Summilux 35 discontinued?

[DFV]

I just saw on a dealer price list that the Summilux 35 is discontinued.

Can anybody con firm this? Could this be a tipo? Is it going to be replaced by a new Summilux 35?

[lct]

Originally Posted by DFV

...Is it going to be replaced by a new Summilux 35?

Yes soon probably.

[RickLeica]

Hope this is a good sign, I'm 3rd on my dealers list - no deposit until announced.

[luigi bertolotti]

Rumors of a new Lux 35 do abound (also in this forum) : your finding is a confirmation of this, I think... isn't PMA fair around these weeks ?

[yanidel]

Originally Posted by luigi bertolotti

Rumors of a new Lux 35 do abound (also in this forum) : your finding is a confirmation of this, I think... isn't PMA fair around these weeks ?

Just finished today ...

[Paul Hart]

I've seen at least 4 35 Summilux ASPH lenses advertised for sale in the last week, so I guess the new one must be just round the corner.

[john_f]

Luigi,

Leica is not attending PMA this year - will be present at Photokina later in the fall.

About 2 weeks ago, my local Leica dealer confirmed that a new Summilux-M 35mm Asph was coming soon. It will include a floating element to improve close focusing performance. Should be announced soon (a few weeks at most I would guess).

Cheers,

John F.

[innerimager]

Sounds great but in all honesty I don't see how the new version can be "better" than the one I have. Close focus at 1.4 is perfect, focus shift is so slight that it does not ever result in out of focus shots, (only I do that on occasion) and the overall drawing of the lens s fabulous. Certainly, if the new version means there will be no samples with focus shift problems that will be welcome. For those with the current version not encountering signifiant focus shift, at least in my case, there will be no temptation to get a newer version.

[novice9]

ditto -- my 35 lux is stellar. while i am sure it exhibits some level of focus shift as the experts state that such is inherent in the design, it is not discernible in practice. Unless the new 35 improves performance in a manner other than focus shift elmination -- will it? can it? -- i cant see ever parting with my current 35 lux asph.

[scjohn]

Astonishing that the 35 asph would be upgraded. How much better can it be?

[doug_m]

I have never owned a 35 lux but would like to get the new version. My understanding is that the current 35 lux is not as "good" as the 35 cron at f2 and beyond. Is this correct? If so a new version 35 lux, like the 50 lux ASPH and Nocti ASPH should be as good as their slower counterparts (35 cron, 50 cron, etc.) when stopped down a bit.

Wouldn't consistently high IQ from f1.4 on down be an improvement for the 35?

[ashwinrao1]

Agreed with the above posters in that I have NO desire to replace my 35 lux ASPH with a newer version. I find focus shift to be negligible and it's my favorite lens in terms of drawing. A newer lux may have different character, who knows, but surely will be lust worthy, just not for me....

[john_f]

Doug,

The current Summilux-M 35mm Asph is an exceptional lens with a great history. I would put it a notch above the current Summicron-M 35mm Asph without any hesitation. According to what a Leica spokesperson told me after the introduction of the M8, the research on the original Summilux-M 35mm Aspherical (the one with the two grounded asph surfaces) was based on the research on the current Summilux-M 50mm Asph - it goes that far back!

Once Leica realized there was greater market potential for a new 35mm 'Lux than a new 50mm, all work switched to bringing a new 35mm 'Lux to market with asph surfaces. This new lens ('Lux Aspherical) came out in 1990, and was eventually replaced in 1994 with the current 35mm 'Lux Asph with one "blankpressen" asph element. Eventually, research went back on the current 50mm 'Lux Asph - but this time with a floating element. And now, with this presumably soon to be introduced brand new 35mm 'Lux with floating element, the Summilux cycle will have come full circle. La boucle sera bouclée!

Regarding the issue of front/rear focus with the current 35mm 'Lux Asph, from what I was told, Leica had received some complains about this problem - although rare. Personally, I think Leica's motivation is more to ensure a consistent design (marketing advantage?) and even higher optical quality (future proofing their lenses for ever higher megapixel future M cameras?) across the whole lens line. In short, Leica is "going for the Gold"

I would not be surprised to see the Summicron-M 28mm Asph get the same treatment within the next few years - same for the very fast Apo-Summicron-M 90mm.

