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Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

AcuteShadows
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p.3 #1 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Keep in mind that the MTF curves are derived from the optical design, not from lenses in the wild. Zeiss is one of the very few exceptions that publish actual measured data. Even then, your particular copy may have a different MTF curves.

Leica and Zeiss lenses are capable on inducing moir�-type artefacts at high-contrast edges with a 45 MP sensor. Nikon lenses generally do not show this. The 50 mm f/1.2 comes close to it, and maybe Nikon knows that excessive sharpness can also have drawbacks. At the same time, some have taken issue with the Nikon 50 mm f/1.2 not being excessively sharp.

Nov 08, 2025 at 03:56 PM

jstrawman
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p.3 #2 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

RoamingScott wrote:
Sometimes all you can do is laugh.

I guess some people don't read current and prior posts
in other forums.

Nov 08, 2025 at 04:01 PM

suteetat
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p.3 #3 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

I think Leica complement Nikon very well as they offer something quite different. Mind you, Leica is smaller but not necessarily lighter than some Nikon combination. It is a chunk of solid aluminium, sometimes brass so light weight is not Leica strong suit. Current Q has pretty good AF and it should be able to handle most situations where you need to use 28mm lens.
I dont consider it a good alternative in a sense that Q is a fixed lens and M is a manual focus lens. SL is even heavier than Nikon so if you look at smaller, lighter system, SL is not a way to go.
I use Leica M11 monochrom along side Nikon system and it is a lot of fun. 50/2 apo may not look better than 50/1.8s on paper or by MTF chart but its rendering is exceptional and I dont feel 50/1.8s is in the same league. 50/1.2s does give its own unique signature but cannot replace 50/2 apo either. As much as I love 35/1.2s, it cannot replace 35/2 8e that was last produced before I was born at f4-f8.
I had no problem with Leica QC and I went through 4 Leica bodies and my close group of friends own at least 10-12 Leica bodies ( not counting Leica S lens fiasco and M9 sensor issue

). Service is in certain way better than Nikon. Of course it takes a long time to service as for where I
Iive i have to send it through my local store to Leica Thailand to Leica Singapore then eventually Leica Germany. Most of waiting time seemed to be in transit but once Leica fixed my SL lens that I dropped in water and I paid $60 in total for shipping charge. Leica fixed it for free. Not something Nikon ever did for me unless it is warranty work. Personally I would not trade Nikon for Leica just because Nikon is more appropriate for my many use. But Leica gives a different set of usefulness, enjoyment and experience . If Leica fits you need,certainly look at it as long as money is no issue and you dont care much about bang for the buck.

Nov 08, 2025 at 04:40 PM

Rainbow Chaser
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p.3 #4 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

RoamingScott wrote:
Leica quality control SUCKS.

Whose quality control would you say is worse: Leica or Cosina (especially Voigt. for Z-mount)?

Nov 09, 2025 at 11:01 AM

old-gregg
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p.3 #5 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Rainbow Chaser wrote:
Whose quality control would you say is worse: Leica or Cosina (especially Voigt. for Z-mount)?

At various points in time I owned probably ~8-10 M-mount lenses made by each, and still have quite a few. Never had any QC issues with either, maybe because rangefinder lenses are simpler in their construction than AF mirrorless lenses.

But in terms of build quality (tolerances and materials), I rate Cosina a bit higher. The most obvious detail where it's noticeable is the aperture rings. Leica lenses, including $4-5K ASPH Summiluxes, feature cheaper feeling rings that are somewhat loose. But changing aperture on a Voigtlander lens, any lens, always feels more tight and precise.

My E-mount Voigtlanders are just perfect. 10 out of 10. I am not aware how a lens can be better constructed, for any mount, at any price. They're up there with Otuses and Milvuses. Z-mount should be the same. It's easy to see that I'm a Cosina fanboy.

Nov 09, 2025 at 12:24 PM

Nifty Fifty
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p.3 #6 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

old-gregg wrote:
My E-mount Voigtlanders are just perfect. 10 out of 10. I am not aware how a lens can be better constructed, for any mount, at any price. They're up there with Otuses and Milvuses. Z-mount should be the same. It's easy to see that I'm a Cosina fanboy.
My newly purchased Nokton feels very good, but my used copy, which is in excellent condition externally, already shows minimal play in the focus ring. Voigtl�nder lenses certainly make a very good impression, but quite honestly, the medium format Zeiss lenses for Hasselblad and even more so those for the Rolleiflex 6000 series are in a completely different league. I'm not familiar with Leica lenses, but to be honest, I would have expected the very highest level.

