Sakar working on Kodak-branded Micro Four Thirds lenses?
posted Monday, October 28, 2013 at 2:28 PM EDT
Last week's PhotoPlus Expo in New York saw a lot of new gear announced and previewed — but one of the things no one expected was a set of Kodak lenses for Micro Four Thirds. Spotted by the Phoblographer, this trio of glass featured prominant Kodak branding, and is manufactured by Sakar.
There's nothing official about the lenses yet, and the Phoblographer's reporting is the only information about it that we've seen. Apparently the Sakar booth had a 25mm f/0.95, a 50mm f/1.1 lens, and an 8mm f/3 fisheye, all with Micro Four Thirds mount. Apparently all three are pre-production models, and seem to be totally manual, with estimaged prices around the $400 mark.
What's interesting is that they're made by Sakar — the same company currently facing legal heat over its Polaroid mirrorless camera. That Polaroid claims to have a "Compact Micro 4/3 Body", but relies on having the sensor and shutter built in the lens, which means that this trio of glass wouldn't work with it anyway.
Sakar is also the owner of a number of other photo brands — mostly just cheap children's branded cameras, but also they currently own Vivitar. Which means you have one parent company, simultaneously manufacturing Kodak, Polaroid, and Vivitar gear.
If these lenses ever get official, we'll be sure to let you know about it.