Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/10/08

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Subject: [Leica] Zeiss Normal 50mm f/2 Planar T* ZM
From: douglas.sharp at gmx.de (Douglas Sharp)
Date: Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:24:03 +0200
References: <024601ca481f$79792910$6c6b7b30$@net> <C6F36B14.5624A%mark@rabinergroup.com> <025e01ca482e$0abb1a10$20314e30$@net>

One of the factors that make German products more expensive is ancillary 
labour costs.

Employers in Germany must pay almost 40% on top of the actual 
wages/salaries in contributions to health insurance, pensions, 
unemployment insurance etc.

The figure for Japan is around 25%.

On the subject of glass:

Leica now buys in a lot of their special glasses from Asian 
manufacturers like Hoya (Tokina) and Ohara (who supply glass to just 
about everyone). Here's their list of customers in Europe:  
http://www.ohara-gmbh.com/e/kunden/kunden.html

AFAIK, grinding and polishing is no longer so much of a cost factor at 
Leica. For example, the asphericals are now pressed in a special process 
developed in Solms.

What must be a large cost factor at Leica is their quality assurance 
philosophy - only the tightest tolerances are good enough - this must 
lead to enormous numbers of rejects, particularly in the case of lens 
elements.  When I last took a factory tour, they came around with a tray 
piled high with rejects for us to take home as souvenirs.

Douglas





Frank Filippone wrote:
> Makes no difference to the cost of the blanks.  A chunk of glass of type 
> ABC
> is the same, regardless of the grinding yet to be done on it.  Yes, the 
> cost
> of making those blanks into a finished lens element may/could/probably is
> different.
>
> Frank Filippone
> red735i at earthlink.net
>
>
>
> I'm talking about when a camera company designs a lens it has different
> glasses in it and it gets designed differently depending on which glass is
> specified for each element.
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>
>   


In reply to: Message from red735i at earthlink.net (Frank Filippone) ([Leica] Zeiss Normal 50mm f/2 Planar T* ZM)
Message from mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner) ([Leica] Zeiss Normal 50mm f/2 Planar T* ZM)
Message from red735i at earthlink.net (Frank Filippone) ([Leica] Zeiss Normal 50mm f/2 Planar T* ZM)