On 01/23/03 02:04 AM, Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Another question would be why you are working to find out about lenses that
> aren't worth having. Ever wonder why Osawa disappeared without leaving
> positive stories about their quality?<snip>
Before inquiring about these lenses here, I did some Googling for info and also
scrutinized the 3rd-party lens pages I've seen recommended on this list. I
found several people who were pleased with the quality of their Osawa lenses.
I found no strongly negative comments, though I may have missed them. I found
some mildly negative comments from Mamiya owners who said the Osawa lenses were
inferior to Mamiya lenses. On balance, that sounded like an o.k. risk for the
price.
>Threre are so many decent lenses available at good prices from the prime third
>party manufacturers, why go looking for anything else. <snip>
Price is the consideration, of course. Tokina and Tamron lenses cost quite a
lot on eBay, due to quality and also perhaps partly to reputation and "cult
status". This Osawa 35-105mm f3.5-4.5, brand new in the box, would have cost
me about $30. If it was a decent lens and an Olympus mount, that would have
been terrific. If it was a lousy lens, it would have been false economy. I
agree with your basic point that one shouldn't save money by buying a lousy
lens.
>When you say you have been happy with a Vivitar zoom, are you implying that
>it's a mediocre lens, so you don't need anything better?<
Not exactly. What I meant was that I was perfectly happy for many years (and
still would be) with an older Vivitar zoom which in my opinion was a very nice
lens. Not a Series 1, but an all-metal, circa 1980 75-205 f3.8 zoom. What I
was saying was that if Osawa lenses were of that quality, I would be very happy
with them. My point was that I'm not looking for Zuiko quality on my budget,
but I am looking for good Vivitar quality.
By the way, I recently bought a new Vivitar 24mm lens due partly to long-time
brand loyalty. It's the modern, light-weight, plasticky type of lens, but I'm
hoping the image quality will be good. So don't worry, I'm not a
Vivitar-basher.
Linda
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