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I don’t understand people’s obsession with plastic vs metal lenses. I have 10+ year old plastic and metal lenses and all are fine. I once dropped a plastic lens

by D13Fd 5y ago

I don’t understand people’s obsession with plastic vs metal lenses. I have 10+ year old plastic and metal lenses and all are fine. I once dropped a plastic lens and it rolled about 20 feet down a steep gravel and stone driveway. No issues other than some scuffs on the exterior, and I’ve used it for years and years since. For truly old lenses - 50 years or more like you mention - mildew and fogging seem more likely to be a problem than plastic aging. Plus, lenses of that age are often of limited real-world use anyway given the developments in cameras.

chiefalchemist 5y ago
I think the issue is, how well the plastics age. Some over time get brittle and less "flexible", and thus prone to fatigue. I had a Minolta SLR as a teen (read: late 70s to early 80s). I gave it away 25+ yrs later. I'm not sure about internals, but there was no fears about plastic fatigue. I believe it might still be in use.
- D13Fd 5y ago
  I think it’s pretty clear at this point that well made plastic lenses hold up for at least 10-15 years. In my view, the vast majority of use of a typical lens is going to be in the first 10 years or so. After that, if the lenses haven’t been scratched, dropped in the ocean, etc., use is probably going to drop off anyway as better cameras and lenses come along.
  - kjkjadksj 5y ago
    A magic drainpipe is a 30 year old lens and is still optically excellent and performant.
    - sudosysgen 5y ago
      Yes! I have one, and wide-open it outresloves the 24MP sensor of my A7ii. It's so sharp that I have to turn down the default sharpening settings in lightroom because then it looks unnaturally sharp. The reason why it's so good is because it doesn't have in-lens IBIS. It took 15 years to make an IS lens with similar quality to the legendary 80-200!
lm28469 5y ago
The lens I use the most is a 70 years old leica lens, it's all metal and glass and looks as if it came out of the factory yesterday. It stills holds up on an m10m sensor (40mpx without bayer array). Plastic will always be inferior to metal no matter what, both in feel and durability. The only plastic lens I have is also the only lens with helicoid play... it's not even 1/3rd the age of the leica
- samatman 5y ago
  Plastic will also always be superior to metal in weight, and functionality is all over the map: good lens (for ones purpose) dwarfs enclosure material for that. It wouldn't be hard to pair you with someone mad at their old-school lens for helicoid play who has no complaints about their plastic. Especially in the last decade, it's not a useful filter, just one of many factors to consider in selecting gear.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
newsclues 5y ago
Because plastic breaks. Metal is superior in longevity.
- picture 5y ago
  Metal breaks too. It entirely depends on how it's engineered. Cheapest plastic sucks a lot more ass than the cheapest metal, but when engineered for permanence, plastics can be superb materials.
  - newsclues 5y ago
    I wrote that comment after the plastic buckles on my messenger bag just broke. Perfectly fine, hardly used, but it just broke because it was ten years old. Plastic sucks.
- Auracle 5y ago
  As far as dropping lenses goes, plastic is superior. It bounces back in to shape. Metal bends/dents.
asciimov 5y ago
> I don’t understand people’s obsession with plastic vs metal lenses. It's an issue with perceived quality. So much of the inner workings of things have been replaced with plastic, usually not for the better. When you spend as much money on lenses these days, you don't expect them to cheap out on a small ring. Also, not all plastic is made equal. I have two lenses made in the last 20 years that have plastic that is starting to deteriorate and become sticky. It's a real shame as those lenses still work and do their job.
- aimor 5y ago
  Plastic deterioration like this has ruined so many things I liked that are otherwise well designed. I've had it happen with computer mice, umbrellas, knives, camera tripods, shoes, flashlights. I don't know the chemistry behind why, but it's a terrible feeling to have something either disintegrate, or become terribly sticky, or turn into putty.
Andys 5y ago
I agree, I've had both (from Nikon). Plastic tends to bounce, metal bends. The plastic lenses stand up to a bearing very well.

by D13Fd 5y ago

chiefalchemist 5y ago

I think the issue is, how well the plastics age. Some over time get brittle and less "flexible", and thus prone to fatigue. I had a Minolta SLR as a teen (read: late 70s to early 80s). I gave it away 25+ yrs later. I'm not sure about internals, but there was no fears about plastic fatigue. I believe it might still be in use.

D13Fd 5y ago
I think it’s pretty clear at this point that well made plastic lenses hold up for at least 10-15 years. In my view, the vast majority of use of a typical lens is going to be in the first 10 years or so. After that, if the lenses haven’t been scratched, dropped in the ocean, etc., use is probably going to drop off anyway as better cameras and lenses come along.
- kjkjadksj 5y ago
  A magic drainpipe is a 30 year old lens and is still optically excellent and performant.
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    Yes! I have one, and wide-open it outresloves the 24MP sensor of my A7ii. It's so sharp that I have to turn down the default sharpening settings in lightroom because then it looks unnaturally sharp. The reason why it's so good is because it doesn't have in-lens IBIS. It took 15 years to make an IS lens with similar quality to the legendary 80-200!

lm28469 5y ago

The lens I use the most is a 70 years old leica lens, it's all metal and glass and looks as if it came out of the factory yesterday. It stills holds up on an m10m sensor (40mpx without bayer array). Plastic will always be inferior to metal no matter what, both in feel and durability. The only plastic lens I have is also the only lens with helicoid play... it's not even 1/3rd the age of the leica

samatman 5y ago
Plastic will also always be superior to metal in weight, and functionality is all over the map: good lens (for ones purpose) dwarfs enclosure material for that. It wouldn't be hard to pair you with someone mad at their old-school lens for helicoid play who has no complaints about their plastic. Especially in the last decade, it's not a useful filter, just one of many factors to consider in selecting gear.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

newsclues 5y ago

Because plastic breaks. Metal is superior in longevity.

picture 5y ago
Metal breaks too. It entirely depends on how it's engineered. Cheapest plastic sucks a lot more ass than the cheapest metal, but when engineered for permanence, plastics can be superb materials.
- newsclues 5y ago
  I wrote that comment after the plastic buckles on my messenger bag just broke. Perfectly fine, hardly used, but it just broke because it was ten years old. Plastic sucks.
Auracle 5y ago
As far as dropping lenses goes, plastic is superior. It bounces back in to shape. Metal bends/dents.

asciimov 5y ago

> I don’t understand people’s obsession with plastic vs metal lenses. It's an issue with perceived quality. So much of the inner workings of things have been replaced with plastic, usually not for the better. When you spend as much money on lenses these days, you don't expect them to cheap out on a small ring. Also, not all plastic is made equal. I have two lenses made in the last 20 years that have plastic that is starting to deteriorate and become sticky. It's a real shame as those lenses still work and do their job.

aimor 5y ago
Plastic deterioration like this has ruined so many things I liked that are otherwise well designed. I've had it happen with computer mice, umbrellas, knives, camera tripods, shoes, flashlights. I don't know the chemistry behind why, but it's a terrible feeling to have something either disintegrate, or become terribly sticky, or turn into putty.

Andys 5y ago

I agree, I've had both (from Nikon). Plastic tends to bounce, metal bends. The plastic lenses stand up to a bearing very well.