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Leica Rumors
- Thread starter glenerrolrd
- Start date
Guy Mancuso
Administrator, Instructor
Agree I think the 28 is still the king of the hill. Would not buy another M without it. Don't overlook this lens. Not many have this look to it
charlesphoto
New member
Rear sync is useless when photographing people and using a long shutter speed as one can't capture the moment but rather the one a second or two later when the subject has turned away/moved on. I made a career out of flash and ambient light blur and it was always first curtain (and a super fancy Vivitar 285!).
leicashot
New member
With high ISO ability, you no longer need to shoot a 1 or 2 second exposure. Rear sync works fine at 1/4sec or faster and can achieve great results. I know cause I make my living doing such now. At the end of the day, we do what we're comfortable with. Having more than one way to achieve a result is one of the exciting things about photography.
markowich
New member
...or with a nikon d7000. i assume the subjects are not so discerning---))).
peter
thrice
Active member
I handhold my 50's at that speed
I handhold the 18mm at 1s! eg:
Anyway, anyone hear the 14mm lens rumour? Since you can trick the camera into recognising a "14mm f/3.8" lens by manually coding a lens with 110011 and switching to the 35/135 framelines. Go ahead, try it
glenerrolrd
Workshop Member
I had heard the rumor about a 14mm/3.8 . What I have picked up 21/3.4 (announced),50/2 asph , 90/2 apsh fle and 14/3.8 asph .
Unfortunately the fragile Leica supply chain now seems compromised by the problems in Japan ..delays on the M9P and 21/3.4asph announced .
Unfortunately the fragile Leica supply chain now seems compromised by the problems in Japan ..delays on the M9P and 21/3.4asph announced .
atanabe
Member
Leica lenses were secretly made in a small factory in Sendai that was hard hit by the tsunami. The factory at Solms is just for tourists to keep the faith.
With the halt in production, not cancellation, of the MP due to a critical part seems to be linked with the shortage of M lenses and the tsunami in Japan. Glass is supplied by manufacturers in Japan in pressed form for finishing in Solms. Filters come from Japan and repacked in Solms - saw that in 2007 with the UV/IR filters. So it would stand to reason that the components that make up the lenses and cameras may also be sourced to suppliers in Japan. It is coincidence that the drying up of lenses coincided with the tsunami in Japan. Leica outsources the lens mount, learned that when the six bit coding came into being and they could not get enough of them from their supplier.
So the whole shortage of lenses may just be related to the inability to get a critical part to assemble the lens. Once the supply chain is reestablished the lenses will once again be available.
As far as shortages of certain lenses such as the 0.95 Noct, I think has more to do with production planning than capacity to produce. When the sales group estimates how many lenses that they will sell, a commitment to the suppliers of glass to make xx quantity of the blanks. The supplier will then melt and form the blanks ship them to Solms. If the projection estimate of the sales group was under, then they will have a shortage of lens blanks to assemble and fill all of the orders. I think that Leica was surprised that so many people would want a $11,000 lens. With the number of orders coming in, they did not have enough raw glass blanks and now need to wait until their supplier can produce the blanks for them. For the masses, the Summarit line had a good supply until late, probably due to the fact that it was an inexpensive lens and they felt more people would buy them at the price point. So they had more than enough parts on hand there to produce them.
So what ever critical part is missing for the lenses, once they get the parts the assembly will go at full production reducing the backlog. If it is the raw lens blanks then it will take a while to get going, if it is just the metal pieces a lot less time to get the supply out.
Like a kidney stone, all things must pass
With the halt in production, not cancellation, of the MP due to a critical part seems to be linked with the shortage of M lenses and the tsunami in Japan. Glass is supplied by manufacturers in Japan in pressed form for finishing in Solms. Filters come from Japan and repacked in Solms - saw that in 2007 with the UV/IR filters. So it would stand to reason that the components that make up the lenses and cameras may also be sourced to suppliers in Japan. It is coincidence that the drying up of lenses coincided with the tsunami in Japan. Leica outsources the lens mount, learned that when the six bit coding came into being and they could not get enough of them from their supplier.
So the whole shortage of lenses may just be related to the inability to get a critical part to assemble the lens. Once the supply chain is reestablished the lenses will once again be available.
