On 7/3/07, Andrew Fildes <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Then you open the lens package - 35mm Summicron 6-bit, brand new.
> You hold it and wonder how something that small can weigh so much.
> You gasp. Your hand trembles.
> This is jewelry. A Tiffany egg.
> It costs US$3,000 (street price).
> The satin finish of the metal; the snick of the stops; the whisper of
> the focus ring; the sheen on the glass; the perfect concavity of the
> rear element; the sheer gravity of it.
Is it really worth that? As jewellery, probably. but as a lens?
A quick check at; http://www.cameraquest.com/inventor.htm
shows Cosina/Voigtlander lenses at:
35 F 1.2 $819
35 1.7 $409
Granted, the Leica name is worth something and prices for high
end tech often have to be high:
R&D is expensive, there are both costs and risks
once you've got a design basically right, nearly all incremental
improvements add significant cost
the market is small so companies need good per-unit profit
and dealers and distributors need a good margin
Even so, I find it hard to believe $3000 is sensible.
--
Sandy Harris
Quanzhou, Fujian, China
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