Originally posted by bdery Are they really THAT different? Putting aside jokes and tongue-in-cheek snide comments, many Leica users swear by that look while many non-users judge those users. I have yet to see evidence that, as a whole, Leica lenses are all unique. Lens by lens, possibly, but the same could be said from the Limited for instance, that doesn't mean all Pentax lenses have that look.
I think that is a very good question. The Leica look, as I understand it, has to do with a sort of fluidity and naturalness of rendering. Maybe you have seen a photo that makes you think of a painting or work of art, maybe described as painterly? I have a Pentax lens that exhibits a kind of Leica look, the Pentax-FA 77mm f 1.8 limited, the one my wife calls our magic lens. I only have three Leica-R lenses--the 35-70mm vario macro, the 135mm, and the 90mm, and I think the 35-70mm has the most characteristic Leica rendering. I do not see the "look" in every photo taken with a Leica lens or with the P77 either though I generally do see good rendering from both. There's lots of chatter among Leica fans over this exact topic, and as a Leica novice I cannot add much more to the discussion than what I have said. I think the entire topic of rendering is quite subjective, and I lack the vocabulary to enter very much into the discussion, but there is something there, and that something is a positive photographic element. I had my K-1 out this morning with the Leica 35-70mm vario-Elamrit-R attached, so I will tack on a few shots.