CoastalOpt 60 mm f/4 Apo - want to buy

[lukaszgryglicki]

Anybody want to sell?

I want to buy.

[Andy Perrin]

Me too, just need to set up a GoFundMe. Be right back.

[lukaszgryglicki]

Ive put a quote request on their website... they wanted me to put additional details on email - two times did that in 10 mins... finally silent.

[dabateman]

Rent it here:

https://www.lensrentals.com/rent/coastal-optics-uv-vis-ir-60mm-macro-for-nikon

 

If you like it you can buy it.

Thats how I got my EM5MK2 grip.

[lukaszgryglicki]

I want to buy not rent.

[Stefano]

That would be an awesome lens for people like me. I mean, if someone wants to gift me one I will take it right away.

[lukaszgryglicki]

Hmmm gift, I'm owing to pay $4k+ (possibly a lot more).

[Andrea B.]

Actually, Lens Rental also sells the lenses they rent.

 

Sometimes Lens Rental puts up a used copy for sale on their sister site: Lens Authority. That's where I got mine. Buying a used copy of something like the CO60 saves some $$$.

 

*********

 

Łukasz, I have to move this topic to the UV/IR Experiences section. This is our technical description section.

[lukaszgryglicki]

But what if I just want to buy one?

[Andrea B.]

Shoot Lens Rentals an email saying you want to buy a CO60. Currently their CO60 rental copies are going for about $6000. Never hurts to ask what they have available though.

KEH.com sometimes has an unusual lens. They are a reuptable seller.

[Andrea B.]

P.S. Let me make sure you do know about the CO60 hot spot? Do you know about that?

[lukaszgryglicki]

Yes... waiting for a quote anyway.

It's nothing new.

[dabateman]

Yes I meant during your rental period you can buy it.

They take off the amount you already paid for the rental, but not the insurance.

Its a way to know you also got a good copy before fully committing to it.

 

 

[Andrea B.]

I think Lens Rental is great. Everything I've bought from them even without trying out has been ace.

 

I originally bought my CO60 from Coastal shortly after it came out. Then I was the unlucky slob who found the hot spot at macro distances. Nobody believed me at first!! I returned my CO60 for a refund because it irked me off that they were selling a hot-spotty lens. Coastal of course did not initially believe me either about the hot spot, but they were very nice anyway about the refund. It took a while for them to eventually put up a workaround for the hot spot found by Enrico, Birna and others.

 

About 4 years ago I saw that Lens Rentals was selling one of their CO60s and I bought it. I have tried to like it, but I still don't like it. But lots of folks do like it. I'll say this -- it is SHARP.

[Bill De Jager]

Looking for uncommon lenses on KEH can be a real chore. For a number of years I went there every day to see what was new (at those times when they had a reliable 'new items' category) or to scroll through certain categories. That's what it took to get some lenses that, once posted for sale, go quickly. (Or else I didn't buy them because I couldn't afford them at the time.) It's not like eBay where you can arrange to receive emails when an ongoing search turns up a hit or two. I looked for a CO60 on KEH for years and never found one, finally buying a new one from the manufacturer.

 

On the other hand, KEH is quite reliable for quality. I've had very few problems with my purchases and they were quickly remedied. eBay is much more hit or miss. I had one lens where the optics were in absolutely awful condition on the inside of the lens. I did get a refund but the seller claimed he just hadn't noticed the problem which was not credible. Another common problem is items arriving smelling of mold thanks to poor storage in the past. You can't tell that from a photo on the listing.

 

Good luck!

[ulf]

The CO60 do not reach deep into UV like the UV-Nikkor 105mm

CO60, look at the last diagram here:

http://www.macrolens...IR%20SLR_V2.pdf

[lukaszgryglicki]

Got the quote from CO, they want $6500 - a bit too much, was hoping no more than $5k.

[dabateman]

The CO60 do not reach deep into UV like the UV-Nikkor 105mm

CO60, look at the last diagram here:

http://www.macrolens...IR%20SLR_V2.pdf

 

Wait what!

That transmission plot is horrible. That would indicate its made from BK7 glass or Schott b270 or even really cheap Chinese K9 glass (all the same glass just made in different countries) . Not quartz or fused silica.

You can make and design a lens your self for much cheaper than that.

[lukaszgryglicki]

No problem, after a quote that high I just skipped this lens.

Now I'm searching for UV-Nikkor but this one seems really hard to find.

[JMC]

Got the quote from CO, they want $6500 - a bit too much, was hoping no more than $5k.

Last time I got a quote, which was about 2 years ago, I was told about 8000GBP (I'm in the UK). 6500USD sounds like a bargain....

[lukaszgryglicki]

LOL, anyway, $6500 is not a bargain for me :P

[JMC]

LOL, anyway, $6500 is not a bargain for me :P

Not for me really either, but compared to 8000GBP it sounds like one

[Andrea B.]

What is the current price for new 105/4.5 UV-Rayfacts? Anybody know?

 

 

Łukasz, you might be able to find a used Coastal 105 somewhere for less than $6000 (US). I found one of those on an online surplus store. (I do not recall the name.)

[enricosavazzi]

Wait what!

That transmission plot is horrible. That would indicate its made from BK7 glass or Schott b270 or even really cheap Chinese K9 glass (all the same glass just made in different countries) . Not quartz or fused silica.

You can make and design a lens your self for much cheaper than that.

The lens uses quartz or fused silica and fluorite elements, except for one that has the main purpose of correcting various aberrations. I guess that one element is necessary to keep cost and weight down to realistic amounts (if 6,500 US$ can be called realistic). To achieve the same amount of correction with only fluorite and quartz elements in a full-frame 60 mm f/4 lens corrected for infinity to macro range and NUV to NIR probably would require several more elements. It is easier for a longer FL and slower lens like the UV Nikkor 105 mm.

 

When I bought mine new from CoastalOpt, it was around 3,500 $, and probably even less than that earlier on. The only good thing about these prices is that you may buy a specimen of the lens at one point, then sell it after several years for much more than you paid. But then it would have been even more profitable to buy Bitcoin (albeit less fun to own them).

[nfoto]

I was consulted by the designer Brian Caldwell about the required features of the Coastal 60 APO when he intially planned its design. We had a discussion and I told him it was more important to get it parfocal also into IR than going very deep into UV and then have a focus shift Vis-IR. That is the underlying rationale of the spectral response of the CO 60. Blame me.

 

I did test shooting with the prototype (which they kindly let me keep for free) and advised the manufacturer they should have a CPU in the lens, an advice they followed. I never really encountered the hot-spot issue Andrea stumbled into later, probably because of how I used lens shade(s) or filter placements. I do know now the issue can be triggered, but take care no to run into the issue in the first place.

 

Whilst Brian did a tremendous job with the optical design, the guys over at Jenoptik responsible for the mechanical aspects were more sloppy and the lens can literally fall apart or seize up if it is used hard in the field. That happened to my copy.