[Leica] Lens quality from non-Leica factories

["Doug Richardson" <doug@meditor.demon.co.uk>]

Dan Cardish <dcardish@microtec.net> wrote:

>My point is that there *may* be a difference in quality between Leica
lenses made in a Leica factory versus Leica lenses made in a non Leica
factory.

During the LHSA visit to Solms in April, I asked one of our hosts from
Leica how the company could be sure of getting Leica-quality lenses
from outside companies such as Minolta without giving such companies
full access to Solms design and manufacturing methods.

His response was that Leica does not share its design or manufacturing
technology with outside companies. If a lens is obtained from another
company, then that company has to use its own technology to create a
product which met the specification laid down by Solms.

So the quality of Leica lenses made in a non Leica factory is
controlled by specifications devised by Leica.

I wish I'd had the time to take this topic further and ask if the
Leica specifications also defined the desired level of product
mechanical durability, and if this was the case, how Leica established
that the durability standard had been met.

In practice, the only proof of long-term durability is passage of
time. In the 1960s, Leitz vulcanite was seen as a material with superb
wear-resistance, but we now see the dreaded "vulcanite disease"
affecting cameras of ever-increasing age.

Regards,

Doug Richardson