Given the expiration of original SMC patents, we might expect that
most other manufacturers optics must be coated at least up to the
level of the first SMC lenses. Even Pentax acknowledged recently
that SMC is no longer a technology, but rather a brand name.
However, in my experience this doesn't appear to be true. I've
been playing with and examined pictures taken with original K
lenses, BBAR Tamrons, Sigma, Canon L and common glass, zooms and
primes included, and I can tell no one came even close to SMC. In
fact, the modern Canons were among the poorest, flaring like an old
russian single-coated Helios.
Besides, Pentax upgraded SMC multicoatings with each new
generation of lenses, and this is obvious with FA lenses performing
visibly better in this respect than their 20 years old ancestors.
Now latest FAs and Limiteds come in ghostless SMC flavor and owners
attest it's truly superior.
I cannot explain why other manufacturers - Nikon included -
care so little about multicoating, nor do I understand why Pentax
reluctantly advertises and sometimes even infirm (!) their unique
technological advances, other than by a conspiration theory or a
preference of marketing staff for maintaining a mystery aura around
Pentax name ...or is it plain stupidity!?
Servus, Alin
SETH wrote:
> The original Cosina as well as Vivitar and Phoenix are also
> multicoated. But that brings up a question. How much of difference
> is there between Pentax SMC and multicoating on other modern lenses?
> The original SMC patent must have expired by now and anyone is free
> to use it. And anyway many manufacturers like Nikon and Zeiss
> licensed it back in the 70's. Pentax claims that SMC reduces loss
> of light transmission to 0.2%-0.3% compared to 5% for non-coated and
> 2% for single-coated lenses . How does multicoating on non-Pentax
> lenses perform?
> Of course this is more critical on complex zoom lenses than would be
> on this 5 element lens.
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