Why not new Summarit pancakes from Leica?

[lct]

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There you go with "bulky" again. Just talk to Carduelis and he can tell you about bulky.

I don't know who Carduelis is but i do know what is a small lens thank you. The Summarit 35/2.5 is more bulky than both Summicron 40/2 and Summicron 35/2 v4 for instance. Same for the current Summicron 50/2 vs the previous 50/2 v4. Let alone the Summilux 35/1.4 pre-asph which looks like a dwarf compared to later versions. Want another examples?

[Ruhayat]

I don't know who Carduelis is but i do know what is a small lens thank you. The Summarit 35/2.5 is more bulky than both Summicron 40/2 and Summicron 35/2 v4 for instance. Same for the current Summicron 50/2 vs the previous 50/2 v4. Let alone the Summilux 35/1.4 pre-asph which looks like a dwarf compared to later versions. Want another examples?

 

I think he meant to say that M lenses are more compact than the Canon 5D + EOS lenses that Carduelis switched from. Unfortunately, following on from that line of argument, the M platform is no longer the most compact system of them all, as micro Four Thirds has more or less taken over that role, with a line of superb 24-28-35-40mm pancakes.

 

In fact, the GF1 with 20mm/1.7 I'll be taking along as backup and for video is smaller than even the M7 + 35mm Color Skopar. When I stick the Color Skopar on to the GF1, I can get an extremely compact 70mm lens kit. So really, on m4/3 we can now go from 24mm all the way to 70mm at an appreciably smaller size than the M, which used to be one of the main reasons why people chose rangefinders over SLRs.

 

Leica today seems hellbent on offering the highest quality possible. After all: "You want us to design the second best quality that we can?" is a valid argument. But I still think there is a niche for compact M lenses from Leica that is not necessarily the best of the best, but better than comparable offerings from CV.

[Ruhayat]

Of course, on the CV side we have a good line of pancakes, including f1.4 lenses. But while I am a fan of their compactness and price, I'm not so fond of their rendition. Hence, my original musing. Isn't there a niche for pancakes from Leica? I think there is.

[lct]

Well having myself a 5D and a bunch of Leica R lenses i can understand what bigger lenses can be, although the latter are still less bulky than their Zeiss counterparts for instance. But some tiny lenses like the Skopar 21/4 are no slouch at all compared to Leica lenses and demonstrate what Leica could have made if they were interested by size the same way as they used to be 30 or 40 years ago.

[Carduelis]

I think the perception of bulkiness relates to past experiences. I have been so accustomed to using a Canon 5D and a 24-105 lens that the 35 mm Summarit lens seems relatively small and compact and not bulky from my perspective.

[Ruhayat]

Well having myself a 5D and a bunch of Leica R lenses i can understand what bigger lenses can be, although the latter are still less bulky than their Zeiss counterparts for instance. But some tiny lenses like the Skopar 21/4 are no slouch at all compared to Leica lenses and demonstrate what Leica could have made if they were interested by size the same way as they used to be 30 or 40 years ago.

 

As a relative newcomer to Leica (my first Leica was only the Digilux 2, about 5 years or so ago), I tend to agree. Leica used to be about a compact, high quality system. Somewhere along the line it morphed into the best lenses bar none. Which is a fine goal, to be sure, and probably necessary as a key differentiating factor, what with CV lens IQ nipping at their heels. But I'm still in it for the compact form factor, as I want a camera that I will always have with me.

[bill]

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... But I'm still in it for the compact form factor, as I want a camera that I will always have with me.

 

Same here. It also seems to me that there are many here who equate - conflate, in fact - absolute quality with absolute speed... Surely the new Summicron has disproved that - or perhaps members of that group are now to be found huddled in corners, rocking gently back and forth and muttering "I don't UNDERSTAND..."

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[Ruhayat]

Same here. It also seems to me that there are many here who equate - conflate, in fact - absolute quality with absolute speed... Surely the new Summicron has disproved that - or perhaps members of that group are now to be found huddled in corners, rocking gently back and forth and muttering "I don't UNDERSTAND..."

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

I hope so, too. Hopefully the plateau of absolute quality is already being reached and only very, very minimal improvements can be eked out from here on. Maybe then Leica will return to making compact, high quality lenses.

 

Well, at least until newer technology enables the next quantum leap in lens quality to be made. Or increased sensor density forces them to create ultra-high MTF lenses. And then we'll be back to chasing that last ounce of resolution again. Which is fine for landscape and architecture perfectionists but is not really necessary for people and event shooters like me.

[Carduelis]

Besides having good quality pancake lenses for compactness and optical performance (preferably made by Leica), I think consideration also should be given to reducing the size/weight of the body as well. Can the M series cameras that take interchangeable lenses be made much smaller?

[lct]

Leica don't seem to be interested in "having a Coca-Cola can in front of a small camera body". Leica's new interchangeable lens camera system unlikely to be introduced in 2012 - British Journal of Photography

[Carduelis]

Leica don't seem to be interested in "having a Coca-Cola can in front of a small camera body". Leica's new interchangeable lens camera system unlikely to be introduced in 2012 - British Journal of Photography

 

I can understand what they mean when I have seen illustrations of thinnish Sony Nex cameras with biggish lenses on them. At the other end of the spectrum, I thought the little Perar lens looked a bit out of place on the M9 (earlier illustration). Perhaps Leica ought to bring out an intermediary interchangeable lens compact camera that sits in between the X2 and the M series ones.