35mm Lenses ??? . . . Or is it just my luck?

[d_brown]

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Is anyone else having trouble with backfocus on 35mm lenses? My 35 Lux is just terrible!

 

I sent it to NJ for adjustment and after a few weeks they sent it to Solms. They seem in no hurry to fix it and it looks like another two months before I get it back. So I bought a new 35mm Cron to use until the Lux returns, and guess what? It is almost as bad!

 

So I tried again. This time I bought ANOTHER 35 Lux. It backfocuses just as badly as the first one. The Luxes are amazingly sharp when the focus misalighment is compensated for (although hit and miss) and the 35 Cron is good, not spectacular, when focus is compensated for.

 

ONE MORE TRY! This time I got out my old 1963 Cron which I've had for 50 years. It focuses SPOT ON! and sharpness is better than I would expect! The color rendition is just short of terrible, but it is beautiful for B&W work.

 

You are probably thinking the new 35Mmm lenses are OK but my camera is out of spec and it happens to match my old 35 Cron which is also out of adjustment. I don't think so. The focus problem is the same on both my M8s. I have ALL the current lenses, from 21 to 90, and they are all either right on or very close. The only other lens that is out is my Nocti, but it is pretty close. I'll get it aligned when the 35mm problem is solved.

 

So what do you think? Does Leica have a problem with its 35mm alignment procedure or is it just me and my luck?

 

Regards to all and thank you for all the

useful information posted here!

 

Dale Brown

[Shootist]

I've had a new 35 Cron for about 2 weeks and it is spot on with my M8 and my M3's.

[tashley]

Is anyone else having trouble with backfocus on 35mm lenses? My 35 Lux is just terrible!

 

I sent it to NJ for adjustment and after a few weeks they sent it to Solms. They seem in no hurry to fix it and it looks like another two months before I get it back. So I bought a new 35mm Cron to use until the Lux returns, and guess what? It is almost as bad!

 

So I tried again. This time I bought ANOTHER 35 Lux. It backfocuses just as badly as the first one. The Luxes are amazingly sharp when the focus misalighment is compensated for (although hit and miss) and the 35 Cron is good, not spectacular, when focus is compensated for.

 

ONE MORE TRY! This time I got out my old 1963 Cron which I've had for 50 years. It focuses SPOT ON! and sharpness is better than I would expect! The color rendition is just short of terrible, but it is beautiful for B&W work.

 

You are probably thinking the new 35Mmm lenses are OK but my camera is out of spec and it happens to match my old 35 Cron which is also out of adjustment. I don't think so. The focus problem is the same on both my M8s. I have ALL the current lenses, from 21 to 90, and they are all either right on or very close. The only other lens that is out is my Nocti, but it is pretty close. I'll get it aligned when the 35mm problem is solved.

 

So what do you think? Does Leica have a problem with its 35mm alignment procedure or is it just me and my luck?

 

Regards to all and thank you for all the

useful information posted here!

 

Dale Brown

 

 

I used my new 30% discount 35 lux on my recent Venice trip and lost shots on the first day as it slowly became clear that it had backfocus issues. It was hard to diagnose at first because it would sometimes show up as a soft centre but sharp edges, which turned out to be due to the edges being further away and therefore in focus!

 

I tested it with the ruler technique and found that wide open it was bang on, but it then progressively backfocussed to a worst of around 7cm by f8. Bummer! I sent it back to Solms for replacement last week and they say they should be able to ship a new one within a week...

 

Hope yours gets fixed

 

Tim

[farnz]

I got out my old 1963 Cron which I've had for 50 years.

Crikey, is it 2013 already?? Where does the time go? Who won the 2012 Olympics?

[tom0511]

My 35lux frontfocuses a tiny little bit (it frontfocused more and I sent it in for calibration, better afterwards), my 35pre-asph is spot on

[R.Costello]

Dale

 

I have a new (two weeks) 35 Lux and it seems to be working just perfectly. Bought it from B&H and it was a fresh bunch they had just got in. Yesterday after reading some posts about focus problems I did some careful checks with my images and they all looked just fine. The only problems are me getting the focus wrong. :-) I am new to Rangefinders and Leica - and am very happy with the M8, 50 Lux and 35 Lux. Waiting for he IR Filters and firmware upgrade like everyone else.

 

Richard Costello

[carstenw]

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Is anyone else having trouble with backfocus on 35mm lenses? My 35 Lux is just terrible!

 

I don't think it is a 35 Lux problem as such. I have the same problem with my 50 Lux and M8, both of which already got sent in once, and still managed to return unable to focus properly at near distances. I think Leica's infrastructure is simply over-stressed at the moment, and we need to back off a bit, and wait for the load to level out again, and then send the stuff back for adjustment. Leica is still a small company.

[R.Costello]

I don't think it is a 35 Lux problem as such. I have the same problem with my 50 Lux and M8, both of which already got sent in once, and still managed to return unable to focus properly at near distances. I think Leica's infrastructure is simply over-stressed at the moment, and we need to back off a bit, and wait for the load to level out again, and then send the stuff back for adjustment. Leica is still a small company.

 

I would agree that Leica has it's hands full at this time and patience is prudent at this time.

 

Richard Costello

[wattsy]

My 35 'lux ASPH has the same problem that Tim reports. It is okay at F1.4 but goes increasingly out of whack (back focus) as you stop down. Leica UK checked it out using their testing equipment and quickly concluded that all was not well. They have sent it back to Solms.