I still dont see these lenses for sale on their ebay. Do you guys just message them via ebay to get a conversation going? I'd appreciate it if someone could PM me an email address so I could get in touch with them. Cheers.
I spoke with Andrew at SLR Magic about my 12mm's mount shifting issue and he told me they were aware of the issue, it was an internal issue and not a loose mount issue, and that they didn't realize the resulting image shift would be such a drawback since the lens was originally designed primarily for still photography not video, where the slight image displacement during focusing before taking a photo would be a non-issue compared with the image shifting during a video shot.
Andrew is replacing my lens shortly and I will report back once I have the new one in hand. Shifting aside, i love the lens and it hasn't left my GH2 since it arrived a few weeks ago. CBrandin's 44MB patch and the 12mm lens are a heady combo.
So the lens mount flexing may be fixed on later lenses then? This was the only thing putting me off this lens a little. Is it still not officially listed on their ebay page?
Yes a step up ring would certainly fix this issue... I did use a 58mm ND, I will get a ring and should solve issue.. I do think this lens has a great potential for all round general use..This is a lens I will always have handy in my kit.. Cheers
@itimjim I use a 77 VariND filter with a 58 to 77 step, and the result is in the previous post (Flare VS Cat - a SRL Magic 12mm 1.6 flare test). I've also a 67 VariND I'll try to see if vignette.
Here's a starlapse I got up in Incline Village, NV (North Lake Tahoe). It's done with the SLR Magic 12mm f1.6. I'll have a full video of some shots I got up there with the lens soon. It was about 23F outside, and the battery died 30 photos short, bravo battery. Enjoy.
Hi guys, I got the full production 12mm lens a few weeks ago to do some footage tests and post some samples.. I am still on remote location at present filming so will be a little time before we get back to studio and sort out shots, how ever I can give a quick overview of experience to date.. The lens fits correctly and is a tight fit, I have not noticed any slop or movement.. The only lens I have difficulty with is the Panny 14mm which is quite tight and almost grinds when you fit..The focus is smooth and direct, have no issues there... the iris adjustment is also extremely smooth ...overall for the price this is a very good quality lens... Images appear to be clean and clear across the range even at F1.6.. The only issue I have found to date is using heavy ND 1.2 + filters, the very corner of the image 1-2% only has a visible vignette which I assume is to do with the wide nature of the lens..This is a minor however as I have resized image to 102% and all fixed.. I have found many uses for this lens and the DOF is great, especially the semi macro feature, very nice indeed... Overall this is a great lens for your kit and the price is quite reasonable... Hope to get some image up in the near future..
I wouldn't go so far as to suggest the SLR Magic 12mm is hyperfocal - you still need to pull focus just like any other lens. Even wide open it's sharp enough to reward careful focusing vs. just covering a zone and hoping for the best.
I'm not sure if this is official policy or not but I emailed SLR Magic from its eBay seller's page and they accepted my order. Had the lens in hand a week later.
Yes, I've given up on this lens "settling in" and have emailed SLR Magic for a replacement. Owing to the time difference in HK I haven't heard back but expect to this evening.
The 12mm is really a great lens on a hacked GH2 and the combination is phenomenal. If they can just lick the loose mount issue they'll have a winner. Even Ciecio7 took awhile to nail the machining on his 1-piece M43 lens adapters. Hopefully SLR Magic will do the same, because optically this lens has a lot going for it. And if they can swap focus and aperture ring positions, all the better!
@Vitaly Do you think it could be possible on long term to hack GH2 internal lense compensation mechanisms in a way that it could correct (at given preset like: N12mm f/1.6 Noktor@2.0) for manual lenses?
@Shaveblog SLR Magic will ship you a brand new lens. My mount was loose, I received the the replacement very quickly and I'm shipping back the first lens today.
Where did you get it? Also, I'm concerned about the loose fit. Everybody seems to be reporting it. Does anybody have a 12mm F1.6 that fits properly on the camera?