"Is there any reason (other than hype) to think Leica lenses are better
than Zuiko? I know it's traditional to *say* Leica lenses have
superhuman powers, but actually, Olympus makes lenses about as well as
they can be made. Some of the test results of Leica lenses that I've
seen showed that, although definitely respectable, they were not
distinguishable from other good brands."
The argument over whether German lenses are "better" than Japanese has
never been fully laid to rest. I had a German acquaintance who was
convinced that Nikon lenses were absolutely the best, and no one else's
(not even Leica's) were as good!
My understanding is that Leica's "normal" lenses are hand-assembled,
taking into account the slight variations in surface curvature among
elements. This does not necessarily make a "better" lens, but it does
greatly reduce sample- to-sample variation.
Some Leica lenses are truly exceptional. In 1968 the photojournalist
David Douglas Duncan covered the Republican and Democratic presidential
conventions using a 400/6.3 Telyt on a Leicaflex. The photos were
published in the classic book "Self-Portrait USA." They are so sharp and
so contrasty that your jaw will drop. The images from this 3-element
telephoto lens make those from most other lenses (regardless of focal
length) look as if they were shot through the proverbial Coke-bottle
bottom.
Of course, the laws of physics, optics, and chemistry are no different
in Japan or Germany. The quality of any lens depends solely on how much
effort is put into its design and high tightly the quality is maintained
in production. Since the original M-1 was obviously intended to be an
"SLR Leica," it's possible Olympus put their very best efforts into the
design of the lenses. I have Zuiko lenses from 18mm through 200mm (plus
16mm and 500mm), and I've never had any reason to complain about the
image quality.
Some "independent" lenses are of very high quality. Pop Photo gave
more-or-less rave reviews to the Sigma 28-70/2.8 and 70-210/2.8 and I
can tell you, these are very, very good lenses. They're bulky, sometimes
clunky, and have stiff diaphragm rings (Sigma USA was kind enough to
loosen them for me, at no charge), but they make crisp images. The
manual versions of these lenses don't seem destined to be around much
longer, so you ought to take a look.
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