HOT!!! Schneider Kreuznach joins mft!!!!
What a surprise!!! Schneider Kreuznach officially announced that they joined the Micro Four Thirds group! They will soon announce their first lenses! That’s great news for us! I don’t know yet if SK will make complete new lenses or simply adapt some of their [shoplink 19616 ebay]current C-mount lenses (Click here to see them on eBay)[/shoplink]. Like the [shoplink 15432]Schneider 25mm f/0.95[/shoplink]. I have to find new source within Schneider Kreuznach….somebody out there that knows what kind of lens is coming?
UPDATE1: A wonder what Samsung is thinking right now. Will Schneider also make lenses for the Samsung NX system or not?
UPDATE2: Our reader “Shutterwill” found that interesting statement made by Mr. Jos.Schneider from Schneider optic back in June. When asked about the future of their 28mm 135 PC lense, he replied: “We had lots of legendary lenses for 135 system cameras before, but to put a manual focus lenses on a digital body is not the way to exploit the full potential of a digital system camera. Moreover, the number of photographers willing to use a manual focus lens is few. Therefore we have no plan for more DSLR lenses at this moment.” Ergo: Does it mean the future m43 lenses will have autofocus?
UPDATE3: This is the official english press release (Source: Thanks Steve!).
“SCHNEIDER KREUZNACH now a member of the Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group
BAD KREUZNACH, 4 February 2011. Schneider-Kreuznach has joined the “Micro Four Thirds System Standard Group” – a consortium of companies with the objective of improving the possibilities and quality of compact digital cameras. Developed by Olympus and Panasonic, “Micro Four Thirds” is a standard for lens mounts that is tailored to digital system cameras. “This standard has great potential. It simplifies and improves the options for compact digital cameras and offers an excellent opportunity for the industry as a whole, as well as for us as a lens manufacturer. We are working intensively on a corresponding series of lenses,” says Dr. Josef Staub, CEO of the Schneider Group.
The standard defines the sensor size, the lens mount together with the communication protocol, the aspect ratio and the flange back distance, as well as the optical requirements for production and construction. The industry standard has been developed deliberately without taking into account conventional lenses, cameras or sensor sizes. In this way, compatibility problems with older components are avoided as is the need to compromise when designing new components.
The forum standard policy means that any member company can make and distribute accessories for the system that meet the standard. It is therefore possible to combine components from different manufacturers.”
Download the press release from Schneider (.pdf)