Leica Glass for Eos Cameras

[Mthorpe_Davies]

I read an interesting story in a Leica forum the other day, apparently Leica went to Canon & Nikon last year enquire about purchasing license's for the Eos and Nikkor mounts. Naturally both manufacturers turned them down. I can see why they would have done so as Leica glass would be a real threat to Canon 'L' and Nikon 'ED' glass.

If Leica had managed to get a license would any of you guys been interested in purchasing Leica glass.

[sGu]

i'd be very interested in that, but i wouldn't purchase anything straightaway, if i'm happy with the lens test and reviews, and it fits in my needs, i would

[CyberDyneSystems]

I'd certainly be interested.

I hope this is a true tale.. and if so,. Leica may still do it... and I really hope they do!

Leica could simply do the same thing that Sigma, Tamron and Tokina do,.. "just do it" with or without the blessing of Canon and Nikon.

[Belmondo]

That's true. If anyone wanted to build an EOS-compatible lens, they can do it with reverse engineering. That's what everyone else has done (apparently some better than others).

[robertwgross]

Isn't this a little like trying to buy a Rolls Royce engine to drop into a Chevy sedan?

---Bob Gross---

[Steveo31]

Isn't this a little like trying to buy a Rolls Royce engine to drop into a Chevy sedan?

---Bob Gross---
Yeah, a 400mm f/2.8 L is a sedan... :D

I hope it never happens. Ever. I have a hard enough time keeping up with digital, let alone freakin Leica.

[NJPete]

I would definately be interested, however i would be very curious to see what the pricing would be. "L"s are not cheap by any means, but Leica's glass is generally known to be expensive.

[karusel]

Of course I would be interested, any consumer should be, more options, better fit.

[Mthorpe_Davies]

It would be a fantastic if the two best lense manufacturers Leica and Carl Zeiss did it. As I said before this would be a real worry for Canon & Nikon because these guys don't piss around when it comes to quality design.

[RichardtheSane]

Leica could simply do the same thing that Sigma, Tamron and Tokina do,.. "just do it" with or without the blessing of Canon and Nikon.

ahem... AFAIK Tamron actually pay Canon a license for the mount... that is why nearly all old tamrons still work on new bodies... :)

[Jim_T]

Like all Leica equpment, I think Leica EOS lenses will probably be grossly overpiced.. Probably more overpriced than Canon L glass :)

[Mark Kemp]

Have you looked at the lenses for the Leica R9 recently. Good quality, but there are only about half a dozen total and the longest is 200mm. So unless they plan to make more lenses for other peoples cameras than their own I doubt that they will be a major player.

[Mthorpe_Davies]

Have you looked at the lenses for the Leica R9 recently. Good quality, but there are only about half a dozen total and the longest is 200mm. So unless they plan to make more lenses for other peoples cameras than their own I doubt that they will be a major player.


Maybe you should look again, Leica make 29 lense for the R series cameras, from 15mm to 800mm.

http://www.leica-camera.com/produkte/rsystem/objektive/index_e.html

[Mark Kemp]

I dont see a zoom over 280mm on that list, but OK I stand corrected :wink: . I forgot about the primes.

Leica's advertising is rubbish. I have hardly ever seen any R9 advertising at all and was not aware that they made as many as 29 lenses. I thinnk their stand had 4 at Focus this year. The amount of money they charge, they should have a bit left for the odd advert! :D

Any pros use them? You see and hear about users of Nikon and Canon and various medium formats (film and digi) but I don't recall much mention of Leica being popular for proffesional purposes.

Never seen an R9 review either, is it any good? Can Leica do decent autofocus and metering as well or just lenses? The film/digital back trick is cute, but I guess it adds weight?

[Mthorpe_Davies]

Leica is a luxury product and can be compared with products like Rolls Royce, have you ever seen a Rolls Royce ad, I haven't.

People who buy this type of product know what they want and advertising probably doesn't play any part in the decision making process.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Leica could simply do the same thing that Sigma, Tamron and Tokina do,.. "just do it" with or without the blessing of Canon and Nikon.

ahem... AFAIK Tamron actually pay Canon a license for the mount... that is why nearly all old tamrons still work on new bodies... :)

Ahem,. lots of people seem to say this,. except Canon.

Canon claims that they do not licenses the EOS mount to anyone..

...so I have my choice of believing lots of people on the 'net.. and the geniuses at "Ritz" camera stores,.. or Canon.

I know,. it's a toss up,. but in this case I decided to go with Canon.. :wink:

[roanjohn]

Leica lenses are grossly overpriced!!! For the same focal length, I would rather spend my hard earned cash on a Canon L lens or two.

Just MHO.

Ro1

[BDM]

Of course if Leica did make lenses for the Nikon and Canon, I presume they would have to finally do autofocus, something they have long resisted for their own camera bodies.

Bruce

[Panza]

One thing I must say impressed me with the Leica PDF of their lenses was the description of each lens.
It went into very great detail and even brought up the weak points of the lenses. I can't say that i have seen that done in many other lens ads. Not that I have read all lens adverts though.. :wink:

[Penguin_101_1]

Since L gets the red stripe what would Leica get?