Plastic lense mounts

InsuredDisaster

I was looking at some of the cheap nikon lenses (18-55 VR and the 55-200VR) and noticed their mounts are plastic. How long will these hold up? They seem so cheap compared to the higher level glass I use.

swintonphoto

Plastic mounts are definitely not as durable as metal. But you do have to pay more for the metal mounts.

ziggy53

InsuredDisaster wrote:

I was looking at some of the cheap nikon lenses (18-55 VR and the 55-200VR) and noticed their mounts are plastic. How long will these hold up? They seem so cheap compared to the higher level glass I use.

I'm not a fan of plastic lens mounts but there is some pretty good glass available that uses plastic mounts. As long as they are not abused, I think the structural plastics do pretty well. Be especially carefull in very cold weather.

davidweaver

ziggy53 wrote:

I'm not a fan of plastic lens mounts but there is some pretty good glass available that uses plastic mounts. As long as they are not abused, I think the structural plastics do pretty well. Be especially carefull in very cold weather.

Nor I.

Plastic mounts won't hold up as well after thousands of lens changes. It is a consumer line product that should be fine for many consumers. If you plan on changing lenses frequently then I'd stay away from plastic mounts.

On the positive side. Whne you drop your rig and then lens mount easily breaks away from the body you may have saved the body from a very expensive repair as the lens took the damage. This is why I don't like the nikon metal mounts on the strobes they sell.

InsuredDisaster

davidweaver wrote:

Nor I.

Plastic mounts won't hold up as well after thousands of lens changes. It is a consumer line product that should be fine for many consumers. If you plan on changing lenses frequently then I'd stay away from plastic mounts.

On the positive side. Whne you drop your rig and then lens mount easily breaks away from the body you may have saved the body from a very expensive repair as the lens took the damage. This is why I don't like the nikon metal mounts on the strobes they sell.

Well, actually I bought my girlfriend a D60 and was a bit stunned to see these plastic mounts. The good news is that she is happy with her camera and feels that it is perfect for her. I was worried she'd think I went cheap on her considering I have a D300 and some fairly nice glass.

Internaut

The main thing to remember is not to pick the body up by the lens too often. The 14-42 that came with my E-510 has a plastic mount and the lightness of the kit makes it perfect for my biz trips.