Why still manual lenses?

Started 5 months ago | Questions thread
BigBarney
Senior MemberPosts: 2,722
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In reply to ultimoamore, 5 months ago

ultimoamore wrote:

Hi,

maybe a stupid question, but my knowledge of this area is poor so...

Why some lenses are still produced with manual focus?
Example: samyang, Voigtlander...

Is it that hard to build an autofocus lens compared to a manual one???

I can think of at least 4 possible reasons why companies like Samyang and Voigtlander have produced manual focus m43 mount lenses:

  • they would have to pay substantial fees to Panasonic and Olympus for being granted full access to the m43 lens protocols that determine things like autofocus and correct aperture control for exposure.
  • for video shooting manual lenses are often preferable.
  • some photographers, particularly those of us who are a little older, quite like to experiment with manual exposures when time is not of the essence.
  • they are cheaper to produce, so can be an entry to the m43 market (and for other mirrorless systems) without having to compete with Panasonic and Olympus from day one.

You can probably think of other reasons as well.

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