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07-07-2018, 09:16 PM - 1 Like   #1
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Plastic - Why so much shy-away, hatred?

So everytime people hear abour cameras, lenses that made of plastic material
most always complain
"Oh pls
Plastic is cheap, toy-ish
Plastic is not serious
Plastic isn't durable and will fall-apart soon

overall plastic is a joke, so deal-breaker"

what do you think? is plastic really that bad?


Last edited by BigMackCam; 07-08-2018 at 12:45 AM.
07-07-2018, 09:46 PM   #2
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Uninformed people. There are admittedly some junky products made from plastic, but also good products. There are a lot of different types of "plastic".
07-07-2018, 09:50 PM   #3
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Yes, and is not natural.
Although I still have old FA 4.7-5.8 100-300 silver with a plastic mount and still going strong.
Q-s1 is made from plastic and I really enjoy it.
07-07-2018, 09:59 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by KoolKool Quote
. . .
what do you think? is plastic really that bad?

More opinions about plastic lenses here:
What Is The Deal With Plastic? - PentaxForums.com

07-07-2018, 10:48 PM - 2 Likes   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by KoolKool Quote
So everytime people hear abour cameras, lenses that made of plastic material
most always complain
what do you think? is plastic really that bad?
Excellent post. For me, it's mixed.

Pros: Light, rust-proof, less expensive....twice I've dropped my Pentax 645 (polycarbonate body) and once it bounced off the carpet and made a hole in the drywall. No ding, no damage, not even a scratch.....that changed my perspective on plastic bodies.

Cons: Feels cheap, interacts badly with some chems like DEET mosquito repellent, on lens mounts it can be very brittle/fragile, on battery holders it's less durable (over the years).

So IMO, it depends. On some applications it makes sense. On others, it's a compromise.
07-07-2018, 11:49 PM   #6
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Plastic is no problem. It can make things cheaper and lighter. My Irix 15 mm Firefly is made of plastic and it feels good.
07-08-2018, 12:06 AM   #7
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Indeed, a good designer/engineer will use the materials available to optimise strength, weight, production costs etc and that may well involve the use of plastics in all their variety. It always amazes me when people talk about steel as one uniform group of materials, but there are so many different types out there, all with different characteristics and the same holds for plastics. To the uninformed, they're low quality, to the trainde a sensible design and construction choice. That being said.... there's nothing like the feel of my super takumar or pentax M lenses, weighty as they may be.

07-08-2018, 12:43 AM   #8
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The problem with plastic is that many don’t know that there are hundreds if not thousands of different plastics just like there are lots of different metals and alloys. There are great high quality plastics that make it the perfect material for lenses since it makes them sturdy and light at the same time. Yes plastic can break if you drop it but metal can bend. So the lens could be broken and useless in both cases. I also prefer metal lenses but just for the feel in my hands not because of quality concerns.
07-08-2018, 12:43 AM   #9
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I'm not on the side of either! Give me good IQ and I'm a very happy camper. But I do like a metal lens mount, just my preference as I have had some trouble with the plastic mounts.
Points to ponder though, would all the legacy glass from Pentax (that we love) still be working at the same level had they been made out of plastic? Metal has proven itself over decades and plastic has not had the time "YET". I think most people that get the LTD'S feel they have a lens that will probably outlast them. And if a lens is plastic only time will tell.
07-08-2018, 12:57 AM - 1 Like   #10
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The problem with plasics is that it is often used to cut cost on manufacturing, and in the end it is a plastic part that breaks, killing the product.

I can't count all the products I have had broken plastic parts inside that broke not far after warranty expired. Sometimes it is expensive products with metal casing that is designed to make it look like a high quality product, but inside it use cheap plastic to make it cheaper to produce.

Sometimes the plastics break after a few weeks of use, and I have to go through the hassle of getting a warranty replacement. Like a couple of years ago I was looking for a high end head phones, where it took me 3-4 warranty replacements and change of brands before I could find a pair that could work for more than a couple of months.

There are many types of plastics and it can be very durable if designed right. But it seems like the biggest motivation these days to use plasic is to cut cost, not to improve durability.

I have not had that many issues with plastics on my cameras or lenses, but the plastic cover on my K10D have cracked and a plastic part inside my MZ5n broke which killed the camera.

Last edited by Fogel70; 07-08-2018 at 01:08 AM.
07-08-2018, 12:58 AM   #11
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Plastics could potentially be far better then metals for lens building - sadly that isn't often the case.

With the right combinations of plastics, and with well thought out reinforcing points you could have a lens which is light, weather resistant, impact resistant, temperature stable, non binding, and not needing lubricant of any sort.

I haven't personally seen this, and even if it exists, people would probably complain about it 'feeling cheap'.
07-08-2018, 02:41 AM - 1 Like   #12
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Pros:
- lightweight
- cheap
- can be moulded into forms that would be impossible to machine in metal
- recyclable in theory

Cons:
- Often used as part of a cost-reducing strategy, which often includes cheaper production and QC (hence why plastic is often associated with poor quality)
- Snaps rather than bends when over-stressed - while both are potentially fatal to the product, fractures look and feel worse to the user and can't easily be restored
- While it is recyclable, most of it ends its life in landfill at best, or the ocean at worse, where it will cause problems more or less forever
07-08-2018, 03:29 AM   #13
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Full Metal Body, way to go man
07-08-2018, 05:00 AM - 2 Likes   #14
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I blame Tonka, and the toys from my youth:


(I realize the real truck isn't plastic, this video is to commemorate my childhood perceptions:P)

The metal toys of the time would dent your brothers head when thrown with enough force. The cheap plastic toys of the time would bust apart upon impacting said head. We recently excavated a tonka truck that my GF's brothers had buried over 30 years ago. It was rusty as hell, but intact. Any plastic toy from that era that had been outside for that long (or even a few months) disintegrates at the touch. The perception that metal was universally better than plastic was drilled in during my formative years.

It took several years as an adult to reprogram my brain away from the grossly overgeneralized metal >> plastic mentality and understand that the right material for a given application could be plastic, metal, ceramic, mithril, unobtanium, or other material.
07-08-2018, 05:03 AM - 1 Like   #15
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... if you ever tried to fix a plastic part, you never want plastic parts again ... no matter where and what quality!
o.k. to fill holes in your teeth, plastic is not bad. ;-)
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