Originally posted by WMBP Some of you are really knowledgeable about this stuff, so I thought I'd ask about the factors that go into the pricing of lenses. I find lens pricing almost completely mysterious.
there is no mystery, it's called economics 101 we will look at only the cost side of the equation in the following points, ignoring whatever marketing determines the selling price is something different, but to make money, the starting point is the cost
Quote: Why are some really good lenses (like the Pentax FA 50 f/1.4 or the 16-45) so affordable?
part of a cost of a product is the materials, part is the specific production processes and tooling for each lens. popular lenses like the FA 50mm F1.4 or the DA 16-45 F4 are made in such volumes that the tooling and design costs ammount to very little per lens.
Quote: Why do the Pentax 21, 31 and 73 cost so darned much? The 21 isn't even all that fast (f/3.2)! [CORRECTION: I meant the Pentax 77....]
many primes cost a lot because they are very specialized lenses. they appeal to a much smaller group of photographers, but someone has to pay for the development and tooling. When lenses (or any product) is developed, someone determines the market, and then the initial price reflects the tooling cost per unit to meet that potential market with the product. Although some lenses might be "slow" infering less glass and less cost, the tooling and development could dominate the price
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Why are primes almost always more expensive than zooms? It seems to me that primes just have to be simpler to build than zooms and I would expect that simplicity to result in a lower cost.
at the consumer level for zooms this is true, i.e. in expensive, because many zooms are sold as kit lenses or ment for mass market appeal. Start looking at fast zooms, with constant aperture and these now start becoming much more expensive because they are big heavy (lots of materials) made to very high standards, and don't sell as many
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Are Zeiss lenses worth the boatload of extra money? All of Zeiss's lenses for Pentax seem to be manual-focus only!
like any product they have carved a niche, I don't know the quantity but production is low. as for quality some people swear by them, just like leica owners swear by their equipment. It just proves that there is someone who will buy anything at a price.
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NOTE: I'm not looking for in-depth engineering info here. I'm just looking for some general insight - if there is in fact any rhyme or reason to the marketplace.
Thanks in advance,
Will
I hope my comments help