Nov 09, 2025 at 01:30 PM

huddy
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p.3 #7 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

I wouldn�t necessarily ascribe Leica as a good or bad alternative to Nikon, rather a differently focused alternative (pun intended).

Leica has had their service fiascos/recalls. So has Nikon (sensor oil, D800 focusing issues, F3 ring resistors breaking, etc). Let�s all be a little bit wary of a the pot calling the kettle black here.

Rangefinder and zone style focusing can be enjoyable and particularly easy, especially for spontaneous subject matter.

If you find that you enjoy 28/35/40/50 mm (35mm/FX format) and have the means to do so financially, I think there are some really great cameras and lenses available in the L39/M and fixed lens worlds that nicely complement a Nikon system. I will say that I shot the M6TTL and a few CV/ZM 35�s side by side with Nikon DSLR�s and an FE-2. The pictures from on or another weren�t better and one camera wasn�t somehow magical where others were not. They were all three different shooting experiences and I enjoyed both using and printing the results from each.

All of these companies have employeed legendary optical engineers and the different groups have prioritized different rendering/aberritions/design priorities. I don�t think this inherently makes one better than the other. They are just different.

Just remember that something that inspires you to go out and shoot is a good thing, but the study of composition, light, and great masters and artists of the past are much more likely to guide you to creating better photos than just buying a new camera and/or lens.

Nov 09, 2025 at 03:30 PM

philip_pj
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p.3 #8 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Cosina is a company that wants to stay small, by their own admission. More of a boutique outfit than a major lens production firm, they make lenses for themselves, not you. Luckily they have pretty good taste, but it seems the best of them are the very small lenses, very 'artisanal'.

They effectively produce short run 'prototypes' rather than lenses you can rely on being able to repurchase in even a few years time (28/2 Ultron, 35/1.7). They went off making lenses for Sony after their mid-range APOs got very close to the equivalent M APO offerings. E/Z People are waiting still for a lens that is a great fit for mirrorless, the 28/2 APO.

When businesses leave me, I leave them. It works better than an abusive relationship. It helped me, but the push was a fail for them on a particular bushwalk trip - the flat rendering was just horrible, graceless highlights. Two of their best were worst too - 75/1.5 and 35/2 APO. No good in high contrast light! I have the impression they are great for urban backstreets, night markets, gardens, etc. - Japan and SE Asia, in other words.

Thypoch came along at the right time, such robust images. Higher hit rates, much greater image depth, cine influences, responsive to buyers. On Leica, well..they are the BMW motorcycles of photography, early ones great, later ones became cars on two wheels. A very profit-driven outfit these days, and people keep lining up, dollars in hand. Matt Osborne sounds like he has copped some flak from the faithful:

When CHINESE Lenses Beat LEICA Lenses
..
..

Nov 09, 2025 at 03:33 PM

huddy
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p.3 #9 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

@youie, since you mention you are a Nikon fan, I might suggest just trying the modern 28/2.8, 40/2, or perhaps some of the recent 1.4 series or one of the excellent modern CV manual focus lenses. If you have the means to go for a Zf or Zfc, even better (if you find you like the haptics of those bodies).

I used to be a fairly penniless teacher and I had to scrimp and save and sell to get my original D700. All of my original lenses were small MF Nikon primes or modest zooms. The primes never felt too big and I could carry a 28/2, 50/1.2, and 105/2.5 comfortably with my D700 in a think tank retrospective 5 bag that I still have.

I finally bought a Z8 a crew months back which feels like the correct spiritual successor to that D700 and it still doesn�t feel too big with either my MF primes and an FTZii or with something like the 50/1.8S or CV35/2APO. Would a Zf be more compact and will I get one eventually? Yes, yes I will.

But don�t be afraid to just mount a single smaller prime and only carry a 35/85 or a 28 and 50 and stay light. Don�t worry about the pictures you don�t take but really enjoy being untethered from large lenses and too much gear.

Nov 09, 2025 at 03:39 PM

huddy
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p.3 #10 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Thanks for the reminder of the 35/1.7z. Was always stellar on film. But I just ordered an adapter to try on my Z8. The folks at aphillio Reeve always raved about it on digital too so we will se if it is ok (IIRC it was one the lenses that had smearing issues on non-M mount bodies but it never hurts to see if it is good enough)

philip_pj wrote:
Cosina is a company that wants to stay small, by their own admission. More of a boutique outfit than a major lens production firm, they make lenses for themselves, not you. Luckily they have pretty good taste, but it seems the best of them are the very small lenses, very 'artisanal'.

