Paul Spinnler
Well-known member
LOL. You clearly are not aware of Leica's marketing. You can buy a Portuguese version and a German version of some of their lenses. The German version typically has a mark-up of a few hundred dollars. The "made in" is etched on the lens and believe it or not, but people have preferences and they sell a lot of German made lenses still despite the mark-up.Your link is to a dealer (Camera West) website in San Francisco. If you go to Leica's website, they don't indicate where lenses are made or who manufactures them. They don't need to do so. It's their name on the product and they are the ones that stand behind the quality and performance.
So, if a lens is made for them in Japan or by them in Portugal, it doesn't change the fact that Leica is the company that is selling it and standing behind it with their name and reputation — and no one is being misled. The raw optical glass could be from China, it's still their lens.
The Leica price list has both lenses and if I walk into my Leica store I can ask for a Portoguese or a German Summilux 50 Asph. Some people want all their Leica lenses to be made in Germany. Customer preferences are real and some are willing to pay for German, more expensive labour and some are not ...
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