Anything wrong with my 2nd New 21 Summilux

[Saad]

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Hello every one I hope I am not being panicky but I got my 2nd Summilux 21 and found that it is a little play (about 0.01 mm) when one end is attached to the camera and the other end held in my right hand moving it gently up down there is a definite clearance or slack. Can someone with a 21 Summilux please tell me if this is normal. After my first experience with an O ring in the middle of the lens I feel a little afraid that this is another No quality control issue. The movement is between the aperture ring and the focusing ring as indicated by the arrow.

 

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[Saad]

Sorry I need to correct my previous post I meant that the play or slack is about 0.1 mm not 0.01 mm. Thank you

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[Erik Gunst Lund]

There should not be any play between the mount and the front of the lens at all.

Does this mean that the front part of the lens moves to and away from the sensor plane?

Are you sure you're not just feeling the aperture ring moving, that should have a bit of play.

The cut away drawing looks like it was made in the marketing department...

[Ecar]

Just checked on mine: yes, there is a tiny amount of play, but, as Erik says, this is the aperture ring moving as and is entirely normal.

Enjoy your lens.

[Saad]

Thank you so much for responding Erik. The play is right under the aperture ring and it is almost as much as the play in the aperture ring. The drawing is from Leica's site. Most of the play is when the focusing ring is in it's middle distance setting. I am certain there is play and it is visible to the eye. Also I could feel it a bit between the bottom area of the focusing ring and the area attached to the lens mount.

 

Do I have to return this one as well?

[Saad]

Dear Escar thank you for your reply I am holding the lens from the lens hood area, would moving that area move the aperture ring?

[Ecar]

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No it doesn't - and shouldn't.

Seems like you did indeed get another lemon...

[Guest MarcRF]

which makes you the most unlucky guy I guess. shit happens. but I'd be surprised if the dealer does in fact have a third 21 summilux in stock

[Saad]

Dear MarRF, but this is some big shit. I am seriously thinking of the the new Voigtlander 21 f1.8.

[Erik Gunst Lund]

Are you sure you can see the front moving or is it just a 'feeling' like it moves?

Sounds strange to me...

 

21mm 1.4 is a unique and serious Pro tool, the Voigtlander is close but at best a 1.8 lens...

 

Are you going to make money from images with the 21mm with: 1.4 slim DOF...

 

The first images from the 21 1.8 looks like they are sharp and nice wide open across the image, corners not yet seen in detail...

[Saad]

Dear Erik yes I see it move very slightly, I feel it move more than I can see, and if I put my ears close I can hear the knocking noise.

 

Photography is only a hobby, and having the very best is a passion, but only if there is thorough quality control, and not like this. Leica seems not to be tightening their lens screws.

[hoppyman]

Saad, I have no experience with your Summilux issue but I think it is unrealistic to expect the Cosina/Voigtlander lens to have superior fit and precision. They are made to different standards, mechanical tolerances and a very different price point. For example Erwin Puts in his reviews reports definite play in the mounts of some samples that he has tested. De-centring can be a (more important) issue and photographers I know have had mechanical issues with some examples too (aperture assembly failure). Faults are possible with any brand of course.

I don't think though that comments for or against here should be relied on if you feel unhappy with your expensive Summilux. We can only guess what it feels like for you anyway.

 

Better perhaps to have Leica Camera assess and adjust your Summilux if required if you consider that it is not normal. In my experience they will do their best for you.

[earleygallery]

I have found the Voigtlander lenses to be superb in all respects, build quality is faultless.

 

Of course we generally only read about problems on the web, the vast majority of happy customers just get on and use their gear.

 

Whilst we accept that Voigtlander are a cheaper more mass produced option, we also expect some tighter quality control to come with the Leica price tag, but then one can never achieve 100% perfection either.

 

We don't know if the OP has a faulty lens or not however - return the lens if you're unhappy with it.

[IkarusJohn]

I would take it in to your Leica distributor. Even down here in NZ, I've had mounts adjusted quickly and accurately. My 35 ASPH (FLE) wouldn't mount properly, and the distributor here had it fixed in a day.

 

I wouldn't keep it as is. No play in my Summilux 21.

[Saad]

After I bought my Sony NEX 7 I made a move towards the smaller form factor especially since Leica has made the incredible move towards CMOS. So here are my experiences:

 

1. September 2012 I ordered the Leica 21 SEM and after using it at night I found that the aperture blades when fully open do not make a complete and perfect circle. This is very important for night photograph of a tripod for me. It was a simple adjustment issue, but I could not keep the lens. The cause was that Leica did not assemble the lens properly nor did they carry out a quality control on that lens. That is obvious.

 

2. In the same month I travelled to Switzerland and in the small town of Vevey there was a camera Store which displayed a Leica 35 Summilux FLE. Not being one who would buy a display item I went in the shop and asked if they had a new one in the box, and to my surprise they did. So I paid 4,600 CHF and bought the lens because I could not find it anywhere else.

 

I took my new lens to the Cafe across the street and tried it on my NEX 7 and found that the focusing ring gets stuck half way to infinity and I have to go back and forward again to get it unstuck. Ten minutes later and only the start of the second glass of beer, it happens again. So I immediately take it back and get the one on display. Meanwhile I have been using the Voigtlander 35 f1.2. The Leica 35 SX is the most beautiful 35 in world and by far.

 

But, the cause of the defect in the first one was that Leica did not assemble the lens properly nor did they carry out a quality control on that lens. That is obvious.

 

3. Two examples in 30 days of the 2nd most expensive lens in the Leica range being improperly and incorrectly assembled. None of them under going quality control. The conclusions are obvious, and while many of you can find ways of justifying this new Leica mind set, I find it hard because I am being charged a premium precisely because they tell me that every lens is assembled by hand and is subjected to numerous quality control checks.

 

What is the use of this kind of hand assembly.

 

4. On Dec 1, 2012 and before deciding on the Leica 21 SX I purchased the Zeiss 15 ZM together with the Voigtlander 15. Thinking that if the difference between the Zeiss and the Voig was the same or near the difference between the Leica 35 SX and the Voig 35 f1.2 then I would choose the Zeiss.

 

The feel and precision of the Zeiss aperture and focusing rings was by far superior to the Leicas. On this there is no doubt. The most authoritative reviews on the net have concluded that the Voig 15 is no match to the Zeiss 15 zm especially in color and contrast. I found the color and contrast to be identical but the Voig 15 was as different in image quality to the Zeiss into the corners as is the Leica 21 SEM to the Leica 21 SX.

 

I kept the Voig 15 for its superior image quality and bought for it the NEX 6 to avoid the magenta color cast.

 

I have purchased 2 Voigtlnder 35 lenses (one for my daughter) and they are identical in image quality but one has a less than smooth focusing. Very different to the 2 Leica 35s. You know technically the image quality of the Leica 35 SX is superior, but the Voig 35 has this aura very similar to the technically imperfect Leica Noctilux f1 used at f1, and the nikon 50 f1.2 but the pictures taken with them has its own magnetic mood.

 

In the end Leica cannot charge that kind of money under the pretense of "Meticulous Hand Assembly and Exhaustive Quality Control".

[Erik Gunst Lund]

What a story...

You are the most unlucky Leica customer I have ever heard of!

 

Take it back to the dealer and let him look at it...

[Guest MarcRF]

leica is far away from perfect when it comes to assembly, as is every company.

 

hand assembly means that every lens is different.

 

the worker who assembles the lens has a tight scale of tolerances within the lens must work. but within these tolerances the human decides what feels best.

 

e.g. my summilux 50 asph chrome has the smoothest aperture and a very smooth focusing ring. everyone might think that theirs is too. but when I compared between 3 other summiluxes I was surprised. all were chrome versions of this year's production. after testing them for 15 minutes I came to the conclusion that mine had the easiest-to-set aperture ring (which I liked, the others didnt) and the easiest focus (again, I liked, the others didnt). but that whole feel all comes down to the leica employee that assembles and controls the lens, giving it the final focus and aperture feel that it has when you unpack it.

 

doesnt mean that something can go wrong. it mostly is leicas fault or the fault of the employee then but there might be something wrong with the lubrication they used or something else...

 

there are so many steps where something can go wrong.

 

I wouldnt give up on it. you already said, that the 35 sx is the most beautiful lens you know. although you're deeply disappointed now (i know that feeling when leica did me wrong in a very unmannered way in december). if you like the final flawless product and want it then try again. you've partly stayed with leica after the 35 summilux disaster and ordered a second 21 summilux after the first disaster. sometimes the road to perfection is longer than usual..

[Saad]

Thank you MarcRF you are a very wise man.

[jaapv]

My Summilux 24 does the same. It has done so for a few years, but I am thinking of sending it in one day.

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[Taphouse Photography]

My 21mm 'Lux has this play too - I'm not too happy with it, but I can't give it the time off at the moment for service as I'm shooting weddings.