Just ask them for a free shipping label. Print out the return form and specify whether you want a full refund or an exchange.

this is bad PR for SLR Magic... why not contact them and try to get a replacement? or at least get a refund from Adorama

My lens is very good as well. The loose mount issue has obviously been sorted. The screw-in lens cap is annoying, but I have put a step up ring so I can use my 77mm vari ND, so I have a generic 77mm cap on it now-much better! I also hope they sort their manufacturing and supply chain, as this is a very high quality product, which is still unfortunately quite hard to come by.

Obviously SLR Magic ain't Samyang or Cosina for the excellent build quality. But are you guys happy with the images from the lens? How's flare at max aperture?

Lens will be returned to Adorama. End of story.

@stonebat my lens is at least as well built as Samyang 35 or 85. I am being an optimist, so I think that these were typical early issues after taking over a brand name (noktor), looking for a factory to build and setting up a supply chain. I bought it to complement my FDs and I have to say it really exceedes (so far in quick tests) my wildest dreams. The color is practically the same, as well as the build quality. However, this lens has MANY MANY weirdnesses, starting with the odd size and shape, the fact I have to reverse my follow focus (one of the few FFs that will even work with it) as the focus ring is almost at the mount. Look earlier in this thread for the FF issues and which FF works with it (I think it is in special deals as well). The screw on cap is also ridiculous, but that is easily solved. There are wild flares from f1,6 to (at least) f2, which do look nice, but it is something that gets old fast and you don't want to see it all the time. I haven't had a chance to use it on a job yet, and will not have a chance before the 10th, but I have played with it enough to say I am very, very happy. If you are going to buy Samyangs, and want ultimate sharpness and modern look, you probably should not buy this lens. Again, I bought it as it looks like my FDs (a set of 5 which were sifted through at least 30 I bought and sold back on ebay). People are quick to dismiss FDs, and there is a myth on this forum that FDs are cheap. Well, since the FD adapter for RED was released (and even fried a few Epics and Scarlets :) the FDs have freaking expensive online. Also, even with the most advanced hacks (and ever) the GH2 can't and will never be able to resolve the full output of the good FDs. I am not only talking about resolution, but especially the heavy bokeh of the FDs brings the GH2 to its knees and all there is is a lot of banding. So, I am keeping mine. Especially if I get the BMC and the Samyangs :) I am also planning to collect a Samyang set, as those lenses are just unbeliveably good. If you want that look, either get an Olympus 9-18 or Panasonic 7-14 for the wide end. They are sharp, wide, and have all the modern coatings. I wanted to get an Olympus, but decided to get the SLR 12mm simply because I wanted to complete my FD set. For what I NEED it, it was a stupid decision (shooting hotels and convention centers promos where the FDs are never used). My clients prefer the look that is as modern as possible, but I made a selfish decision, and if the 12mm fails to shine here, there is always Panny 14-45. Back on topic, this lens is surely not for everyone, and I could not really recommend it to anyone before they try (unlikely with such availability). But it really does everything it says on the tin-constant aperture, creamy focus (well it is new) and great image. Sorry for such a long post, but as many people will have many different questions, I just tried to cover what I thought was relevant. Finally, an advice if I may; I figured if the end of the World is coming in a flood, I might as well chain myself to all those peli cases where my lenses are :)

@fosterchen sorry it didn't work out, get an Olympus maybe, it's even wider and the images I saw look very very nice. What other lenses do you use? EDIT I meant Olympus 9-18, not the 12, although the 12 seems to be the perfect substitute for the SLR magic, but more expensive.

@allenswrench

There are lots of "FD" word. So how's the image quality from 12mm 1.6? Any sample footage for sharing? Thanks.

Well, if you have a quick look at seb farges quick test of oly 12mm and slr magic 12mm, I wouldn't say there's a massive difference in terms of "clinical" (both are pretty clean, depending on how they are used):

If anything, I quite prefer the barrel distortion of the slr-magic (looks more natural IMO).. The main difference to slower offerings / other lenses in similar focal length is that there are more particular / extreme looks available from the slr magic: flares, extreme close ups w. heavy bokeh e.t.c. but you can also used it stepped down, sharp. Maybe not THE sharpest of the lot, but sharp enough to do the job for such occasions.

Third pic didn't fit in 1st post.

Send back your Voigtlander 25's then folks - soft's officially out lol

@RRRR But once you take into account the distortion compensation, which would be compensated for by the GH2, the distortion on the Oly is virtually non-existant.

The SLR Magic is very soft in the corners, even when stopped down to f/2: http://kanauru.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/edge02.jpg and has some very ugly flaring, whereas the Oly is much more controlled: http://kanauru.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/00123.MTS_snapshot_00.10_2011.12.17_14.35.29-1024x576.jpg

Obviously it's down to personal opinion at the end of the day, but the IQ of the Oly is far higher.

@RRRR http://www.photozone.de/images/8Reviews/lenses/olympus_12_2/12mm_distortion.png doesn't look weird to me!

It's not fair to say that neither of them is unusable in the corners; the Oly is almost tack sharp, even wide open and resolves more than enough for 1080p, the SLR Magic is just a blur at f/2.

Of course the SLR magic is fine for flaring stopped down, but so is any lens! My point is, wide open shooting into a light source it is totally unusable, where the Oly degrades elegantly; many shots on the Oly would simply not be possible on the SLR Magic. Considering the margin between the two lenses has come down a lot, it's quite a heavy IQ sacrifice for a smooth aperture and apertures that you'd ideally avoid shooting at anyway.