According to information available from Leica Camera AG, the total production capacity of lenses is up
to 3,000 lenses per month or 36 thousand per year.
These are impressive
figures, but how does this compare to other camera manufacturers? Unfortunately such figures are hard to come
by, but I have been able to obtain some information about Canon and Nikon.
Nikon recently announced
that they have reached the mark of 70 million SLR lenses made since they were
first introduced. That announcement came
only six months after they published the manufacture of 65 million lenses. That means Nikon produced 5 million lenses in
just 6 months or 10 million per year.
For Canon no such data is
available. However, they did publish the
total number of SLR cameras and lenses made since 1987. These average out to 2.9 million lenses per
year. Current production of cameras and
lenses is substantially higher than these average figures. As a matter of fact, currently Canon makes
more cameras and lenses than Nikon.
Taking the 10 million
Nikon figure for total annual lens production, in comparison to Leica, they
make almost 300 times the number of lenses per year. That actually means that Nikon makes
approximately the number of lenses in one day that Leica makes in a whole year.
All Leica lenses and cameras are individually assembled by hand with
numerous tests and retests to assure complete adherence to the highest
tolerances in the industry,all with the total absence of of assembly lines
Photos by Marlies Amling and Heinz Richter
That is what mass
production allows a manufacturer to do.
However, mass production inevitably has to incorporate certain
shortcuts. There is no way that Nikon or
Canon or any other company that mass produces their lenses (and cameras) can even
come close to the tolerance levels applied to Leica cameras and lenses. Ultimately it is this that sets Leica apart
from their competition, and this is also part of the reason why it is so
difficult for Leica to increase their production numbers.
Leica is all too often
criticized for their prices. However,
contrary to claims of being greedy or overcharging, these prices are the direct
result of their production methods. Their
bench made production is totally devoid of any assembly line work. All manufacturing and assembly steps are
carried out by individuals in individual steps with multiple checks and
rechecks. Only that way can the tight
tolerances be assured, and it is these tight tolerances that assure the
increased performance that we expect from Leica equipment. Unfortunately this is expensive.
That is further underlined
by some of the more exotic Nikon and Canon lenses. These simply do not sell in sufficiently
large numbers to warrant mass production; they are made not unlike Leica
lenses, however at the lower tolerance levels as set by Nikon and Canon.
Canon EF 200-400 f/4L IS
USM 1.4 lens and fitted case
Nikkor 800mm f/5.6E FL ED
VR
One of those lenses is the
Canon EF 200-400 f/4L IS USM 1.4x lens with a cost of $11,000 and $600 for the
custom case. Nikon introduced the Nikkor
800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR lens at a cost of over $16,000. That puts either one of these lenses solidly in
the price category that Leica is so often criticized for.
It is ironic that people
so often ask for Leica equipment at “competitive” prices. If Leica were to compromise their production
methods to allow their equipment to be sold at lower prices, we would get
equipment of performance levels as offered by other manufacturers. I for one am glad that this isn’t the case.
As the old adage goes, you
get what you pay for. Leica is a very
good example of that.
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