this post was supposed to be called “first week with “SLR Magic HyperPrime 12mm F1.6 for mFT”" and finished weeks ago – ideally a day after my first week with the lens, i.e. 19th december. but here i am, on the last day of 2011, sitting in front of the computer, figuring how to wrap it up. actually, my procrastination wasn’t too bad. i am less than 2 weeks late. but i just think i will feel really bad if i wait another day to finish it. because in less than an hour, tomorrow will be next year. so i just decided to make publishing this post my final resolution for the year 2011. when i read this post tomorrow, i will know i have at least achieved one last minute resolution for 2011.
introduction
since i have been using SLR Magic‘s HyperPrime 12mm F1.6 for Micro Four Thirds (from now on, i will refer to the lens as just the 12mm) almost daily in the last couple of weeks, this post will be in a format of a daily photo/video journal sharing my personal usage of the 12mm. so in a way, this post is not completed until i have populated it with all the photos/videos i have taken with the 12mm up to today.
for a proper product review of the 12mm, i recommend the following excellent reviews:
i basically have made my decision to purchase the 12mm based on the above reviews. so, there is really no point for me to repeat what have been said. even if i did try, i wouldn’t have come up with a review as good as they have done. but you should know that my lens is different from theirs because mine is an actual production unit. i was told issues identified by the above reviewers have been addressed in the final production units. whether those issues have been completely addressed, i can’t tell because i personally do no have one of those lenses to compare to. besides internal tweaking, you’ll also find my lens has a makeover in branding and an all-black finish. the Noktor branding was used in the above reviewing units while SLR Magic is used in mine and all units that will go on for sale soon.
i am writing about the 12mm because in return of having the privilege to buy the lens in advance of it hitting retail, i have agreed to share video and photo footage i create using it. all photos and videos published here were shot using Panasonic’s GH2 with firmware 1.1.
quick specs on the 12mm:
- it is made for the micro four thirds system
- it is a full manual lens, i.e. it doesn’t autofocus and the aperture has to be manually set on the lens itself
- it has a 35-mm equivalent focal length of 24mm
- aperture values are not recorded by the camera
- it has an all-metal construction
unboxing
i ordered the lens in november after learning about SLR Magic’s testers volunteering program from 43rumors. the lens was supposed to be available end of november. unfortunately, their factory in china had experienced power supply problems resulting in delay of shipment. so i was very excited after getting an unexpected call from SLR Magic on 12th december notifying me my lens was ready to be delivered to me. since i live in hong kong, i suggested going to pickup from their office instead – SLR Magic is a hong kong company, so that i could get hold of it asap. i didn’t get to visit their office. instead, Andrew Chan, product manager of SLR Magic, met me at a mall near their office to deliver the lens to me in person. while we chatted about the lens, he suddenly pulled a nex-5 from his pocket with the just announced HyperPrime 23mm F1.7 for E-mount mounted on it! i was pretty mad at myself for not brining my nex-5n with me. i had the a77 and gh2 with me but not the nex-5n!
getting back to the 12mm. i unboxed the lens at a restaurant nearby immediately after i got it from andrew. below are the unboxing photos:
