Will Leica ever make R lenses with Canon or Nikon mount

[spersky]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Here is a great way for Leica to expand it's sales. Make the R lenes avalaible without stop down metering for the Canon and Nikon Cameras. I would likely buy a few of those. Zeiss has done it for Nikon with the ZF mount lenses. Just a suggestion.

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[rsolomon]

don't hold your breadth for this to happen with R lenses..... D lenses yes.

 

i would say the best way to use leica lenses on non leica bodies (without loss of features) would be to go 4/3 rd's .My understanding is the mount on all 4/3 rds has been standardized. This would create the market for leica lenses on non-leica bodies without loss of function. BTW there is a leica made adapter for R lenses to mount on the Digilux-3

 

rich

[Iron Flatline]

I think this would be dangerous for their brand. If consumers start directly comparing Leica with Nikkor or Canon L lenses, they might conclude that the Leica's are NOT the best. We're not even talking about a scientific test, just the perception, and serious damage would be done to the Leica brand. As a business person, this strikes me as a bad brand management.

[spersky]

I thought it would be a great idea. Zeiss has done it. However, I do see your point the main selling point in Leica seems to be its magical images. I do appreciate the quality, but I do wonder how close the Canon L and Leica lenses are becoming in quality.

[brunom]

I think Leica lenses have been compared to Nikon and Canon ones for a long time and so that would not be a problem, but I don't think they will ever do that.

 

Leica is not in competition with Canon or Nikon, they go there own way - thank God.

 

Bruno

[ho_co]

Considering Leica's tendency not to be able to keep up with demand for their lenses on their own bodies, can you imagine the difficulty they would have trying to supply lenses for Canon or Nikon?

 

As Iron Flatline said, it would be a bad marketing decision for another reason: What would happen if, say, the sensor or the focusing screen on the competitive camera were out of alignment? You run a test and decide that Leica's lenses aren't all that good, and blame the lenses, when the real problem is the body. As long as Leica is producing for their own product exclusively, they have complete control of compatibility.

 

As for Zeiss building for other companies, that's a different story. At one time there were camera maker Zeiss Ikon and lens maker Carl Zeiss. As long as Zeiss Ikon was around, Carl Zeiss had a natural taker for its lenses, but with the demise of the camera company, Carl Zeiss has good reason to find other outlets. Remember, the current Zeiss Ikon body has a small share of the already small rangefinder market, so entering the SLR market with quality lenses can give them extra money without costing them in brand recognition.

 

A reasonable suggestion on the face of it, but with a lot of negatives for Leica if they started producing for others. I agree with Richard above that at the moment, 4/3 is the only place where you are likely to see Leica brand lenses on non-Leica bodies.

[Riley]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

it would seem like a great idea if you were fielding a canon or nikon system

but in the end, it is the system aproach that would kill it

 

if Leica had no intent on producing digital cameras that would directly or indirectly compete with an alternative product I would say yes. But we both know that isnt the case. Given that, why should Leica support another system and fund their sales opportunities.

[sean_reid]

don't hold your breadth for this to happen with R lenses..... D lenses yes.

 

i would say the best way to use leica lenses on non leica bodies (without loss of features) would be to go 4/3 rd's .My understanding is the mount on all 4/3 rds has been standardized. This would create the market for leica lenses on non-leica bodies without loss of function. BTW there is a leica made adapter for R lenses to mount on the Digilux-3

 

rich

 

I agree, although there's also the R-D1 for Leica M lenses. But joining the 4/3 group gives Leica a way to use its lens design expertise for lenses on an open-system mount.

 

Zeiss, on the other hand, doesn't have an SLR in production right now and it makes a lot of sense that they are making the ZF lenses for Nikon. The 50/1.4 I tested was outstanding. Making ZEF lenses for EOS bodies might be a good move for them as well, if the pragmatic, licensing, etc. issues could be worked out.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Riley]

the FT system is most interesting, and Leica's continuance with D lenses just widens the relationship between Leica / Panasonic and to an extent Olympus.

 

Additional lenses for FT would be most welcome, as the system lacks fast wides and primes, with Olympus and others having a preference for consumer compatible zooms.

 

A ground up FT ultra-wide, wide and moderate tele would be a most excellent sales /marketing decision. Not only benefitting Leicas coffers but the FT system as a whole.

 

Further to this, it could fund the idea of a FT rangefinder which I just cant seem to shake.

[ptomsu]

I thought it would be a great idea. Zeiss has done it. However, I do see your point the main selling point in Leica seems to be its magical images. I do appreciate the quality, but I do wonder how close the Canon L and Leica lenses are becoming in quality.

 

Canon L as well as Nikkor ED lenses are coming very close to Leica quality. The differences are mainly in some small areas, where you normally do not even run into in everyday photography - so it is actually dangerous for Leica to do this.

 

I also do not really understand this move from Zeiss, since as a Nikon user I am not going to buy any Zeiss lenses, although I know about their beautiful colours and handling since I own also a complete Contax system. But it would never come to my mind to use slow MF lenses on my D2X and miss the fast and accurate AF.

