Zeiss and Leica lens built to same specs?

4 years 8 months ago #655926 by Ontherocks
Hey guys, when it comes to elite glass, would you say Zeiss and Leica are made to the same high standards or is one overall better than the other? 


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4 years 8 months ago #655930 by Ozzie_Traveller
G'day OTR

There are several possible answers to this very generic question -
a) both companies have a very long history of designing and producing high quality lenses for more than 'just cameras'
b) in today's economic climate, [photographic] lenses are produced to sell in specific $$ ranges ... broadly 'consumer' and 'professional'
c) each of the above will have a series of marketing decisions mapped out long before we even see or hear about the item- and we will hopefuly respond by purchasing the item ... to keep the company financially viable

Bottom line ~ if you choose to buy one of these items, overall you should be happy with the results

Hope this helps
Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

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4 years 8 months ago #656165 by Cathy Kadolph
Out of curiosity, do they offer tours of these manufacturing plants?

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up." Pablo Picasso
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4 years 8 months ago #656174 by fmw
It may be interesting for the OP to know neither of these companies manufactures all their lenses.  Zeiss certainly designs the lenses but manufacture only the lenses made for Hasselblad.  The rest are manufactured in Japan by Cosina.  They are fine lenses.  I own two of them.

I use the Fuji X system and I can assure you that the Fuji lenses are every bit as good as the Zeiss branded products made for the system.

The last Leica lens I owned was made by 'Minolta in Japan.  I'm not sure who makes current Leica lenses but I would be surprised if all of them are made by Leitz.

You should note that country of origin is a poor indicator of quality and performance in this day and age.  Except for some obvious examples, it is pretty hard to buy a bad lens today.  There is a price to be paid for having the label of these iconic brands.  I recommend them for quality and performance and recommend against them for value.


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4 years 8 months ago #656215 by Ozzie_Traveller
G'day all

To follow on from above, I have run Panasonic cameras for many years - following Fuji superzoom and a Pentax with Sigma lenses. Some Panasonic cameras come with Leica branded lenses, others come with 'Panasonic' lenses

I have found that the Leica branded lenses have extremely good performance - sharpness & overall lack of / reduced chromatic aberrations - more than good enough for me :)

Some years back when I upgraded from the Panny FZ-30 with its 12x Leica branded zoom lens to a Pentax with a Sigma 28-135 APO and the Sigma 70-300 APO lenses, under my comparitive testing using same targets and same lighting conditions, the Sigma lenses were not as sharp as the Leica zoom on the Panasonic

Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

Phil from the great land Downunder
www.flickr.com/photos/ozzie_traveller/sets/

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