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

Tue May 2 21:17:48 PDT 2023

One can debate cause and effect. In my case, it is not that I left Leica; rather, Leica has left me. 

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Wajsman
photo at frozenlight.eu

http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
http://www.greatpix.eu
http://www.frozenlight.eu

Слава Україні! Героям слава!

> On 3 May 2023, at 03:49, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG <lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
> It is no surprise that Leica has to look further afield than photographers
> as its target market if all the die hard Leica using photographers refuse
> to buy any new equipment. It is absolutely natural that they would like to
> survive as a company! 😊
> 
> Cheers
> Jayanand
> 
> On Wed, May 3, 2023 at 12:11 AM Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> wrote:
> 
>> I am in the same boat. I do not see myself ever buying a piece of new
>> equipment from Leica. But I enjoy using my M2 (and I am happy to pay for
>> the occasional CLA or other repair). I actually have another M-compatible
>> body, a Voigtlander Bessa R2M. And best of all: a 50mm Summilux, a 90mm
>> Tele-Elmarit, both roughly my age, and a more modern 35mm Summarit-M—the
>> only piece of Leica equipment which I bought new. The 50 and 90mm Leica
>> lenses work wonderfully on my Fuji X cameras (especially the E3) and also
>> on the Panasonic GX80.
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> Nathan
>> 
>> Nathan Wajsman
>> photo at frozenlight.eu
>> 
>> http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
>> http://www.greatpix.eu
>> http://www.frozenlight.eu
>> 
>> Слава Україні! Героям слава!
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On 2 May 2023, at 18:17, 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
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information