For those of you who know cameras, you may find this funny... Ive been dinking around more in film lately and I often jump over to eBay to see if there are any good deals on 35mm and medium format kits. I came across a Bronica SQ listing that really caught me by surprise. It indicates that it features a 150mm f/1.4 lens. Now, if youre not familiar with medium format, the fastest optic that Im aware of EVER made by any manufacturer was an f/1.9 by Mamiya. In addition, the FASTEST Bronica lens ever made was an f/2.8. Imagine my surprise to see that 1.4 in the title and description. But thats not even the funny part...the lens PHOTOS even indicate that its an f/4 lens. I contacted the seller assuming it was likely an organization selling stuff from, say, a purchased storage area or something. I indicated that theyd mislabeled the item and that the lens was, in fact, an f/4 not 1.4. I was told that a picture was worth a thousand words and that the lens clearly says 1.4. The photo they sent me to illustrate this was from the very auction and is the first one linked here. Ive circled the apparent evidence in red. Now, obviously, this is a 1:4 (ratio for the max aperture value - hence the 1: and then the max value which is 4) and NOT 1.4. I was also informed that I didnt know what I was talking about. I then played along and sent them back a screenshot of the SIDE of the SAME lens. Again, a pic from THEIR listing. I informed them that the COLON on the front element does NOT mean the same thing as a DECIMAL and that if they looked at the side of the barrel, theyd clearly see the f range listed. Ive circled the max values in red in that second image. The response I got was interesting: please stop emailing me. Go figure. What do we learn kids? 1. If you purchase on eBay, understanding the equipment youre in the market for. 2. That not all photographers know everything. 3. People are really, really stupid a lot of times and hate being called on it... PS - the listing is still up and NO changes have been made. Ive considered reporting it to eBay since there is always the chance that a buyer will get burned because they dont know any better, but I havent. Heres the link to the listing info if youre interested in looking at it: ebay/itm/151258762565?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 16:29:45 +0000
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