This is how they process and manufacture the lens.. check this out guys http://www.canon.com/camera-museum/tech/l_plant/f_index.html
Yeah.. its really amazing how the japanese do things. Their manufacturing plants is really clean i mean CLEAN!
This is why I love my Canon . And also why some people I know are switching to the Canon It's amazing how clean a lot of things are here in this country... but for a second there I thought I saw a piece of dust float around during the assembly process . Just my imagination
There are poor Canon lenses and there are excellent Canon lenses that go through the same Canon factory, and herein lies the problem. In contrast there are no poor Zeiss or Leitz lenses because they are all consistently excellent. Lens quality depends on the type of glass used, especially glasses of very high index with much reduced or even anomalous color dispersion, its design (which uses a super fast computer), and the most important of them all the mounting of the many elements into the assembled lens and the compromises one has to make for a singles lens reflex camera (this is why a quality rangefinder camera like the Leica M will always outperform its Leica single lens reflex camera). A slr, forced to use more unsymmetric lens designs by its mirror, auto-diaphram, auto-focus, etc., compromises the design of the lens whereas a rangefinder camera is a lens designer's dream to designing a perfect lens. As a tip to whether you have a good modern lens or not, just go for weight, because high index glasses are very, very heavy, and they in turn will require a strong and heavier focusing mount. Basically, it is the combination of both optical quality and mechanical perfection which determines lens quality. Design helps but is quite futile with low index glasses. High index glasses are very, very expensive and very, very heavy which require that their elements be solidly mounted.
Well, I don't think there are any "poor" Canon lenses. Marginal yes, but I haven't seen any "poor" lenses.
on the serious side. yes, Leitz lens for Leica are top quality, but it is also the case that they are really expensive, the cheapest one starts at around US$800 and goes up to astronomical prices. you get what you pay for, i guess.
I was referring to German made Leitz and Zeiss lenses, not those made in Japan by Panasonic and Sony, respectively, that for obvious reasons do not use high index glasses or high precision lens mounts.
I have heard that Leitz has engaged an American Chinese as their new CEO. He has some crazy ideas that sound more like what Nikon and Canon went through 40 or 50 years ago, and that is to be big you must cater to the masses with more fighting grade models but still keep the No.1 position for the top model. This doesn't sound good for me. I have a feeling that all my Leitz equipment will not appreciate in value at a rate I have been accustomed to. Maybe its time to call for a Big Sale sooner than later.
i remember reading somewhere that Leica is close to bankruptcy? if that is the case, perhaps a change in strategy is needed.
I can't find any info on Leica right now but yes, Leica is in deep doo-doo. It had record sales in 2005 but still lost ~$18 million. Not sure what current state of Leica is but I hope they make a turnaround.
