Last Updated on 02/01/2018 by Chris Gampat
The trend of smaller optics companies making boutique lenses through crowdsourcing continues.
It seems like almost every new Kickstarter campaign we become aware of is some sort of new boutique lens with excellent optics, historical significance, and a price tag that makes it a luxury item for most of us. Well, now even other boutique lensmakers have caught onto this, and today we have one such lens, but one that has been specifically designed to be a more affordable option, attainable by anyone.
The Travegon 50mm F2.5, from the German optics firm SCHACHT, has been designed from the ground up to be a compact, well built, and optically excellent lens for anyone. An optical emphasis on sharpness and bokeh will check the boxes of most photographers looking for a ‘good lens’ these days, and excellent built quality will impress any who hold one.
The lens itself takes on a very similar look to old manual focus lenses of the film days and is very clearly designed in Germany. It may not match up with a ton of modern cameras in terms of design, but thankfully the black version should blend in enough that you can get away with it without drawing too much-unwanted attention.
In terms of pricing, the lens is available for $629 (limited number at that price) for early bird backers on Kickstarter. As for what to expect once the lens is available for retail? The MSRP is not final, but apparently, the team is expecting it to come in around the $1,800 mark. So if you can get in at the $629 or one of the other early bird prices that makes much more sense.
We would love to point out the joke of an $1,800 lens being sold as ‘affordable by all’ given that even a $300 to $400 lens is a stretch for many people. That said, we won’t rake them over the coals for a price that is not even set yet. Plus, they aren’t wrong as far as the Kickstarter prices being affordable by all (well, affordable by most).
For the full details about this Kickstarter and the Travegon 50mm F2.5 make sure to head on over to the Kickstarter Campaign page. The campaign ends on February 8th at 7:00 AM, as of this writing, the Travegon 50mm is a little over 50% of the way to their $60,0000 goal.