Is it true X1 is very light and made with alot of plastic instead of metal?

[FastFashnReloaded]

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The stiffness and durability of metal is crucial for lens-barrels. Plastic is "floating" (I don't know the scientific English term) and not very stiff, every kind of mechanical pressure would likely cause lens misalignment (especially after several years). I seriously hope that the X1-lens-barrel and mechanics are metal. Which doesn't mean that you couldn't build a bad metal lens...

 

Do you KNOW how many types of plastic there are?

 

I did not think so. Plastic can be better than metal in

many situation. Lighter, harder, engineered to be whatever

you need.

[FastFashnReloaded]

Read old Erwin Puts: The mechanical precision and stability of the lens mount are as important as the optical construction for image quality. I'm sure that Leica has used metal where needed for stability and precision in this case, but in general plastic in a lens barrel is not an indicator of a high standard of quality.

 

Have you tried an Oly 12-60?

[FastFashnReloaded]

Read old Erwin Puts: The mechanical precision and stability of the lens mount are as important as the optical construction for image quality. I'm sure that Leica has used metal where needed for stability and precision in this case, but in general plastic in a lens barrel is not an indicator of a high standard of quality.

 

Have you tried an Oly 12-60?

[NB23]

No plastic barrels in any of my M and R lenses - Verified!

 

Lots of plastic on the summarit line, and many aperture rings are plastic, such as my summilux 35 asph. (if it isn't plastic, there's that feeling all over it)

[NZDavid]

Read old Erwin Puts: The mechanical precision and stability of the lens mount are as important as the optical construction for image quality. I'm sure that Leica has used metal where needed for stability and precision in this case, but in general plastic in a lens barrel is not an indicator of a high standard of quality.

 

I did. Putts says "in general". I agree metal "in general" has a much nicer "feel" -- but what I would really like to hear is a scientific explanation from a qualified plastics or metallurgical engineer. Keeping the elements centered is crucial, obviously. Does metal do a better job than plastic in this regard? Is it impossible to achieve the same fine tolerances with plastic as opposed to metal? Will plastic inevitably wear out much faster?

 

This link is interesting. The author says plastic may sometimes be better: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=33289371

[Jeff Kerridge]

This is my first post here so -so here goes!

I have an X1 on order and have handled it for a few minutes at Leica, Mayfair.

Compared to my previous 'carry- around' camera, an Olympus E-P1, it feels excellent.

The prototype I handled had a plastic top section, but I was told the actual item will be metal. Covering is real leather too.

Weight was low but none of that horrible 'hollowness' you get with some cameras.

Still not an M9 though!

Jeff K

[earleygallery]

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Lots of plastic on the summarit line, and many aperture rings are plastic, such as my summilux 35 asph. (if it isn't plastic, there's that feeling all over it)

 

Really? Where is the plastic (apart from the lens cap) ? I think you will find your aperture ring is metal too, if in doubt use something to scratch off the black coating and see if you find metal underneath.

[andybarton]

Lots of plastic on the summarit line, and many aperture rings are plastic, such as my summilux 35 asph. (if it isn't plastic, there's that feeling all over it)

 

I have a Summarit 90 in my hand as I type - well almost. The only plastic on the outside is the wide ridged area on the focusing ring and the rear cap. The front cap and the hood are metal, as is the aperture ring.

[wda]

I have a Summarit 90 in my hand as I type - well almost. The only plastic on the outside is the wide ridged area on the focusing ring and the rear cap. The front cap and the hood are metal, as is the aperture ring.

 

Also my Summarit 75mm lens which handles and performs extremely well. It feels a very solid and well-made lens with true Leica characteristics.

[georg]

@FastFashnReloaded

The Stiffness (tensile modulus) of Aluminium (and it's alloys) is about 70GPa, Steel even has >200GPa - even gf-reinforced hq-plastics have rarely 10-20GPa - just look at some technical papers. They're also very problematic to manufacture in tight tolerances (and keeping these tolerances over a long time). Delicate designs like barrels and aperture rings (you don't want to have 5-10mm thick plastic designs) made from high-quality brass or modern Al-alloys like Leica (Weller) uses them are much more durable and suitable to hold and move glass elements precisely.

There are some nice compound-materials (not exactly plastic) mostly based on carbon fibre which have better mechanical properties (close to steel but lighter) but are also not very suitable for lens barrels (giving them the right shape).

 

It's not an accident that besides the outer shell (compound materials) even jets and spacecrafts are mostly made from metal. In 99% of the cases plastic is used because it's cheap - nothing else. You cannot even recycle plastic properly - most of it is burned or used to make low-quality-materials.