This is the official response I received from BandPro on the price and availability of the Leica cinema lenses:
"They will originally come in a set of 8 lenses and will begin delivering in the last quarter of 2010. The price for the set of 8 is $178,000 and Band Pro is currently accepting a refundable deposit of 10% to reserve a set of Leica lenses. The delivering lenses are 18mm, 21mm, 25mm, 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm.
We are fully booked with paid deposits for the planned deliveries through 2010. At the moment the lenses are only available as a full set and individual lens purchase is not planned for some time. From the response at NAB, we are expecting more deposits in the coming weeks."
An interesting (un)related topic: Leica M lens (75mm Summicron) on a RED-1-M with samples.
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For a pro video studio, a set of these would most likely be a reasonable purchuse if they are in the market for lenses. Most people on here are photography folks so they dont understand that cine lenses are usually worth a lot more then photo lenses. Would be nice to get a comparison, such as how much does a set of 8 top of the line other brand of lenses cost for cine ?
zgc.com is a distributor for many movie/video lenses. You have to email for the Cooke 5/i (also T 1.4 lenses that cover super 35) set, but they list each individual price: http://www.zgc.com/webstore.nsf/products/cooke_zgc5i
They’re about $20-24K each, so a set of 8 for $178K is comparable.
Any word on rental rates? Or even if they will be rented? Presume them will.
thanks Drew, like i thought these seem to be on the right track pricing wise for high end video needs.
Can anyone explain the massive difference in price between these and ‘normal’ M or R lenses (which aren’t exactly cheap?) please? Is it the limited prodution runs or are they THAT much better?
They are “better” because they are designed to be used every day in rough environments for decades, they are strong enough to hang several kilos of accessories off of the front without affecting the focus plane, and their focus and aperture scales are accurate to a degree that’s not necessary for still cameras.
They are also hand-made in small batches and use optical and mechanical technology that’s just not cost-effective for consumer products.
All of this adds-up to a cost that’s four or five times more than “regular” Leica lenses.
None of the Cine improvements (other than the maximum aperture) has any benefit for someone shooting stills. The opposite is actually true, since they are a lot heavier.
Thanks Bernard!