IBELUX 40mm f/0.85 lens release date and price become official

Kipon has officially introduced the world’s fastest lens for mirrorless cameras, the HandeVision IBELUX 40mm f/0.85, which is the result of a collaboration between Shanghai Transvision and IB/E Optics.

The Germans have partnered with the Chinese and they have created a beautiful thing: the IBELUX 40mm f/0.85 lens. Mixing IB/E Optics’ high-quality engineering with Shanghai Transvision’s cost-effective manufacturing process has led to the launch of the HandeVision brand.

Kipon has taken it upon itself to launch the first product of the series, which is also the fastest ever for mirrorless cameras. It has been revealed first earlier this year, but some things have been altered in the process, in order to raise the quality and cut down the costs.

Kipon announces HandeVision-branded IBELUX 40mm f/0.85 lens as the world’s fastest lens for mirrorless cameras

HandeVision-branded IBELUX 40mm f/0.85 has become the fastest lens for mirrorless cameras and it is coming on February 25 around the world.

As time went by, the full and final specifications are now available along with the release date and the price of the IBELUX 40mm f/0.85 lens. Its fast aperture produces a shallow depth of field with amazing bokeh effects and it will be released to the market as of February 2014.

According to Kipon, the lens will be manufactured in Sony NEX, Canon EOS M, Fujifilm X, and Micro Four Thirds mounts. The price for a unit will stand at $2,080, when it becomes available next February, as stated above.

Technical specifications of the HandeVision IBELUX 40mm f/0.85 lens

The new IBELUX 40mm f/0.85 lens will produce a lot of vignetting when used at its fastest aperture. This has been a deliberate choice as the product’s size would have been bigger otherwise. As it stands, the lens measures only 74mm in diameter.

HandeVision’s optic comes with 10 elements divided in eight groups. On the outside, there is an aperture ring that goes from f/0.85 to f/22. All of these add to the weight of the lens, which is 1.2 kilograms.

Users will have to be careful with the manual focus, as the depth of field is pretty shallow, as stated above, but Kipon says that “serious photographers” compose the shot manually instead of relying on autofocus.

Future HandeVision plans include lenses for Sony’s full frame mirrorless cameras

The HandeVision brand will see yet other lenses being launched in the future. The first will be aimed at the Sony A7 and A7R full frame mirrorless cameras. It is a telephoto APO lens with a very fast aperture that will be called IBECAT.

Its next projects for full frame mirrorless shooters include a small prime lens and a tilt-shift model.

As for APS-C cameras, HandeVision is working on a wide-angle optic called IBEGON. A release date is not given, but the lens might be released in 2014 if everything goes according to plan.