Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/08

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Subject: Re: [Leica] 90 mm APO-ASPH M
From: Nathan Wajsman <nathan.wajsman@euronet.be>
Date: Sat, 08 May 1999 19:13:49 +0200

Horror of horrors! Instead of conscientious German craftsmen our beloved Leica
lenses are now made by happy-go-lucky Portuguese peasants?! What's next??!!!
(NOTE TO P.C. POLICE: THIS IS TONGUE-IN-CHEEK!!! A AM A JEW MARRIED TO A
PUERTO-RICAN WOMAN, SO I AM ALLOWED TO MAKE ETHNIC JOKES ABOUT LATIN PEOPLE)

I frankly do not understand your neurosis about the assembly point of the
lenses. In the modern global economy companies have their products assembled
wherever it makes economic sense. I can easily imagine that 5-10 years from now
Leica will not be manufacturing ANYTHING in Germany. Why? The world's highest
labor costs. They could keep the R&D, marketing etc. in Germany and have all
manufacturing done in Portugal, or Uzbekistan. Who cares (except collectors)?
When I lived in NJ in '91 I needed to replace my clapped-out Plymouth and had
decided on a Japanese car. I bought a Mazda 626 which had been built by
American workers in the Midwest. The fact that it was not built in Japan did
not make it any less of a Mazda. I was buying the brand, not the country. The
Japanese transplant car plants in the U.S. turn out cars every bit as good and
reliable as the ones in Japan, except at lower cost. In the same vein, Canon,
Nikon, Pentax, Minolta have many (most?) of their cameras and lenses assembled
outside Japan. My HP calculator was made in Malaysia. Etc. etc. I am sure Leica
will go down this road too, and as long as the pictures (presumably the reason
for buying Leica) have the Leica look, I do not mind.

If you want pure German Leicas with the spirit of the Black Forest built in,
you should stick to the screw mount models.

Nathan

DonjR43198@aol.com wrote:

> Does this mean that the APO and ASPH lenses, in whole or in part, are being
> manufactured in Portugal?
>
> This is getting more interesting by the post.
>
> Thanks for the info.



- --
Nathan Wajsman
Overijse, Belgium

General photo page:  http://members.tripod.com/belgiangator/index.html
Belgium photo page: http://member.xoom.com/wajsman/index.htm
Motorcycle page:  http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/downs/1704/index.html