>> > > Oh! Wait a second! The Nikon [70-300 ED] is actually a rebadged Tamron. >> > >> > Has this ever been confirmed by a reliable source? All I have ever heard >> > so far has been hearsay on this subject. >> >> Given that there are the same number of groups in the same number of >> elements and the optical formula looks the same according to the diagrams, >> and the lenses have the same physical dimensions and the same look and >> feel, and the same zoom and focus mechanisms, I think it is safe to say >> they are the same. >> > > Of course this doesn't say the *glass* is the same. "ED" is Nikon's > glass, manufactured by Nikon. The Tamron lens sure doesn't say "ED." > Either Nikon wouldn't give Tamron the rights to label their lens as > such, or indeed the Tamron lens has "Tamron" glass, and the Nikkor > has Nikon's glass. I'm betting it's the latter. Well, I guess Nikon wouldn't give Tamron the rights to label their lens as "ED" if they kept the Tamron label, but they would probably label it as such if it had put a Nikon label already on it. Is putting "ED" on lens that has LD elements worse than putting Nikon on a Tamron lens in the first place? Anyway, it is the end result and the quality price ratio that counts. Rebadging exists for a long time and is going to happen more and more, due to the rationalization and globalization of the economy. Some Nikkorex cameras (early fifties) were already manufactured by Mamiya, the FM10, FE10 and accompanying zooms are Cosina products (and the lenses are quite so-so), most brand name speedlights are actually produced by National, a subsidiary of Matsushita (if I remember well), most Leica R bodies and R zooms were designed by Minolta (not the R8), the Pentax 28-200 is a rebadged Tamron, while their recent cheap macro lens appears to be a Cosina. Vivitar products are either rebadged Sigma or Cosina ones. And the situation is even worse in the camcorders market. I could go on like that for a while, but the bottom line is, it is the results that count, and the battle for Nikon's purity is rather vain. Nicolas.
