My most important lenses are made of plastic

flavio81 · Dec 10, 2014

cramej said:
Nikon uses 'resin' in a lot of the aspherical elements. Any lenses on their website that say 'hybrid aspherical lens' are glass molded with resin. Sony alludes to this as well. Canon is not so forthcoming about it's lens construction.

Canon is very specific in this as well, at least on the "EF Lens Work" books which detail a lot; they have lens diagrams, MTF curves, and they do mention all the technology used in each specific lens.

David A. Goldfarb · Dec 10, 2014

I always get glass eyeglass lenses. They are more scratch resistant, and the optical performance is better, especially at the periphery. They are worth the extra cost and additional wait time, in my opinion.

A few years ago my frames broke just before I was leaving for a business trip, and I needed new glasses on short notice, so I got plastic, which is lighter, less expensive, and more readily available. The color fringing at the margins was quite noticeable, as was the loss of sharpness. With my current glass lenses, made by Hoya, I can use the whole lens. I find this is particularly important for reading music, where it's not unusual for me to have to be able to resolve fine detail at the right end of my peripheral vision, pretty far off axis. When I start missing notes in the lower right hand corner of the page, that's when I know I need a new prescription.

Frankly Unsharp · Dec 10, 2014

Sirius Glass said:
Like me second vehicle?

Yeah, that's a real climber. It will end up on its roof, halfway up or down some "impossible" hill, while the rain keeps falling down...
I hope Your camera and stuff was left in Your "first" vehicle ?

Sirius Glass · Dec 10, 2014

Frankly No said:
Yeah, that's a real climber. It will end up on its roof, halfway up or down some "impossible" hill, while the rain keeps falling down...
I hope Your camera and stuff was left in Your "first" vehicle ?

It has a roll cage, five point harness and it has never tipped over.

I usually carry a case of Depends when I go off roading.

pbromaghin · Dec 10, 2014

Kodak made zillions of plastic lenses for all their cheap cameras. Somebody just posted a video a week or two ago showing the manufacturing process.

Ko.Fe. · Dec 10, 2014

Frankly No said:
Hello,
And well guessed, these lenses are the ones I carry on my nose all day, and I couldn't manage without them. For many years now the lenses in spectacles have been made of plastic, constantly developing with thinner lenses and better coatings as a goal.
Maybe I'm ignorant or just stupid, but why not use this technology in for example MF lenses (yes, Holga has them), where the big chunks of glass ads to the already heavy construction. Oh yes, most of these lenses are not made anymore, but how about the dark (digital) side AF-zooms? A quick look at a Canon Zoom Lens 55-250 gives You the impression of glass, but is it really? Everything else seems to be plastic.
Information, please!

Holga is dirt cheap. Canon 55-250 is next to it. Cheap lenses are made with plastic. My Canon L lenses aren't, or at least not so much plastic. My modern Zeiss 50 1.4 for Canon was all metal.
Cosina also makes metal Voigtlander SLR and RF lenses.
My MF lenses are little tiny things on folders, even if they are from metal and glass it doesn't add weight, nor the LF lenses I have. Also much more smaller comparing to modern digital crap.

pdeeh · Dec 10, 2014

Yes, it's a good thing that every camera and lens designed for film is beyond reproach, otherwise people wouldn't have the opportunity to say that everything digital is crap ...

RattyMouse · Dec 10, 2014

All Fujifilm INSTAX cameras uses plastic lenses.

Nodda Duma · Dec 10, 2014

AgX said:
What do you mean by that?

Buy a disposable camera and disassemble it (save the film!). You will see a perfect example.

Sirius Glass · Dec 10, 2014

pbromaghin said:
Kodak made zillions of plastic lenses for all their cheap cameras. Somebody just posted a video a week or two ago showing the manufacturing process.

The Kodak disposible cameras have lenses that are superior to the competitors.

pbromaghin · Dec 10, 2014

I think I misremembered. It was not plastic, but a "glass made without sand", from "rare earths and boric acid". Here is a link to the video that shows it. It's a really amazing process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpziDTklPs0

Jonathan Van Matre · Dec 11, 2014

David A. Goldfarb said:
A few years ago my frames broke just before I was leaving for a business trip, and I needed new glasses on short notice, so I got plastic, which is lighter, less expensive, and more readily available. The color fringing at the margins was quite noticeable, as was the loss of sharpness.

This is my experience to a T. I wear polycarbonate lenses because I prefer the lighter weight, and despite having done no small amount of research to get the best quality PC lenses I could obtain, I merely have to look hard to the left or right to see soft edges and color fringing.

They're my most important lenses, too, but they satisfy a very different set of needs than a photographic lens does. Eyeglasses are a delicate balance of competing needs for durability, size, weight, raw optical performance, and mental perception. You could say the same of camera lenses, but the sweet spot of that multi-factor balance falls in a very different place.

If I had to support my Fuji XF 56/1.2 using only my ears and the bridge of my nose, I'd have a very different set of expectations. As things are, I'm glad it's built like a little metal tank.

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 11, 2014

Check these lenses out. They're filled with oil.

http://www.arenasolutions.com/blog/...d-eyeglasses-a-vision-for-the-emerging-world/

Jonathan Van Matre · Dec 15, 2014

Mainecoonmaniac said:
Check these lenses out. They're filled with oil.

http://www.arenasolutions.com/blog/...d-eyeglasses-a-vision-for-the-emerging-world/

Those are a great solution to a genuine problem. I'd actually be interested in carrying a few of these on my travels. They'd certainly make a more valuable and meaningful gift to some communities than anything else I've ever been able to offer.

However, the catch is being able to explain them to the wearer, which I presume is the reason that Global Vision 2020 focuses on collecting donations and building the distribution network themselves.

Mainecoonmaniac · Dec 15, 2014

There is a great need indeed. I wonder if these glasses are easy to explain on how to use them? Or maybe have a Ikea styled instructions where there are just illustration?

My most important lenses are made of plastic

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