brand new Leica lenses not calibrated - how common?

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My brand new 50mm Summilux-M ASPH on an MP displayed very obvious back focusing (on film), so it does happen on film as well.

 

Indeed, as I said, it's less likely to be noticeable in most cases. I didn't say that it never happens.

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[jaapv]

The Summilux 50 asph appears to be the worst offender. But then, it has a very complicated and fiddly focussing mechanism. Mine backfocussed from new.

[ivohula]

I would not compare Leica quality control of 10 years ago with Lieca today.

 

I have bought 7 new Lieca lenses in past 2 years. My new 50Lux came with a 2mm speck of paint or dust inside, between the elements, and was returned. My new 135 Telyt was front focusing by about 2 meters and after consulting Leica service, they wanted both, the lens and M9 body sent to them for calibration. After 5 weeks, got it back and it is perfect.

 

I would agree that wide angle lenses are less trouble prone while longer and faster lenses are more so due to DOF inherent in their design. I would test, test and tst some more each new lens before critical use.

[glenerrolrd]

Normally its the body that requires calibration . Keep in mind that a CRF relies on both the body and lens being within specifications to produce accuracy in focus . Sometimes the tolerances can offset each other (camera slightly front focuses and the lens slightly back focuses creating an illusion of both being "spot on " . However sometimes tolerances can work against you ...body slightly back and lens slightly back ..."focus is way back" . Now factor in that the RF maybe skewed so that it front focuses near and back focus far or the other way around . (the longer the lens the easier it is to see this ).

 

The newer digital bodies are calibrated to tighter tolerances than say the original M8 or the film bodies were . So it depends on age of the camera . Fortunately film is much more tolerant to calibration ..so you have some margin for error .

 

The lenses do tend to have a bias for calibration within what Leica considers "in specification " . The summiluxes and the noctilux are much more likely to back focus than front . As pointed out the 75 summicron often front focuses. Of course slight calibration errors are more apparent on the longer lenses than on the wide angles . Now factor in that some lens designs are prone to focus shifts as you stop down .

 

None of this matters much if you are new to RF photography as "your "ability to focus accurately will be the limiting factor . Every experienced RF photographer will tell you it takes some warm up period to get the feel for the process . It requires hand eye coordination to establish a decent "hit ratio" . Don t expect to be nailing focus shooting wide open on your first trip.

 

You do not appear positioned for success..if you are new to RF photography and have new previous unused equipment . You need to start using the camera asap and burn a few test rolls that can provide feedback . The summicrons are a safer bet on calibration 28/35/50 have been generally easier to calibrate in the middle of the tolerance range . Do not attempt the 50 summilux asph . However I have found the new 35 SLX FLE to be excellent and have heard no complaints . (Its also IMHO the very best single lens solution for a M) .

 

This can be very frustrating as you determine "is it the equipment or me " . With that said you have to start somewhere ....so the sooner you acquire a lens and can begin testing the better . Temper your expectations and devote some time to getting both the technique and equipment fine tuned. Its worth once you do.

[Borge H]

The best advice is to travel with equipment which you are familiar with. New lenses can be new problems.

 

I agree with the comment above that the present Leica quality control of lenses is perhaps not the same as before. To buy new lenses and go on a trip is not a good idea.

 

The last 12 months I have bought two brand new M lenses to my M9. A 2.8/28 mm Elmarit and a 2/50 mm Summicron. The 28 mm arrived with a loose front-ring out of the box. That is the ring with the name of the lens and the serial number. It gave me an interesting view inside the lens! I returned it the same day and got a new one which is OK.

 

The 50 Summicron has now too much play in the built in sun-shade. The sun-shade and the filter ring can be moved too much (millimeters) side-ways and the aperture ring is also very easily changed. I have contacted Leica in Solms, and they say that I should send in the lens and the camera for adjustment. But I use my camera and the lens is still functional, so I am not sure what to do. Perhaps I only send in the lens, while I am satisfied with the focus adjustment.

 

Do you have any suggestions? Is this problem common with all new Summicron 50 mm or is my lens a lemon? Should I accept the play? All my older Leica lenses, about 7 of them, seems to be better built.

[TomB_tx]

The 50 Summicron has now too much play in the built in sun-shade. The sun-shade and the filter ring can be moved too much (millimeters) side-ways and the aperture ring is also very easily changed... Is this problem common with all new Summicron 50 mm or is my lens a lemon? Should I accept the play? All my older Leica lenses, about 7 of them, seems to be better built.

I just bought a 50 Summicron this month. I have no issues with it. The sunshade is aligns well and is reasonably solid when fully extended or retracted. The design necessarily has some clearance on the sliding parts, so it can be "wiggled" when part way out, but that was common to all my old Leica R (Leicaflex) lenses with similar hoods.

Not sure what you describe as the "filter ring" - as the filters screw into the lens barrel that retains the optical elements, and it is rigid. Do you mean a filter attached that is loose?

The aperture ring on the Summicron is precise, but does have a light-touch on the click-stops. That seems to be the intended design, as some lens comparison reviews have commented that it is lighter than most lenses.

I also have a Zeiss Planar 50, which has much firmer aperture stops, but the focus helicoid moves too easily, and is not as well damped as the Summicron.

I much prefer the mechanics of the Summicron. After all, the aperture click stops are much firmer than my 1948 Summitar. (which has no click stops)

[Borge H]

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I just bought a 50 Summicron this month. I have no issues with it. The sunshade is aligns well and is reasonably solid when fully extended or retracted. The design necessarily has some clearance on the sliding parts, so it can be "wiggled" when part way out, but that was common to all my old Leica R (Leicaflex) lenses with similar hoods.

Not sure what you describe as the "filter ring" - as the filters screw into the lens barrel that retains the optical elements, and it is rigid. Do you mean a filter attached that is loose?

The aperture ring on the Summicron is precise, but does have a light-touch on the click-stops. That seems to be the intended design, as some lens comparison reviews have commented that it is lighter than most lenses.

I also have a Zeiss Planar 50, which has much firmer aperture stops, but the focus helicoid moves too easily, and is not as well damped as the Summicron.

I much prefer the mechanics of the Summicron. After all, the aperture click stops are much firmer than my 1948 Summitar. (which has no click stops)

 

Thank you TomB_tx for your input. I like this Forum very much, where you almost directly hear other users experiences.

 

About my lens, I mean that the thread for the filter also wiggles together with the sun-shade. It looks like these two parts of the lens is loose. I guess that the filter thread, which is a ring, cylinder or barrel (which is a better word - English is not my native language!), should be firmly attached to the lens as you describe yours is. But mine is not. With the sun-shade in inner position (not extracted) I can move my UV-filter about 1 mm forward and back, although it is firmly attached to the lens. When I move the filter, the sun-shade also moves.

 

I guess I noticed this because I always use a UV-filter. Perhaps with no filter on it is difficult to observe. My wife thinks I am too much of a perfectionist and that I should not bother with this. Perhaps I will take the filter off and forget about it.

[Malvolio]

As we speak I am now being sent a third brand new copy of a 28 Cron because of significant back focus issues in the first two samples I was sent. I know for a fact that my M9 is perfectly calibrated and my other lenses (50 Planar/35 Cron and 21SEM) all focus perfectly.

 

The first two samples were ok at short distances but became progressively worse when attempting to focus beyond 5 m to infinity.

 

As an aside, both samples were very close in serial number so I can only infer that perhaps it was a batch issue with those two samples.

 

I was quite disappointed in an obvious QC issue but I have to commend the dealer and Leica here in Oz doing the right thing. Hopefully I will be third time lucky..