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New Summilux 35mm ASPH.

DFV

By DFV
in Customer Forum

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rosuna

rosuna

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I have been told by a dealer it will be "more expensive" than the current one. The current 35mm Summilux ASPH costs 3.300 euros (VAT included, official list price). I guess the new one may be between 3.500 and 4.000.

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Theodor Heinrichsohn

Theodor Heinrichsohn

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I have been told by a dealer it will be "more expensive" than the current one. The current 35mm Summilux ASPH costs 3.300 euros (VAT included, official list price). I guess the new one may be between 3.500 and 4.000.

 

Pure speculation, of course, but I tend to agree. I would be surprised if the new 35/1.4 would be priced at less than Euros 4000.-

With the price of the f 0.95 Noctilux a new ceiling for M lenses seems to have been established. They are being purchased immediately after availability, as are the 21 and 24mm aspherical f 1.4 lenses.

I have had the 24/1.4 and the 50/0.95 on my M9 for a few photos and would buy them if I had the extra loose change!

Teddy

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rosuna

rosuna

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The 35mm f/1.4 lens is a pivotal lens for the M system. It is a tool, a practical lens, just like a 50mm f/1.4. It shouldn't be too much more expensive than the current one. More than 4000 euros (say 4.500 or so) is too much for a 35mm lens and far, far more than the price of the Summicron ASPH 35mm.

 

I may be wrong, of course.

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UliWer

UliWer

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For speculations about what Leica will do in the future, I'd recommend to look at what they did in the past.

 

Unfortunately I have not the last price list for the 50 Summilux pre-Asph; I only have one from Oct. 2000 and one from Oct. 2004 with the new 50 lux asph.

 

In Oct. 2000 the pre Asph. 50 lux costs 1941,89€; in Oct. 2004 the new 50 lux asph costs 2250,-€.

At the same time the price of the 35 lux asph - without changes - went up from 2350,92€ to 2700€.

 

So the price for the 50 lux with new aspherical desgin was 15,86% higher than it's precedessor four years earlier, while the price increase for the unchanged 35-lux was 14,8%, which was about average for Leica lenses at this time.

 

I agree with Rosuna that Leica won't completely change the price relations for one of their core lenses in the catalogue. So my guess for a new price for a 35 lux asph would be maximum 5% more than now - just under 3500,-€, which is already very, very high. Only If we have a general price-increase for Leica lenses in April 2010 it may be higher than 3500,- € - and extremely expensive.

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luigi bertolotti

luigi bertolotti

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I agree on an around 5-7% increase over the cusrrent... another way to make some math speculation about is to look at the ratios Lux/Cron: for the 50 is +75% about, for the current 35 is + 47% ca. (but 35 cron is asph...) ... for the new Lux it cannot be +70% or so... and this bring to a range of +5 to +10% over the current lux 35.

Unless, of course they decide to "play hard" making it 1,2 (but in this case the name "Summilux" wouldn't fit...), or Apo-asph... :o

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novice9

novice9

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I was speaking to a very reputable lecia dealer today and he offered his opinion that the forthcoming 35 1.4 would offer better iq on an m9 than the current 35 1.4 because the new lens "is designed for digital and not film". Focus shift aside, is there any kernel of truth to this statement?

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ho_co

ho_co

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No and yes. Basically a meaningless statement designed to cover something he can't cover in depth, but defensible insofar as: It's a later design, so it should be better. Today most sales are of digital cameras, so it must be "designed for digital."

 

But specifically, the (current) 35/1.4 was "designed for film." When the plane sensor replaced three-dimensional film, Leica found that some of the lens's design features worked against it. (See the article on the topic in LFI a year or so ago.)

 

"Designed for digital" would include a more 'telecentric' ray path and quite probably a floating element (since the LFI article reported Leica saying 'if we were designing it today, we'd give it a floating element').

 

Meaningless statement on the face of it, but if pressed, I'm sure the dealer would nod knowingly and mumble through several ideas like these. (Just like me! :p )

 

 

I don't normally get into "what do you think it will cost?" discussions, but my guess is that with the floating element, and with the fact that they wouldn't be offering it if it weren't improved over its already stellar predecessor, the price will be more than just a few percent higher. Just my two cents' worth. ;)

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Ed_K

Ed_K

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May is what I heard from my dealer.

 

That would be good news for my friend .... he's getting his M9 this month, if the dealership keep their promise (fingers crossed) :o

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63strat

63strat

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My Los Angeles dealer told me this morning that we won't see it until September at Photokina. He said he just talked to Leica (the rep, I assume). In fact, he just got one of the current 35/1.4s in a shipment today. I hope he's wrong!

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lars_bergquist

lars_bergquist

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I wouldn't bet on an earlier date than photokina, either. The release will have to make a certain amount of splash. Just announcing on a weekday in March, "hey, we have a new Summilux!" won't make much of a splash, except in this permanently over-excited forum. Leica is not Canon.

 

The old man from the Introduction of the Collapsible Summicron ...

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