Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/07/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]That a lens made by Panasonic with a Leica logo on it is "at least as good" as a real Leica lens costing thousands would be not really any consensus but your very entitled opinion. I got involved years ago with Leica not because I thought the German Mark or clever marketing whatever inflated its worth beyond all sensibilities but that the stuff was really worth what it cost. This played out very soon to be true and I have the 16x20 darkroom prints to prove it. Mark William Rabiner Photography > From: Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> > Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:38:52 +0200 > To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> > Subject: Re: [Leica] The IIIF still works > > Except that there are lenses out there made by people other than Leica > (e.g. > the 1.7/20mm Panasonic or some of the Voigtlander lenses) that do cost > hundreds not thousands and that are at least as good as Leica's own > offerings. > > Cheers, > Nathan > > Nathan Wajsman > Alicante, Spain > http://www.frozenlight.eu > http://www.greatpix.eu > http://www.nathanfoto.com > PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws > Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog > > YNWA > > > > > > > > On Jul 23, 2011, at 10:13 PM, Mark Rabiner wrote: > >> Leica has as a business model the concept of making higher quality lenes >> than its 35mm format competition so it starts with a price point a >> magnitude >> higher than the rest. 5 grand not 500 clams. >> With its customers willing to pay for that kind of quality they can make a >> lens of that quality. They have glass choices a 500 dollar lens does not >> have and they can make the construction of the lens to higher tolerances. >> One would think some day just for fun the people at Canon or Nikon >> could >> come out with a 5 grand 35mm 1.4 lens but they seem to feel that is not >> their business model mission statement. They could of course do so and >> that >> optic would compete directly against Leica's output. Perhaps besting some >> of >> them. It might make the rest of their lens choices seem cheap in >> comparison. >> As yet if your paying 5 grand for a lens from Canon Nikon you're getting >> one >> that looks like a bazooka. >> >> It took me ten years go amass ten Leica M lenses. I count not pick one up >> on >> a whim as a current job was going to pay for it and I already head the >> rent >> in. it had to be an ongoing financial consideration lasting about a year. >> And it was always I felt worth it. >> >> >> Mark William Rabiner >> Photography >> >> >> >> >>> From: Paul Roark <roark.paul at gmail.com> >>> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> >>> Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 08:31:37 -0700 >>> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org> >>> Subject: Re: [Leica] The IIIF still works >>> >>> Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote: >>>> ... >>>> Optical science has not stood still ... >>> >>> I had an interesting discussion with a Canon technical rep some years >>> ago. He made the point that most R&D went into not making lenses >>> sharper per se, but rather making them "affordable" while still good >>> enough. That reality even affects Leica -- although at a higher >>> price-performance point. >>> >>> Along this line, it appears one of the main advances may be in making >>> molded aspherics better. One simply can't make a top notch, very wide >>> or very fast lens with only spherical elements, and the cost of >>> grinding one aspheric at a time is even out of Leica's cost structure. >>> I think what we'll see, going forward, is the move to more and more >>> aspherics -- not just a single element per optic. In line with this >>> thinking, I'd guess that the slower telephotos, where aspherics are >>> not needed, would be the area where the older Leica lenses can best >>> match the newer ones (at least in a low flare situation). >>> >>> I think one of the advantages the M series will continue to enjoy in >>> terms of performance is the ability of the designers to ignore the >>> requirements of AF and IS, which has to be a huge part of current >>> optical design for the mainstream companies. >>> >>> Paul >>> www.PaulRoark.com >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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