It's simple they are less expensive, (I was going to say cheaper but you did mention Leicas), to build with fewer blades. Shaving a dollars per. unit from the cost is what it's all about. It allows lower prices and/or higher profit margins.
At 05:32 PM 1/24/2002 -0800, you wrote: >OK ... I was the one who asked the original question, and thus far I >don't see anything that makes a lot of sense (bearing in mind I'm >technically challenged) other than that more aperture blades may slow >down the speed of the aperture action during exposure. But, that would >only make sense (if it does at all) for lenses that use automatic >apertures. However, I've noticed that fewer blades are found on current >Leica lenses, where aperture operation is set manually, yet, in the >past, Leica used many blades, and now uses substantially less. > >So that leads one to think about cost cutting as a reason, although that >doesn't seem completely logical since some Leica glass is terribly >expensive, and what difference would a few bucks make to the consumer >who's already spending $1,000.00 - $2,500 or so for a lens? And, >bringing it back to Pentax, auto aperture notwithstanding, many of our >lenses are quite expensive as well, even when purchased at discount. >IIRC, the A100/2.8 macro and the A*200/4.0 macro were both lenses that >sold for about $1,000 or more at B&H, and since they were lenses >manufactured in relatively limited numbers, the saving of a few dollars >to Pentax would be minimal. > >I can see using cost as a factor on a typical 50mm lenses, where Pentax >sells (sold) hundreds of thousands of lenses, but on a limited item >where the consumer is going to be spending lots of money, where's the >saving? > >Maybe I'm naive here - wouldn't be the first time. So, the original >question still remains unanswered, at least in my mind: What's the >advantage or disadvantage of a greater number of blades, apart from the >shape it contributes to OOF highlights and the like? > > >-- >Shel Belinkoff >mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/ >- >This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, >go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to >visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
