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Leica Summilux-TL 35mm f/1.4 ASPH

Mr10Percent
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Mr10Percent

Mr10Percent

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I see a number of official Leica Dealers are advertising the Leica Summilux-TL 35mm f/1.4 ASPH for sale/release in March 2016.

 

Sampling a number of Dealer web pages, the RSP is indicating somewhere around £1350.00 per unit.

 

I would suggest this on the face of it appears to be extraordinary value of money for a Summilux lens or is it simply too good to be true?

 

Discuss.

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Guest

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I agree.  I initially thought it'd be $1k more expensive.  That said, this does seem like a good "Leica value".

 

However,  if you think about it - spending $2K on a "normal" 50mm (equiv) lens for APS - even with a 1.4 aperture is very steep.

 

It's Leica though, and the build and image quality will be very high.   That said, I suppose spending $2 grand on an autofocus 50mm (equiv) Summilux is a great deal!

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gbealnz

gbealnz

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It will be nice to see what this lens looks like in the flesh, and on the camera.

My pet hobby-horse right now is the seemingly growing size, so I won't bang on about it too much.

The sizes listed by the Miami Leica store are 70mm diameter by 77mm length, no hood (forget about the hood for this comparison).

My stunning 35mm lens benchmark so far is the Fuji XF35mm and it is 65mm diameter by 55mm length.

Not much difference in "fatness" but quite a bit in length.

I wonder why?

Gary

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TheHobbit

TheHobbit

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It will be nice to see what this lens looks like in the flesh, and on the camera.

My pet hobby-horse right now is the seemingly growing size, so I won't bang on about it too much.

The sizes listed by the Miami Leica store are 70mm diameter by 77mm length, no hood (forget about the hood for this comparison).

My stunning 35mm lens benchmark so far is the Fuji XF35mm and it is 65mm diameter by 55mm length.

Not much difference in "fatness" but quite a bit in length.

I wonder why?

Gary

 

More lenses in the build up perhaps? 12 lenses in 8 groups vs 8 lenses in 6 groups in the Fuji. 

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earleygallery

earleygallery

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Remember it's a crop lens so will be less expensive than an equivalent FF lens. Also, the T lenses are made for Leica by a third party, in the far east, so lower cost to produce. Finally, the T lenses (so far) rely on digital correction for things such as distortion, which are more expensive to correct purely by optical design. 

 

All of these factors help Leica produce 'lower cost' products, although still an expensive lens compared to other marques. 

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Guest

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Remember it's a crop lens so will be less expensive than an equivalent FF lens. Also, the T lenses are made for Leica by a third party, in the far east, so lower cost to produce. Finally, the T lenses (so far) rely on digital correction for things such as distortion, which are more expensive to correct purely by optical design. 

 

All of these factors help Leica produce 'lower cost' products, although still an expensive lens compared to other marques. 

Good points. I wonder who the manufacturer is, Ricoh?

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can-photo

can-photo

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Well, it doesn't matter, I don't think anyone knows for sure anyway.

 

It proved that it had high optical quality, high mechanical standards and excellent built quality, and should continue to do the same with the new lenses.

 

It will be nice to see what this lens looks like in the flesh, and on the camera.

My pet hobby-horse right now is the seemingly growing size, so I won't bang on about it too much.

The sizes listed by the Miami Leica store are 70mm diameter by 77mm length, no hood (forget about the hood for this comparison).

My stunning 35mm lens benchmark so far is the Fuji XF35mm and it is 65mm diameter by 55mm length.

Not much difference in "fatness" but quite a bit in length.

I wonder why?

Gary

 

 

Gary, my guess would be the high aperture affected the size following optical physics rules, but I am not a physicist  so not sure :)

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gbealnz

gbealnz

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Well, it doesn't matter, I don't think anyone knows for sure anyway.

 

It proved that it had high optical quality, high mechanical standards and excellent built quality, and should continue to do the same with the new lenses.

 

 

 

Gary, my guess would be the high aperture affected the size following optical physics rules, but I am not a physicist  so not sure :)

Can.

And that is the very reason I ask, as Fuji can do it with ease, same focal lenngth, same maximum aperture. And smaller, more managable size.

Gary

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jdlaing

jdlaing

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What does "crop lens" mean for this particular lens?

 

Apart from offering 1.4 aperture vs 2.0, and being bulkier, how else might it differ from the T-23mm lens?

It differs from the 23mm in the fact that it is a narrower field of view with an equivalent of somewhere around 52mm on a T body. The 23mm has an equivalent field of view of approx. 35mm. It is also a faster lens with a 1.4 aperture.

 

Crop lens means it will only project an image on a portion of a full frame 35mm sensor. Or completely cover an APSC sensor on the case of the T.

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Guest

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Yes and the coming 60mm lens will complete the standard Leica set (35mm/50mm/90mm) - the 23mm takes lovely images, I am hoping the 35mm and 60mm are not going to be much bulkier, I guess they will be heavier. 

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I came across this recent blog post (10/30/15) at Red dot forum (David Farkas) http://www.reddotforum.com/content/2015/10/new-tl-lenses-coming-soon/

 

This, to me, says it all about investing in the T system and TL lenses...

 

"Head optics designer Peter Karbe shared with me that with starting with the T, and now TL lenses, Leica is designing for higher resolving power. Internally, they are now testing for up to 60 lp/mm, rather than the old standard of 40 lp/mm. In other words, these lenses should have a very long life, even if and when Leica decides to up the sensor resolution in a future T or SL body. He and the rest of the optical team are very proud of the T/TL lenses and says to expect even more developments in the future." (Thank you David)

 

This is great news for T owners investing in T & TL glass. With their excellent build quality - these lenses should have a long useful life - and maybe even become "better with age" if Leica also introduces a "T2" with improved sensor resolution and low light performance.

 

I think Leica might have been surprised by the market place's obsessive focus on sensor size - clamoring for full frame sensors and somewhat dismissing APS. Seems that Leica has been telegraphing to us that, with their superior optics, full-frame isn't necessary for high IQ. Maybe that's what they meant by "Mini M"...

 

In any case, I put my name on the waiting list for both new lenses - and I can't wait!

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earleygallery

earleygallery

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Accordingly with Stefan Daniel (Leica Director of Product Management), ensens for T system are NOT made by Panasonic which is not involved at all.

These lensens are assembled in Japan as he said. :)

 

Leica have collaborated with Panasonic on AF systems for the SL (and S?) so it seems odd that Panasonic wouldn't be involved 'at all' with the T.......

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