Mirror Lenses - Korean Made

Samyang, Bower, Phoenix & Vivitar are some of the names they go by, their range of the lenses are replicas of each other, with one of them having one more or less.

So since I was exposed to these lenses a little while ago, I wondered why would someone buy something as cheap as these, I mean above that, how the heck to they make lenses so cheap.

But the answer is simple... you see most of these lenses are mirror type constructs. (Google mirror lenses)

So thats step 1 to reducing costs, the technology is low tech hence manufacturing something low tech is obviously lesser.

Step 2 these lenses (most of them) are all manual and require a T mount, which means the lens does not communicate data about exposure, they also have fixed apertures, again lesser gadgetry resulting in lesser costs... and then

Step 3 of course is cheaper labor costs and all of that Jazz.

So... cheap lenses = cheap image quality right?

Not necessarily... This is the age of digital... and if you're smart enough with the tools of the trade (read Photoshop) you will be able to extract some really good images with these lenses, for only a fraction of what the Nikon or Canon equivalent costs. In my opinion that is great for non professional photographers... (Heck I've read of pros publishing photos with these lenses too) I would also like to add that these lenses although cheap are very well built. I own a Vivitar system and I could vouch for its durability.

It also made me wonder why now, why have these guys never been so pushy about making these lenses earlier... for example consider Vivitar... a company thats been in the business for long haul now... how come they announced their new range only in early 2009? Well my guess, they may have realized the potential thanks to Digital SLRs. I for one, could not even imagine myself shooting with these lenses with a film camera... it would drive me nuts... enter digital with instant review... and it all makes sense. The whole idea of being able to see what you have shot and then re shoot, makes these lenses much more tolerable.

So for the many enthusiast like me who are passionate about photography but not so passionate about spending big money :) , these lenses are perfect to experiment with and makes a lot of sense at the entry level.

I for one have 4 of these lenses in my wishlist on BH Photovideo, and they are all going to be part of my system soon enough! :)