Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/11/29
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Thank you, Erwin. As always, gratitude is due! Art Peterson - -----Original Message----- From: Erwin Puts [mailto:imxputs@knoware.nl] Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2000 1:27 PM To: L U G Subject: [Leica] Country of origin The current discussion about the country of origin of the M6 and the additional value this information might have for the consumer, that is user/buyer of the camera, can be approached from different perspectives. I fully agree with Ted and others who argue that the CoO is irrelevant for the process of taking photographs. If the camera functions as specified and delivers the goods, what extra info can be gleaned from the fact that the camera is made in Portugal, Solms or Dresden? Nothing at all. THis is the same as the obsession with the manufacturer of the glass, that is used in Leica lenses. Is a Leica lens less worth when it has glass. manufactured by Hoya (Japan), Corning (France) or Schott (Germany). And who is aware of the fact that many glass types from Schott are manufactured in Malaysia? Is it then in the interest of the general consumer to know the CoO of every part and the locations of the assembly and quality control? It would only matter if you can claim that the origin of manufacture and/or assembly has a statistically relevant impact on qulaity and quality assurance. Bill has listed the origin of some of the parts and some of the assembly locations. More could be added and presented in more detail. But it is indeed irrelevant. The consumer buys a product and pays for the quality. If the shutter gears, according to original Solms specs should be made of material X and be machined to a tolerance of a thousands of an inch and checked to ensure it has these values, why should it be deemed important where that check is done and who produces the steel for the gear? Most socalled Swedish steel, used by Volvo and Saab (and in their advertising!), is made in Holland at the Hoogovens plant in IJmuiden! If one would dare to presume that German workers generally do better than their Portuguese collegues, I would challenge anyone to prove it or be accused of xenophobia! Knowing the meticulous quality and great pride of the Portuguese workers at the Leica plant, I would sense it as very insulting that someone could assume that these men mand women would be inferior to the mythical German quality workers. And if fact: IT IS NOT TRUE!!!!!! Portuguese quality is as good, if not better than German quality. To answer the original question: who would benefit from the knowledge of the country of origin? It is the dealer of second hand cameras. If one could say with certainty: Leica M6 cameras till serial number 1.234.567are Solms made and after that production shifted to Portugal, I am sure that in an instant those cameras with <#1.234.567 would be priced at a premium by any dealer as being of higher value. Just as has happened with M3 bodies with serial number above 1.100.000, that are assumed to be the pinacle of mechanical Leica quality. I have NEVER read any serious analysis, why this should be true and after numerous visits to the factory, where this question has been discussed in extenso, I still do not know, nor does the factory itself. This is a myth that will benefit only two parties: collectors and sellers. And so does the info about the origin of production, (As Bill as exemplified: a very vague concept in itself) of M6 bodies. The myth of any superiority of production origin suits the seller and collector, not the user. It might be useful to know the origin of a product if we know for sure that there is a quality difference. But in the case of Portugal versus Solms or Wetzlar, this difference does not exist and I challenge everyone to bring conclusive proof of the contrary! Is it then in the interest of the consumer to know the origin. From a view of playing games like Trival Pursuit: by all means. From a consumer/user/buyer perspective: not relevant at all. The "Made in ..." has an interesting origin. In the Industrial Age (around 1870) British products were superior to anything made elsewhere. So when the Germans started to manufacture industrial goods, the English forced them to indicate the "made in germany" on their products as a sign of inferior quality, as we westerners generally laughed at any product that had the sign "made in Japan" and we now are suspect when a product says "made in China". Old habits never die. or so it seems. The alleged quality differences between German and Canadian lenses. between Wetzlar and Solms M bodies, between Solms and Portugal R bodies, between German and Japanese manufactured lenses only serve one purpose: produce smoke screens to make the consumer insecure! Erwin