ALD Posted March 30, 2012 Share #1 Posted March 30, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just wondering if anybody knows when the 35mm summicron is due for an update. It's been since 1996 right? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 30, 2012 Posted March 30, 2012 Hi ALD, Take a look here Is there a new 35mm summicron coming soon?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lars_bergquist Posted March 30, 2012 Share #2 Posted March 30, 2012 And it is still a darn good lens, one of the very best. The corrsponding Summilux was updated, not because of overall image quality, but because it had specific problems related to its greater speed – focus shift and contrast fall-off at closest focus. Meanwhile, the 50mm Summicron has been around since 1979 and has problems with flare. Most of us expect to see a new version fairly soon. Of the rest of the M lineup, the 28mm Summicron and possibly the 35mm Summicron would profit from new mounts. But that is about all. We have seen an unexampled burst of optical creativity in the M line for the last two decades. Compare that to the 1980's, when NO new M lenses were introduced. It would be natural for the optical design department to turn their attention elsewhere for the present. There are the S lenses to consider, and the upcoming EVIL system will need optics too. LB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumu Posted March 30, 2012 Share #3 Posted March 30, 2012 I was on an conducted tour a few weeks ago in the factory in solms. They are very, very busy, especially in the optic department. I think, there is coming more in the m-system as well! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted March 30, 2012 Share #4 Posted March 30, 2012 Just wondering if anybody knows when the Summicron-M 35 mm is due for an update. It's been since 1996 right? No-one knows that, and those who know won't tell. The fact that a lens design is around for 15 years does not necessarily mean that was due for an update. The Summilux-M 75 mm, for example, was in production for 25 years. The Noctilux-M 50 mm 1:1 was around for 30 years. The pre-asph Summilux-M 50 mm was in production for more than 40 years. There are hints that we may expect a new Summicron-M 50 mm soon. But no hints towards a new Summicron-M 35 mm Asph yet. Which of course means nothing. ... and the upcoming EVIL system will need optics too. Strange how people are more than willing to take rumours for established facts. I think you don't see the forest for all the trees. I guess the lenses for the so-called "upcoming EVIL system" are already there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted March 30, 2012 Share #5 Posted March 30, 2012 And it is still a darn good lens, one of the very best. The corrsponding Summilux was updated, not because of overall image quality, but because it had specific problems related to its greater speed – focus shift and contrast fall-off at closest focus. Meanwhile, the 50mm Summicron has been around since 1979 and has problems with flare. Most of us expect to see a new version fairly soon. Of the rest of the M lineup, the 28mm Summicron and possibly the 35mm Summicron would profit from new mounts. But that is about all. We have seen an unexampled burst of optical creativity in the M line for the last two decades. Compare that to the 1980's, when NO new M lenses were introduced. It would be natural for the optical design department to turn their attention elsewhere for the present. There are the S lenses to consider, and the upcoming EVIL system will need optics too. LB Tell me more about your thinking on the 28mm and mounts ? I find my Summicron very good for focus accuracy ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 30, 2012 Share #6 Posted March 30, 2012 ... I guess the lenses for the so-called "upcominug EVIL system" are already there. If there is a new camera system, it will have autofocus and therefore have its proper line of lenses. Though I agree with you that this does not mean new optical designs and the present ones for the M will fit as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted March 30, 2012 Share #7 Posted March 30, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I see no compelling reason for an upgrade. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rramesh Posted March 30, 2012 Share #8 Posted March 30, 2012 It's much harder to improve something that is close to perfection. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted March 30, 2012 Share #9 Posted March 30, 2012 If there is a new camera system ... If. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted March 30, 2012 Share #10 Posted March 30, 2012 I can only see two reasons why a lens might be upgraded. Firstly, if it fails to meet the required optical standard required - not applicable in this case. Secondly, if an equally-as-good design is produced which allows for a lower-cost-to-produce replacement - I suspect that Leica have enough to do without trying to come up with such a design. So I personally doubt that the current 35mm Summicron will be replaced soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted March 30, 2012 Share #11 Posted March 30, 2012 Strange how people are more than willing to take rumours for established facts. I think you don't see the forest for all the trees. I guess the lenses for the so-called "upcoming EVIL system" are already there. A new 'mirrorless' camera with an electronic viewfinder would be a marketing and practical absurdity without autofocus. Do you really think that it will