Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/10/02

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Subject: Re: [Leica] OT: Helios 85/1.5?history?
From: "Mârtiòð Zelmenis" <martin@lrpv.lv>
Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 08:49:09 +0200

Well, it was just my experience - you're right, it depends largely on
choice - but then even meticulous choice may be a bad guide. If you take
such risks, you may end up with lenses that are badly constructed, liable to
break easily because of it - and of bad materials as well. And it doesn't
show on the first moment. It's just too easy to end up with a lemon.
From my experience I maintain - as the Russian-made cameras/lenses were
practiclly the only ones I could get more or less freely in my early days -
the less moving parts they had, the more reliable they were. But then -
glass was often a problem, too.
Well, I still own a few such lenses - but no cameras.
A different experience of mine is - that Russians (maybe we should be more
precise - Ukrainians?) made (are still producing?) quite acceptable enlarger
lenses. (Again - you have to select one from many.)

Martin


At 11:00 AM 10/2/01 +0200, Mârtiòð ZelmenisZW5pcw== wrote:
>
>You're taking  a big risk - Russian made lenses may have got rather good
>glass, but mechanicaly they're awful - and no-one wants to repair them.

This is far too broad a statement.  Many SPS lenses are mechanically fine,
others are poorly built -- it is simply a matter of picking and choosing.

And there are many, many repair folks in the US who will work on SPS lenses
and cameras.

Marc

msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh bàs fir gun ghràs fir!

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