Originally posted by Rupert I can't say much about plastic lenses....my only concern is that plastic tends to attract dust particles because it will hold a charge well. When sanding in my shop, my plastic glasses attract dust quickly....not my glass lenses.
As a retired plumber, I do know that for decades many in the trade rejected plastic. they wanted copper, galvanized or brass. I've replaced thousands of P-traps made of copper or brass that over time corroded and failed......never have seen a corroded plastic P-trap. Nowadays most water and drain lines are some formulation of plastic. Much cheaper, easy to work with and long lasting....most will last longer than we will. Old metal lines often become so full of corrosion they only carry a small % of the water available. Not so with plastic. Think Flint Michigan......would not be a problem there with plastic, it is non-reactive with most contaminants.
Plastic lenses? I won't rule it out, could be a good thing.....time will tell!
Regards!
My eyeglasses are some sort of polycarbonate. They certainly hold up to the abuse I inflict on them. As for plumbing, a couple of years ago I began having pinhole leaks in my copper pipes. Not at a joint but right in the middle. As I began contemplating the task of replacing long sections of pipe and the price of copper, I was prepared to spend the best part of a summer in my cellar. Then, I discovered PEX tubing and Sharkbite fittings and fixed it all on a single afternoon.
I have listened to the "metal means quality" argument for years. I have some mostly plastic constructed lenses that are superb and some all metal lenses that are mediocre at best. At the end of the day, it's the results that count. Our older lenses were constructed with metal parts because the plastics of the day weren't good enough. That is no longer true but it takes a long time to get an "idea" out of peoples heads so high end "quality" cameras and lenses continue to use metal in their construction. Reviews continue to use terms like "high build quality" when something is machined out of metal when it really means nothing these days. It adds unnecessary costs but as long as customers believe the hype, it will continue.