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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!seismo!harpo!eagle!mhuxl!houxm!ihnp4!ihldt!bnp
From: bnp@ihldt.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.rec.photo
Subject: Discount Store Lenses??
Message-ID: <2126@ihldt.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 2-Dec-83 17:00:33 EST
Article-I.D.: ihldt.2126
Posted: Fri Dec  2 17:00:33 1983
Date-Received: Sun, 4-Dec-83 06:24:49 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, Il
Lines: 38


	A friend recently raised a question with me and I thought
I would pass it on for general discussion.  I must say that I am
not a regular reader of net.rec.photo, so if this is a duplicated
request, just provide a pointer to any appropriate information.

	I have recently seen a number of one touch zoom lenses in
various discount catalog stores (Service Merchandise, Basco, Best,
etc.) for what appear to be great prices. (80-200 mm f/4.5 for $69-$79)
I am wary of anything that appears to be this kind of a deal, so I
would appreciate some thoughts on these products.  (Note that these
are NOT well known brand name lenses, but come under a variety
of "store" brands.)

	A few specific questions come to mind:

	1. Are these lenses of reasonable optical quality?  I don't
	expect Zeiss optics at this price, but are they tolerable?

	2. How well can I expect them to hold up under reasonable
	use?  I don't think any of them have metal barrels, but quite
	a few "brand name" lenses now have plastic bodies; don't they?

	3. Do these lenses generally use glass optics, or should I
	expect plastic lenses?  Is this necessarily a problem? Should
	plastic optics be avoided?

	4. Could these be manufactured by one of the major lens makers
	and only marketed under this "off brand" name?  If so, could I
	expect performance comparable to the manufacturer's main product?

	I would appreciate any comments, thoughts or suggestions.  Of
course, if people are interested, I'll post a summary of the results.

			Thanks,
				Bruce Peters
				AT&T Bell Laboratories
				Naperville, Ill.
				...!ihnp4!ihldt!bnp