Re:The intracies of modern camera lens repair (2024)
by dofm on Saturday June 06, 2026 @04:20AM
(#48422663)
I would contend that if you were to pick a trend line in the last ten, twelve years it is actually the return of high quality, cutting edge manual focus lenses for stills photography, which was a negligible market by 2014.
Mirrorless has restored the utility of manual focus lenses in such a dramatic way that many of the significant advances in optical quality at every price point are happening in manual focus, and there is a real return to the understanding of the value of lens "character".
Time will tell how much of this is a stepping-stone to Chinese manufacturers moving to AF lenses (which is definitely a part of it) but many of the best new lens designs are coming from the likes of Cosina-Voigtländer and various cinema-adjacent stills brands.
Re:The intracies of modern camera lens repair (2024)
by dofm on Saturday June 06, 2026 @04:55AM
(#48422870)
LK Samyang, yeah, doing some great stuff. They also make some (all, maybe?) of the native lenses for the Cambo Actus, which is another mirrorless era winner.
Mirrorless has restored the utility of manual focus lenses in such a dramatic way that many of the significant advances in optical quality at every price point are happening in manual focus, and there is a real return to the understanding of the value of lens "character".
Time will tell how much of this is a stepping-stone to Chinese manufacturers moving to AF lenses (which is definitely a part of it) but many of the best new lens designs are coming from the likes of Cosina-Voigtländer and various cinema-adjacent stills brands.