 

Peter

[gesper]

Don't be so sure. While waiting to get my M8 back from Solms, I have been using old manual focus lenses (50mm f1.8 and 28mm f2.8) on my D200. After getting used to manual focusing with the M8, it wasnt so bad on the Nikon, and I am really enjoying the smaller faster prime lenses compared with the 18-200mm zoom I had been using.

[johnjs]

The beauty of using ZF glass on the Nikon is that it gives you the best of both worlds -the Planar 50/1.4 is the standard lens on my D200 now, with full metering, but I have the option of all my other Nikkor AF/VR lenses as well. Zeiss has designed 7 lenses for the F-mount, not a small commitment, and I think they've probably analyzed the demographics of the situation.

[gdewitt]

Something missing for Nikon these days are fine, metal-barrelled, manual-focus prime lenses. Particularly wide angles, a major reason why I, a long-time Nikon shooter, have never invested in a Nikon DSLR. With the APS sensor size I'm SOL for wide angles unless I'm willing to use plastic, auto-focus zoom lenses. If a Leica or Zeiss were to offer reasonably compact rectilinear metal-barrelled manual-focus prime lenses in the 12-16mm range for APS Nikons I would give serious consideration to buying a D2x or D200.

 

But I bet I'm not very typical.

[Riley]

indeed the only manufacturer into new primes is pentax

the others seem to live off old lenses, probably not designed with digital in mind

 

and as you say, the typical consumer seems to go for zooms

probably to limit the size of the kit and $

but unwittingly forgoing the additional stop or two that a prime would provide

and the quality assumed

 

tis a pitty that Konica didnt have any ultra wide primes suitable for my Oly FT

[johnjs]

Correction to my above post:

 

Actualy it's six ZF lenses, not seven as I stated. I incorrectly included the Planar T* 50/f1.4 ZS M42 thread mount. All are metal/engraved manual-focus prime lenses. Metering at all apertures is available via the in-camera manual lens selection menu in the D200 and D2X (which has been suggested here as a possible firmware change to the M8 as a supplement to lens-coding).

 

Best, John

[earleygallery]

I think it would be a great idea for Leica to offer a limited range of lenses in Canon/Nikon mount, just a few of the top performers (and most expensive lenses), made in partnership with one of the other lens manufacturers so that they could offer them as fully compatible AF lenses.

 

Given that they are now offering 4/3 mount lenses which will surely be bought by avid Olympus fans, maybe its a possibility.

 

Perhaps it's too big a task for Leica to introduce an AF R camera and lens range, and personally I'd like to see the R remain as a manual focus camera. But this would also be a stepping stone to a future Leica AF R system it that's the way they want to take it.

[johnastovall]

I think it would be a great idea for Leica to offer a limited range of lenses in Canon/Nikon mount, just a few of the top performers (and most expensive lenses), made in partnership with one of the other lens manufacturers so that they could offer them as fully compatible AF lenses.

 

Given that they are now offering 4/3 mount lenses which will surely be bought by avid Olympus fans, maybe its a possibility.

 

Perhaps it's too big a task for Leica to introduce an AF R camera and lens range, and personally I'd like to see the R remain as a manual focus camera. But this would also be a stepping stone to a future Leica AF R system it that's the way they want to take it.

 

What "4/3 mount lenses"? To date Leica offers only one 4/3 mount lens the D VARIO-ELMARIT f/2.8-3.5/14-50 ASPH. This doesn't strike me as much of an offering. The Leica Digilux body owner today wanting other lenses will be buying Olympus lenses.

[audidudi]

What "4/3 mount lenses"? To date Leica offers only one 4/3 mount lens the D VARIO-ELMARIT f/2.8-3.5/14-50 ASPH. This doesn't strike me as much of an offering. The Leica Digilux body owner today wanting other lenses will be buying Olympus lenses.

 

If this eBay listing is to be believed -- the seller has a lot of positive feedback, so I believe that it is -- that one lens is now available separately. In Japan, anyway...

 

eBay: Panasonic LEICA D VARIO ELMARIT 14-50mm F2.8-3.5 ASPH (item 150079471056 end time Feb-08-07 14:22:21 PST)

 

I don't know if this price is representative of what they will sell for here in the US, but I paid only $1299 for my Panasonic L1, including the lens, which means the body effectively cost me only $109.22 ... talk about a bargain!

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[johnastovall]

If this eBay listing is to be believed -- the seller has a lot of positive feedback, so I believe that it is -- that one lens is now available separately. In Japan, anyway...

 

eBay: Panasonic LEICA D VARIO ELMARIT 14-50mm F2.8-3.5 ASPH (item 150079471056 end time Feb-08-07 14:22:21 PST)

 

I don't know if this price is representative of what they will sell for here in the US, but I paid only $1299 for my Panasonic L1, including the lens, which means the body effectively cost me only $109.22 ... talk about a bargain!

 

In the US, Leica doesn't offer just the lens. But even if you can buy it in Japan, a single lens offering in 4/3 area isn't going to get you any where. The Digilux owner will be having to buy Oly lenses not Leica.

[earleygallery]

I cant find a link to it now but someone has posted details of the range of Leica 4/3 lenses including primes and zooms. They may not be on sale yet but they are coming.