new Summilux 35mm [ Merged ]

[wattsy]

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Sail boat, convertible, A. Lange & Son watch, BMW or Harley, take your pick - quality ain't cheap, never has been. It all depends on what a person wants and values. I suppose.

 

I wasn't complaining - I was responding to Wilfredo's "obscene" comment.

 

I think the quoted price is exactly as predicted. More than I personally would want to spend on a 35mm lens but I'm sure it is a lens to last a lifetime (or until Leica bring out a 'version 3' Summilux ASPH;)).

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[bill]

I've bought three Leica lenses new over the years - a 50mm Elmar-M, a 90mm Elmarit and a 135mm f4.0. All the others I have bought secondhand. I have no desire for this lens and certainly have better things to do with the money, but equally I have no problem with the price per se. Quality costs.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[el.nino]

What about the Focus Lever?

Puts mentions that it's gone in the new lens, but on the images it is clearly visible.

 

"In the slimming process the focusing level has been dropped. This is a pity as the finger shaped lever was practical for fast focusing. Now you have to grip the mount with at least two fingers and while moving the ring you might accidentally change the aperture ring."

[horosu]

I noticed this, too.

 

I, for one, would love to get rid of the focusing tab. The 50 Summilux ASPH LHSA has none and it is a pleasure to use.

 

What about the Focus Lever?

Puts mentions that it's gone in the new lens, but on the images it is clearly visible.

 

"In the slimming process the focusing level has been dropped. This is a pity as the finger shaped lever was practical for fast focusing. Now you have to grip the mount with at least two fingers and while moving the ring you might accidentally change the aperture ring."

[yanidel]

Based on specs, first impressions by E. Puts and some pictures, my first take is :

- a bit higher contrast -> a little bother, I find the contrast on the current one is just perfect.

- no focusing tab -> big bother. Indeed I often set focus on my lens without looking at it just by feeling the position of the tab.

- optical formula same as current one, I assume bokeh and rendering will be very similar which is great news. The few images shown so far seems to validate this.

 

So all in all, the focus shift fix would be the only practical reason to upgrade if I shot a lot in the F2.8-F5.6 apertures and in the 1 to 4 meters range. Not my case though, mainly F1.4-2.0 or directly F8.

 

All in all, another masterpiece by Leica, no doubt about that. But no sufficient added value and a big drawback (focusing lever) to justifiy doubling my investment in my 35mm Lux asph. With some practice the focus shift issue can be worked around. Focus on your subject than slightly move the tab to the left. The amount of compensation becomes second nature after a while.

Anyway, I really find E. Puts conclusion to be spot on whether to upgrade or not.

[UliWer]

...

- no focusing tab -> big bother. Indeed I often set focus on my lens without looking at it just by feeling the position of the tab.

- ...

 

Well, we have Puts' statement, who should have had one example in his hands and we have the photo from the Leica Homepage which clearly shows a focussing tab on the right side:

Leica Camera AG - Fotografie - NEU: LEICA SUMMILUX-M 1:1.4/35mm ASPH.

 

So either the photo on the Leica site is a fake, or Mr. Puts had a preproduction example which irregularly had no focussing tab.

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Hi

 

Too much conjecture, try some more...:

 

- Leica may have needed a new design cause some of the glass may have been withdrawn by the glass manufacturers, that would kill the old design

- The designer can tell how much focus shift he is going to get before the lens is ground and assembled, from spot diagrams, there does not seem to be a statement about shift, or have I missed it?

- Ewrin probably had a pre-production sample, open the box before you pay if you need the focus lever

- Will the new lens have less flare and veiling flare?

 

Noel

 

.

.

[wlaidlaw]

Wot - no chrome???

 

Wilson

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[lars_bergquist]

Wot - no chrome???

 

Wilson

Leica have their hands full -- more than full, in fact -- with getting lenses and cameras into the hands of buyers. Cosmetic niceties should come later. During the last decades in fact, chrome has always come later, when it has come. In this case, I do not doubt that it willl come.

 

But it is the inside of the lens that takes the pictures.

 

The old man from the Brass Age

[lct]

What about the Focus Lever? Puts mentions that it's gone in the new lens...

How could he use the lens then? There is no groove on the focus ring and there is a focus tab of course.

See: http://us.leica-camera.com/assets/file/download.php?filename=file_4839.pdf

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[menos I M6]

Wot - no chrome???

 

Wilson

 

My Leica dealer of choice has about 4 − 6 chrome second hand 35 Lux ASPH constantly in display.

 

I beg him for weeks now, to get me a nice second hand B.L.A.C.K. sample.

