Longevity of TL lenses

[jonatdonuts]

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Hi guys,

 

I know this is a rather premature thread as it's only been 4 years since the TL lenses came out, but just wanted to ask 'long-time' owners how their lenses are holding up? Any problems, defects etc, and for how much longer you reckon your TL lenses will last before motor and other electronic issues start to kick in. 

 

 

[ramarren]

It's mostly likely way too early to have any useful data, for sure. My oldest modern lenses of similar build/performance quality to the Leica TL series are my Olympus Zuiko Digital "high grade" lenses for the Olympus E-1 DSLR released in 2003. The two oldest of my lenses for that camera are the ZD 50-200mm f/2.8-3.5 and ZD 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5, both of them very close to 14 years old, and neither has had any problems whatever. The slightly younger non-weather-sealed ZD 35mm f/3.5 Macro and ZD 25mm f/2.8 are also about 12 years old and have had no problems whatever. 

 

I would expect Leica's TL lenses to perform and survive with a similar lack of issues, barring the (inevitable) small number that show up with a factory defect here and there.

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[Guest]

I bought the 18-56 and 23mm on their release dates. That’s over 4 years ago. They are solid like a tank and don’t have to be pampered. I have a few small paint dings on the zoom that’s just from my excessive wear and tear.

 

Optically and mechanically they perform like they did on day 1 - and they keep getting better with firmware and faster camera processors.

 

This is true for the newer lenses too. Although 4 years isn’t a long time, build quality and longevity have been important hallmarks of Leica.

 

I’m expecting they will outlast many generations of future cL2,3,4 bodies.