Sony Finally Launches Their 500 f/4....its $17,000

Jahled wrote in post #13863542
That is a lot of money for a lens marketed for a flagship camera with a 9-point AF system! No wonder they will be hand built to order

The A900 has an 11-point AF system i thought? o_O

Anyways, Even the hand built "made to order" thing doesnt excuse the price, Canon does this too...

For $17k it had better come with a willing female

TweakMDS wrote in post #13862532
Reading high end lens reviews at engadget is kind of like doing your groceries shopping at a gas station.

Look, you just can't expect too much from reporters who are still in high school.

KenjiS wrote in post #13864462
The A900 has an 11-point AF system i thought? o_O

Anyways, Even the hand built "made to order" thing doesnt excuse the price, Canon does this too...

Canon can get away with it because the people buying at top notch prices are photo agencies and pro's who make their living selling their photographs with these beasts, before a year or two has passed and the rest of us can get a look in. But that price is serious ridiculous.

Who in the first place is going to use a Sony Alpha camera to accomplish this with a 9 or as you say 11 point AF system, unless they are truly out of their minds? Nikon and Canon kill their bodies in this regard dead in the water, why pay that much again on top for this lens?

I reckon I can count the amount of owners of this bit of glass in a similar fashion to whatever twat bought a Sigma SD1, on one hand.

IMO Sony should stick to making sensors, which they're very good at, and can probably do cheaper than other companies, given that they're primarily an electronics company, not an optics company.
Anyone for a Sony 612-format digital back?

^- Well... i guess it also depends on "flagship" Sony seems to be targeting this at the A77 owners.. And ok, the A77 has 19-point AF (and hey, its not even bad!) but... yeah... my 7D is still more capable for what most people would use this kinda lens for because it can sustain its 8fps shooting a lot better without stalling out and dying...

Nothing in the Sony system has the right to call itself "professional", Why? they dont want the professional market, a Sony rep stated that pretty bluntly at one point, They dont offer pro-level support and their costs of repair and repair turnarounds are absurd, Not to mention their repair rate was fairly rediculous on their pro lenses, With something like a 33% rate over at lens rentals, compared to less than 10 for equivalent Canon/Nikon lenses..

I'm thinking Sony is fully cognizant of the fact this lens wont sell, even if it was priced down around its Canon/Nikon contemporaries, Sony's installed user base just on the whole isnt going to foot out for these big lenses, in fact I bet thats why its taken so long to market, its probably released now only because they didnt want to risk getting sued by one of their too-rich-to-know-anything users...

KenjiS wrote in post #13864785
^- Well... i guess it also depends on "flagship" Sony seems to be targeting this at the A77 owners.. And ok, the A77 has 19-point AF (and hey, its not even bad!) but... yeah... my 7D is still more capable for what most people would use this kinda lens for because it can sustain its 8fps shooting a lot better without stalling out and dying...

Nothing in the Sony system has the right to call itself "professional", Why? they dont want the professional market, a Sony rep stated that pretty bluntly at one point, They dont offer pro-level support and their costs of repair and repair turnarounds are absurd, Not to mention their repair rate was fairly rediculous on their pro lenses, With something like a 33% rate over at lens rentals, compared to less than 10 for equivalent Canon/Nikon lenses..

I'm thinking Sony is fully cognizant of the fact this lens wont sell, even if it was priced down around its Canon/Nikon contemporaries, Sony's installed user base just on the whole isnt going to foot out for these big lenses, in fact I bet thats why its taken so long to market, its probably released now only because they didnt want to risk getting sued by one of their too-rich-to-know-anything users...

That is quite an excellent post, and my mate didn't really have much to say otherwise when I threw this past him.

Jahled wrote in post #13869715
That is quite an excellent post, and my mate didn't really have much to say otherwise when I threw this past him.

Thanks

I still have to show this to my Sony-shooting friend...

KenjiS wrote in post #13869769
Thanks

I still have to show this to my Sony-shooting friend...

He's even one of their 'advocates' and more or less shrugged at the price, and the fact he's not going to ever play with one. Quite felt for him, given I can hire our gear

Jahled wrote in post #13869999
He's even one of their 'advocates' and more or less shrugged at the price, and the fact he's not going to ever play with one. Quite felt for him, given I can hire our gear

Ouch

Yeh my buddy got a Sony because of price (He got a good deal on an A100 and then got some cheapo old Minolta lenses) He's actually got quite a lot of skill and churns out some really nice shots despite his gear limitations, He does intend to upgrade soon and I've advised he really should look into switching camps (Not much invested in his lenses so it wont hurt him) primarily due to lens pricing on some things (IE he was looking for a 100mm f/2, He found an old Minolta one, They wanted $1000 for it used, I pointed out he'd be out about $380 on Canon...Brand new)

What you said about them not taking themselves seriously stands though. And this is what i've never got about Sony as a system. They have no ambition, and you've explained why

Which is a hideous state of affairs if you paid two grand for their top whack and some quality glass, only to realise nothing much will come of it.

Wonder how much a replacement lens hood costs...i know the one for the 300 f/2.8G is about $1300....

So...Whats this one? $6000?

KenjiS wrote in post #13871123
Wonder how much a replacement lens hood costs...i know the one for the 300 f/2.8G is about $1300....

So...Whats this one? $6000?

it's one of those 'if you have to ask what it costs, you shouldn't have the lens' things.

Shadowblade wrote in post #13863624
I wouldn't mind a collaborative arrangement between all the companies to produce gear.

Sony produces sensors
Nikon produces bodies
Canon produces lenses, with Zeiss optics.
Leica in charge of quality control.

From what I gather, Canon is actually at the front of sensor development. Nikon is more receptive to input (kinda have to, they don't have many other businesses), but Canon has more technical expertise. Basically what you really want is Nikon management running Canon engineering.

I'm sure if Canon or Nikon could charge as much as Leica, they'd have stellar reliability. And Leica frankly has it easy, no AF to mess with and low volume.

toxic wrote in post #13871846
From what I gather, Canon is actually at the front of sensor development. Nikon is more receptive to input (kinda have to, they don't have many other businesses), but Canon has more technical expertise. Basically what you really want is Nikon management running Canon engineering.

I'm sure if Canon or Nikon could charge as much as Leica, they'd have stellar reliability. And Leica frankly has it easy, no AF to mess with and low volume.

Nikon actually does have a large percentage of the market for high precision fabrication optics last i checked, Meaning they actually win so long as people are making sensors...or anything with integrated circuits...