German vs Canadian Lenses

[pelikan1931]

re: 35/2 ASPH

I like my summaron 35/2.8 better, it balances sharpness and suppleness perfect. The ASPH is too sharp, wheras those below not sharp enough.

But to be fair to ASPH, it is definitely better made than pre-asph. And if it is too sharp, you can always use photoshop to blur it. It is better this way rather than the other way around.

 

[Colin645]

Wilson, I had no expectations of either superior or inferior service from Contax. The one time I needed a warranty claim(QC from factory) with Leica, they weren't there. I have had 2 warranty adjustments made to my RTS 111 and to my C645(1 each) The turnaround time was 2 weeks or less."Home to distributor to home"
I live in Canada and apart from camera bodies, Contax stuff is around one third the price of Leica. I agree with the "Longevity" of Leica and the ability to get it serviced, although only by third parties for 111g and prior. I have had for the past 46 years a Contax 1. It is still in service and I have had the shutter repaired.The inability to repair is more to do with the electronics than the manufacturer. I know that Leica cannot repair the shutter(at least) of the R3...parts no longer available. However, I recognise that Leica will upgrade an SL2 to take M76 batteries for the meter rather than the no defunct PX625 mercury cell
Colin

 

[Colin645]

My comment regarding outsourcing was meant to be informative of an historical fact. I don;t believe that Leitz/Leica ever made M bodies.
When I toured the Wetzlar factory in 1973, bodies were coming into Leitz from the "manufacturer". You will no doubt recall that the electronics for the R series were outsourced from Ferranti(sp)There is nothing wrong with this practice; it is the QC that needs to be monitored.
Colin

 

[faria]

Regarding the manufacturing of M´s and R´s ( MP, M7 and R9 ) I just want to add that Leitz has a fully owned facility in V. N. Famalicão, Portugal , operating since 1974 where the M´s, R´s, binoculars and microscopes are made. I had the previlege of visitng the plant last Feb where the Managing Director received us. Obviously they subcontract parts ( body in rough state ) to specialist shops but the remaining precision machining , assembly and QC are inhouse jobs. I particularly liked the operation of making the curtain for the MP from a roll of rubberized cloth and a lot of human skill. They are also very strong in the precision machining of parts where they have special machine tools developed by Leitz for particular jobs.
To gain the "Made in Germany" st&, they ship to Germany the assembled cameras as well as the top cover which is final assembled in Solms where they also repeat the full test sequemce previously done in Portugal. This is an amazing plant and I now understand why the logo merits such price points!! Some lenses are also made there especially for the projectors ( they have a clean room for this task ).


Regards to all,

Fernando

 

[ellie]

Thanks Fernando. I have always wondered why the "Made in Portugal" or Canada label carried with it the perception of inferior quality. Many others have commented about the lack of discernible differences between lenses made in North America vs. Germany. I recall that one of the Leitz sons went to Canada to start a branch of the company, and perhaps the Leitz tradition was carried along with him. At any rate, it is great to know that you witnessed the manufacturing process first hand, and that there appears to be every expectation that Leica quality comes from all of their plants.

 

[faria]

Elliot

The MD of the Leica plant gave a brief history of the facility. One of the Leitz sons used to vacation in the south of Portugal in the 60's. He liked the country(definetly lower hourly wages than Germany) and decided to install the plant in northern Portugal where there is a strong industrial tradition and many German companies are located. As a matter of fact the other brother went to Ontario,Canada. The portuguese plant was mainly for camera bodies, binoculars and microscopes.

Best regards,

Fernando

 

[poustova]

I thought that the Canadian factory was closed down and that they did not produce any more products in Canada. I have bought a LEICA NOCTILUX-M 50 mm f/1 and it says made in Canada, I am happy about that since I heard that Canadian lenses were better then German or Portugese ones but I just wanted to clarify the situation with the factories.

However is there any real difference in quality between the German and the Canadian version of this lens?

Thanks in advance.

 

[ted_grant]

> [However is there any real difference in quality between the German and > the Canadian version of this lens?<

Absolutely not, nor was there ever any difference! The lens was designed and developed in Canada but there never was any difference. And today even though they are being made in Germany they are of identical quality. One should keep in mind that the product is made to equal standards as though they were made in Germany. Camera bodies or lenses.

Wouldn't you think it very foolish of a company producing high end quality lenses and cameras if they didn't maintain an equal controlled standard identical to the main German factory?

Quite often we see questions on the ability of Canadian's to do equal work as their German counterparts. However usually from the fussy "collector folks!" I mean what do some people think Canadian's are, Neandrathals? ted Grant Victoria, Canada]

 

[pelikan1931]

i think it is about vintage, the Canadian made lens might be of better quality than today's German made lens, among other things, the glass then was better. and also, the Canadian factory was headed by one of the Leitz and also by walter mandler.

 

[murchu]

> [I notice absolutely no difference between German and Canadian lenses since Leitz lay down strict guidelines in quality control. I have both. Mr. Grant is correct in saying that Canadians are not Neanderthals, however his taste in Scotch is of elementary standard.]