As has been pointed out in this thread, the Zeiss lenses clearly
are designed, QC'd and produced by Zeiss in Asia. Does Sony
physically manufacture the lens? I think not. I base this
statement on the following: one of our forum members, Rodger
Carter, put the question to the company (Zeiss), and received the
following response, which you can read for yourself...
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=332956
The issue on this site has been whether the lens is this same as
can be found in the Epson, Canon and other cameras in the
3x/prosumer category. Mr. Askey questions this fact in his review
of the S70 and S75, since the front of the lens physically looks a
lot like the lenses in the aforementioned cameras. Do a search in
the Open Talk Forum or the News Forum and you'll find a thread
wherein Phil responds to the letter Rodger received from Zeiss.
Bear in mind that the letter is dated (it goes back to the time
when the S70 was a new camera). Phil does not seem to question the
Zeiss lens in the F505/F505V/F707 series, just the S70/S75/S85
series, mainly because of the similarity of appearance. But can
one really draw a conclusion that the lens is not really a Zeiss
lens simply because it resembles the other lenses on the outside?
I think not, especially since you'd have to tear the camera apart,
then somehow look at the glass coating, and since I'm both not
smart enough or wealthy enough to do so, I'll pass.
But there are some in this thread that don't even question the
veracity of the lens' origin based on the similarity of appearance
to the other lenses...you guys are questioning it simply because
you suspect fraud at some level, or marketing rhetoric. Maybe Sony
is using the name but not really delivering on the goods. I think
it is safe to say that the Zeiss optics in Sony digicams and
camcorders are indeed designed, manufactured and inspected by Zeiss
in Asia. Is this a problem? Do you want Zeiss optics made in
Germany? Well, then buy a Hasselblad.
On a separate note...why would some think that a high-tech product
made at a remote production facility far away from a company's HQ
is somehow inferior? This strikes me as somewhat unwarrented
(perhaps even xenophobic). Reminds me of the time when people
lamented the fact that CDs weren't made in the US. Why? People at
the time feared that the Japanese were taking over our economy in
retaliation for their defeat in WWII. Fact is, the Japanese
invented the compact disk, so why shouldn't it be made there. So
now even the Japanese use foreign (other Asain) locations to
manufacture their products. What's wrong with that? In many
cases, it makes sense...the Chinese are the BEST plastics
manufactureres in the world. They're pretty dang good at
micro-electronics, too. If micro-electronic circuitry can be
manufactured in places like Singapore, Tawain, Mexico or China at
the SAME level of quality as they can be manufactured in Europe,
Japan or the United States, why not make them in these other
places? Why is a Sony TV of inferior quality if some or all of the
manufacturing is done in China? If Sony is willing to put their
name on it, and they control the production faciility, then I would
think that the quality would be of equal value.
To be fair, what might really be happening is that Sony may allow a
more budget line of electronics to be manufactured in the first
place, and those might just be made in China (or Mexico, or
anywhere but Japan). You buy this product, see that it's made in
China, and immediately make the connection with "made in
China"-Sony products are of inferior quality. What if, however,
you were to buy the latest, top-end Sony TV direct from Sony and
were also to find out that it too was made in China? Would you
ignore this fact? How do you reconcile this with the other,
inferior product?
If you don't like Globalization for other reasons...environmental,
fair labor standards, loss of jobs in your home country, etc...I
can respect that (though I may disagree). But please don't dismiss
foreing-made products as of inferior quality simply because they're
made somewhere other than your home country.
Just my 2 cents.
Mike M - who doesn't care where his S75 was made
