When it comes to DSLR lenses there is a whole range of it from cheap to the big fancy and luxurious lenses. So the fairly priced ones are good, functional and effective but what is special are the highly expensive ones, by expensive I mean really expensive. Most of the people including me term these lenses as luxurious gear, but some do argue that it is so expensive because of its high functionality and are still required for professionals, so here are top 5 world’s most expensive lenses priced interms of dollars.
Most Expensive Lenses: #1 Leica 1600mm f/5.6 Telephoto Lens
This is the world’s most expensive lens, worth a massive $2,000,000. Many people can’t even earn that much in their life time. This massive lens is produced by Leica and most of the lenses in this list are manufactured by Leica.
Specifications:-
Since this lens isn’t exactly being sent out for review, we don’t know an awful lot about it. It fits the Leica R-mount, which is 1.2 meters long (1.55 with a lens hood), has a maximum diameter of 42cm, and weighs 60kg.
Most Expensive Lenses: #2 : Nikkor 6mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
This lens is worth $160,000, a pretty much a big fall compared to the above lens. It is manufactured by Nikkor. This Nikkor lens can literally see behind. It is very large in size.Unlike the above lens this was left out to the public for use. Since it is a fisheye lens it has all the functionality of that of an ordinary fisheye lens, but yes with increased functionality and specifications. It is suitable for 35mm SLR photography.
This lens has a retro-focus design which does not require mirror lock up in the camera section to work. It enables direct reflex viewing and metering through the lens. This series of lenses were originally developed for special scientific and industrial use where wider-than-180° picture coverage is required in surveillance work, photographing the interiors of pipes, boilers, conduits, cylinder bores and other constricted areas. But in applications such as advertising and commercial photography they are used extensively for dramatic effects.
The 6mm f/2.8s Fisheye-Nikkor has an automatic diaphragm, permitting thru-the-lens viewing and focusing, and is able to meter-coupled for TTL exposure control with all applicable Nikon SLR camera models. Its relatively fast f/2.8 speed is a valuable aid for photography under dim lighting conditions, or where faster shutter speeds are imperative. The lens also contains 5 built-in filters as its large, front protruding lens element makes it impossible to use any lens accessories at its front section.
Most Expensive Lenses: #3 : Canon 1200mm f5.6
This massive looking SLR lens was manufactured by canon. This is worth $120,000, not pretty much of a jump from the previous one.This is the longest and the rarest full autofocus lens in the world.The predecessor to the Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM Lens was the Canon FD 1200mm f/5.6L manual focus lens.A B&H Photo rep quoted Canon in saying that it took a year to grow the lenses and crystal inside of this lens.
Most Expensive Lenses: #4: Sigma 200-500mm f2.8 APO
This yet another massive looking lens is manufactured by sigma. Worth $25,999. This is also left out for the public use. It has a 300mm telephoto zoom range and it can maintain a constant f2.8.It has the largest high speed ultra-telephoto zoom available. It consists of elements such as ELD & SLD glass elements. The 2x teleconverter, battery pack & charger, hard case.
Most Expensive Lenses: #5: Nikon 800mm f5.6 FL ED VR
This moderately looking lens is manufactured by Nikon. This lens is worth $17,896.95. Among all the lenses listed in this section, this is the most widely used lens used by professional photographers. This is the only lens that I can term that is most functional and not as luxurious and fancy as the others. Its technical specifications are:-
As the longest lens in the NIKKOR lineup, the AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR delivers an astounding 800mm (1200mm equivalent on DX-format cameras) of super-telephoto reach with a fast f/5.6 maximum aperture in a rugged, well-balanced design. But for even greater reach, the lens includes a matched 1.25x teleconverter (TC 800-1.25E). This high-performance 1.25x teleconverter has an Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass element for superior sharpness and color correction, and it increases the lens’ overall focal length to 1000mm (1500mm equivalent on DX-format cameras).
Article is very interesting.