Ro No way should a Rolls Royce car to be despised. I wouldn't call it a designer car. It is extremely high quality car and therefore has a high price tag. It is also made in England with relatively high labour cost sand not mass-produced like for example a VW . I would not call it a designer car, just a high quality car.
A pair of Armani or Hugo Boss socks however, known as "Designer Socks", have in my opinion an unjustifiable high price tag, even so, they are made in China or an equivalent low wages country. However the price, because of the designer labels is not at all low.
I can guarantee, I can buy the equivalent socks for a quarter the price if the label doesn’t say Armani etc.
I can not by an equivalent quality car like the Rolls Royce for a quater the cost.
Designer this days does not mean "designed", but it is purely high priced fashion statement with out necessarily a very high quality.
What can one design new for example on a pair of socks?
We all know, they have to have an opening to slide the foot in to and then surround the foot with a relatively good fit. What else is there?

Horst

.

No it isn't. It is perfect for bellows. It makes it a lot easier for closeups. You have somewhat more light between the lens and the object compared to a 50mm lens.

Also if you completle contract the bellows it will just work as a normal 100mm lens with infinity focus.. As Ken mentioned. It is the ideal lens for Bellows.
I own the 100mm f4 SMC Tacumar. I used it with my Spotmatic and with a K-adaptor on the Back off the bellows with my Super-A.
The Lens is very good.

Very true,
but this makes it often more interesting and more satisfying than just standing on the spot and zooming forwards and backwards.
Then again, a good shot is always satisfying, no matter what
type of lens one uses.

Horst

Well, of course everything has been designed at one time.

However these days the common understanding seems to be, that designer means Designer Clothes, or anything with the label designer as a fashion only item. EG. items like the Pentax designer pouch

Not just clothes but anything which can be carried around or shown off. Often soon to disappear again. I hope I am able to express myself correctly .


I have designed many types of Electronic equipment. But none of it was called "designer". It was usefull industrial stuff.

Horst

Hi Kris, what a beutifull picture. It seems to be perfect.

I bought a SMC-A 24/2.8 lens a few month ago and I am glad I did.

It is a great lens . However I haven't be able to make a great shot like yours with it so far.

Horst

Hello John,
I don't really think you could call the gold plated and special Leicas or Pentaxes etc as designer cameras. I would say, they are items for rich (or not so rich) enthusiast.
Mainly bought for collecting and also maybe later on for reselling with a profit. They really are not new designs and they are still as useful as the original products.

The 180mm Olympic Sonnars where specially designed to for the bombastic Olympic opening in 1936 to please the "Great Dictator". (see Charlie Chaplin).
This lenses where handed out to a few specially selected journalists.

The actual designer items don't seem to require to be useful. Just expensive.

However that doesn't mean to that expensive Items are not useful.
On the contrary, a well made, useful item can by definition not be cheap.

Horst

Since I am not a professional, My requirements are somewhat differing.

I use A zoom lens, when I go out with my wife and like to do some photographing at the same time. I feel somewhat rushed.
The little woman doesn't seem to appreciate it, when I spend half an hour trying to compose and fiddle around to take one picture. Things need to go a bit faster.
My favourite for this is the FA35-70 Lens

However when I go alone. I take a tripod and only Prime lenses.
I can then change the lenses to my requirement and take all the time I like. Also the large opening of the primes are often an advantage. Specially if I like to have a low DOF. while I am actally walking a fit the DA 40mm f2.8. This one seems to do a good all round job if something comes up quickly.

When I photograph my grandchildren, I use my FA50mm f1.4 for its low DOF
and equivalent of 75mm focal length.
I like to use the 85mm f2 or f1.8 for this, But I haven't got one. Its out of my price range at the moment.

Horst

I found with my K5, it does not make much, if any, difference in viewfinder brightness between f 1.8 and f 1.4.

I remember when I bought my first Spotmatic. The local Pentax agent recommended the 55mm f 2.8 lens over the 50mm f1.4 for taking macro stuff.
You can use a reversing ring, that gives you an even flatter field.
The same applies to the 50mm f2.8 Zeiss Jena lens.

To get any reasonable DOF, You will have to close it down to F8 or more.
When you use bellows, you need to use a tripod anyway. Therefore the lens does not have to have to have a super large f-stop for focussing.

The screw type Bellows lens from Pentax is only f4.


Horst

Maybe one day, we get a "Designer Camera".
It doesn’t need to be able to take pictures, but it could have a streamlined lens, sort of pointy on the front. A green hue to show it is up to date with the current trend. Maybe a multicoloured body, a gold plated release button and a great big emblem on front and finally a price tag of at least 10 Grand.

I'd love to have one of them, or maybe two. One for everyday or when I go to a party and the other, when I go to the theatre. Wow!!

If I could afford it, I would get one for the Wifey too. We could then each carry one and are admired, when we walk slowly down the Avenue

Horst

Hi, another designer pouch. Wow!!!!
I have yet to find or see a so called "Designer" pouch which is of any real use.
This people think they know, what equipment I have and how I like to store it. The "designer" is trying to force his Ideas on to me.
I am sure, this designers may have held a camera they have been given to look at , but never have used one in the field. They have no idea what a bag should be like.
This things are most useless and cost an arm and a leg.

Horst