Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/04/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 04:41 AM 4/12/96 -0700, Roger L. Beamon wrote: >it was also interesting that suddenly the world was made >aware that the cheap Japanese product *was* on a par with their European >competition, even if they were clones. Point was that the manufacturing >smarts were there. Hmm. Not certain I agree. The German lenses weren't readily available -- Zeiss lenses were almost impossible to find, and Leitz lenses were scarce and, as another poster has pointed out, rather dated and optically slow. Thus, the Japanese had a wide-open market, not a competitive one, in which to function. Their lenses were simple thefts of German designs. Zeiss US wanted to sue, but, as they were an American government property, the authorities felt it improper to allow litigation. Japan DID have an excellent industrial base -- after all, they had been the world's fourth or fifth military power up to 1941 -- and applied it with great abilities to filling a glaring void in the marketplace. This does NOT make the first generation of Nikon and Canon lenses 'superior' in any way to the products of Germany -- they were, for all intents and purposes, identical, though Zeiss coatings were to remain superior throughout the 1950's. In turn, the Japanese used this foundation to actively and aggressively design a series of fine lenses which became available in the mid-1950's. These later RF lenses ARE creditable optics in their own right and, whatever their German heritage, show great ingenuity and ability on the part of the Japanese optical industry. Still, I'll keep on shooting my Leica, Hassie, Rollei, and Zeiss Ikon stuff! Marc msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315 Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!