On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 06:48:14 GMT, John Navas
wrote in
:

On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 04:31:54 +0000, Tony Polson wrote in
:

"Neil Harrington" wrote:

Well, "designed by Leica" is one thing and "built to Leica standards" is
another. You think E. Leitz has real Leitz employees scrupulously inspecting
every "Leica" lens made somewhere in eastern or southeastern Asia?

These issues were discussed on a Leica forum about a year ago and
answers were obtained from Leica in Solms.

Apparently the lenses were not designed by Leica, but by Panasonic.
Leica suggested some improvements to the designs and helped put in
place a quality control system that would ensure a consistent product,
but that is all.

Any proof of that? Industry people I respect tell me the lenses are in
fact designed by Leica, and that Leica monitors the quality control.

Moreover tests of these lenses confirm that they do measure up to Leica
standards; e.g., "everything you'd expect from Leica glass"
http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/4597/lens-test-panasonic-leica-d-summilux-25mm-f14-af.html

p.s. My own checking suggests confusion between Leica-branded lenses
and Lumix-branded lenses, which are different, with the latter not being
as good as the former.

--
Best regards,
John Navas
Panasonic DMC-FZ8 (and several others)