Tom,
I don't see how you can speak with credibility on Fujinon lenses, if you don't even possess the very common knowledge of where they have been, and are, being used. Fuji has long known how to make lenses. They built the first computer in Japan, the FUJIC, in 1956, just for optical design. Fuji has for many years made highly regarded medium format cameras and lenses in 645, 6X7, 6X8, 6X9, and 6X17 formats; they have long made an extensive line of large format lenses which are very well respected; Hasselblad now uses Fuji lenses instead of Zeiss. Fuji stopped making 135 format lenses when they stopped making 135 format cameras.
Fuji is and long has been a highly respected optical shop. My EBC Fujinons for the ST series were excellent, though I have heard that the 24mm, which I did not have, was nothing special. Resolution, definition and contrast stand up just fine to the other makers' lenses of the period, including the Nikkors I later used extensively, and their color rendition is still my favorite.
The first EBC Fujinon lenses were the same optically as the Fujinons of the same focal length and f/stop, except that they were multicoated-- just as Pentax's Super-Multicoated Takumars were the same as the Auto-Takumars.
Do a search for some images from Fujinon and EBC Fujinon lenses. Flickr is a good place to start, but there are others as well. Even on a monitor, the fine definition, contrast and color are clearly evident.
As for the ST701 being like looking through an ice cube- ridiculous.
Fujica ST cameras had large, bright, clear viewfinders. Maybe you looked through one that been dropped or something.
