OT: Lenses: I swear they make this stuff to break

[pRICE cUBE]

Rant mode on.

I have Nikon, Canon and Sony gear and the build quality on lenses lately, even the premium "pro" stuff is not as tough as they used to be. Back when I was starting out, the Nikon gear I had could take hard knocks and college youth carelessness. Today my 50mm 1.4 nikkor af-s is messed up due to being bumped...inside a padded bag. You have to be kidding me. I had a feeling about this lens when I got it that the sturdiness wasn't what Nikon of the past was like but they charge premium prices for it. Makes me think I just should have gotten the cheapo 1.8. I say this for my other brands as well, you can tell by the material between newer lenses and older ones where manufacturers have cut corners. I have had incidents with my Canon and Sony gear that makes me think they intentionally make these to break so you have to buy a new one or get it fixed. In the era where they have record sales of cameras and lenses, they don't have to care if they build these to last.

Rant off.

[freeradical]

The warranty must have expired yesterday.

[NewtonMP2100]

......as you get older.....you get a lot rougher.......

[Lew Zealand]

The 50mm 1.8 plastic mount EF lens for my Canon feels every bit the full quality I paid for it at $89. So I treat it like it's gonna break at any time and so far so good. I'd be pissed with physical quality problems with a $hundreds lens.

[pRICE cUBE]

freeradical wrote:
The warranty must have expired yesterday.

I bought it second hand and Nikon in their infinite generosity will not transfer warranty.

[AllGold]

Lew Zealand wrote:
The 50mm 1.8 plastic mount EF lens for my Canon feels every bit the full quality I paid for it at $89. So I treat it like it's gonna break at any time and so far so good. I'd be pissed with physical quality problems with a $hundreds lens.

Yep, you expect a plastic $89 lens to not be so sturdy. But I hear Canon also has durability problems with their more expensive 50/1.4.

[bazookaman]

It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.

[pRICE cUBE]

AllGold wrote:
[quote=Lew Zealand]
The 50mm 1.8 plastic mount EF lens for my Canon feels every bit the full quality I paid for it at $89. So I treat it like it's gonna break at any time and so far so good. I'd be pissed with physical quality problems with a $hundreds lens.

Yep, you expect a plastic $89 lens to not be so sturdy. But I hear Canon also has durability problems with their more expensive 50/1.4.
Yeah, I have been wary of both Nikon and Canon's 1.4 build quality, they are straight up weak sauce. I think I am going to sell this as is and get the 1.8 and not look into a 1.4 unless a I need it for a client specific job.

[testcase]

bazookaman wrote:
It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.

:agree:

[Buzz]

what happened to the "real" quality from the 60's & 70's??? you could use those bodies and lenses as hammers to tack up back drops for photo shoots... and then you could still get the Kodachrome shots you took after doing so, developed w/o much of a hassle...
times, they are a changin'...