Winedemonium Posted February 15, 2015 Share #1 Posted February 15, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Many nice things were written about the 2.5 range, they have their fans and justifiably so. They didn't appeal to me in the way that the new range does. The new 35mm and 50mm in particular look very appealing aesthetically and ergonomically. The build quality seems to be a real step up from the 2.5s, and there are some lovely design details, like the metal lens caps that fit both the lens and the hood, that make them superior to some of the existing range. I have yet to see the lenses, and I have yet to read any comparative reviews. But I wondered if anyone on the forum has bought and is using any of the new range. How do they stack up? The 90mm, for example, has 16 years' worth of design time advantage over the 90mm Summicron ASPH (though the latter is a half stop faster and is APO), and the 35mm has 18 years' design time advantage over the 35mm Summicron, and both are ASPH. Leica position these Summarit lenses as the 'affordable' option, but I wonder if any in our Leica community actually prefer any of these new Summarits over any Summicron (or other) offerings? I look forward to seeing them in the flesh. Which Summarit 2.4 will you be most curious to try? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 15, 2015 Posted February 15, 2015 Hi Winedemonium, Take a look here Which of the new Summarit 2.4 lenses appeals to you?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Jeffry Abt Posted February 15, 2015 Share #2 Posted February 15, 2015 Good question. If I was new in the market for lenses, the 35mm the Summarit might be just the ticket. Then I would spend big bucks for the faster lenses going wide...possibly for the 24mm Lux. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenInTime Posted February 15, 2015 Share #3 Posted February 15, 2015 I think it's very telling that all the marketing of the M-A has been with the new 50mm Summarit. It looks like a very compact and well balanced combination - perhaps only bettered by the collapsible 50mm Elmar-M. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winedemonium Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share #4 Posted February 15, 2015 They do look well balanced, I agree. The APO-50 looks and feels well balanced on my black M-A (to my eyes and hands), but the 35 and 50 Summarit 2.4s, with their smart hoods and caps seem even more natural a combination. The collapsible Elmar 50s would also look just right, and be a great carrying combination. It is interesting that Leica is now conceding that the 35mm is ASPH (i.e. has been since the original 2.5 issue, apparently). I wonder if either the 75 or 90 2.4s are APO, but this has been hidden out of deference to the Crons. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Barnack Posted February 15, 2015 Share #5 Posted February 15, 2015 For me, it's the 35mm Summarit. I'm set in terms of 28mm, 50mm and 90mm; I don't feel a need for the 75mm/2.4 lens. I don't have a 35mm lens (an abomination, I know) so there's a place for the 35/2.4 in my lens line-up. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wattsy Posted February 15, 2015 Share #6 Posted February 15, 2015 The build quality seems to be a real step up from the 2.5s, and there are some lovely design details, like the metal lens caps that fit both the lens and the hood, that make them superior to some of the existing range. I have yet to see the lenses, and I have yet to read any comparative reviews. So you are just guessing really? The closer focussing limits of the new versions are welcome improvements, the larger lens barrels of the 35 and 50 isn't IMO (the latter just reinforces the long term trend towards bigger lenses which is the anthesis of what the M system started out as). I've had a couple of the existing range for years and they are very good. I'd be happy with any of the new range too (and might eventually buy the 90) but with the prices creeping out towards Summicron territory I don't think these lenses are an automatic choice. For example, I'd rather buy a used 35 Summicron than the 35 Summarit, even if the latter has "18 years' design time advantage". 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winedemonium Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share #7 Posted February 15, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) So you are just guessing really? The closer focussing limits of the new versions are welcome improvements, the larger lens barrels of the 35 and 50 isn't IMO (the latter just reinforces the long term trend towards bigger lenses which is the anthesis of what the M system started out as). I've had a couple of the existing range for years and they are very good. I'd be happy with any of the new range too (and might eventually buy the 90) but with the prices creeping out towards Summicron territory I don't think these lenses are an automatic choice. For example, I'd rather buy a used 35 Summicron than the 35 Summarit, even if the latter has "18 years' design time advantage". Thanks Wattsy. Yes, just.... let's call it speculating. In some cases, the design evolution of Leica lenses are easy to see. Take the 28mm Elmarit ASPH for example. When the 28mm Summicron ASPH was introduced, it was a marvel in that it gained a stop over the previous 28mm Elmarit, yet wasn't bigger. Somehow - 6 or so years later - they managed to create a 28mm Elmarit ASPH that was absolutely tiny, with low distortion, and a very "good" price (in Leica-land!). So I am only - as you say - guessing regarding what Leica may have learned and put into the Summarits. Given the 35mm Summicron (1996) and 90mm Summicron (1998) are now relatively "old" for the current range, let alone the 50mm Summicron (1979), perhaps there are enhancements in the Summarits that make them worth looking at on their merits (rather than simply "budget") - and not just size, but optics. Just surmising. At the moment, there is good discounting on the Summicron range, and perhaps as the 2.4s are a new release, it will be a will before they settle into line price wise. But, as I said, I haven't seen them, haven't used them, haven't seen reports on them. So... wondering what L Camera Forum people are considering in this range and why... