New Leica M lenses Not made in Germany!

Avotius,

There are a number of us in the USA who realize that you need to filter everything we hear. Be it coming from the left or the right, it still has a twist to it we must be careful of. China represents both an opportunity and a challenge. As we go forward me must be respectful and mindful. I am more worried about the general approach to business here in the US than I am of China. The US is in a wonderful position to save ourselves if we just get our act together. Getting back on topic….

Where it’s made is not the issue. What is the issue is the specifications for materials and quality control.

B2 (;->
 
MikeL said:
Whew, that's good news. My biggest worry is when Budweiser will get out-sourced to some foreign land. It might get too strong a beer-like taste. :)
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MikeL,

your beer comment is truely funny. Budweiss (German spelling) is a famous beer manufactering town now in the Czech Republic, just as Pilsen is the origin of Pilsner beer ...

So in a way, the Budweiser we/you drink in the US today has been outsourced by some emigrants from Budweiss centuries ago.
And to outsource their current weak or tepid brew again, oh my! And heaven forbid! I will take the original every night.

Bud and Leica do not go together at all, tasteless and tasteful.

As for raising ethnic or nationalistic concerns with lens manufacture, I think this si in bad taste and disregards history: the Contax G Zeiss designed lenses are the most highly valued lot of RF lenses: think the 21mm/2.8 Biogon or the 16mm/8 Hologon for example. All but the hologon were made by Kyocera in Japan from Zeiss design and with Zeiss quality control. Enough said?

All glass is a bit of cooked quartz and nothing else. And anybody and any country can cook my glass as long as it obeys Zeiss or Leica specifications. Cheers!
 
I got some really good hand-made German glass in Zwiesel.
I like the champagne flutes in particular.

Roland.
 
ClaremontPhoto said:
Cosina and Nikon are the only two camera makers to also make glass as far as I know.
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I don't know whether this is still true, but I think I remember reading in eitz/Leica literature that they did until at least some time in the 1980s or 1990s make a few of the glasses used in lens manufacture.

Thinking about that, I am not completely sure that what I've read didn't refer instead to glass originally formulated in Leitz/Leica labs but actually produced to their specs by glass manufacturers (rather than manufactured by Leitz/Leica itself). I'll try to find the literature I'm remembering.
 
China can make lots of stuff cheaply (and high quality) and sell in some markets at a very good price.

My local Chinese shop had silk pyjamas recently for €5, and I know that in London in a posh shop in Regents Street the same pyjamas would be €200 or so.

Also, remember the newly announced RFF/Zhou camera cases which people say are good quality and at a lower price than they have been paying until now.
 
I recall a while ago seeing postings by RFF members in which they suggested/wished for Leica lenses made in Japan to save on unnecessary labor cost. Well, it may happen. Congratulations.
 
raid said:
I recall a while ago seeing postings by RFF members in which they suggested/wished for Leica lenses made in Japan to save on unnecessary labor cost. Well, it may happen. Congratulations.
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Amazing how stereotypes survive.
 
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ferider said:
Amazing how stereotypes survive.
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Roland,

Which particular stereotypes do you mean?
Is it the "Everything German is Great" stereotype?


Greetings,
 
raid said:
Roland,

Which particular stereotypes do you mean?
Is it the "Everything German is Great" stereotype?


Greetings,
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No, not that bad.

But Japanese labor costs being less than German labor costs, for instance.

Reminds me of "King of the Hill".
 
This sounds interesting and maybe a logical step..... introduce or make Leica lenses more available with better pricing to more photogs. They might have to do this because the digital M will have a difficult time keeping up with technological advances.

Kind of like the Leica Micro-systems?????
 
SolaresLarrave said:
I frankly don't see this as a relevant piece of information. Lots of Leicas had the "Made in Canada" stamped on the back, and they're around just like the ones with the "Made in Germany" stamp. If these lenses say "Made in China" or "Made in Germany"... what's the problem? I frankly don't see any.

Neither do I see any attempt at misleading the customer. It's not like the "new lens announcement" says that the lenses are going to be made in Germany.
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The only reason I would want the Made in Germany stamp on these new lenses is to maintain value as a used item. I have seen lenses and cameras stamped Made in Canada go for a lot less than a German equivalent. Over the years, I have heard that the "German" stuff is better than the "Canada" stuff, yet I have never seen proof.
 
I just looked at prices at Popflash, I was amazed to see both the 90mm Summarit and the Macro Elmar for the same price. Doesn't look like a lot of savings to me.
 
Almost all of the fine astronomical refractors come out of China today. It's the only way to keep their price affordable. And an astronomical objective is corrected to a much higher degree of accuracy than any camera optic. There's nothing wrong with Chinese workmanship, as long as you know how to manage it and control quality.

/T
 
Windwalker57 said:
The only reason I would want the Made in Germany stamp on these new lenses is to maintain value as a used item. I have seen lenses and cameras stamped Made in Canada go for a lot less than a German equivalent. Over the years, I have heard that the "German" stuff is better than the "Canada" stuff, yet I have never seen proof.
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I think this is just a collectors' fetish. Which doesn't make it any less of an issue in detrmining price. But it does make it a non-issue in determining quality.

/T
 
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