Juha Kannisto wrote:
I personally like the new diamond-knurled E-mount (and RF-mount) styling better than the traditional E-mount styling or the Nikon styling...
Me too, absolutely!
For me the new Septon is a real beauty, but unfortunately the ugly bokeh kills all of my dreams
I orderd a 7artisans 2.5 40mm instead ...
Juha Kannisto wrote:
I personally like the new diamond-knurled E-mount (and RF-mount) styling better than the traditional E-mount styling or the Nikon styling, especially on small lenses including Septon and both 28mm lenses. The diamond-knurled focus ring also feels very pleasant in use with a good grip. I think it also helps keep the lenses smaller in overall volume.
I haven't tried the Nikon version (since I have no Nikon cameras) but the smaller dimensions and weight of the Sony version are also preferable in my view.
I also didn't find anything negative about the SE versions of E-mount Nokton f1.2 trio while many said that they preferred the looks of the original versions (of 40 & 50). I moved to SE versions for the smaller size & weight without any regrets.
Anyway, there seem to be quite strong opinions about which stylings looks better....Show more →
The SE versions of the Nokton were much more compact, it wasn’t just about styling. It’s interesting that Cosina discontinued them so quickly, maybe the original classic style versions were selling better?
Fred Miranda wrote:
The SE versions of the Nokton were much more compact, it wasn’t just about styling. It’s interesting that Cosina discontinued them so quickly, maybe the original classic style versions were selling better?
I think the original 40/1.2 sold very well initially for the first couple of years when there were not so many competitive options around 35-40mm FL in E-mount, but the 50/1.2 was never quite as popular. After the SE versions were released, they seemed to be selling better in Japan than the originals, but they were also priced a bit lower and perhaps they didn't sell quite as well as Cosina had hoped after the initial strong sales of original 40/1.2.
I talked about the SE lenses again in CP 202t6 with Cosina's Sato-san and got the impression that Cosina discontinued them since they just needed to do some lineup trimming and they had some difficulties deciding whether to keep the SE versions or the original ones but in the end they decided to keep the original ones since they have the clickless aperture option for video shooters etc. which might make them more versatile overall...
This week we had quite bad weather on most days so I didn't do so much shooting, but on Friday I had my yearly health check and the rest of the day off, and the weather happened to be perfect for photography only on that day, so I did some walking around at Shinagawa, Ebisu, Hiroo, Tokyo Midtown (Roppongi) with my A7CII & Septon 40/2 looking for the remaining cherry blossom / sakura trees while the sakura season was still going on... Starting to be over now.
Septon seems to have been selling well in Japan so far. The E-mount version has been holding steady at #1 among Cosina lenses in kakaku.com lens sales popularity charts for the last month or so, and the Z-mount version is climbing up (now at #3) as the launch date is getting closer. E-mount version is still available at Map and Fujiya Camera but many other stores have it in backordered state now (including Yodobashi Camera, Bic Camera, Ogikubo Sakuraya etc.).
New samples (ignore the incorrect lens naming by C1 Pro in the EXIF...):
Cosina's official release dates are usually valid at least for Japan. Some other markets may get the lenses right away at the same time but there may also be some gaps, which seems to be case by case. I think U.S. has received the latest releases very close to Japan official release dates.
It's now available in Japan from today as the stores open in a couple of hours, but Map Camera has the Z-mount version listed as Sold Out. That's unusual as normally they would accept orders towards next shipment even if pre-orders exceeded initial supply. Recently they also have E-mount Apo-Lanthar 28/2 similarly listed as Sold Out. Might be that they are not taking new orders until they have some certainty about next shipments. Other stores accept new orders normally even if they have no current stock.
Fujiya Camera and plenty of others have the new Septon Z in stock.
They usually have the best in-stock status of CV lenses overall.
I always do my online pre-orders from Map Camera and they always ship the day before release so the orders get delivered on official release day. I also always write a free text comment in my orders asking them to have the delivery set for morning (8-12) and they always comply. Sometimes I buy from Fujiya by going to their physical store but I haven't bought from Fujiya online so I don't know how they usually handle those online orders...
I've still been enjoying shooting with my Septon 40/2 (on my A7CII) frequently. Always happy with the results I'm getting with it and it's a pleasure to shoot with.
Some of my recent outings (as before, the lens is mislabeled by C1 Pro in EXIF):
Not much time, but a few more unscientific tests at F2.0, Septon still to the left. I think they are very similar. The Ultron has slightly softer bokeh but the Septon more contrasts wide open. Maybe a little more pop (dont shoot me). The Septon is wider than the Ultron....
