[Leica] Leica lens quality as a forerunner to another "lens" race.

Tue May 2 10:38:42 PDT 2023

I still love my Leicas and have definitely not loved anything I tried to
replace them.  I had to use digital for one year when digital was required
for a project and Leica had not come out with a digital camera yet.  That
one year with Canon is still one I regret every time the photos come up.
They would have been so much better with Leica cameras and lenses.

I am a die-hard Leica user and still believe I can tell the difference.
Luckily, most of my lenses were bought many, many years ago and none of
them were bought new.

Tina

On Tue, May 2, 2023 at 12:18 PM Peter Dzwig <pdzwig at summaventures.com>
wrote:

> Peter,
>
> I very much agree with you - and I think that you speak for many of us.
> My M3 is a marvel and produces "that certain something". My IIIf does
> that and, as Steve Gandy described it "is camera as art". There's a
> certain fun in using them but they are an acquired taste. Digital is
> fine, but again digital cameras change so frequently and of course we
> musn't forget the ubiquitous smartphone which in a lot of area are
> evolving faster than cameras and some even have Leica lenses!
>
> I think that, unless I win the lottery, I have bought my last Leica they
> really are rapidly going out of my reach.
>
> However using my M3 lens - or even LTMs - on my Fujis is a hoot.
>
> Peter
>
> On 02/05/2023 04:30, Peter Klein via LUG wrote:
> > My love of Leica M cameras started c. 1970, when I discovered that I
> > could focus a rangefinder more accurately and easily than an SLR. At
> > that time, a used M2 was only a little more expensive than a new Nikon
> > F. i bought one. I quickly noticed the better optics. The other stuff,
> > the cult, the glorious history of Leica in photojournalism, I learned
> > later. That was nice, and it made me feel part of something. But what
> > truly mattered was that the camera fit me.
> >
> > It's now over 50 years later, and many things have changed. Most medium
> > to high end lenses are sufficient in optical quality. Autofocus can
> > often be more accurate and faster than RF focusing by eye. The change
> > from film to digital taught me that there is no such thing as
> > perfection. The RFs that we thought were perfect on Kodachrome or
> > Panatomic-X were calibrated to a reasonable compromise, which we could
> > easily see once we went digital. Focus shift was real. Film grain and
> > thickness covered up some optical flaws. But many of these flaws can
> > only be seen when we pixel peep. Aside from jerks on Internet photo
> > forums, who cares? Pixel peeping is a false god. There is a point (a
> > zone, really) of diminishing returns on absolute optical quality.
> >
> > I too have been to Wetzlar and watched Peter Karbe demonstrate how much
> > better the newest ASPH lenses are, zooming into a flower until we could
> > see the tiniest structures. It was miraculous and inspiring, and we were
> > all in awe. But I also had to ask myself how much all this would help me
> > in my mostly handheld photography. And how many thousands of dollars
> > would I be willing (or not) to spend, just to push a smidge further into
> > that zone of diminishing returns?
> >
> > I suspect that solving problems like distortion and smearing in the
> > corners and edges of the frame are not either-or solutions, but a matter
> > of *both* optics and software. Let each craft do what it's best at, such
> > that it annoys the photographer as little as possible. That may not be
> > the best solution for competing with Japan, but it probably is the best
> > photographic solution.
> >
> > A big problem is Leica's prices. Most pro photographers left them long
> > ago. Even most serious amateurs no longer aspire to Leica. Wetzlar just
> > smiles, pushes the boundaries further and raises prices again.
> >
> > In a way, I'm lucky. I bought most of my Leica lenses when they were
> > more affordable. I'm happy with my M10-P and original "Henri" Monochrom.
> > In some ways I prefer the aesthetics of the classic lenses. A couple of
> > my lenses are (heresy!) Voigtlanders, and I like them. So I don't have
> > to buy anything else if I don't want to. But that doesn't make me a
> > Leica customer. It makes me a Customer Emeritus. I hope there are enough
> > doctors, lawyers, dentists and collectors of expensive things to make up
> > for folks like me.
> >
> > --Peter
> >
> > Don Dory wrote:
> >
> >  > I had the chance to talk to a high ranking individual within the Leica
> >  > organization at breakfast.  The gist was that Leica was proceeding on
> an
> >  > optical solution rather than a software enabled solution. Probably the
> >  > better solution as if the information is there software can take it
> > to an
> >  > even higher level.  However, it puts Leica on a cost effective curve
> > that
> >  > makes their products even more exclusive: also, it hurts production
> > volume
> >  > as some of their designs have very high defect rates by Leica
> standards.
> >  > Obviously this drives an even higher price point.
> >  >
> >  > Last, one of the participants received a survey from Leica with one
> >  > question about Japanese production of lenses at a (much) lower price
> >  > point.  So, Leica is aware of the pricing problem and is trying to
> > work on
> >  > it.
> >  >
> >  > Last, this Leica representative clarified the classic stool of any
> > product:
> >  > price, size, performance.  You could have any two.  I am currently
> > weighing
> >  > this as I own several of Sigma's most excellent lenses for the FE
> mount.
> >  > Their performance is magnificent however the average weight is in the
> >  > neighborhood of 1.5 kilograms compared to my 35 ASPH Summilux in the
> > high
> >  > 300 grams.  The Sigma is a better lens but my shoulder and hand don't
> >  > appreciate the weight as much as my eyes appreciate the image quality.
> >  >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Leica Users Group.
> > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
> --
>
> Dr. Peter Dzwig
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

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