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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

DigiOptical Lenses

Actually those are the "same" lenses as what RED is selling.

In addition to factoring in service and support... you need to factor in QA.

A huge part of quality assurance is verifying that the lenses perform as they should in all regards.

Finally, while these may seem like great lenses to some, there is a reason that RED has redesigned and gone with the new Red Pro Zoom, and a further reason why people buy Angeniuex and other high end zooms.

Now, as it happens I believe these lenses are a bargain priced as they are. I think I will order a set too. Together with a Duclos/Tokina 11-16 these lenses cover every focal length I commonly use, and they do so very cheaply.

Great for crash cams, or simply as a cheap backup.

If its likely to see service as my main lens I would spend a bit more and get the RPZ 17-50mm plus a set of primes for the longer focal lengths.

Of course right now, I'd probably buy the RED Pro Zoom 18-85mm "Battle Tested" version. If you can handle the weight that also covers all my common focal lengths, and its only $6000.
 
Steven-Marc C. said:
The original 18-50 is actually back in the Red Store for less than this digioptical version...
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't note the price on the RED Store... I'd definitely get the RED version while its available. (unless I have budget for the RPZ of course!)
 
Steven-Marc C. said:
The original 18-50 is actually back in the Red Store for less than this digioptical version...
Click to expand...

Looks like Red price and DigiOptic price for 18-50 is exact same at $3,995

But to get both 18-50 and the 50-150 will cost you $12,500 from Red.
And to get the 18-50 and the 150 from DigiOptic is $6,500 from B&H.
Almost half the price...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/715071-REG/DigiOptical__18_50mm_50_150mm_T3.html

Jacek from Optitek commented this in a previous thread on the DigiOptics.

http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?p=646076#post646076

I've worked on both. Don't worry I can optimize them for you if you have any doubts. Have done so on quite a few Red lenses.
I tighten up the hardware and fit, smoothen the controls, balance image if possible, etc. Glass spacing is a part of the optical design and can not be changed.
Click to expand...
 
This is bizarre... when I looked at B&H last night the price was $4995 for each lens.

Well this is the part that worried me from the B&H site:
This is a special order item and is non-cancelable and non-returnable. Est. arrival at B&H is 7-14 business days (subject to availability). You will be charged upon placing your order.
Click to expand...

So... even at the same price I'd rather get the lens from RED.

That said... the combination kit is a very good deal. $3250 per lens is not bad. If I could deal with the manufacturer directly that would be fine, but then when you look at

http://www.digioptical.com/

There is nothing. No contact info, no warranty or support info- nothing.

I'd hate to get a set of lenses, have them be inoperable and then have to send them off to Jacek (OptiTek) or Matt (Duclos) for who knows how much before having usable lenses.

I don't expect a tremendous amount from these lenses. Mostly I just want them to outperform SLR zoom lenses that have not been cine converted- especially the wide zooms.
 
They will certainly outperform still lenses.

I think a comment I made earlier may have been misinterpreted by some, including most unfortunately Jarred. These lenses are an incredible deal for the money, and I'm referring to the RED Store pricing. It is unfair to compare them to the mechanical performance of lenses that cost an order of magnitude more. At 1/10th of the price they certainly perform a lot more than 1/10th as well. Optically the lenses are quite clean. The only issues I have ever heard anyone have are with the mechcanicals. And compared to the vast majority of stills lenses mechanicals these lenses do quite nicely.
 
This subject has been done a 1000X over by now and Mitch speaks the truth. The RED 18-50 and 50-150 are top-notch glass and great lenses in most every way. IMO, the 18-50 breathes a lot more than it should or than most people will expect it to. However, too much emphasis is placed on breathing much of the time. The lens is great optically. The mechanics are not perfect and are inconsistent from one lens to another. But if you get a good one or have yours tuned up by a competent lens tech, they work pretty darn good and will be smoother than a lot of glass you may encounter on the rental market. Once again, can't stress enough, that for the money they are great lenses and the optics are quite good.

As for the DigiOptical lenses. It seems that whoever manufactured the two zooms for RED has contracted with another seller when RED's deal ran out. That is the only explanation that makes any sense. Well, not the only. The other explanation is that lenses RED may have rejected during their QC process were returned to the manufacturer and then subsequently resold to another party that is selling them.

I personally would not spend a dime on the DigiOptical lenses until I knew more about how they came about and, more importantly, what sort of support, if any, is provided. With the RED 18-50, the samples were very inconsistent and I've run across a few of those that I would not accept and would return for repair. What if you order a DigiOptical lens and get one of those? B&H isn't going to stand behind the product. No disrespect intended there, but they have made it pretty clear it's a special order, final sale. Which tells me that they're getting no back-end support from DigiOptical, whoever they are...
 
My personal conversation with B&H regarding the DigiOptical's was that the strong language avoids people basically 'renting' the lenses for a weekend and essentially returning the lenses for full face value. Specifically, it was indicated in conversation that there is some sort of manufacturer return policy for a defective product.

The conversation didn't speak exactly to the full extent of warranty and agreed it a bit unsettling that website is a poor point of contact.

But it's that dang price that makes you doubletake. :ihih:
 
One thing to keep in mind is that they have no clear focus marks, which may or may not be a deal-breaker, depending on how you work. I've seen AC's recreate these marks on the barrels themselves with gaffer tape or other.

Isn't there some kind of law that you can return any mail-order product within 7 days in the US? We have that in the EU, which makes ordering online much safer (but can be a PITA for the suppliers, with some people "renting" stuff for free, as Michael pointed out).
 
MichaelHalsell said:
But it's that dang price that makes you doubletake. :ihih:
Click to expand...

It is. If I knew for a fact that the lenses could be returned for refund if they were substandard, it would be a very tempting purchase. But then again, I don't need any more glass right now and I sold my 18-50 a while back and have the 17-50 on order...
 
The 50-150 has been de-listed at B&H, the link now says discontinued. The short zoom is still on offer though.
 
Steven-Marc, the answer is no. No Federal law. State laws varry. Law puts burden on vendor to establish policy, not only for returns, but refunds as well (not the same). For example, some stores allow returns, but only if in good condition and never opened. Some add that it must be returned in 3, 7, 10 days. Most small print covers individual store rules. Big stores like Macy's notoriously take almost everything back if you have the original invoice and in good condition. Buyers then seem to think that all stores work that way. For example, look at Red's return policy. NOT exactly Macy's.
 
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