Would you feel cheated if a "Leica" lens was designed by Konica Minolta?

LEICA DG 25-50mm F1.7
(Image credit: Panasonic)

If you paid good money for a lens made by big brand, would you feel cheated if it turns out that it was actually made by somebody else? It's an interesting question – and one that has been brought to the fore by speculation that Leica once again outsourced the design of its lenses. 

According to a new report, the Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25mm f/1.7 and Leica DG DG Vario-Summilux 25-50mm f/1.7 Micro Four Thirds lenses are not, in fact, designed by Leica, but rather by Konica Minolta. 

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James Artaius
Editor

The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera MagazinePhotoPlus: The Canon MagazineN-Photo: The Nikon MagazineDigital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.