Peter Karbe's lens and camera of choice in 2023

[Al Brown]

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In a recent interview in Austrian Der Standard Peter Karbe was asked which camera and lens would be his preferred choice.
The answer was "not an easy one", but it would be M11 and APO-Summicron 35.

"STANDARD: One last question: If you had to choose a combo, what would be your camera and your lens of choice?
Karbe: The M11 and APO-Summicron 35mm. But that's one of those questions... which of your children do you like best? If I had to choose, I would use this combination."

Here is the link to the full (unlocked) Peter Karbe Der Standard interview (in German) by Mickey Manakas, where he speaks about the compromise in building the Noctilux f/0.95 and its evident flaws, the "Leica Look" myth, his views on smartphone photography, his pride in personally calculating the optical formula for Summilux 50 ASPH and many other cool topics:
https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000144541043/leitender-optikexperte-bei-leica-wir-waren-vorreiter-bei-der-digitalisierung

 

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Edited March 19, 2023 by Al Brown

[Danner]

Apparently, Mr. Karbe values technical perfection over artistic rendering.

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[BradS]

Just more slick marketing.  Of course, he's gonna say some highly profitable current product. He obviously cannot say, "The M4 because it was the last real Leica". 

[cheeseyk]

I would be interested in an English translation of the article just to see what other nuggets are in there.

He's probably right about the APO Summicron though.

[SiggiGun]

Thanks for sharing. But,…. For Leica fan’s nothing really new

[Al Brown]

2 hours ago, cheeseyk said:

I would be interested in an English translation of the article just to see what other nuggets are in there.

You can DIY the translation through Google Translate, Deepl etc.

[Al Brown]

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15 minutes ago, SiggiGun said:

Thanks for sharing. But,…. For Leica fan’s nothing really new

Was there something new expected? Hardly.

[SiggiGun]

vor 5 Minuten schrieb Al Brown:

Was there something new expected? Hardly.

I think so 

[hdmesa]

4 hours ago, Danner said:

Apparently, Mr. Karbe values technical perfection over artistic rendering.

Even those who appreciate a unique lens do not always choose that as their main lens or their "one lens" setup.

 

3 hours ago, BradS said:

Just more slick marketing.  Of course, he's gonna say some highly profitable current product. He obviously cannot say, "The M4 because it was the last real Leica". 

Cynical but funny.

 

48 minutes ago, SiggiGun said:

Thanks for sharing. But,…. For Leica fan’s nothing really new

Exactly. Why is everyone surprised that the person who designed Leica's current flagship APO M lens chooses it as their main lens for a time?

 

Punchy feelings abound when someone else chooses a lens they themselves don't own or use. Why is that? I think we know why.

[Guest]

Yes, there is something new imo: one of world’s leading photo & cine lens designers making this statement about phone lenses. (sich etwas ABschauen = this is more than „taking a look“. It is what the Japanese camera industry did regarding Leica and Contax cameras in the fifties.)

STANDARD: Schauen Sie sich da auch etwas für das Design klassischer Optiken ab?

Karbe: Ja, auf jeden Fall. 
 

[Al Brown]

6 hours ago, AngelaEspinoza said:

This article is in Dutch only? I don't trust google translate that much. lol

It’s in German. I have translated the key paragraph for you without Google.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Al Brown

[lebanese blonde]

Am 19.3.2023 um 16:31 schrieb BradS:

Just more slick marketing.  Of course, he's gonna say some highly profitable current product. He obviously cannot say, "The M4 because it was the last real Leica". 

"The new Pixii Rangefinder Camera with a 7Artisans 35mm f2" would have been also nice  

[Al Brown]

7 minutes ago, Somchai said:

For me to care about what he says I would have to see his work, otherwise he’s just selling me gear. So you have any links to his photography? 

He’s supposed to sell your gear, he was the head lens designer at Leica Camera GmbH. Not sure he has any photography portfolio published online though 😃

https://leica-camera.com/en-int/stories/peter-karbe-the-art-of-the-leica-m-lens

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Al Brown

[RexGig0]

1 hour ago, Somchai said:

For me to care about what he says I would have to see his work, otherwise he’s just selling me gear. So you have any links to his photography? 

Im always interested to see what photographers I admire use and if I can see them using it is even more interesting. The other day I watched Koudelka Shooting Holy Land and he was using a Fuji G617 wide angle. But Karbe? I have no clue who he is other than I can see he’s an engineer of some sort. 

This “some sort” of engineer 😉 designed the Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, and then personally designed the APO Summicron-M 75mm ASPH as a follow-up personal project, as a labor of love. These are the Peter Karbe lenses that I presently own. Leica Wiki credits him with being the designer of the Noctilux-M 50mm f/0.95, and being the “leader of Leica’s optical design team.”

https://wiki.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/Peter_Karbe

An engineer is not, necessarily, an artistic photographer, but, I can look at the images captured with his/her lenses, and see some aspects of his vision.

Edited April 22, 2023 by RexGig0

[Fedro]

21 hours ago, Somchai said:

It’s like interviewing Ives when they came out with a new iPhone. 😀

why would it be wrong to interview the person who has designed the new product?

Edited April 23, 2023 by Fedro

[justru49]

Am 22.4.2023 um 21:05 schrieb lebanese blonde:

"The new Pixii Rangefinder Camera with a 7Artisans 35mm f2" would have been also nice  

who would be interested in Pixii or chinese lenses, without Leica 😎

[otto.f]

I don't see why he would not be honest about this. Every choice he would have made could have been set aside as commercial. There are a lot of renovated M lenses at the moment, e.g. the Summiluxes 50 and 35, and new SL lenses too. If he just wanted it sharpsharpsharp he would have chosen an SL lens. And the big campaign at the moment is M11M with the new Summilux50, which he did not choose.

Edited April 23, 2023 by otto.f

[Squad]

Sounds like your typical delusional marketing speak, nothing wrong about it, just time lost, as the outcome of such interviews is always the same.

Personally, I wouldn’t know which lens to choose, as there are too many that I simply love. Tough question to answer.

[skahde]

Everybody has some kind of oppinionated view on everything, It just has to be made clear what kind of relations exist, which for some sources sometimes just isn't the case. I much prefer listening to someone who has a clear point of view, take it with a grain of salt and see myself if his reasoning sounds convincing or not.  

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Hallo,

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[wizard]

Am 19.3.2023 um 15:51 schrieb Danner:

Apparently, Mr. Karbe values technical perfection over artistic rendering.

That is very true. I met Mr. Karbe several times, and he was always thrilled by the improvements in image quality resulting from the progress in optical construction. Personally, he could hardly understand why anyone would use old and optically inferior lenses, let alone the new trend of reissue lenses. As an optical engineer, his aim always was to provide a lens that is as good as it gets (within the set boundaries obviously, such as for example size and cost).