They effectively produce short run 'prototypes' rather than lenses you can rely on being able to repurchase in even a few years time (28/2 Ultron, 35/1.7). They went off making lenses for Sony after their mid-range APOs got very close to the equivalent M APO offerings. E/Z People are waiting...Show more →

Nov 09, 2025 at 04:01 PM

msadat
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p.3 #11 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

RoamingScott wrote:
I shot the same 61mp sensor Leica uses for many years and know that it offers nearly nothing over even a 24mp Nikon sensor in terms of image quality for every day applications.

All I need to know about the Leica ownership experience I have gleaned from disgruntled Leica owners on this very forum. I don't have a need to drop $10000 to experience it myself.

10000 is not enough if you want to get into a leica system. you need some lenses!!

Nov 09, 2025 at 11:32 PM

jamesdak
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p.3 #12 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Some of the comments are quite amusing,

!

For the OP, I cannot see Leica as replacing a full blown Nikon system but it can certainly compliment it.

I've used Leica R lenses for decades and find the negative QC comments unfounded in my experience.

I've also recently stepped farther in the Leica world with some SL bodies and SL glass. I will say the two Leica SL zooms I picked up used are the best zooms I've used in 40 plus years. That's after shooting the best Minolta had and then moving on to Canon.

But in no way will my current Leica setup be able to replace the Canon DSLR's and all those lenses in a lot of situations. But the Leica gear certainly has a place in my shooting world and is producing top notch images easily. Very happy to be using it. Yes the price is dear and that really should come into consideration. I could justify via the used market and could not be happier.

Lots of ways to get a job done and lots of tools for a job. Does not make any one tool better than the other, just different. Ultimately only you can decide what will work for the kind of shooting you want to do.

Nov 10, 2025 at 12:26 PM

patotts
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p.3 #13 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Horses for courses.

I don't have any complaints about Leica or their system. There is no perfect camera or lens; we all know that.

Leica is not a good fit for me at this point, but I don't fault people for buying and using their cameras and lenses. I've owned and used them for many years. It all depends on your needs and use cases.

In reality, changing the camera system or brand, in most cases, yields no better photos. But again, do what you want. I don't fault anyone for trying different systems. God knows I've done my fair share of exploring and brand-hopping.

Nov 10, 2025 at 04:49 PM

woodstork
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p.3 #14 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Nikon has been my main system for several years. For awhile I also shot Leica SL 35 and 90 mm APO Summicrons (on a Panasonic S1R ) because I love the way Peter Karbe designs lenses with terrific microcontrast and great across the frame performance wide open. I ended up selling this kit because Nikon kept making more and more incredible lenses I wanted to buy and it reached the point where I can get my �magical 3D pop� lens fix in one system. The Plena was the final straw.

I currently own high-IQ Nikon lenses covering a focal range from 14mm to 800mm. Can�t get that in Leica.

If I were a two lens shooter and wanted to settle on one system, I�d strongly consider another Leica SL APO Summicron kit like I had before, but I�d also be perfectly happy and ultimately more satisfied with something like a 24-70 2.8 (v2) and 105 MC on a Z8 as a far less expensive and even more versatile 2 lens alternative.

Nov 10, 2025 at 09:41 PM

panos.v
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p.3 #15 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

youie wrote:
Hi all,
The title of the thread may be a little misleading, because it could be another camera brand. But I always was "interested" by the Leica brand.
Let me explain, I'm a Nikon fan, I have been shotting Nikon for several years. I appreciate top quality optics, but I'm not getting any younger. At the beginning I was using DSLR's, that I found quite "big" . When Nikon introduced the mirrorless option, I thought to my self, finally I will be using top of the line line optics but in a small form factor. But it turns out, the best in...Show more →

Which Leica? The Q? The M? The SL?

There is no equivalent in Leica to dSLRs with an optical through the lens finder.
There is no equivalent to Leica's rangefinder in Nikon digital.
The SL is the "equivalent" of Nikon's FF Z cameras.
The Q is its own thing, a FF fixed lens camera.

So, I would say, the M is not an equivalent of anything, most people (not all) will have M alongside another system. The M cameras only make sense with lenses up to 90mm...135mm is a stretch. Above that you're adapting lenses for something that doesn't make sense. You cannot do macro. It doesn't have AF. So what do you want from it?

Also, while in the M you can get your 50/1 or other such fast lenses, in my opinion they make absolutely no sense. The system is best used (ie most comfrotable, compact, enjoyable) with f/2 lenses, if anything because nailing manual focus with a rangefinder at f/1.4 or faster is not easy at all. Not impossible of course but at the very least a very different shooting experience vs fast and accurate AF at f/1.4 with your Nikon.

On to the Q...I have no personal experience and never had any interest because it is a fixed lens camera of a focal length I'm not interested at a size that is just too big. Unless you're using your Nikon with a single lens, it just isn't a contender.

