Manglesphoto wrote:
Synthetic stocks are faster,easier and cheaper to make, not affected by moisture like wood and require no skill to get a proper fit, also high quality wood is getting hard to find.
By the way I hate the damn things, they have no class
As to the lens mounts I prefer metal, but see no real disadvantage to synthetic mounts.
I also prefer the fine walnut stocks of my firearms But it does make my M-16 considerably lighter.
But for standard to light use lenses properly engineered the mount should last as long as the motor and other electronics in it until it is declared too old to repair.. Most lens bodies are synthetic as well.
For example I have heard no complaints about the 80-400mm AFS VR which is largely made of synthetics. But where there is more stress the proper metal type was used.
Personally I generally trust the major manufacturers to make lenses that will be reasonably durable or face the wrath of UHH members which strikes the fear of God in those manufacturers.