Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/07/31
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In a message dated 7/31/02 12:00:36 PM Eastern Daylight Time, bdcolen@earthlink.net writes: > Seth Rosner inexplicably - ;-) - wrote: > > ...Unquestionably today Leica > is striving to introduce cameras and lenses that perform better than the > Leica products they replace. > > --------------------- > > Unquestionably? I don't think so. While there seems little questions that > the optical quality of the latest generation of lenses represents a marked > improvement over earlier generations. But while build quality is still > probably the world's best, the build quality of today's Leica lenses doesn't > match up to the build quality of earlier Leica lenses - but what does match > up in today's world? > B.D. and Rolfe: I am with you both. I was trying to be politic with the message and not start another list-flame. And I'm with Sherry with whom I have had many long and detailed discussions about build quality. Please note that I wrote that "unquestionably today Leica is striving to introduce cameras and lenses that perform better than the Leica products they replace." I didn't say that Leica succeeds in this with every product. But although I continue to believe that the M3, M2, M4 and M5 were better made than the current rangefinder Leicas and that the DR Summicron is still the best all-around "normal" lens Leitz/Leica ever produced (and please friends let's not start another war, I recognize your right to disagree and think Rosner's nuts), please don't tell me that the 100/2,8 APO-Macro-Elmarit, the 180/2,8 APO-Elmarit and the 135/3,4 APO-Tely-M are not among the most phenomenal lenses ever made. And please don't carp with me that Leica is deliberately trying to produce junk. Are they introducing money-saving measures in product (known in plain language as cutting corners)? Of course they are. They still have to get product out at a price that sufficient numbers of customers will pay and still produce a profit to the company to spend on research and development of yet newer products and a return on investment. I gotta go back to earning a living. All the best gang. Seth LaK 9 - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html