Pre-Order the new SLR Magic T0.95 Hyperprime LM (Leica Mount) Lens Now!

Pre-Order the new SLR Magic T0.95 Hyperprime LM (Leica Mount) Lens Now!

Just heard from SLR Magic and they have just now opened up pre-orders for their Leica Mount 50 T0.95 Lens. As stated previously, the cost for this lens is $4288 if you want the Leica RF Coupled Version. What does this mean? If you buy this lens and ever have plans of using it on an M mount rangefinder camera like any film M or any digital M or even an Epson RD1 then you NEED the coupled version. This will allow you to focus the lens using the RF patch.

If you plan on using it only on a NON M body like a Sony NEX, Micro 4/3 or Roch GXR with M mount then you do NOT need an RF coupled version and this can save you $1,288 because the NON coupled CINE version is $2988.

You can pre-order that lens and even their much sought after 12mm f/1.6 for micro 4/3.

Seems the 50 T0.95 lenses will be shipping starting June-September and the 12mm 1.6 in April. You can click HERE to order.

Also note that you can choose between a green ring or black ring! Awesome.

My continuing review of the 50 LM T0.95 can be seen here and the 12mm f/1.6 review is HERE.

BTW, the photos in the image below at the SLR Magic website are NOT of the LM T0.95 lens but the Micro 4/3 hyper prime.

 

UPDATE MARCH 3rd 2012 – Due to the large amount of pre-orders SLR Magic has taken down the Leica M coupled version of the lens. The Non coupled is still available for pre-order. 

38 Comments

  1. Hello Steve,

    First of all, thank you for your excellent reviews and insights, they have been very helpful in deciding what my next photo gear will be. I was in the waiting list for a Noct f0.95 when i read the news about SLR Magic lens coming up, and I am happy to say that now I am on the pre-prder list and look forward to get mine in June or earlier if possible. With the money saved from the Noct I am in the waiting list for a Leica 21mm f/1.4.

    Yet I wanted to ask you, right now i have an M8 and whilst I liked it, there are some things I don’t enjoy, specifically the cropped sensor. Do you think is worth changing to the M9? Or should I update to a Fuji X1 while we await for an updated M9, maybe M10?

    Thanks!!

    Dami’an

    • For the 1000th time…no. 🙂

      Ive posted in almost every post, every comment thread…not the same lens AT ALL. That is a Sony NEX mount which is the same as the Micro 4/3 mount. Totally different lens, less than 1/2 the size, weight, and not nearly the same performance. It is not a full frame lens nor does it use the same uber quality glass as the LM T0.95.

      • O, I’m sorry. i think I Miss that part of information. i should try to read the whole website. Thanx for the answer

  2. hey steve so bummed out that these have already sold out yet i noticed that they said to e-mail them to get a in-stock notification when they have more in. Is this true that they will have more in stock? I’m sure I read somewhere in your review that they were only going to make one batch and that was it.

    • Hey Zero, I never said they were making one batch – this is a lens they are building on a daily basis and their production limit is something like 10 per month so it is a hand made, sort of custom product it seems. I was told they will open up pre-orders again when they get caught up with the current pre-orders. Thanks.

      • oh sorry for making that mistake but thanks for shedding more light on this situation 🙂

  3. Hi Steve,

    i have the nex 7. which lens do you recommend: this one or the CARL ZEISS Nex 24/1.8 ?

    • Two totally different lenses. One is a 24mm (35mm equivalent) and one is 50mm (75mm equivalent). One is an f/1.8 lens and one is a T0.95 lens. One is $999 and the other is $3000 🙂 All depends on your needs and wants.

  4. I can’t believe how fast these went. Wondering if I should just buy the non coupled version and a Sony nex7. It ends up being the same price as the rf coupled version. I’d much rather use the lens with a Leica. I just got the m9 and I don’t need another camera but the shortage of lens is crazy. I ended up buying the zeiss sonnar 50 and the sonnar 85 because I couldn’t get a Leica lens. My friend in HK just bought two noctilux. I don’t know which dealer he went to but he only had to pay a 1k premium so $24,000 for two lens. He asked me if I wanted one but I just bought 3 lens so I couldn’t bring myself to drop another 12k all in the span of one month. However, after I saw the lens and read your slr magic review I really want a .95… Which means I have to buy a Sony nex7 so I can get a non Leica .95 lens!! This seems like a very strange circle.. Will I even use the Leica after I buy the Sony nex7 with the .95. Luminous landscape said the Sony 7 is comparable to the m9 in quality when using a great lens. Will you review the .95 with the Sony nex7?