As far as shortages of certain lenses such as the 0.95 Noct, I think has more to do with production planning than capacity to produce. When the sales group estimates how many lenses that they will sell, a commitment to the suppliers of glass to make xx quantity of the blanks. The supplier will then melt and form the blanks ship them to Solms. If the projection estimate of the sales group was under, then they will have a shortage of lens blanks to assemble and fill all of the orders. I think that Leica was surprised that so many people would want a $11,000 lens. With the number of orders coming in, they did not have enough raw glass blanks and now need to wait until their supplier can produce the blanks for them. For the masses, the Summarit line had a good supply until late, probably due to the fact that it was an inexpensive lens and they felt more people would buy them at the price point. So they had more than enough parts on hand there to produce them.
So what ever critical part is missing for the lenses, once they get the parts the assembly will go at full production reducing the backlog. If it is the raw lens blanks then it will take a while to get going, if it is just the metal pieces a lot less time to get the supply out.
Like a kidney stone, all things must pass
weinschela
Subscriber Member
When I was in the Army, we had a saying that "all good rumors are false and all bad rumors are true". Using this rule, one is never disappointed.
Al,Leica lenses were secretly made in a small factory in Sendai that was hard hit by the tsunami. The factory at Solms is just for tourists to keep the faith.
With the halt in production, not cancellation, of the MP due to a critical part seems to be linked with the shortage of M lenses and the tsunami in Japan. Glass is supplied by manufacturers in Japan in pressed form for finishing in Solms. Filters come from Japan and repacked in Solms - saw that in 2007 with the UV/IR filters. So it would stand to reason that the components that make up the lenses and cameras may also be sourced to suppliers in Japan. It is coincidence that the drying up of lenses coincided with the tsunami in Japan. Leica outsources the lens mount, learned that when the six bit coding came into being and they could not get enough of them from their supplier.
So the whole shortage of lenses may just be related to the inability to get a critical part to assemble the lens. Once the supply chain is reestablished the lenses will once again be available.
As far as shortages of certain lenses such as the 0.95 Noct, I think has more to do with production planning than capacity to produce. When the sales group estimates how many lenses that they will sell, a commitment to the suppliers of glass to make xx quantity of the blanks. The supplier will then melt and form the blanks ship them to Solms. If the projection estimate of the sales group was under, then they will have a shortage of lens blanks to assemble and fill all of the orders. I think that Leica was surprised that so many people would want a $11,000 lens. With the number of orders coming in, they did not have enough raw glass blanks and now need to wait until their supplier can produce the blanks for them. For the masses, the Summarit line had a good supply until late, probably due to the fact that it was an inexpensive lens and they felt more people would buy them at the price point. So they had more than enough parts on hand there to produce them.
So what ever critical part is missing for the lenses, once they get the parts the assembly will go at full production reducing the backlog. If it is the raw lens blanks then it will take a while to get going, if it is just the metal pieces a lot less time to get the supply out.
Like a kidney stone, all things must pass
Good points.
The special glass used in the Noctilux is actually ordered two years ahead of delivery time. Keep in mind that some of this glass has to be cooled for 6-9 months in a cooling oven. If the temperature is brought down more than a few degrees per hour, cracks and inclusions might form, ruining the glass. This is a major reason for the high cost. Think about the electricity required to run an oven nonstop for months at thousands of degrees. :bugeyes:
Leica sources its glass (over 200 different formulations used in current lenses) from three main suppliers: Corning, Schott and Hoya. Hoya is in Japan, but from what I hear, wasn't impacted much from the Tsunami/earthquake.
With production estimates done years in advance, Leica can't just get more glass when demand spikes. Balancing suppliers and all the different glass orders (different formulations, various sized blanks) can be challenging. If a lens like the 50 Lux ASPH has 8 elements and one particular glass element is back-ordered from the supplier, the lens can't be made.
Also good to keep in mind is that the shortage is mostly on the consumer side. Leica is turning out record quarter after record quarter. They can only be doing this by manufacturing and shipping more product than before. So, the product is out there. The demand is just so much greater than it has ever been. Items are never in stock and people are waiting longer than ever to receive them.
The new factory is currently under construction at Leitz Park and should open by the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013. I'd assume that by now Leica has increased its forecasting for lens elements and other supporting parts, so that when the factory opens its doors production numbers will increase dramatically.
David
Of course, it makes sense for Leica to change and improve lenses. What's funny, though, is that I think Leica could sell a heck of a lot of Elmarit 90s if they'd simply restart production on that ended line. Great lens, better size and ergonomics than the AA and better rendering than the Summarit IMO. (That said, with such low stock in new lenses, it seems Leica will be able to sell whatever it produces.)
Woody Campbell
Workshop Member
Amen!