Now, that the new one is official, I wait until a nice "old" black one shows up - preferably coded and boxed for a nice bargain, as some people might "upgrade" (or is it side grade?).

 

I like the old hood design better than the thread with cosmetic ring thingy.

Often, I just snap off or on the plastic hoods, depending on mood of the minute, while I prefer, to use the lenses without hood for compactness.

[wlaidlaw]

My Leica dealer of choice has about 4 − 6 chrome second hand 35 Lux ASPH constantly in display.

 

I beg him for weeks now, to get me a nice second hand B.L.A.C.K. sample.

Now, that the new one is official, I wait until a nice "old" black one shows up - preferably coded and boxed for a nice bargain, as some people might "upgrade" (or is it side grade?).

 

I like the old hood design better than the thread with cosmetic ring thingy.

Often, I just snap off or on the plastic hoods, depending on mood of the minute, while I prefer, to use the lenses without hood for compactness.

 

There is a considerable number of people who believe, maybe due to microscopic dimensional differences and the fact that brass is much easier to machine to exact specifications than aluminium, that there are fewer issues with the brass/chrome lenses than the anodised black aluminium model. It may be that with lower production (the last chrome 35 Luxes were made in autumn 2006 i.e pre-M8) and fewer pressures, they were also made more carefully than recent 35 Luxes. If you set them up with just a tiny amount of front focus wide open and have one of the 35 Luxes that does not aperture shift too much, then they are a very satisfying lens. If Erwin is correct, then the marginal advantage of the new 35 Lux could be more than made up for by a small improvement in my photography. I think I will hang on to my September 2006 Chrome 35 Lux and put the money towards a 28 Lux, which I hope will come soon.

 

Wilson

[Guest AgXlove]

Silver Halide--

Do you sometimes need more speed? Do you sometimes want a somewhat narrower angle?

 

Personally, I prefer the 28's field of view to that of the 35. If you haven't been lusting after the predecessor of the 35 Summilux FLE (as Puts calls it), don't worry about the new iteration. The new one is the same as the previous version except for the floating group, which improves near performance and reduces focus shift. IOW, this is the 1994 lens improved. And the 1994 version was already and still among the best of Leica's lenses, as is your 28.

Thanks for your thoughts, ho_co.

 

I don't exactly long for a more narrow field of view - my 50s give me that. In fact, sometimes I find the 50mm FoV restrictive - it seems cramped, compared to the 28. I guess I have shot with the 28 so much that I have come to "see" in that FOV.

 

An additional stop of speed never hurts - although I'm not dying for it. If I need speed, I mount the noctilux and find ways to compose with the more narrow 50mm FoV.

 

Still, a fast and wide lens has an attraction - maybe keeping the 28/2 and adding the 21/1.4 or 24/1.4 as a companion to it would be a better way to go.

 

For me, a big part of the attraction of an optic that is faster and wider than the 28/2 is the more shallow depth of field and the increased bokeh.

[nunnzzzz]

I have a brand new 35mm cron....Would anyone be tempted to sell the Cron for the new Lux?

[adli]

I have a brand new 35mm cron....Would anyone be tempted to sell the Cron for the new Lux?

 

This gives one-stop-shopping a complete new meaning

[Guest Lotw]

When I read Puts' review I would make a guess that the S'cron 28 has better flare reduction than the FLE 35

[Bo_Lorentzen]

When I read Puts' review I would make a guess that the S'cron 28 has better flare reduction than the FLE 35

 

What a surprise, a smaller piece of glass creating less scattered (flare) light.?

 

.

[Chuck Albertson]

Erwin Puts on the new lens:

 

SX35FLE, part1

 

R.

 

OK, what are "current mono-dispersal emulsions"?

 

Name three.

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[jonoslack]

OK, what are "current mono-dispersal emulsions"?

 

Name three.

 

I can name eight ........ But I don't like to show off

[hoppyman]

Does this "small step bottom center" mean that the new 35 lux hood will not tend to unscrew like it does on the 24 lux ? The 24 lux is a great lens but the hood seems to need a piece of black gaffers tape to keep it from unscrewing slightly.

 

I have the Elmar M 24 but have not handled the Summilux 24 at all. The part number for the new 35's hood is the same as that of my Elmar M. Obviously the lens diameter must be identical. I would think that Leica Camera have chosen that hood as it intrudes little into the viefinder image in use. On my lens there is a tighter area in the thread at the end and then the small step engages against the corresponding step on the lens front to index the exact position. On mine the hood has never loosened or moved in my bag nor in use. The new lens has a neat thread protector that screws over the external thread if you are not using the hood. Personally I never remove the hoods at all in use except if I wanted to fit another filter perhaps (like the M Pol)