Why is there a 9cm lens?

[animefx]

Why is there a lens produced by Leica using cm instead of mm? They could have just called it 90mm. I don't understand this decision.

 

[Glass Addict]

Because back in the day, they used to use cm instead of mm? it makes no difference.
9cm is the same as 90mm...

 

[Moriturii]

Hipsters ;-)

 

[alexnotalex]

Cheaper, certainly; two less characters to engrave and fill with paint. Have you considered why modern Leica lenses are so expensive?
😉

 

[tunalegs]

In the old days people were less proficient at counting.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Because three and a half inch lenses don't sell like they used to...

Cheers,

R.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

50mm lenses aren't. They are 5cm.

Check out marked focal length vs measured focal length.

"millimeters" sounds like it has more precision involved, so the decision to use "millimeters" and be inaccurate vs "centimeters" and sound inaccurate must have been made by the marketing department.

One less significant digit, and that '0' should be a 1 or a 2 for most lenses.

Same with 9cm vs 90mm lenses.

A number of lenses marked in "millimeters" are rounded off to the nearest '0' or '5'.

 

[Paul Luscher]

Hmmm..."A rose by any other name still smells the same..."

And that-there lens still shoots the same, whether it's a 9 or a 90.