Actually it is the other way around. The sample pictures show you can build a cheap and bad lens easily. But to achieve the optical quality of professional lenses is an entirely different thing. That makes you quite appreciative of them and shows how well spent the money for them is.
You can buy a ton of ok lenses in the $100-300 range, as there are several vendors in that range from Asia. Some of them can be really a steal. But overall you get the quality you pay for. Look what the lenses of the big camera companies offer, both optically and from features like AF and IS, and you see why 3D printing won't just turn the market upside down.
As an enthusiast, I find the tinkering possibilities opened up by 3D printing highly interesting though.
You can buy a ton of ok lenses in the $100-300 range, as there are several vendors in that range from Asia. Some of them can be really a steal. But overall you get the quality you pay for. Look what the lenses of the big camera companies offer, both optically and from features like AF and IS, and you see why 3D printing won't just turn the market upside down.
As an enthusiast, I find the tinkering possibilities opened up by 3D printing highly interesting though.