“You get what you pay for,” they say. Well, not this time at least.

In October 2018, net SE declared bankruptcy, and with it, the Meyer Optik Görlitz brand it held. Then in December 2018, German-based OPC Optics did a takeover of Meyer Optik and began analyzing the portfolio it had acquired. What they found “shocked” Managing Director of OPC Optics Timo Heinze.

In a press release that outlines the planned developments for the future of Meyer Optik Görlitz under new ownership, it was confirmed that the $3,000 Nocturnus 50mm f/0.95 was actually a modified Chinese-made Mitakon Zhongyi Speedmaster 50mm f/0.95, which you can get off eBay for less than $800 right now. Heinze said, “As a German manufacturer using the ‘Made in Germany’ quality seal, this is a shameful indictment.” Worse yet, the supposedly German-made Somnium 85mm f/1.5 was found to be a modified Russian lens as well. “Their production methods and marketing goes against all our principles,” said Heinze on the previous ownership.

Is the damage already done with the Meyer Optik Görlitz name? Do you think the company under new ownership can rise above the previous management’s shameful past? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Lead photo by 422737 via Pixabay.