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Gorilla glass vs. sapphire glass


martha

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(I am not sure if this questions goes here or elsewhere, but....)

 

Can someone reference a link to relative merits of Gorilla glass versus sapphire glass. I will also be happy to hear folks' opinions of relative merit of each.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

--martha

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Gorilla is basically a cheaper sapphire glass. i'm no expert in LCD glass by any means, mind you. Gorilla glass is being used on today's modern phones like the iPhone 5. it offers good scratch resistance, but not nearly as indestructible as the sapphire.

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I think the reformulated schott glass giottos started using on their protectors last year is a little stronger formula than the gorilla formula. I have a giottos on my nex 7 and it’s been great for a year now with no problems except finger prints which are quickly taken care with a lens microfiber cloth. I’ve only had the sapphire m9p for a couple of months but it seems to be excellent protection..... and i didn't have to worry about getting it on straight :)

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Sapphire crystal is MUCH more expensive to manufacture....at least 10-20 times more expensive than Gorilla glass. in terms of useability----Gorilla glass is essentially a coated glass which rivals Sapphire in terms of hardness and scratch/break resistance. Both are a huge improvement over the otherwise el cheapo plastic screen cover used in regular camera screens.

 

I love the sapphire screen on my updated M8. easy to clean and never any scratches.

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I cannot find much on this, but what glass is on the M-E? (I am thinking ordering one as a backup)

 

I was wondering that myself, Michael. Thanks for asking.

 

In anticipation of a trade for my coffee stained 8.2, I am wondering if they will offer me an M9, M9p or ME. Glasswise (and cosmetically), I certainly would prefer an M9P from what I've read here, but may not have a choice. Alas.

 

Thanks to all above and below for your responses to my query.

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Thanks for the description Syed

Gorilla glass definitely IS scratcheable (I know, I've scratched my phone) - but it's pretty good.

I'd recommend taking more care over the screen than you need to with sapphire glass, but I don't suppose it needs babying like that nasty plastic they used to use.

 

all the best

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Gorilla Glass was developed by Corning as a chemically hardened glass. The Gorilla Glass in LCD screen covers for cameras was released in 2012 by Schott AG. Schott has been a premier lens glass supplier for quite some time.

 

Sapphire Glass is a laboratory grown artificial sapphire crystal glass.

 

The cost of sapphire over Gorilla glass is roughly 5 times as expensive for the size of what is used in LCD covers and cell phones like the iPhone.

 

The bigger the piece of glass the more the cost of sapphire. Sapphire glass became most common in watch crystals.

 

Sapphire glass is much more scratch resistant than Gorilla glass but much more brittle and has less tensile strength.

 

 

These panels are covered in Schott Glass in something between sapphire and Gorilla glass and are a large part of the cost of each panel well over $1,000 per panel. They withstand hail and other flying debris to a degree. iPhone and MacBook screens are Corning products, if I recall.

 

http://www.pbase.com/milsuper/image/140096775

Edited by jdlaing
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The cost of sapphire over Gorilla glass is roughly 5 times as expensive for the size of what is used in LCD covers and cell phones like the iPhone.

 

The bigger the piece of glass the more the cost of sapphire. Sapphire glass became most common in watch crystals.

 

i have a friend who is a watch maker....the cost of Sapphire is MUCH, MUCH more than Gorilla glass......i've been told at least 20 times more, if not more than that.

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The Gorilla Glass in LCD screen covers for cameras was released in 2012 by Schott AG. Schott has been a premier lens glass supplier for quite some time.

 

schott released it's xensation formula in 2012 but it's not associated with corning's gorilla lcd covers. giottos uses it in its camera lcd covers though.

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The sapphire glass used by Leica used to be made by Stettler in Switzerland, who are the premier suppliers (about 89%) for the entire Swiss watch industry, including Patek Philippe, Rolex and many others.

 

The material itself is fairly expensive, but what people do not normally realise is the cost of manufacturing is very high. Although the sapphire can be cut into slabs, it requires many hours of grinding and polishing, followed by chamfering of edges etc. In fact the production costs far outweigh the material costs. This is why it is so expensive.

 

In fact, the process used to create the Leica sapphire backs is very similar to some of the processes required in lens manufacturing.

 

Although indeed brittle, it can take quite a beating before cracking, as the thickness used by Leica is not skimpy. Anyway, this is not an issue in my view; if the sapphire glass has broken, then I am pretty sure the casing of the camera and the viewfinder are totally messed up too !!

 

It was too expensive to make and Leica chose, rightly or wrongly, a cheaper alternative that although fairly tough, does not have the scratch resistance of 9 Moh/s that sapphire has…

Ciao tutti,

Theo

Edited by tadeyev
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  • 3 months later...
Gorilla glass is on M?

Sapphire glass is on MM?

 

Plastic:

Leica M8

Leica M9

Leica ME

 

Gorilla:

Leica M

 

Sapphire:

Leica M8.2

Leica M9P

Leica MM

 

I'm happy with the sapphire screen of my M9P, but had no problems with the M8's plastic screen either.

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If you don't mind a little technical jargen let me add a few facts about saphire. I used to do research synthesizing saphire and the method for manufacturing saphire is called the Verneuil method and is a rather slow process. The growing crystal is called a brule and it takes weeks to make a large crystal and requires very high temperatures. The crystal grows by a process of pulling and requires very expensive equipment that consumes a great deal of energy. As someone mentioned, it has a hardness of 9. This means that it is harder than topaz and not as hard as diamond. It is made of aluminum oxide and is commonly called corundum. It also has a specific gravity of 4, meaning it is four times heavier than water. It also has an index of refraction of 1.77. All of this means that it is one of the hardest materials know to man! I am really amazed that they can make the cover for the M9p as that is a large chunk of crystal. We used to cut it using very expensive diamond says and then polish it using diamond paste. It's great weakness is it is very brittle. Because of this one must be careful not to have a sharp object hit the screen as it will break. I always cover mine with a small plastic film screen to absorb the shock.

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  • 2 months later...
Plastic:

Leica M8

Leica M9

Leica ME

 

Gorilla:

Leica M

 

Sapphire:

Leica M8.2

Leica M9P

Leica MM

 

I'm happy with the sapphire screen of my M9P, but had no problems with the M8's plastic screen either.

 

I just had a talk with someone from reddotcameras.co.uk and they say that the ME is actually Gorilla glass.

 

Gorilla or not i guess i will still buy some protector for the screen.

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