Was RE: [Leica] DSLR choice - now Zeiss-Ikon

[billgem at hotmail.com (Bill Marshall)]

Frank, of course I was quoting from the manufacturer's propaganda. My point 
wasn't that it was right, but that it was NIKON propaganda - not Zeiss, 
Cosina, or Hasselblad. Attacks here have singled out the ZI when in fact 
their choice of materials is the choice of the industry for their highest 
level of products - Leica R9, Canon EOS 1v, Nikon F6. They are all staking 
their reputations on this material - not with ordinary consumers who throw 
away their equipment, but with the professional community who buy their most 
expensive products & who expect them to work in harsh envronments & to 
endure.

I know that you have way more experise in this area than I do, and I know 
that magnesium alloys have the advantage of saving weight which is 
attractive to manufacturers, but tell me why they are all flocking to 
thismaterial like lemmings? And why are their numerous websites out there 
that say the opposite of you in terms of strength & elasticity? Are their 
various alloys that may have different properties? Leica has a fairly 
extensive explanation on their website of the expense that they went to in 
order to manufacture their magnesium covers in a way that would meet their 
product needs. Their are also numerous articles independent of PR 
departments that explain various treatments that have been developed to 
successfully inhibit corrosion. Are they all just puff pieces?

Bill