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They'd be a deductible expense for me, so I chuckled and smugly looked them up to-
Yeah, no, not a chance.
You know you're getting reamed when you're buying Zeiss
Especially if you are ASML, who are as dependent on Zeiss for the lenses and mirrors that go into EUV photolithography tools as TSMC and Intel are on ASML for the photolithography tools. ASML offered Zeiss more money than you could shake a stick at for their semiconductor business, but Zeiss is owned by a non-profit with no interest in giving up control.
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Maybe it's just because I'm an enthusiast in photography and sport shooting, with their extremely pricey optics, that I expected these to be more than $3k.
That's pretty high for binoculars. Compare Vortex cheap 10x42 at under $200 or their nice line at $1700. Camera lenses are just crazy expensive.
That's just the typical glass price/quality tier list though. China->Philippines->Japan->Alpine space magic
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For that price, I'd want to be able to see Armstrong's footprints on the moon!
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