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[OM] "finely crafted" instruments

Subject: [OM] "finely crafted" instruments
From: "William Sommerwerck" <williams@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 12 Jul 2002 19:05:04 -0700
"Cameras are making a transition from being finely crafted instruments to
being disposable consumer electronic junk."

There is a subtle bias in this remark that needs to be discussed.

Who doesn't respond strongly to the expression "hand-crafted"? If you have a
choice, wouldn't you rather have something that was lovingly hand-made,
rather than cranked-out en masse by a soulless machine?

Several years ago my apartment house's management hired a sculptor to carve
an old tree on the property with a design appropriate for the "race horse"
theme of the property. I spent some time talking with her, and discovered
that she had a beaten-up 35mm camera that really wasn't suitable for what
she was using it for. So I convinced her to trade an Olympus Stylus for a
custom chain-saw sculpture. It's a bear cub, about 18" tall, sitting
pensively with a pencil in his hand. I call him Faulkner. (Get it?)

This sculpture might not be "valuable," but it's essentially irreplaceable.
If a disaster forced me to choose which items to save, Faulkner would
certainly be one of the first things tossed in the car.

But there are other, mechanically "crafted" items that I would also rush to
save. These would include several KLH Model Eight table radios, a couple of
classic metal-bodied Sony Discmans, and -- no surprise -- my OM outfit,
which includes exotic lenses that are no longer made.

Why should I be as interested in saving a "manufactured" item as something
hand-made? The answer is obvious -- because it's well-engineered, well-made,
and no longer available. It's worth saving simply because it's of high
quality (and, sometimes, expensive).

This is despite the fact that none of these items is "finely crafted."
Indeed, the very _last_ thing you want in a mechanically produced item is
"fine craftsmanship"!

In the ideal manufacturing environment, parts could be made to arbitrarily
tight tolerances and fit together without further work. In practice, that
doesn't work, especially with metal castings. The "fine craftsmanship" the
writer praises is not a form of artistic expression but an unfortunate
necessity. Plastic cameras are cheaper because they require less hand labor,
not because plastic is cheaper than metal.

The real reason so many products are turning into "disposable junk" is
precisely because it's become easy to manufacture incredibly sophisticated
products so cheaply. In the middle '80s the first CD players cost $1000, but
today you can buy a $50 unit that does essentially the same thing.

The very thing that makes plastic such a great structural material -- it can
be molded into complex multi-function parts that simply snap together -- is
exactly the thing that makes plastic products so difficult to service -- you
can't easily disassemble them.

This double-edged "sword of cheapness" -- inexpensive products that can't be
economically repaired -- encourages manufacturers to cut corners, such as
not worrying about the quality of the motor in a Walkman or Discman. Not to
mention the ultimate corner-cutting -- reducing the warranty from one year
to 90 days -- or less.

I own two Sony FM Discmans. Both have digital tuners, both have remote
control. The similarity ends there. The D-T10 (1989) is made mostly of
stamped metal. It has a solid "heft" and nice feel. The D-FJ75TR (2000) is
990lastic. It doesn't feel so de-luxe, but it's much lighter. And it has
features missing in the earlier model, such as near-perfect skip-resistance
and a self-programming tuner no larger than a pack of chewing gum. Its list
price is also half that of the metal player.

Does the fact the newer Discman is made of plastic make it "disposable
junk"? Simply in terms of features, it's the "better" player. And other than
having too much chrome trim, there's nothing cheap or shoddy-looking about
its fit or finish. Just try to find parts for the metal model -- you won't
be able to. Doesn't that make it "disposable junk" -- at least in Sony's
eyes?

Making a product of plastic does not automatically turn it into "disposable
consumer junk." Ignoring the quality of the design and components, refusing
to provide parts beyond the period Federal law requires (especially for
expensive products that you bought because they _were_ high-quality), and
reducing the warranty period to an insultingly short interval DOES.


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