That pricing is insane. Hopefully when the excitement and
a little time passes the price will drop. The best lenses made
but I'll vote with my wallet. That is twice as much as the previous versions. I don't get it.
Shot my avatar with a 500mm f4. Man I miss that lens.

I agree. Those prices are insane. As I mentioned in my Sigma article, it is interesting to me that they have not had to raise their prices with the same abandon. I am so very pleased with my Sigma 120-300 F2.8. I AM thinking that I may someday pick up the Sigma 500, when they update it with the OS. That will still be about a 3rd of the cost - all for 1/2 stop of light...and from what I have seen, razor sharp.

As Preston will tell you, it's all because of the tsunami in Japan and the floods in Thailand . But, keep in mind these lenses are aimed at a professional, sports-photography market and those guys -- or the publications that hire them -- can afford to pay those prices. For casual shooters or folks that shoot wildlife because we love to do it, it would be very difficult to cost-justify those lenses. And, from what I've seen, they really are great glass. Whether or not they are worth it to you is a matter of need/want and bank account balance .

Jim

No, what I would say is that these are lenses that require a huge amount of highly skilled labor to manufacture. And it takes big bucks to ramp up a manufacturing process for them as well as do the original research and design. Bottom line, I think these are really hard to make to a high standard.

Take a few minutes to watch the video of how they make these things, it is a crazy amount of manual labor. Assembly is by hand, and I'll guess that quality requirements kick out a good percentage of units after testing.

Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovxtgj4SsiI

I think this is the older, easier to make model.

I agree. They cost that much because it takes that much manual labor to manufacture them. However, parts availability might be a factor as well (see reference to tsunami and floods). Regardless, the folks these are intended for, can and do afford them. The rest of us merely lust after them .

Jim

It would be interesting to see the actual sales numbers on these. And I still can't see them at twice the price of the previous versions.
I sure would like to get my paws on one or two of 'em though. I'll go with a 500, 600, and 800 please.
Maybe I can talk National Geographic into a little sponcership agreement??
Anyone out there????????............

Marty,
on the other hand, those previous versions should be in pretty heavy demand. From the images I've seen posted on the Canon site, the new glass is really outstanding. Of course, it should be! Might be fun to rent a copy of each when they get into the pipeline.

Jim

LOL, the rumors on the new Canon Cameras also look pretty good.

James

...of course, like everything else, sometimes rumors don't pan out. I was half expecting an announcement this morning, and of course it is now delayed.

James