To me, this pricing, if it holds in the North American market, is a really disappointing development. The lens looks great, is ground-breaking in the MF lens field, and will produce good images no doubt.
However, the value proposition of the 645D is precisely that: a value proposition. The camera is lovely, but if I'm paying the top dollar, I would expect the top system.
Perhaps I am wrong and rich amateurs will take to this lens in numbers. But, as someone who is reasonably well-off, I would never spend this kind of coin for a specialty lens.
In most fields, the top of the market prospers, the bottom end lines prosper too, and the middle gets squeezed. It does seems that very few in this industry spend much time thinking about general business trends and principles, or perhaps are too trapped by their business models to do otherwise.
- N.