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted February 15, 2015 Share #8 Posted February 15, 2015 I prefer E39 lenses but the closer focus distance is appealing indeed. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colmac Posted February 15, 2015 Share #9 Posted February 15, 2015 Which Summarit 2.4 will you be most curious to try? You'll find more info in the October 2014 thread New Summarits. As far as I can see no Summarit images have been posted to date. Wonder why? Col 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted February 15, 2015 Share #10 Posted February 15, 2015 I would consider the 90 , though I think that in terms of image quality is difficult that it can beat my current Elmarit-M... but it is lighter, smaller, and even available in chrome as my Elmarit-M... : but I'm far to be sure I'd decide to switch. It's indeed curios that no images / field tests etc... seem to be on line as of today... maybe deliveries aren't yet stabilized... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winedemonium Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share #11 Posted February 15, 2015 I prefer E39 lenses but the closer focus distance is appealing indeed. I was thrilled when the APO-50 turned out to be E39. E46 seems to be the more common standard now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted February 15, 2015 Share #12 Posted February 15, 2015 No problem as long as you don't need effective lens hoods. The built-in or screw-in hoods of my E46 lenses are almost useless when a filter is on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colmac Posted February 15, 2015 Share #13 Posted February 15, 2015 (edited) Luigi, The Munich Leica Store didn't have a 35mm lens in stock when I visited in early January but offered to order one for me without any obligation to buy it. I replied, I just want to hold one in my hand and get a feel for it. Hopefully that will happen one of these days. Col Edited February 15, 2015 by colmac Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerkMillers Posted February 15, 2015 Share #14 Posted February 15, 2015 There is this thread about the new 1:2,4/75. http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m-lenses/361799-new-summarit-m-75-mm-f.html I will keep the new 75 Summarit it fills up the hole between 50 and 90 in my line-up. Focus is spot-on on my M-E, wide open it is very sharp and I like how it is rendering the images. I posted some full-size pictures on my flickr (as mentioned in the other thread). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted February 15, 2015 Share #15 Posted February 15, 2015 I had all the ASPH lenses at one time and sold them, prefer the Mandler-era one's, so none of the Summarits ever tempted me except for the 75 (when I had an M8) but I ended up going with a CV 75/2.5 instead. If I wanted another lens I would be looking in the used market not at new Summarits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
enboe Posted February 15, 2015 Share #16 Posted February 15, 2015 I would pick up a silver M-A and the 35/2.4 today, but the checkbook isn't quite ready after settling my 2014 tax bill. I hear they will be producing both for at least another month, so check back with me then. In unrelated news, I am taking out the 35/2.5 today and shooting meter-less to see if I would like the above referenced combination. A silver 35/2.4 on a silver M-A would be pretty, of course a black 50/2.4 on a black M-A might be nice too. And for another rambling, I saw the black chrome M-A at the Leica Gallery Los Angeles last Sunday. It's a very subdued camera without dot or script. The finish is somewhere between the black chrome of the early M7's, which do have a sheen to the finish, and the matte black of the Monochrom, perhaps closer to the Monochrom finish. I hope the finish is harder than that of the Monochrom which showed burnishing from the accompanying leather strap after only 4 days of use. I also saw the 35/2.4 in silver, a very nice external finish, but the internal lens cell did seem a little mismatched. I think it's the E46 size vs the prior generation's E39 that will take a little getting used to. So, if I had the $14K to blow, I would probably take the silver M-A/35 and black M-A/50 both. Back to reality and enjoying what I own. Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted February 15, 2015 Share #17 Posted February 15, 2015 Which Summarit-M 1:2.4 will you be most curious to try? None of then actually, becauseI tried all the 1:2.5 versions, and the new 1:2.4 are just the same optical designs. The only actual differences are the ergonomics (35 mm and 50 mm) and the minimum-focus distances (75 mm and 90 mm). If I'd be tempted to replace one of the 1:2.5 versions then it would be the 75 mm due to the shorter minimum-focus distance. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winedemonium Posted February 16, 2015 Author Share #18 Posted February 16, 2015 Good point 01af. It was after I posted this thread that I stumbled upon an article that explained that the optical formula hadn't changed - that the ASPH nature of the 35 was merely 'admitted', and that the drop from 2.5 to 2.4 was due to improved technical exactness / lower tolerances in production. I'm curious about the 90mm. If I was to write my "cake and eat it" spec wish list for a new 90mm, it would be a Summicron, APO, and ASPH like the current one, but focusing to 0.8m or 0.9m, and with FLE, with improved performance in the close focus to 2m range, and, say, 100g lighter than the current one. The f/2 is less important to me, so long as it is already superb at f/2.8 or so. So, maybe the 90mm Summarit is really what I'm after right now. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_w Posted February 23, 2015 Share #19 Posted February 23, 2015 For me the 90 would be the most tempting. I have the 90 'cron APO but because of its weight it hardly ever comes out. A lighter 90, better balanced on the camera, is quite appealing. It is strange, as others have remarked here, there are just no photos or reviews online so far. Maybe no-one thinks the new Summarits sufficiently different from the previous 2.5s. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Lowe Posted February 24, 2015 Share #20 Posted February 24, 2015 35... I just got a Nokton 35 1.2 II and want to get a small/light 35 as well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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