RE: [Leica] Re: judicious use of plastics

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Doug
> Richardson
> Sent: Thursday, October 21, 1999 11:48 AM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: [Leica] Re: judicious use of plastics
>
>
> "S London" <srlondon@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> >Perhaps I'm missing something here, but I do not understand why the
> judicious use of plastics in manufacturing has been so thoroughly
> demonized
> by some members of the LUG.  It is simply another material which a
> designer
> can choose to include in a product when its characteristics fit the
> need of
> the part better than other available choices (glass, wood, metal).
>
> Perhaps it depends on how long you hope to live and keep using your
> Leica!
>
> One problem with plastic is that we don't know how long it will last.
> In the 1950s and 1960s, we Leica users felt really good about
> vulcanite - it was a hard-wearing covering which kept on looking good
> after decades of use. However, our cameras have now lasted long enough
> that many are showing the 'crumbling vulcanite' disease.
>
> It's still relatively easy to find lens hoods for the lenses of the
> 1930s, 40s and 50s. These were made from metal so were fairly
> indestructable. What will be the chances of finding a plastic Noctilux
> lens hood in 2030 or even 2050 if the existing one breaks? This isn't
> an academic question - assuming I'm not "shoving up Given a bit of
> luck, I'll make past 2025, but I wonder if that plastic lens hood
> will?
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Doug Richardson
>
>

Doug - When the NEXT Millenium dawns and archeologists are going through our
garbage dumps, they will find infinitely more perfectly preserved plastic
products and product parts than they will metal ones. This is not to say
that I want a plastic Leica, but rather to note that some of today's
plastics are stronger and lighter than most metals, and having plastic parts
in a camera, or anything else for that matter, certainly doesn't mean what
it did a few decades ago.

B. D.

>