james.liam
Well-known
At f/2? Yes, very much so. Is it meaningful? Rent one and decide for yourself. Beats wondering
css9450
Veteran
james.liam
Well-known
Exactly.
At f/5.6, I found it indistinguishable from any other solid 50 except for an absence of distortion. The latter characteristic isn’t worth $5-8k.
semi-ambivalent
Little to say
There are EU rules governing this sort of thing. At least part of my MP came to Germany as sub-assemblies from Portugal. A sufficient percentage of manufacture must be in Germany in order for the finished product to be identified as "Made in Germany". I suppose it's possible that all manufacture must be in the Schengen area but that would be problematic for partnerships with, e.g., Japan and there is certainly that going on. Someone in the EU would have to chime in. It bears mentioning the Leica M-A (Typ127) is an all Germany camera. But I don't know just what that might mean.
Huss
Veteran
Lol, that video is from 8 years ago, before Leica was making the SL or TL!
And it shows the M lenses.
The SL lens is made in Japan.
Where’s the proof?
CharlesDAMorgan
Veteran
Made in Germany as a designation means (according to case law) the majority of the production must be German otherwise it is misleading. Components, sub-assemblies etc can come from other countries but count towards the non-german production above.
EU preferential rules of origin vary but approximately 60% of the value has to be local to the EU. Not Schengen - that is passport free internal travel that neither Ireland nor the UK are in despite being (one pro-tem) EU member states, but Switzerland, a non-member state, is.
Non-preferential rules of origin (where no trade deal exists) are the purview of the WTO which largely leaves it to the importing country to define.
It is all very detailed and my brain hurts just from the above.
semi-ambivalent
Little to say
Thank you for this, and for pointing out my misuse of "schengen". I'm rather surprised the rough break is just 60%. At that threshold my MP (an a la carte), should have included a bottle of Fonseca.
santino
FSU gear head
I think it is enough to create the main value of the product = assembly. A german camera does not have to include parts that were made in Germany.
JeffS7444
Well-known
It's not as simple as Leica wanting to take advantage of us: We want to believe that they deliver a certain "something" too, something which can't necessarily be quantified. This is the essence of luxury.
Huss
Veteran
That's the thing. We pay $5000 for an AF Leica lens vs $1000 for an AF Japanese lens because... it's made in Germany by lens elves, right? I mean, paying 5 times as much to find out it's made by the same doods slapping together Tamrons irks somewhat. Unless all you care about is the font and red sticker.
It's why I bought the Olympus branded EVF-2 over the Leica EVF-2 for my M240 (both made by Epson). Only difference was the name on the front, the rest is identical. Except I could have bought 3 of the Olympus for one of the Leica.
I think that Leica had to price it that high as their base demand it.
Huss
Veteran
This Nikon lens prodution video is pretty impressive. Shows an awful lot of hand built interaction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4BOLIa_3lw
Canon etc has similar videos out there. The message of being hand built seems to be trumpeted as a selling point by Leica to justify a high price point, while the other mfgs just use it as the way they make their lenses..
Interestingly, Nikon and Canon (according to the videos) make their own glass.
Huss
Veteran
This lens is on the CL. My local Samys is thin of the ground on Leica mirrorless as for some reason people are interested in the other mfg's offerings:
Pretty sure the L mount lenses (CL, TL, SL) are all made in the same place. I'll take a look next time I'm at Leica Store LA. They have plenty of SL gear there.
What is interesting is that this shows (at least on this lens) that the build quality is worse than M lenses, just in the fact that it is engraved on an M lens, while here it is painted on.
airfrogusmc
Veteran
If you own Leica M you don't have to buy Leica M lenses. I never shower with my cameras so most Leica M lenses and cameras are just fine for me. I have been caught in rain and I always have something to put my camera in with me. My favorite 35 is my Lux FLE. Love the 90 Cron APO. I also have a Jupiter 8 which is cool and I just picked up a Voigtlander 50 1.2 that seem really sweet on my first test frames. Don't like Leica M because you can't shower with them don't buy. I know I always get in out of the rain when it starts.
This lens is on the CL. My local Samys is thin of the ground on Leica mirrorless as for some reason people are interested in the other mfg's offerings:
These high end lenses COULD be made elsewhere, but has Leica made any AF lenses at all yet?
Interesting... I won't be buying, but I find it it very interesting Leica's wording on how things are made. My Leica days are long over...
emraphoto
Veteran
Did i read that correctly? 8,000 dollars?!?!
Absurd
Absurd
Huss
Veteran
You Sir, are correct!
I couldn't take it any longer (thank you OCD!) so I checked ebay cuz there they sell used lenses that do not use the official Leica merch pics.
And the 50 SL Sumilux is... MADE IN GERMANY! Not Japan like the cheaper CL lenses.
So this loops back around to my first observation - Does Leica take advantage of their M users? The top line SL lenses (including the new 50 Cron APO I'm sure) are made in Germany in The Leica Factory. So, made in the same place, by the same peeps, to the same standards and processes. The SL lenses also are more complicated because they have the AF mechanisms and all the elecrtonics that go into them.
And yet the new Apo 50 SL is about 50% cheaper than the equivalent M lens.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Exactly and part of that allure is being expensive. Would you buy a Leica lens if it was brand new and dirt cheap? Think what it would do to your (self) image...
I mean, like, do you want to end up, like, dating girls your age?
Regards, David