For everyone in europe who wants to get one: http://www.fotokonijnenberg.de/product/1602931/slr-magic-hyperprime-12mm-f16-mft.html
I already received mine a week ago, this is just an amazing lens!
Ordered mine early January. They told it will be ready 15/30 january.
Sweet price...
Thanks for the link @pechente.. That price is better than I expected :) now the wait..
How does it compare, for example to the 20mm 1.7 Pana? Both aren't really suited for portraits but does it focus (AF AFC) FASTER on a gh2?
Actually adorama does NOT have these, please read further down and it states: "We ran out of this Item Temporarily. Please note: You can order this now and have us ship it as soon as it arrives. We will not charge your card for any backordered items, until it is ready to actually ship."
Also, they have never had them before, of course since its new, but I emailed them regarding when they would have stock and never got a reply. Although, they did manage to plague my email with spam.
Nvm ^^ Just realized it's fully manual focusing
Bringing the question back - I've read that the focus ring is supposedly geared for follow focus standards, can anyone please confirm this? Also, I'm assuming on a GH2, the focus ring is too close to the body to be used with gear attachments such as Redrock micro gears? Any info on this would be hugely helpful in my decision to buy this lens, as I us the GH2/MFT system mostly for filmmaking.
Thanks
The standard 0.8 gears DON'T fit. I was a bit frustrated about this, since I can't get a focus gear on a lens that gets so small where the focus ring is. I ordered a Lanparte Lens Gear which simply is a rubber strip. It fits the focus ring nicely but because it's sitting so tight, the bits of the gear are stretched out and using a follow focus works but the gears jump sometimes.
That really sucks but I haven't found a better solution yet. Still, it's not that big of a deal as it seems, since the important focus area (50cm to infinity) isn't even a 2 cm turn on the focus ring, it's managable to avoid jumps when turning the gear only such a small distance back and forth - but a soon as you start focusing quickly and a lot, the gears jump.
@Pechente how did you manage to order (Do you live in germany)?
I couldn't register because I don't live in germany.. perhaps there is a way around it?
Yeah, I am german but the shop is located in the netherlands, sorry that I linked to the german URL. I didn't have any problems registering or ordering something. I read that this shop has great support, so you may wanna contact them. I don't have any experience with their support myself though.
I sent them a mail, so hopefully it can be worked out!
edit: actually I can register from the netherlands homepage, no problem.
If you visit the link http://www.fotokonijnenberg.de/product/1602931/slr-magic-hyperprime-12mm-f16-mft.html
Click on the company logo "fotokonijnenberg" top left of the page, this will take you home, at the centre of the bottom of the home page there are a few language options.
Yes Foto Konijnenberg is the shop where I bought the lens too.
@pechente - grrrr that IS frustrating, especially since on the EOSHD blog post and interview with SLR Magic, they state that the lens was designed with cinematic looks and use in mind. Designing a lens that is the opposite of most cine glass builds (focus ring is usually in the front, and geared to standards), is not with cinematic utilization in mind. A disappointment that I can't get a FF gear on the lens to actually pull focus properly, let alone the myriad of issues people are having with a loose bayonet coupling.
I think I will still wait on this for awhile. I want to hear and see more of the 12-35 X lens Panny keeps promising. I bet it'll be slow though. F2.8 as it is rumored is less appealing, but if I can use the lens in film situations, I will get it.
Thanks!
Actually, when it comes to the hyperprime I wouldn't be too fuzzed if I can't make it work with my FF. Since the actual use distance for any rack focusing is so small, I think I won't have a problem to do it manually. If it was necessary, I'm sure I could conjure up a solution to make it work aswell.
@footagehead I can confirm the loose bayonet too! Still, I'm pretty happy with it.
I noticed there haven't been examples for the lens' capabilities for a while in this thread, so I'll post some. These aren't special in any way but it's nice to see what the lens can do.
All pictures were shot as RAW-files and processed using Photoshop.
This was shot at T1.6 at nearly the closest focusing distance. You can see that the bokeh-area gets smudgy at the edges and there's a bit of vignetting.
This was shot under comparable conditions as the first and it shows very well the extremely shallow depth of field.
Again, comparable conditions, focusing distance is a little further away this time. Bokeh looks quite nice.
This one was shot at an aperture roughly at 3.5, the DOF is still quite shallow which isn't that surprising since I'm focused in to only like 10cm (from the lens) again.
I especially like this on, that's why i uploaded it at full-res. You should zoom in a 100% to see a lot of detail on the fly. This was shot at an aperture of 1.6 and the closest focusing distance.
I just paid my lens. Will be here soon. I also bought from Foto Konijnenberg. Very respectable shop here in The Netherlands. Can't go wrong with them!
@sohus 2-3 weeks they told me.. oh well!
Could you shoot graph paper at full frame at various apetures? I'm considering this lens, but man the online review that shows the difference between this an the Olympus 12mm f/2.0 does not look good for the SLR Magic 12mm f/1.6. Is it possible he had a bad lens? I'd like to see this comparison again...
Any yes, of course I realize the Olympus is sharper (especially at wide open) and has less distortion, but man the SLR Magic does not look good in this example. Focus on center to corners are not good in theses examples and we're not talking a little soft, regradless of f-stop.
How do you like it guys?
PhotoZone review: http://www.photozone.de/olympus--four-thirds-lens-tests/685-slrmagic_12_16?start=1 Not very bad considering price. And for video most lenses perform better.
I just received it and my lens mount is perfect. Definitely not loose... feels as tight as the Voigtlander.
@proaudio - that disclaimer was not there the day that I posted the link. They must have gone fast.
Anybody in the UK tried to order from the netherlands website? Registered but getting a 'not allowed to buy from this website' message..
@mrbill I placed an order on 14/1/12 by going to their homepage and accessing the uk site at the bottom of the page, order currently being processed.
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