robofc Posted May 13, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted May 13, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Old price: $2295 New 50mm summicron $7195 Â Porsche 997 Carrera $ 79, 950 Porsche 991 Carrera $ 83,050 Â I put in this basis of comparison because the new model has an improved engine, suspension, interior, handling which eliminates understeer etc.. (although the introduction of electric steering is terribly unfortunate). Â So even though the new 50mm Summicron may be improved, it should be, just as Leica has steadily improved the sharpness of its lenses with each iteration, without tripling the price each time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 13, 2012 Posted May 13, 2012 Hi robofc, Take a look here What do you think of the price of the new 50mm Summicron?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
likalar Posted May 13, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted May 13, 2012 That's for real? Wow! Just testing the market, I bet. And if Leica sells them readily at or near that price, it will just illustrate how smart the company is. Will the current non-Asph 50 Summicron still be available? Â Larry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalArts 99 Posted May 13, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted May 13, 2012 The electric steering rack in the 991 makes it feel oddly disconnected and weird. Hopefully the new Summicron doesn't have electronic steering. At least Leica will offer both the new and 'old' Summicron. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
em9 Posted May 13, 2012 Share #4 Â Posted May 13, 2012 Oh who cares.... they probably produce only two of these babies per year and you'll be on a waiting list for 24.7 years, so in that 24.7 years you can easily save up for it... In the mean time you can stare at a photo of it, at the dealers, with next to it the text 'out-of-stock'... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjh Posted May 13, 2012 Share #5  Posted May 13, 2012 So even though the new 50mm Summicron may be improved, it should be, just as Leica has steadily improved the sharpness of its lenses with each iteration, without tripling the price each time. If you can find away to manufacture a lens with similar quality at a significantly lower price then Leica (or Zeiss etc.) would certainly be all ears.  From a consumer’s perspective you now have a choice. Get the Apo Summicron if you need the image quality it delivers and you can afford it, or get the regular Summicron if you don’t. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidbaddley Posted May 13, 2012 Share #6 Â Posted May 13, 2012 I bought my 50mm 'Cron in the early 90s for $800. new, which was the going rate at that time. Of course this was the era when all the gray-market mail-order dealers were trying to undercut each other, but it seems like it's now gone too far the other way. It's still one of the best lenses I have. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
el.nino Posted May 13, 2012 Share #7 Â Posted May 13, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Old price: $2295New 50mm summicron $7195 Â . Â Why "Old price"? The "old" one is still in production and won't be discontinued. So there are two Summicrons now and one is very expensive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydkugelmass Posted May 13, 2012 Share #8  Posted May 13, 2012 No idea, at least for now. Just waiting for some test and comparison.  Just one observation. I was willing to pay for the Lux 50 Asph. I could be interested in a Noct 0,95, too. I own a series II cron 50, even. What can I get from an HyperCron, more Hyper and more Cron than my Cron? At least considering what is obtainable, at full aperture, from the Lux versus the sII° Cron, with obvious preference for the first one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianv Posted May 13, 2012 Share #9 Â Posted May 13, 2012 I posted this on another forum. Â The Summicron is an apochromatic lens with aspherical optics, "extremely corrected" optics. I think $7K is a lot for an F2 lens in 2012. Â The Pentax 85/4.5 Ultra-Achromatic lens was $1400 in 1970. Also an "extremely corrected" optic. In 2012 dollars, more expensive than the Summicron. Â Bleeding Edge technology is expensive. Â Maybe I will hack the Pentax 85/4.5 onto a Canon 85/2 focus mount so I can use it on the M9. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earful Posted May 13, 2012 Share #10 Â Posted May 13, 2012 if i wanted it and had the money, i'd pay it. simple as that. unlikely leica will somehow decrease its price because people are unhappy with it or question it. when the lens does actually appear, there will be people who want it and can't get their hands on one who will then pay over list price new to obtain it. it happened with the summilux and the noctilux and will happen with this lens also. i hope it's a portent of the quality of the mm and the upcoming m10 (though i have doubts about a rangefinder with video; every person i've encountered who shoots video on a camera wants a camera that permits capturing while zooming). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted May 13, 2012 Share #11  Posted May 13, 2012 That's for real? Wow! Just testing the market, I bet. And if Leica sells them readily at or near that price, it will just illustrate how smart the company is. Will the current non-Asph 50 Summicron still be available?  Larry  I hear they will continue to sell the non-ASPH summicron  f1.4 is more important to me then a highly corrected f2 but thats just me  if i wanted it and had the money, i'd pay it. simple as that.  to be honest if I could afford the noctilux I would get that! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter H Posted May 13, 2012 Share #12 Â Posted May 13, 2012 I'm amazed that there are so many photographers who have such depth of talent and expertise as to render what were until a couple of days ago the world's best 50mm lenses inadequate, to the point of needing to be replaced at quite a considerable cost. Â In fact I wonder whether any photographer has ever said "that would have been a good photo were it not for the shortcomings of my 50mm Summilux ASPH. I wish there were a better lens available. I'd sacrifice a stop of speed and a few thousand of my favourite currency units for a lens that was up to my exacting standards, unlike this one." Â Or words to that effect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanJW Posted May 14, 2012 Share #13 Â Posted May 14, 2012 In fact I wonder whether any photographer has ever said "that would have been a good photo were it not for the shortcomings of my 50mm Summilux ASPH. I wish there were a better lens available. I'd sacrifice a stop of speed and a few thousand of my favourite currency units for a lens that was up to my exacting standards, unlike this one." Â Or words to that effect. Hurrah. I am sure that as Michael says this is a superb lens. But so is the 50mm Summilux. Will the new Summicron free me from my creative shackles? I have far too many defects as a photographer to be in a position to say the new Summicron will redeem me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted May 14, 2012 Share #14 Â Posted May 14, 2012 The price is justified for the lens, but maybe not for the photographer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted May 14, 2012 Share #15 Â Posted May 14, 2012 How come? Â Even if someone is not an exceptional photographer, that person could still appreciate differences how lenses draw images, lenses made over the last half century. Why not? Â All it takes is the cash to buy that thing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giordano Posted May 14, 2012 Share #16 Â Posted May 14, 2012 Even if someone is not an exceptional photographer, that person could still appreciate differences how lenses draw images, lenses made over the last half century. Why not? Â One reason is that there seems to be a big overlap among people here between those who gush about differences in "drawing" and those who complain that modern lenses are too "clinical" or "contrasty". Those characteristics are necessary consequences of a highly-corrected lens with an excellent modulation transfer function. And it looks as if the new Summicron's corrections and MTF put it in the top two or three lenses ever marketed for photographic use, and hence the most clinical and contrasty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyedward Posted May 14, 2012 Share #17 Â Posted May 14, 2012 The only similarity between the new summicron and the "old" one is the maximum aperture. Everything else is 100% different. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob139 Posted May 14, 2012 Share #18 Â Posted May 14, 2012 I am wondering why it's so over the top expensive. Is it the research and development? Is it the glass? Is it the time to put one together? Or is it prestige that sets the price? Â I applaud Leica for manufacturing a lens like this. But I will not buy it, I have a summilux ASPH! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
haroldp Posted May 14, 2012 Share #19 Â Posted May 14, 2012 It all depends on the mission. Â If I were shooting fashion for high end publication, and I thought that this lens with either M9 or the next generation of sensor resolution would allow me to replace medium format, then it would be worth it to me. Â For my current requirements, when I want extreme resolution on subjects that do not move very fast, (like mountains), I will shoot a multi-pane panorama. Â Complaining about the price is pointless, one either needs and can afford it or not. Â As long as Leica offers other choices, we can all choose to meet our needs. Â Just to be sure, I re-tested my asph summilux and latest non apo summicron, and they are almost as sharp as they were last week before this announcement. Â Regards... H Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spylaw4 Posted May 14, 2012 Share #20 Â Posted May 14, 2012 <snip>Just to be sure, I re-tested my asph summilux and latest non apo summicron, and they are almost as sharp as they were last week before this announcement. Â Regards... H Â Â That brightened my Monday morning! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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