Best regards,

John F.

[lars_bergquist]

Sorry John, but the 35mm Summilux ASPH was introduced in 1994. The 50mm ASPH was launched in 2004. So if the 35mm was based on the 'research' for the 50mm, then time is running backwards.

What the 35 ASPH actually was based on, is the design of the 35mm Summilux Aspherical, which was produced in a limited number from 1990. It had two partly handmade spherical surfaces, just like the legendary 1966 Noctilux 1:1.2. The development of blank-pressed aspherical elements made it possible to redesign it into something that was economically viable, viz. the 35mm Summilux ASPH. The 1997 35mm Summicron ASPH was based on the same design concepts and techniques.

Now for the grain of truth behind your misunderstanding. Leica did research for a modernized 50mm Summicron in the late 1980's. An optically excellent, exotic design was developed, but the improvement would not warrant the great price increase. Instead, the research was re-directed into a replacement for the distinctly bad 35mm Summilux, unchanged since 1961.

The 50mm Summilux ASPH is of course based on the entire corpus of research and experience that Leica have developed since the 1980's, but it is a new design departure, a kind of a hybrid between a Gaussian front and a radical new rear. It is in turn the basis of the 75mm Summicron.

The old man from the Age of Max Berek

[luigi bertolotti]

"Fluctuating moods" are one of the funniest things in this forum... ... times ago, the "terrible" focus shift of Lux 35 asph was on the mouth of many... now several people point out it's a negligible issue... . Having not it, I don't take position about... only wonder if the cause of replacement with a new one could be that some manufacturing (or glass machining) tolerances bring fluctuating behavior about this question of focus shift...

Lux 35 pre asph : King of flare
Lux 35 asph : King of focus shift
Lux 35 aspherical : King of "modern collectibles"
Lux 35 new : Emperor of the 35s... until one finds it's naked
Elmar 3,5 cm f 3,5 : always and forever THE BEST

[wlaidlaw]

The current ASPH 35 Summilux is bit like this little girl:

There was a little girl, who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead,
And when she was good, she was very, very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

She stood on her head, on her little trundle bed,
With nobody by for to hinder;
She screamed and she squalled, she yelled and she bawled,
And drummed her little heels against the winder.

Her mother heard the noise, and thought it was the boys
Playing in the empty attic,
She rushed upstairs, and caught her unawares,
And spanked her, most emphatic. --- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wilson

[imported_leicaiste]

Originally Posted by scjohn

Astonishing that the 35 asph would be upgraded. How much better can it be?

Focusing and flare.

Lucien

[pgk]

Originally Posted by luigi bertolotti

the "terrible" focus shift of Lux 35 asph was on the mouth of many... now several people point out it's a negligible issue... .

Well I bought one not long ago and I delighted with it - I've yet to find any focus shift problems (other than operator error). Its superb wide open and fabulous stopped down. FWIW something that I do find fascinating is that according to a paper on Mandler's designs, the original 35mm Summilux cannot be improved upon using 'conventional' glass and without aspheres. It will be interesting to see what Leica do to upgrade the existing (MkII) aspherical design.

[luigi bertolotti]

Originally Posted by wlaidlaw

The current ASPH 35 Summilux is bit like this little girl:

There was a little girl, who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead,
And when she was good, she was very, very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

She stood on her head, on her little trundle bed,
With nobody by for to hinder;
She screamed and she squalled, she yelled and she bawled,
And drummed her little heels against the winder.

Her mother heard the noise, and thought it was the boys
Playing in the empty attic,
She rushed upstairs, and caught her unawares,
And spanked her, most emphatic. --- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Wilson

GREAT !!!

There was a black one, thirty-five,
accused to misfocus : was a lie !

Poor aspherical guy cried "not my fault !"
But designers condamned him to float

So that LUF community said "THAT'$ MINE" !!

[rosuna]

The optical design of the current 35mm Summilux ASPH is very interesting and particular. Some kind of "expanded" double-gauss design.

The new design may be completely different, and it would be interesting to see the changes and how it performs, particularly the improvements with respect to the current lens.