take manual M and R lenses only? Or that it will be compatible with S lenses? LB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted March 30, 2012 Share #12 Posted March 30, 2012 Tell me more about your thinking on the 28mm and mounts ? I find my Summicron very good for focus accuracy ? It is indeed. But there is a weakness in the mount, where the integrity of the front part with the rest is not the best. Leica's mount technology has developed very rapidly since the introduction of this lens, and a new version could benefit from this. The hood is also mildly absurd ("visible from outer space" as one poster expressed it). LB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 30, 2012 Share #13 Posted March 30, 2012 A new 'mirrorless' camera with an electronic viewfinder would be a marketing and practical absurdity without autofocus. Do you really think that it will take manual M and R lenses only? Or that it will be compatible with S lenses? LB The question was whether the Leica optical department had enough capacity for new M-lens-designs when a new system was on its way (... or rather if it was on its way...). Maybe a new system won't need new optical designs. I could well imagine AF-Summarits for a new system with the same optical design as the M-Summarits; or a new 50mm Summicron coming with the new AF-mechanics as well as with a traditional M mount. The new system should make sense for Leica production as well as for their customers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted March 30, 2012 Share #14 Posted March 30, 2012 I see no compelling reason for an upgrade. Neither do i. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted March 30, 2012 Share #15 Posted March 30, 2012 My sample, consistent with Sean Reid's review, exhibits some focus shift at f2.8 and f4, but as a practical matter, i.e., in prints, it is a non-issue. Erwin Puts notes that the 35 Summarit bests the Summicron in some respects (here), but nothing to lose sleep over. So. all in all, I also see no compelling need. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted March 31, 2012 Share #16 Posted March 31, 2012 Maybe a new system won't need new optical designs. I could well imagine AF-Summarits for a new system with the same optical design as the M-Summarits; or a new 50mm Summicron coming with the new AF-mechanics as well as with a traditional M mount. The new system should make sense for Leica production as well as for their customers. AF lenses are of necessity more bulky than manual ones. And then there's the matter of sensor size. Putting an optical system that covers 24x36mm into a AF mount, and then using it for a APS-C size sensor, would lead to an unecessarily clumsy product. If on the other hand Leica would regard the cropped sensor as an interim measure, like they did with the M8, then it looks different. But I don't think they will. There's no need to go for a cropped sensor now if you really don't want it – that hurdle is removed now. If they 'go cropped' it is for the long term. The file quality from a non-AA APS-C sensor is more than enough for the 99+% of Leica users who do not regularly print to meter size. Today, 24x26 is where medium format begins. So while it is possible or even probable that the new system lenses will be Summarits, in the sense that their speed will be 1:2.5, they will be new designs, I think. Maybe the 35 and 50mm Summarits are small enough to be lifted directly. And there must be one or two zooms, and where are they going to come from? So I don't think that there will be many new M lenses in the near future. Maybe not even a new 50mm Summicron. The old man from the Kodachrome Age Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted March 31, 2012 Share #17 Posted March 31, 2012 It is indeed. But there is a weakness in the mount, where the integrity of the front part with the rest is not the best. Leica's mount technology has developed very rapidly since the introduction of this lens, and a new version could benefit from this. The hood is also mildly absurd ("visible from outer space" as one poster expressed it). LB Maybe I watched too much star trek but I really like the 28mm summicron hood, I use on on my 35mm Summilux as well as the original looks odd to me as indeed the original 35mm aspherical used the same hood. I will buy a 12466 when one comes up secondhand, £315 for a hood is total ludicrousy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted March 31, 2012 Share #18 Posted March 31, 2012 Ludicrousity? Whatever it is, it is ridiculous. Ridiculouser and ridiculouser, said the Walrus. The old man f rom the Kodachrome Age Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted March 31, 2012 Share #19 Posted March 31, 2012 I think I merged ludicrous and lunacy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted March 31, 2012 Share #20 Posted March 31, 2012 AF lenses are of necessity more bulky than manual ones. And then there's the matter of sensor size. Putting an optical system that covers 24x36mm into a AF mount, and then using it for a APS-C size sensor, would lead to an unecessarily clumsy product. If on the other hand Leica would regard the cropped sensor as an interim measure, like they did with the M8, then it looks different. But I don't think they will. There's no need to go for a cropped sensor now if you really don't want it – that hurdle is removed now. That's right. Therefore: if there will be a new system, it won't have a "crop" sensor. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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