Congo lenses

[Jim Harris]

Has anyone tried the Congo LF lenses? I took a look at their website
(http://www.cosmonet.org/~congo/index_e.html) and found that these are
Japanese-made and that the prices are very good.

So does anyone know what the quality is like?

[Alan Rosenberg]

They are not imported tells me a great deal about their quality.. Better off
buying used Schnieder, Fugue, Rodenstocks etc..
Jim Harris wrote in message <91970573...@iris.nyx.net>...

[Nicholas O. Lindan]

Jim Harris wrote:
>
> Has anyone tried the Congo LF lenses? I took a look at their website
> (http://www.cosmonet.org/~congo/index_e.html) and found that these are
> Japanese-made and that the prices are very good.
>
> So does anyone know what the quality is like?

Look at:

http://www.hevanet.com/cperez/testing.html

[Edward M. Lukacs]

Alan Rosenberg wrote:
>
> They are not imported tells me a great deal about their quality.. Better off
> buying used Schnieder, Fugue, Rodenstocks etc..

Gee, I guess I'd better dump my Fujinons. They aren't
imported either.

Just because someone in a small company chooses not to jeopardize
their business by making a massive investment in attempting to
market in the US, that doesn't mean they don't make fine
products. Ever drive a Citroen? Ever own a Telefunken
radio?

Congo is a VERY old, if small, company making a limited seelection
of lenses for a specific market, rather like Friedrich in Germany
(See Rolyn Optics, who sell them for process work). They have
a steady market and produce lenses of good quality for their
market. Just because they aren't smeared across the pages of
"Popular Photography Catalog" magazine doesn't mean that they are
not a reputable, quality lens maker.

I have older Schneider lenses (Linhof selected in Linhof Compurs.
They're great. Not as good as my Computar Symmetrigon, but still
very good. Haven't ever heard of Computar? Pity... They were
marketed here up to about ten years ago, but could not make
it in our market. This was a brand name, made by one or
another of the japanese contracting optical job shops who have
and probably still supply many japanese camera makers.
The importer went out of business, but I'm glad to have
one of their lenses.

Just because it's not sold here or unfamiliar, don't just discount it
out of hand.

Ed Lukacs
Washington, DC

Cogito ergo careo fenestrae!