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| Image: Meike |
Meike, a Hong Kong-based manufacturer specializing in budget cinema and photography equipment, has removed L-mount lenses from its website. The move, spotted by a DPReview reader, has sparked questions about the company’s intentions to continue supporting the mount.
Users have taken to forums to report having issues finding L-mount Meike lenses on the Meike website and through sellers on AliExpress and Amazon. One DPReview member said he purchased an L-mount lens via a seller on AliExpress on September 21, but when he went to check the price out of curiosity on September 22, the L-mount version was no longer available. He couldn’t find it through other sellers, either, and a visit to the Meike website revealed that the L-mount section is no longer there.
Indeed, as of September 30, there is no L-mount option under the Camera Lens tab. A look back using the Internet Archive Way Back Machine reveals an L-mount category as of the last recorded snapshot on September 18.
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| The screenshot of the Meike website on the left, which shows an L-mount category, was taken using the Way Back Machine and its snapshot on September 18. The screenshot on the right was taken on September 30. |
At the time of writing, Meike has not released a statement about the situation with L-mount lenses. However, some users have reported that Meike responded to them via email, clarifying that L-mount lenses are currently out of stock and that they will be relisted after an upgrade and calibration.
Naturally, there are plenty of rumors and speculation about what the removal of Meike L-mount lenses means. Many wonder if this means that Meike is joining the L-mount alliance and that it removed its existing L-mount lenses to get them up to snuff with the new requirements. Others wonder if this is a quiet recall because of supposed focusing issues with certain models.
Meike responded to our request for comment by simply stating, “Our website is being updated.” The reply suggests the L-mount models haven’t been entirely discontinued, as it seems likely the company would’ve mentioned it if they had. Still, Meike hasn’t provided any additional context about why they were removed in the first place.
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