At 19:56 1/21/01, Gary Reese wrote:
When I said it was a $600 lens I got this strange round of laughter,
like it was too hard for anyone to believe. But to me it was utter
reality. That is a moment when one will feel like a Zuikoholic!
Gary Reese
Las Vegas, NV
I think we sometimes forget . . .
Most of the Zuiko's we are dealing with, along with the single-digit
bodies, are professional class bodies and lenses. At the very least I
would call them "prosumer." Most amateurs and snapshooters are accustomed
to consumer grade bodies and lenses in the class of the 35-70/3.5~4.8
"Cosina" so recently denigrated on this list.
In a photo class a couple years ago I passed around a Contax IIIa with a
50/1.5 Sonnar on it. Since this is a very old RF with the focus helical on
the body (not the lens), the lens is about half the size of the 50/1.4
Zuiko! Someone mentioned how puny the lens looked, questioning whether it
could do much. That stopped when a few images were shown that were
produced with it. Yet another example of the consumer mentality of size,
weight, and current brand name identification.
We should be thankful the 50/1.2 Zuiko costs as little as it does used, and
goes for $480 new. It's not the half-stop of speed, it's the sheer
resolving power and contrast this lens has that makes it a bargain. A
50/1.2 AIS Nikkor (manual focus) is $550 new, and the price of the Canon
50/1.0 EF "L" makes these pale.
They would have gagged on their munchies at the cost of a used lens
equivalent to your 18/3.5 for a Bronica 6x6 or Mamiya M645 (don't even
mention the ones for a Hassy or Rollei)!
-- John
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