Leica Rumors

Zeiss has no imminent plans for more updated ZM lenses (for Leica M mount)

By LR admin | Published: March 12, 2017

At a recent photo gear show, a reader asked a Zeiss representative if the company is planning to release any updates to the existing ZM range of lenses or any new ZM lenses for Leica M mount and the answer was: no imminent updates or roadmap updates whatsoever, with the Distagon T* 35mm f/1.4 still being the latest ZM update. Another comment was made that said that many users are no longer interested in using the optional Zeiss viewfinders and it’s quite possible that it will be discontinued in the future.

Posted in Leica Lenses| Tagged Zeiss| 7 Comments

Leica canceled Schmidt Marketing after 60 years

By LR admin | Published: March 12, 2017

This is a post by a reader on Leica canceling Schmidt Marketing in Asia after 60 years:

So here’s a piece of dated but important news that’s worth sharing. Back in late November 2016, Leica announced that it’s not renewing the contract with Schmidt Marketing, which has been distributing and servicing Leica products in the greater China (and Asia) region for some 60 years.

However, such news was not properly reported back then, with just a few local and online outlets giving it a mention. As such, many of us knew of this news only since this January, when the distributor’s rights officially ended. Not even Schmidt Marketing has properly published any press releases regarding this matter.

That said, Schmidt will still be conducting product servicing and repairs until around the end of April.

The online reports that I could pull off are as follows (Chinese only):

Posted in Other Leica Stuff| Tagged Leica stores| 7 Comments

Voigtlander Heliar Vintage Line 50mm f/3.5 VM lens for Leica M mount review

By LR admin | Published: March 12, 2017

General

Ever since Voigtlander announced their Heliar Vintage Line 50mm f/3.5 VM full frame lens for Leica M mount ($529), I was curious to try it out and when I had the opportunity to shoot with it for a few days, I jumped right to it.

This lens uses a unique historical design to match some of the earliest Voigtlander lenses from the 19th century. The lens design has been on the market for a long time. Several different versions exist in Leica thread mount (LTM) and Nikon S mount. I believe that initially the lens came with the Bessa R2S Nikon S-mount rangefinder as a special edition and many people just used it with adapters on Leica M mount cameras. The new version of the lens is the first to be available in Leica M mount and is not collapsible – there was also a collapsable version in the past:

Posted in Leica Lenses, LR Reviews| Tagged Leica M10 lens report, Voigtlander HELIAR Vintage Line 50mm f/3.5 VM lens| 6 Comments

Leica UK to host “Jim Marshall: Jazz Festival” at Mayfair

By LR admin | Published: March 8, 2017

Johnny Hodges at Monterey Jazz Festival 1961

Leica UK to host ‘Jim Marshall: Jazz Festival’ at Mayfair
17 – 28 March 2017
Leica Mayfair, 27 Bruton Place, London W1J 6NQ

Leica UK has announced Jim Marshall: Jazz Festival: a new exhibition at its Mayfair studio, which will be open to the public from 17-28 March. Featuring images from one of the most celebrated music photographers of the twentieth century, this unique collection is taken from a new book of the same name from publisher Reel Art Press, and has remained almost completely unseen until now.

Posted in Leica Press Releases| 1 Comment