When I mentioned that quite a few of the newly released lenses were reaching Leica prices...my point was where legacy lenses, even those that could be found close to new, were priced at a fraction of the price of a Leica S lens...sometime 1/10 the amout or even less. Except for the new 55mm, the other two newly released Pentax lenses were priced much higher than a lot of 645D users expected and many were surprised. This is apparently the new norm for upcoming 645 lenses and no longer is do we find newly released Pentax 645 lenses 1/10 or less the price of a Leica lens. It may not be as high as an S lens, but Pentax has made a giant leap. That was simply my point.Current prices from B&H:
Pentax FA-D 55mm $1,200
Pentax FA-D 25mm $5,000
Pentax FA-D Macro 90mm $4,500
Leica S 70mm $5,000
Leica S 24mm $9,000
Leica S Macro 120mm $7,000
Dave, I am not sure those prices are really close. It would only cost me $10,700 to get three Pentax lenses, but $21,000 for the Leica. The focal lengths can't be duplicated--Leica has an unusual focal length spread. Only Pentax has a normal focal length lens--Leica has a short tele for the "normal." And the macro focal lengths are different. Naturally, I can get a great 120mm Pentax macro for a lot less--I wonder how the S secondhand markets is.
There is no doubt the S system is expensive. Add the body and you have a Pentax system for $17,700 and an S system for $43,000. I am not really convinced Leica is pricing is close to Pentax.
With regards to legacy lenses sometimes having quite a sizable sample variation...well you know my previously posted comprehensive lens test with multiple samples of Pentax 645 lenses on the 645D...many had quite extensive differences...which could be readily seen if one examines files at 50% or higher (at the pixel level). Obviously Pentax in the film only era didn't need to adjust each sample as precisely as they do now with lenses being used with digital sensors. It's no different than what Leica went through with many of their film era lenses not focusing properly on the digital M bodies without focus adjustments. In any case the Pentax and Leica systems are excellent for what each one was designed to do and in terms of performing at their relative price levels.
Dave (D&A)
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