leicavirgin2 Posted October 21, 2009 Share #1 Â Posted October 21, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am an M user & all my glass is leitz/leica. The question is... Why are Leitz/Leica Lenses m both New & Used so expensive? Is it hype? Is it valid. Â A new Zeiss M mount lens is really a fraction of what a new Leica M lens cost today? Why? Â Thank you for your comments & responses. Â Â Best, Â LV2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 21, 2009 Posted October 21, 2009 Hi leicavirgin2, Take a look here Why are New & Used Leitz/Leica Lenses so Expensive?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
tgray Posted October 21, 2009 Share #2 Â Posted October 21, 2009 Good design costs money. German workers cost money. Â And the factor that most people don't mention: the dollar is in the toilet. Look at how much some of these exact same lenses were 7 years ago - almost half the price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
twittle Posted October 21, 2009 Share #3 Â Posted October 21, 2009 A new Zeiss M mount lens is really a fraction of what a new Leica M lens cost today? Why? Â The vast majority of the Zeiss lenses are not made in Germany, but rather by Cosina in Japan. The only one I can think of off the top of my head that's actually made in Germany is the 15mm f2.8 Distagon that's just over 4000 USD--right in the price range of new Leica glass. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesop Posted October 21, 2009 Share #4 Â Posted October 21, 2009 ...think long-term and buy smart, LV2 - then you will get true value for your shekels. Short-term Leica simply does not work, value-wise. Unless you have a radical business plan. Or a sympathetic bank manager. Or both. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosefSchachner Posted October 21, 2009 Share #5 Â Posted October 21, 2009 The 2/85 is also Made in Germany, a brief look at the price will tell you exactly what is cosina and what not ;-) Â And if you have a look at the prices at Zeiss MF Lenses........ Â As for the pricepoint of Leica lenses, I find it outrageous too, but, and this is the big but, they are very very good, they feel good and solid to me, you can get them serviced by the original MF, even very old ones and if you want to get rid of them you can with little loss. Â Is it worth it? Will you get the same (or even) better pictures from a voigtlaender/konica/zeiss whatever? Possibly yes :-) Â I have no clue how Leica calculates their prices, but judging by how things go for Leica they are still too cheap *g* What was an eyeopener for me was that somewhere at the german section here they had a Q&A with a Leica-guy, and the tenor was that twice as much Summilux ASPH 50mm are sold than Summarit 50mm. And scaringly I can relate to that, I have a perfectly fine Summicron, but comes time it will go for a Summilux ASPH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismon Posted October 21, 2009 Share #6 Â Posted October 21, 2009 Actually, they are not expensive at all--they are free. Use them (not abuse them) for a lifetime. You can sell or trade them for what you paid for them--in most cases they appreciate in value at a remarkable rate. They don't have to be exotic, rare or collectible. Gold can be dug out of the ground, but Leicas really are something unique. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneth Posted October 21, 2009 Share #7 Â Posted October 21, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am an M user & all my glass is leitz/leica. The question is... Why are Leitz/Leica Lenses m both New & Used so expensive? Is it hype? Is it valid. Â A new Zeiss M mount lens is really a fraction of what a new Leica M lens cost today? Why? Â Thank you for your comments & responses. Â Â Best, Â LV2 It's Holy Grail stuff, and that is not meant t sound flippant. It must be the dream of every commercial company to be in such a fortunate position as this and they will guard it to the death. I am sure the whole, latest is greatest philosophy which rules the modern consumer will be a worry to a company were longevity is gospel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photoskeptic Posted October 22, 2009 Share #8 Â Posted October 22, 2009 They are simply the very best lenses in the world for 35mm. Period. 'nuf said. Â And yes, I've heard all the arguments for other lenses. I stand by my statement above. Also, those lens comparisons on the internet? Are you kidding me? Leica didn't achieve their reputation overnight - they earned it over the decades. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AgXlove Posted October 22, 2009 Share #9  Posted October 22, 2009 They are simply the very best lenses in the world for 35mm. Period. 'nuf said. And yes, I've heard all the arguments for other lenses. I stand by my statement above. Also, those lens comparisons on the internet? Are you kidding me? Leica didn't achieve their reputation overnight - they earned it over the decades.  This may ruffle some feathers - but in my experience, Leica lenses produce better results than many celebrated and/or worshipped medium format lenses (I can't comment on how large format lenses compare, but I suspect it may be the same for them, too).  Expose a roll of Fuji Velvia thru any latest version Leica M ASPH lens and you'll see what I'm talking about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted October 23, 2009 Share #10 Â Posted October 23, 2009 They are the the cheapest cameras around. Well lets say cost of ownership. Â Buy a CV or Zeiss and the finish wears off and the optical cell developes a wobble. Â If you want a lens with as close to old world craftsmanship as you can get, Leica is all there is. Â I have 60 year old lenses I am not ashamed to use, like my 50 3.5 red scale Elmar, DR and Rigid Summicrons and the list goes on. How about my 125 2.5 for which I paid $400. You won`t get one for 400 today. Â My Rigid is cost unknown, but I saw a mint one advertised for $2000. Mine is mint and I will guarantee I did not pay $2000. I think it came on a Excellent + M2 , $600 for the package. Â 90 2.0, 28 2.8 21 2.8 were all purchased new in mid 1980`s when I could first get them. They were $450 to $650 each. The metal finders were maybe $125. Price them today if you can find mint ones. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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