Canon efs 18-200 is lens

arthurpolly · 17 Sep 2013

I don't know if this has been asked before . . . (can't find the answer if it has).
I recently bought a Canon 18-200is lens. I'm aware of this lens limitations but it should serve my purposes. I was surprised to find it was made 'Made in Taiwan'. I thought Canon lenses were all made in Japan. So my question is, Are lenses made outside Japan inferior in any way?
Thanks for any info.

StewartR · 17 Sep 2013

arthurpolly said:
Are lenses made outside Japan inferior in any way?

Yes, in the sense that "L" series lenses are only made in Japan.

No, in the sense that Canon's QC processes will be the same in all their manufacturing plants.

Willid1 · 18 Sep 2013

StewartR said:
No, in the sense that Canon's QC processes will be the same in all their manufacturing plants.

Playing Devil's Advocate here Stewart, but do you think Canon pay as much QC attention to the L lens production lines as they do the consumer lenses??

I'd always thought that part of the L lens premium cost was because of the increased QC attention and less chance of a dud lens slipping through.

I'm sure back in the days when everything that came out of Japan had a little gold oval sticker on it (remember those) that they only used to batch test things. I wonder what they do now as I assume a lot of the QC will be robot automated??

David

arthurpolly · 18 Sep 2013

Thanks for that guys.
This lens replaced an identical model that was damaged while travelling. The damaged lens was 'Made in Japan'. I must say the 'Made in Taiwan' model feels every bit as 'good' as the model it replaced, however, I guess I was also concerned about counterfeit problems.

StewartR · 18 Sep 2013

Willid1 said:
Playing Devil's Advocate here Stewart, but do you think Canon pay as much QC attention to the L lens production lines as they do the consumer lenses??

I'd always thought that part of the L lens premium cost was because of the increased QC attention and less chance of a dud lens slipping through.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the QC on L series lenses was better than on consumer lenses.

But when I said I'd expect Canon's QC processes to be the same in all their plants, I meant to compare like with like. For example an 18-200 made in Japan should be no better and no worse than an 18-200 made in Taiwan.

Willid1 · 19 Sep 2013

StewartR said:
But when I said I'd expect Canon's QC processes to be the same in all their plants, I meant to compare like with like. For example an 18-200 made in Japan should be no better and no worse than an 18-200 made in Taiwan.

As someone who buys a fair few Canon lenses do you get more info about these types of things or not?

Don't know if you are familiar with the name David Leung but I used to love going to his shop in Goodmayes, he always had some stories to tell about Canon.

David

StewartR · 19 Sep 2013

Willid1 said:
As someone who buys a fair few Canon lenses do you get more info about these types of things or not?

Sadly not.

Willid1 said:
Don't know if you are familiar with the name David Leung

Sadly not.

DLS_Creations · 10 Jun 2014

Willid1 said:
As someone who buys a fair few Canon lenses do you get more info about these types of things or not?

Don't know if you are familiar with the name David Leung but I used to love going to his shop in Goodmayes, he always had some stories to tell about Canon.

David

I recently met David Leung, who has unfortunately just sold his shop and retired. Every time I passed I would pop in to hear a few stories about Canon and their factories, old film camreas and everything else photography related. It's a shame these independent shops are all closing.

Willid1 · 10 Jun 2014

DLS_Creations said:
I recently met David Leung, who has unfortunately just sold his shop and retired. Every time I passed I would pop in to hear a few stories about Canon and their factories, old film camreas and everything else photography related. It's a shame these independent shops are all closing.

The last time I spoke to him in, must have been 2006, he said his accountant had told him he'd make more money renting the shop for a coffee bar to use. What has it turned into I wonder??

David

DLS_Creations · 17 Jun 2014

Willid1 said:
The last time I spoke to him in, must have been 2006, he said his accountant had told him he'd make more money renting the shop for a coffee bar to use. What has it turned into I wonder??

David

Currently it is still being emptied out, ready to be refitted I'd assume. Is a shame, the place was like an Aladdin's cave!