Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/07/23
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>Hi Charles, you said in your message about 90mm Tele-Elmarits and your
>conversation with Don Chatterton that he had said that "he is able to
>sell only one (1) in four (4) or five (5) of the lenses he gets. The
>rest he discards due to this damage." After my own experience with
>Mr. Chatterton, I wanted to urge you to take this comment with a grain
>of salt. I mean, doesn't it strike you as a little strange that
>Mr. Chatterton would go on buying Tele-Elmarits when he can only sell
>one in four or five and has to throw away the rest? Why can't he
>examine them before he buys them? Or if they go bad on the shelf, why
>doesn't he refrigerate them?
I had the same thoughts. He said that he pays $500 a piece for the lenses
and sometimes throws away $2000 worth. It hardly seems like the sort of
thing he could do and still stay in business.
It strikes me as even more strange that he encouraged me to buy a new or
recent lens. The most cynical way to read this is that he can make more
money selling me a new or recent lens, but if I were to buy a new lens I
would probably not buy it from him. At the very least he's quenching my
interest in something that he has available and running the risk that I
will spend my money elsewhere. I'm more inclined to think that he
believes what he said.
>Something about buying Tele-Elmarits in bunches like oysters and then
>discarding the ones that don't have pearls in them sounds a little
>exaggerated to me. I guess I'm sensitive to inconsistencies in
>Mr. Chatterton's statements, having heard quite a bunch of them myself
>recently.
Hmmm, there's a big difference between being quirky and being
untrustworthy. Perhaps he wasn't explaining himself well, and he has good
reasons for believing what he does.
My LTM to M-mount adaptors should be arriving today and I suspect I'll be
happy with them. If not, I charged the order, so I won't have any trouble
getting a refund.
Mr. Chatterton aside, does anyone else have experience or information
regarding the sperm whale oil lubricant and the problem it poses? Over
what period of time was it used?
-Charlie
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Charles E. Dunlap
Earth Sciences Dept.
University of Calif.
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
cdunlap@earthsci.ucsc.edu
408-459-5228 (office) 408-459-3074 (FAX)
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