RE: [Leica] 50mm f1.5 Nokton question

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

Horst - You misunderstand my post, which probably says more about my posting
abilities than your interpretive ones...:-)

My point is that there are folks - not you - who will look down their noses
disdainfully at a "Cosina" lens, a piece of "off-brand Japanese garbage,"
but will instantly snap up the same lens if it carries a venerable European
brand name....So I'm saying Cosina isn't ashamed of their name - after all,
they do sell the lenses as Cosinas - but rather is being clever in its
marketing.

B. D.

- -----Original Message-----
From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
[mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of A.H.SCHMIDT
Sent: Friday, March 17, 2000 1:02 AM
To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: [Leica] 50mm f1.5 Nokton question




B. D. Colen wrote:

> Horst Schmidt opined:
>
> In my opinion, Cosina could not care less about the history or the
accuracy
> of
> this lens names. It is a shame. But then what do you expect, if a company
is
> to
> ashamed to use
> there own name on the products they manufacture.
>
> -----
> Ashamed? Hardly. It's simply proof that Cosina is smart enough to know
that
> there are some idiots to whom the name of a lens is as - or more -
important
> than its performance.

OK, This is a fair comment, but why then not be accurate in the naming of
the
lenses ?

>
>
> 'What? It's not German? It was made in JAPAP? It has to be crap!'
>
> I am not suggesting that this is Horst's opinion, but I would certainly
> suggest that there are enough Leica acquirers out there who feel that way
to
> make it worth Cosina's while to give the badge a "rich" photographic
> heritage.

I wrote in my original post:"I would have written  the same, if a company
from
the US, Germany, France or even Upper Volta had done this".

This would make your above comment somewhat meaningless.

I really don't believe, that goods have to have the made in Germany Logo to
be
good.
On the contrary. I have in my time managed to acquire some dreadful stuff
which
was made in Germany: Software (in my opinion they are quite bad at it), Some
of
the german made cameras where defiantly not of the highest standards, That
includes even the latest
Voigtlander models. Vito C's and later.
I have a Collection of Pentax cameras and lenses From the mid 50's to the
mid
80s.
To me this are superb cameras and lenses. My favorite being the multicoated
50mm
f 1.4. mounted on to the Super-A Camera   When I need to by new tools for
myself
, I mostly go and by either american made
(e.g.. Snap-On) or english made (Eclipse and More and Right etc.) and when I
want a good cheese, I buy a Brie or Camembert from France, a firmer cheese
from
Switzerland
(Appenzeller) or from Austria (Moosbacher)  and when it has to be a soft
cheese,
then I by it here from Australia (Four Square etc.)

So the old cliché: " It has to be from the Fatherland,  and all else is
rubbish,
does not carry any weight with me, and most probably most other senile
people.

Regards, Horst Schmidt




>
>
> B. D.