Sounds like you may be taking something personally. Really nothing said that doesn't have some basis in fact. I've been using Leica rangefinders for thirty years now, and for optics back then we had a practical choice of used Leica or new Leica. Don't even think adapters were readily available back then. What monopoly! We now live in the Golden Age of Rangefinder Optics, with so many choices, not a bad choice out there. Voightlander, Leica, Zeiss, LLL, + others. Too many choices even!! We should all celebrate companies like LLL who are making unusual optics of high quality at price point tolerable for users, as opposed to collectors or people who just want "camera jewelry." What always surprises about Leicaphiles is they don't hold Leica to the same standards that they judge other companies. I bought a lot of new Leica over the decades, supported them buying new even during the dark days of 2005 when they were on the brink of going out of business, but they lost me when their quality went down. The only lenses that have ever broke on me, in the field no less, have been three Leica lenses. In getting one fixed a well known Leica trained tech in the USA stated that Leica's current lenses were shoddy, full of plastics inside. Now that was 20 years ago, I don't know what their current production is like, and I still own a bunch of their lenses, mostly for the 60's, and you can take great pictures with them, as you can with LLL, Voightlander, ect., because great pictures largely depend on the quality of light and composition, not the name on the lens, or the country that made them. Leica has always been expensive, but they seem outrageous now. If that outlay resulted in better pics, then maybe worth it, but it doesn't. So yeah, I don't get people complaining about LLL. We are lucky to have them around. Owning Leica optics doesn't make you a better photographer.
Sounds like you may be taking something personally. Really nothing said that doesn't have some basis in fact. I've been using Leica rangefinders for thirty years now, and for optics back then we had a practical choice of used Leica or new Leica. Don't even think adapters were readily available back then. What monopoly! We now live in the Golden Age of Rangefinder Optics, with so many choices, not a bad choice out there. Voightlander, Leica, Zeiss, LLL, + others. Too many choices even!! We should all celebrate companies like LLL who are making unusual optics of high quality at price point tolerable for users, as opposed to collectors or people who just want "camera jewelry." What always surprises about Leicaphiles is they don't hold Leica to the same standards that they judge other companies. I bought a lot of new Leica over the decades, supported them buying new even during the dark days of 2005 when they were on the brink of going out of business, but they lost me when their quality went down. The only lenses that have ever broke on me, in the field no less, have been three Leica lenses. In getting one fixed a well known Leica trained tech in the USA stated that Leica's current lenses were shoddy, full of plastics inside. Now that was 20 years ago, I don't know what their current production is like, and I still own a bunch of their lenses, mostly for the 60's, and you can take great pictures with them, as you can with LLL, Voightlander, ect., because great pictures largely depend on the quality of light and composition, not the name on the lens, or the country that made them. Leica has always been expensive, but they seem outrageous now. If that outlay resulted in better pics, then maybe worth it, but it doesn't. So yeah, I don't get people complaining about LLL. We are lucky to have them around. Owning Leica gear doesn't make you a better photographer.
Aug 08, 2026 at 09:41 AM
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