395 ebay]Xenon 16mm f/1.2 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27387 ebay]Xenon 25mm f/0.95 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27389 ebay]Curtagon 35mm f/2.8 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27391 ebay]Componon 50mm f/1.4 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27390 ebay]Xenon 50mm f/1.9 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27394 ebay]Xenar 50mm f/2.8 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27388 ebay]Xenar 75mm f/3.5 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27392 ebay]Xenotar 80mm f/2.8 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
[shoplink 27393 ebay]Xenar 180mm f/2.8 (Click here to see on eBay)[/shoplink].
45 Responses
Exactly the focal lenghts we need even more of.
yes …I start to be fan of Oly 9-18 …saw goergous pictures with it and is currently on my buylist right after the E-M10
….so some ultrawide supersharp prime would fit more than those announced
Depending on your definition of ultra-wide, Samyang has a 12mm f/2 which is a damn nice lens.
Unfortunately without AF, but I could possibly live with it, as that lens probably wouldn’t be used too often in situations in which I’d really need AF. Then again, I’ve been using the Sony E 16/2.8 on my NEX in such situations more often than I would have thought…
With the SLRM 12mm, even wide-open, infinity is at something like 10 or 15 feet, so it’s very easy to focus. Focus peaking works really well with it, since DoF isn’t much of an issue with it. You can even zone focus with it and just walk around, snapping away!
Exactly, with such wide field of view you can just use hyperfocal distance. It’s much faster than waiting for AF to react, especially if you’re into street photography and such. AF would likely cause you to miss more interesting moments – something that’s not immediately obvious.
So is the SLR Magic 12mm T/1.6… Amazing character with additional speed. Very few options for something that fast at that wide of a focal length.
I also own SLR Magic but it tends to flare up to F/2 and has a bit worse corner sharpness. Center is very good. One interesting observation is that its field of view is just a little wider than Samyang’s. The flaring/glowy look is something that can be used creatively though so I wouldn’t dismiss the lens just because of that. Also, its very near focusing distance is fun.
12 is not wide enough I think …as there exists now 9-18 and 7-14 plus oly will bring 7-14 too …I think minimum 10mm for a uw prime
9-18 is nice…what I see as a drawback is the colapsible design ..but overall it did nice photos
> what I see as a drawback is the colapsible design
When expanded, it is as long as the 12-50. So I think colapsible design here design is a big plus.
The Kowa Prominar 8.5mm f2.8 is the one on my list!
Like sqweezy, I have an SLR Magic 12mm T1.6 and there really isn’t anything quite like it, that I know of, out there with that combination of focal length and speed. It’s just a great, fun little lens that oozes character.
I’m hearing tongue and cheek in your tone. There are too many 14, 30 and 60 for this system already. Where are the bright wide prime and zoom lenses?
yea finally a 14mm the size of the Oly 75mm – just what i always wanted…:D
This are the lenses I intend to have too .
Long time no news about it , now it resurface again .
The 14mm F2 is my choice but I have pre order the 15mm summilux .
Anyone can confirm which one is more superior ? I guess it should be the Summilux .
Impossible to confirm anything without access to production lenses to compare.
Judging by the lens size compared to the mount, it is safe to suspect that the 14mm to be about image quality first. It is also safe to assume it won’t be a poor men’s wide, not coming from Schneider. It will be interesting to see what segment they capture. Video enthusiasts that wants AF?
But lets see a production lens first! Indeed.
I definitely would not rule out the 14mm being superior to the P/L 15mm. …and slightly wider in a classic focal length.
Excellent news. I hope that the focal lengths are revised, though. 30mm in particular is an odd choice. The 14mm looks like a beast. Hopefully it will be optically corrected.
The third lens in the image is no 14mm MFT lens, it is the Schneider PC-TS Super Angulon 28mm f/4.5, a tilt-shift wide-angle lens for full-frame DSLRs (see http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/blog/?p=83 ).
Look here:
http://i1266.photobucket.com/albums/jj524/picrumors/Bildschirmfoto2012-09-17um125441.png
Really looking forward to these lenses – Schneider Kreuznach are known for optical awesomeness – lets hope these lenses live up to that reputation.
These are such cool looking lenses! The 60mm f2.4 macro looks most interesting. I wonder how it’ll compare with the Oly 60mm macro or even the Nikon 60mm f2.8D (excellent lens!).
It would still be nice to see a longer native M4/3 macro in the 105mm f2.8 zone.
yes, we already have a good 60 mm macro, a 120 mm macro would be a great option for apprehensive insects
OMG, Schneider has been teasing us with this news at least 3-4 years and still no M4/3rd lenses. I’ll believe it when I see them, once again.
Again…POOR reporting!! The lens on the right is a Super Angulon 28mm f4.5!!!! C’mon!!!
I am VERY fearful that this introduction is going to be a misdiagnosis for Schneider. I have lots of regard for what the name represents having used several Schneider lenses in the Film days but one has to wonder who made these ridiculous choices of Focal lengths. Each of this lens would have to compete with several references in the Olympus/ Panasonic/ Sigma catalog.
What is missing in the m4/3rd catalog is some long tele with HIGH quality , chiefly a 3.5 or 4.0 150mm ( 300 mm equivalent ). so where is this Tele-Xenar coming ?
I wonder how many will jump for US$1500-2000 lenses. Even if they can price them down to US$1300-1800, will non-professionals buy them just because they’re great?
I didn’t think that there was much of a market for the Voigtländer lenses because they were completely manual, but obviously, people like to shoot in the dark.
If I remember correctly, Schneider mentioned weather resistant construction?
