In view of the globalization of the camera industry, I would like to know which Leica M lenses are still Made in Germany.

PLease note that I am not going into the delicate subject of which country made the better lens. This is purely for information purpose.

Thank you very much in advance.

-- Edi So (sinolihk@netvigator.com), October 13, 2001

Answers

Only three lenses are not made in germany: The R series 28-70 zoom (made by Sigma), the 35-70 f4 zoom (designed by Leica, built by Kyocera) and the 80-200 zoom (designed by Leica, built by Kyocera). All M series lenses are made in Germany.

Kirk

-- kirk r. tuck (kirktuck@kirktuck.com), October 13, 2001.

Kirk: What about the Noctilux? I thpught that was still made for Leica by Raytheon at the Elcan plant in Canada..........

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), October 14, 2001.

Just exactly what "made in Germany" actually means can be confusing. Leica out sources mechanical and optical parts and assemblies. They do the final assembly and the item gets stamped "made in Germany". The main point is that it just does not matter.

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), October 14, 2001.

Or, in case of the Noctilux, "Made in Canada." I find it oddly comforting that the Midland plant is still ticking along -wonder what tooling they've still got in storage up there. The pre-asp 35? The M4-2? Enough to ressurrect the company if Solms completely self-destructs?.......

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), October 14, 2001.

The industry including Leica makes lenses in batches. Since not many Nocts are sold every year all this means is that the last Canadian batch hasn't run out.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), October 15, 2001.

Thanks for all the input. I am saving myself for an M6 since the Nikon gears that I have are too heavy for travelling. I really like the result of my Nikkor lens AF85mm F1.4, AFD180mm f2.8 and AFD80-200mm f2.8 though. The wide angle of the Leica lens will probably complement my existing lenses.

-- Edi So (sinolihk@netvigator.com), October 16, 2001.