[quote name='jpmfc46' timestamp='1327476766' post='15214']
Well, that's not a very good state of affairs, one out of 5 lenses shouldn't pass the QC! And that's not counting the lenses that shouldn't have been designed at all, the like of those that receive only 2 or 2.5 stars however in the "pro" segment there's seem to be quite a number of lenses which receive top mark for mechanical quality but rate quite average in optical quality, surely the designers should have been aware of this fact?
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Well, there are few pro lenses with a ** rating and often there are reasons for that. Just take the Canon 50/1.2L as an example. The extreme aperture makes it nearly impossible to design a higher performance lens. It is a purpose-made lens with strengths in low light and bokeh, less so corner sharpness.
As far as QC is concerned. Internally we chuckle a little about a competing website where the owner proudly presented his Leica images as reference for the immense quality. Even after loose inspection a centering defect was very obvious in his shots. So if even (some) professionals don't see issues, less so "normal" users will do. Thus 1 in 5 is Ok ... from a business perspective. We've to be realistic here. BTW, only 3% are defective according to the industry, BTW, but I suspect that this refers to electronic failures, not centering.
FWIW, I'm aware of at least one manufacturer without any manufacturing QC. So far for "made in Japan" ...
Well, that's not a very good state of affairs, one out of 5 lenses shouldn't pass the QC! And that's not counting the lenses that shouldn't have been designed at all, the like of those that receive only 2 or 2.5 stars however in the "pro" segment there's seem to be quite a number of lenses which receive top mark for mechanical quality but rate quite average in optical quality, surely the designers should have been aware of this fact?
[/quote]
Well, there are few pro lenses with a ** rating and often there are reasons for that. Just take the Canon 50/1.2L as an example. The extreme aperture makes it nearly impossible to design a higher performance lens. It is a purpose-made lens with strengths in low light and bokeh, less so corner sharpness.
As far as QC is concerned. Internally we chuckle a little about a competing website where the owner proudly presented his Leica images as reference for the immense quality. Even after loose inspection a centering defect was very obvious in his shots. So if even (some) professionals don't see issues, less so "normal" users will do. Thus 1 in 5 is Ok ... from a business perspective. We've to be realistic here. BTW, only 3% are defective according to the industry, BTW, but I suspect that this refers to electronic failures, not centering.
FWIW, I'm aware of at least one manufacturer without any manufacturing QC. So far for "made in Japan" ...