Leica Lens Availability

[darylgo]

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The last few days have been very unusual, the availability of Leica Lenses is greater than I've seen for a while. I was able to get a 50mm Summilux after a 9 month wait and surprisingly another one became available the following day, these are local camera stores. B&H has had 6-8 different lenses these past few days.

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[andybarton]

My dealer had three 35 Summiluxes delivered to waiting customers last week.

 

I think it's the end of Leica's financial year, so lots of inventory will be sent out if they have it.

[bpalme]

I think they are made in batches and my dealer also got 3 35FLE in this month but had none for 2-3 months.

[darylgo]

Asked one dealer if he had any Noctiluxes and his reply was "yes", I was speechless.

[Manolo Laguillo]

Now here in my city you will find 8 different new M lenses in the Leica shop: two Summicron 35, two Elmar 24, one Elmarit 21, two Elmarit 28, one Summilux 21, one Summarit 90...

They arrived in the past couple of weeks.

[skinnfell]

As far as I know, they are not made continously. Rather they make lenses in series. So a lens like summilux 50 might only get made once or twice a year.

 

Meaning if demand surpasses supply for a while, it will be very hard for Leica to turn around quick enough to meet this demand.

 

Provided leica is not ripping us off with 10000% profit margins, there should be substantial material costs, making it risky business to stockpile large quantities of specialty materials and parts for prolonged periods.

 

Also, I think I read somewhere that there are only a few people in the world with the skills to make certain lens parts, so that these people can only make so many lenses.

The more exotic the lens the more time needed I suppose.

 

I am sure lens production is planned out a whole year in advance, but they probably arent telling us which and when...

[bocaburger]

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I don't know about the few people with special skills bit...I was under the impression these days once they have an .STL design file, the CNC milling machinery takes it from there.

 

What it feels like to me is Leica has quietly switched to a made-to-order (bespoke) production model. I think perhaps they run a batch only when they have enough orders to hit a predetermined cost point. Given the stratospheric prices they've elevated the lenses to, and despite what the demand may seem from net forums, I think it might just be taking a long time to hit those order levels.

[Paulus]

I don't know about the few people with special skills bit...I was under the impression these days once they have an .STL design file, the CNC milling machinery takes it from there.

 

What it feels like to me is Leica has quietly switched to a made-to-order (bespoke) production model. I think perhaps they run a batch only when they have enough orders to hit a predetermined cost point. Given the stratospheric prices they've elevated the lenses to, and despite what the demand may seem from net forums, I think it might just be taking a long time to hit those order levels.

 

Yes I heard about people with special skills. Not only at Leica's but also at Nikon's. I heard of a story of a lens that discontinued after " the glass specialist " died!

[bocaburger]

Yes I heard about people with special skills. Not only at Leica's but also at Nikon's. I heard of a story of a lens that discontinued after " the glass specialist " died!

 

There's a lot of "I heard of a story" on the internet. Evidence and proof are somewhat harder to come by

 

I can understand that even with computer aid, a human lens designer of particular skill and vision could be essential to the development of new products. I can also understand that sourcing raw material could be a deal-breaker. But otherwise, I'm seriously skeptical that anyone involved in the manufacture of Leica lenses is irreplaceable. More likely is that economy of manufacture exerts the major influence on production.

[Rotauge]

Yes I heard about people with special skills. Not only at Leica's but also at Nikon's. I heard of a story of a lens that discontinued after " the glass specialist " died!

 

Maybe :

Heart Of Glass ( Herz aus Glas ):

 

"In director Werner Herzog's most conceptual and perhaps most challenging film, HEART OF GLASS, a small Bavarian town is plunged into a mysterious and haunted despair when the owner of the town's preindustrial glass factory dies, failing to pass on the secret formula for its special ruby-colored glass. The aesthetic and narrative paths merge as the film leads viewers deep into the hypnotic and at times gothic plight of the workers and townspeople who stumble through the town, mesmerized and dazed, verging on murder and madness."

 

Klaus