Which leaves the SL. There are plenty of reviews, you can weigh the pros and cons of the price vs capabilities vs AF vs this that. You will pay a lot more money to carry a lot of weight for f/2 lenses vs your Nikon. Super tele? Nope. What do you shoot anyway?

It really depends on what you shoot, how deep your pocket is and how much you want to pay for diminishing optical returns (if any) but above all, you're paying for a different tactile experience. The summary though is that if you cannot make a good photo with a Nikon, Leica (or anything else) won't help in that respect.

Nov 11, 2025 at 07:49 AM

jimmuller
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p.3 #16 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

youie wrote:
At the beginning I was using DSLR's, that I found quite "big" . When Nikon introduced the mirrorless option, I thought to my self, finally I will be using top of the line line optics but in a small form factor. But it turns out, the best in class glass comes in a quite big form factor, just think about the 50mm 1.2, or the 85mm 1.2.

Ah, I found this note again, had forgotten where I saw it.

I can't comment on Leica but I can offer this perspective on old glass vs new. I used to shoot film with a Nikkormat from the early 1970's. Then I parked the camera for decades but just recently bought a Z5-II body and FTZ. I may revive the Nikkormat one day but for now almost (*) all my shots are done with these same lenses:

Manual Focus Nikon Glass shot with Manual Focus Nikon Glass, all from the old days, light and easy to use, plus they cost me nothing. Some shots are posted in the MFNG thread.

35mm f/2.8, circa 1960's

200mm f/4 circa early 1970's

Both of those were shot with this. 50mm f/1.4 circa early 1970's

They saw a lot of film use and a lot of being carried around.

(*) I have recently added a Tamron manual-focus macro for scanning my old slides and occasional real macro work. Also have an older manual-focus Nikkor AI-S 300mm coming in for birds and wildlife.

Nov 15, 2025 at 08:15 AM

RCHoosier
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p.3 #17 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Hi youie,
I have both systems. I love them both. I have the Leica Q 3 43. The Leica rendering is a beautiful thing. I also have several Nikon Zs, from the Z9 to Zf and assorted glass. I love the Nikon functionality, interchangeable lenses. To very different systems but have their place.
RC

Nov 15, 2025 at 08:33 AM

Nifty Fifty
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p.3 #18 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

RoamingScott wrote:
Leica quality control SUCKS
What could cause something like this? Some kind of tension in the glass resulting from its installation? Mysterious and difficult to explain.
However, I must say that to me it doesn't look like stress cracks, but rather like a point-source impact. Perhaps the author simply doesn't want to pay for repairs.

?si=0UTTZQ86-k92YKet

Nov 16, 2025 at 06:54 AM

Pixelpuffin
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p.3 #19 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

If it wasn�t for HCB Leica would�ve gone way of the dodo long ago�and if HCB was starting out today �. He would almost certainly be creating his �decisive moments� with a cell phone.

Leicaship is basically a form of Willy dangling�..one for the exhibitionist�s

Nov 16, 2025 at 05:07 PM

Abuttolph
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p.3 #20 · Is Leica a good alternative to Nikon

Pixelpuffin wrote:
If it wasn�t for HCB Leica would�ve gone way of the dodo long ago�and if HCB was starting out today �. He would almost certainly be creating his �decisive moments� with a cell phone.

Leicaship is basically a form of Willy dangling�..one for the exhibitionist�s

Pretty presumptuous of you to think that you can speak for HBC, or to suggest that he is the only reason why Leica is still in business. He probably was the most famous Leica photographer and an incredible master at that. There have been and still are many Leica photographers, both well-known and unknown who have worked with and enjoyed their Leica equipment.

People are free to choose and use whatever gear that they want. Because someone uses any particular brand, that does not make them an exhibitionist. Do some people use their Leica gear for show? Yes, absolutely. However, there are many serious photographers who use it because it suits their needs and/or they simply enjoy it. Bashing people for their choice in photo equipment is childish. It does not matter what they choose - that is up to them and there is no reason to denigrate anyone for their choices.

At this point in time, I am using both Leica and Sony equipment. Two systems for different purposes. Believe me, my equipment is not there to show off or to be used a bling. It is used because I get what I want from it and I enjoy it.

As for the OP's original question, I would agree with those who have stated that something like one of the Q's would not be a replacement for your Nikon gear, but would be complimentary. Using a Leica camera is a different experience from any other system that I have used and it is very enjoyable. If you have access to a store where Leica equipment is sold, you might want to go there and try one out to see if you like it. That would give you a feel for it before taking the financial plunge.

Nov 16, 2025 at 05:44 PM

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