[Leica] Porto

[JAMES HANDSFIELD]

I’m in Porto, Portugal for the Leica Society International Spring Shoot.

Yesterday’s activities made the whole trip worthwhile. We had a tour of the Leica factory in Porto. In the past visits to Wetzlar, the tour was good, but nothing like this one. In Wetzlar, the factory was behind glass and we
Couldn’t get a good look of the work being done. Not this time. 

We had to wear disposable lab coats and leave our cameras and phones behind. On going into the factory the first stop was at some of the old equipment and the most high tech machining atea where prototypes are fabricated. Couldn’t get too close to there 

But the rest of the tour we could see all work up close. It’s really quite amazing how much Leicas are hand made from machining of the metal components to the wiring of the circuitry to the
painting of the details, mostly done freehand.  

Leica M lenses are made to a closer tolerance than the machines can accomplish. During assembly, a worker selects and joins parts that meet tolerance requirements. All done by hand. 

I have a new appreciation of what makes Leica gear the highest quality. 

Jim Handsfield 

“Thou shalt not commit nincompoopery.”
— Carl Sandburg