    • I can give you my comments. I have both the M9 and NEX-7. The NEX-7 is great to use but everything is digitally cropped to 1.5x and makes it not so fun. I use my Leica M glass on the NEX-7 but I know something is missing. Unless you have poor eyesight like me I would stick to the RF coupled version since you have an M9. I use the NEX-7 at home and end up taking the M9 when I go out since I want to use the lenses I have to full potential. I am surprised how quickly the RF coupled version sold out! I read about the pre-order and was thinking about it and the next morning it was sold out! I thought that only happens for the iPhone 4S but I guess it is the same case for exotic glass. Thanks to all the other guys here who pre-ordered before us we now have to wait for the next chance. There is a Noctilux 0.95 at my local dealer but I have already decided which 0.95 lens I am craving for. I rather wait for the perfect one rather to get an alternative. Maybe that is why I am still single with all these exotic glass! We call them our investments right?

      • Hi Patrick, Thanks for the reply. Sounds like I should wait.. which is fine since I just got these other lens. I should spend some time with them before going onto the next best thing. I’m not a gear head and I’ll buy a new camera every 5 years or so but when I do I want to buy the best. I read that you can focus closer with the M lens on the Nex-7 with a helicoid? Do you have one of those?

        LEICA M Lens to SONY NEX Camera MACRO TUBE HELICOID ADAPTER FOR NEX3 NEX5 NEX7

  5. SLR Magic has to be one of the worst brand names ever for a company moving towards premium optics, especially for rangefinder and mirrorless bodies! It’s great to see someone providing a serious alternative to the Leica Noctilux but I wish they’d rebrand it as a marque that might inspire more confidence.

    • As it states in my review, and in quite a few other posts, that is a totally different lens. It is an E mount lens, different design, different build, different glass, much smaller, and softer. I reviewed that lens with a NEX C3.

  6. The RF coupled version is already sold out !!! Can’t imagine the price of this lens USED…

  7. Hi, Steve,

    Is the E mount Hyperprime the same quality in terms of IQ and build as the M mount? I want one for my NEX-5n.

    Thanks!

    Lu

    • You can see the review on this site of the E version and M4/3 version. They are 100000% different lenses. The E mount and M 4/3 mount F/0.95 are decent but no where near the LM T0.95.

      • Got it. Thanks a lot for the comment. So it looks like after SLR Magic bought Noctor, they really tuned up up the Hyperprime to be a totally different lens. If that’s the case, I may get the non RF coupled one and try to use it on Fuji X Pro1 when Fuji release the M mount. Before that, just use it on the NEX5n.

  8. I WANT ONE! I don’t even own a Leica, but I might win the lottery tonight!

  9. This is a huge price difference for the rangefinder coupling. I am guessing that it is 100 year-old tech that accomplishes this? SLR magic is clearly trying to take advantage of people that they know will pay the premium: Leica users who already overpay for everything (I am included in this). I think this is a terrible precedent. I am going to wait-out Photokina and see what Leica has up their sleeve. I am hoping for a X10 with a digital rangefinder that will obsolete the rangefinder coupling and then I will put that 1300$’s towards that purchase.

    Thanks again for the great info Steve. Keep it coming.

    • It turns out that the old rangefinder tech takes a huge amount of effort to implement and calibrate.

      I think it is a great precedent, people that don’t want to pay for a (to them) worthless feature don’t have to.

      Bravo!

      Best,

      Bill

  10. I think you would have to be slightly insane to preorder one of these at this price.

    So I just did 🙂

  11. I hope they keep the super fast lenses coming. 25mm,35mm
    0.95 for m43 and nex and fuji Xpro and ….
    If I could get those for M9 and the quality is as good it would be pretty sweet. Hmmm $5K for a 35 1.4 or $2K for SLRm?

  12. What if you want to use both on M mount and I’m 4/3 cameras? Does the coupled work on both?

  13. Wow… The non-coupled version is about $1,300 less! When you said it’d be cheaper I wasn’t thinking it would be by that much! Assuming it’ll perform identically to the samples you’ve been able to show us, this makes my decision to pick one up much easier. I guess I know where most of this year’s bonus is going…

    Thanks for the update Steve.

    • Assuming that the Duty calculator I just used is correct, it’s only 2.3% tax from Hong Kong into the US. Not that bad really!

    • I had been asking them how to pre-order since their announcement and they were not willing to take my order. Been bugging them for the past two months! It is sort of a relief to know I no longer have to email them to take my pre-order as I am tired of waiting to get a fast 50. I kind of saved quite a bit by getting the SLR Magic. This is evil! I am thinking of getting a 28mm f/2 with the money I saved.

  14. Thanks Steve!
    I’ve been waiting for these magic words ever since you first reviewed the M mount HyperPrime.
    I’ve made my order.

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