In the future I might be persuaded to buy a piece of ridiculous priced glass but it would have to be in a more usable focal length for me. For the moment I’m sticking to my Olympus 25mm.
Now that everybody and their grandma has a sharp lens, now they will try and sell their versions for €1.5-3K
Great business plan…
Other than build, I don’t see the 60mm being any better than the Sigma 60mm. Optically, that lens stands with the best in any mount and it sells for what the hood of this lens will probably retail for.
The 30mm is fast, but kind of an odd FL. Oly 25mm f/1.8 and Panasonic 25 f/1.4 are great performers.
The only lens that looks interesting is the 14mm, but even that has to compete with the well received Oly 12mm, Panasonic 14mm pancake, and the new 15mm f/1.7.
These lenses 2-3 years ago would’ve been welcome, but I just don’t see any market for them now.
maybe its better to wait with judging lenses untill they are tested by capable photographers.
Although the quality/color rendering of the Sigma is excellent(for portrait use maybe even better then the Olympus 60mm), the Sigma is no Macro lens and has slow autofocus. I have both the Olympus as the Sigma 60mm. But I have to agree with you there is little market for the 60mm at least… Or has to be cheaper then the Olympus is or much better at both departments(portrait/macro) but I doubt that’s even possible.
I would like to have a high quality 100mm+ macro though….
I would expect the Schneider 60mm to cost at least double or more what the Sigma does, at which point I don’t see many folks buying it. BTW, the Sigma is also quite good with either extension tubes or achromatic diopters added to it – so it can function as an inexpensive macro as well.
I actually think the 30mm f1.4 could be quite interesting, assuming that it is not too much more expensive than the 25mm f1.4 PanaLeica.
I have been waiting for the 14mm f2 for quite some time. I love my Olympus 12mm f2, but it doesn’t have the micro contrast or color rendering my Oly 45mm, Oly 75mm and my old Nikon 24-70mm 2.8 have. I was hoping the Summilux 15mm f1.7 was going to fit this bill, but it seems size took priority over quality.
From the look of the Schneider 14mm f2, it has a much larger objective element than either the Oly 12 or the Leica 15 have. Perhaps it’s a rectilinear design. It could potentially make for low (digitally uncorrected) distortion, which will increase resolution. And being Schneider, it should have pretty awesome color rendering. Worth it for me, but I make a living from photography. Sign me up.
That Foto is not correkt. As you can read, it is a 28mm super angulon.
This is what the 14mm would look like http://www.fotomagazin.de/__we_thumbs__/12257_5_SK_MFT_2_14mm_cut.jpg
In german: “Das lichtstarke Weitwinkel (Kleinbild-äquivalente Brennweite 28 mm)
besteht aus zehn Linsen mit vier asphärischen Oberflächen. Zum Einsatz
kommt die Nano-Vergütung, die man von B+W-Filtern kennt.”
http://img3.colorfoto.de/Schneider-K-MFT-Super-Angulon-14mm-f2-r960x576-C-6186e20-63862479.jpg
Those focal lengths suck.
I don’t see the point of stills oriented auto focus lenses. What I would like to see is a miniature version of the Xenon FF Primes, but size, weight, and cost reduced to take advantage of the Micro 4/3 architecture. So instead of 25, 35, 50, 75, and 100mm focal length as is now offered with the FF Primes, a m43 series that matches exactly the equivalent focal lengths and color matched so that one could switch between 35mm bodies and m43 to take advantage of a particular production challenge (crash cam, car inserts, etc…) i.e. Xenon m43 Primes offered at 12.5, 17.5, 25, 37.5, and 50mm focal lengths.
It should go without saying (but I’ll say it) that the advantage here is the same as the Xenon FF enjoy – all lens bodies are same exact size, so no adjustments to rig / matte boxes have to be made, long throw focus pulls, common filter thread size, click less manual aperture, internal / non-telescoping focussing, geared rings, markings, etc…
Autofocus isn’t just for video. Most beginners and hobbyist photographers, and even many serious enthusiasts and professionals, use autofocus for stills to a much larger extent than manual focus. In fact, improved autofocus is probably the most common request from camera users.
I’m not trying to denounce autofocus in genera – I just feel that the market has a LOT of autofocus options, both cheap budget lenses and high end lenses. There is a huge vacuum for cine lenses, though, so I find it surprising that Schneider, with a rich culture of cinema products, would try to jump in on the still market where they will have a hard time competing. Professional level cine primes go for $3K to $5K+ right now and Cine zooms tend to be about $20K+. (I’m talking Zeiss, Schneider, etc… here, not Rokinon, Samyang…) Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have m43 specific primes at about $2K a pop (or less) and a zoom lineup well under $10K?
…and also in case I wasn’t clear, there isn’t a single professional cine lens that I’m aware of that currently has autofocus. I personally don’t need or want autofocus. I’m not saying that it is useless, but I’m not advocating an autofocus cine lens here.
Well, I love autofocus. I shot action in low light… need speed and fast focusing lenses. Beside, i wear glasses. The market is so flooded with manual primes of high quality… and for what? For shooting semi-pro portraits on m4/3…? Or weddings? Remains a mystery to me. Anyway, autofocus very welcome to me. Just looking forward to see the price (or NOT looking forward, as I already expect a blow that will keep me investing on the other more low light performing platform). 😉
Wow, a lot of hate on new lenses by a (according to many) a great manufacturer. Although I admit that I find the 30mm and the 60mm a bit odd, I am kinda excited about the 14/2, for some reason that is the perfect “normalish-wide” focal length there is.