stunsworth Posted June 7, 2007 Share #21 Posted June 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) make you wonder what's next for the chop.... Don't know what's for the chop, but I'd say one of the 90s sould be top of my list. I don't see why Leica need an f2, f2.8 and f4 design in this focal length. Probably the one in the middle No sure why the 35mm Summicron is vunerable. I would have thought the 50mm f2.8 was more likely to be axed, and even that must be an outsider compared to the 90mm. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 7, 2007 Posted June 7, 2007 Hi stunsworth, Take a look here MATE discontinued. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
matt736 Posted June 7, 2007 Share #22 Posted June 7, 2007 Guy Yes the framelines do change when you switch it between 28-35-50, I was very lucky to buy a s/h E49 version that was 6 bit coded recently,the only expensive part was the hood £116.00 ,luckly my dealer gave me some discount, Cheers Matthew. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP3 Posted June 7, 2007 Share #23 Posted June 7, 2007 Just any glue on what new products are coming? No stock lens at factory. Lens and 6-bit mount back-ordered Current lens chopped Current R-models ceased No to mention IR-filter shippment deferred (this is frankly just outsourced) What exactly is Leica concentrating right now? Producing new M8 and back-ordered lens. Like s small bakery try hard to cater for a town!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted June 7, 2007 Share #24 Posted June 7, 2007 I'd imagine they are concentrating on building bodies and lenses and trying to reduce the coding backlog. They are a small company. They can't suddenly employ an extra 100 technicians, train them, and then fire them when demand goes back to 'normal' levels. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tourmie green Posted June 7, 2007 Share #25 Posted June 7, 2007 WATE - wide angle Tri- Elmar. MATE - mid angle Tri-Elmar. or should that be LATE MATE......r.i.p. My vote would go to another LATE. Large Aperture Tri-Elmar. How about 24-28-35/2.8 for film and m-ate,sorry M8.. - We "wate" with "bait"ed breath........ On a less playfull note,this forum deserves a triple michelin star for services beyond the call of duty - any suggestions for a Leica related gold star symbol? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted June 7, 2007 Share #26 Posted June 7, 2007 ...any suggestions for a Leica related gold star symbol? A gold red dot surely - if you see what I mean Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tashley Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share #27 Posted June 7, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) WATE - wide angle Tri- Elmar. MATE - mid angle Tri-Elmar. or should that be LATE MATE......r.i.p. My vote would go to another LATE. Large Aperture Tri-Elmar. How about 24-28-35/2.8 for film and m-ate,sorry M8.. - We "wate" with "bait"ed breath........ On a less playfull note,this forum deserves a triple michelin star for services beyond the call of duty - any suggestions for a Leica related gold star symbol? What about golden (or red) Z and X symbols for how long stuff takes to get made and delivered or fixed!? Z means 'in stock when I call or stroll in to my dealer (much coveted - and has actually happened to me several times) ZZ means a week or two while your dealer orders it or you find it on eBay (rare - if it's not in stock at your dealer, you're almost certainly in for the next two categories, and if it's not on eBay it probably won't be for ages and when it is might turn out to have been stolen) ZZZ means anything over four weeks for delivery or turnaround on repair (irritating but not sufficient penance for the die-hard who prefers the ultimate award which is...) XXX means you have to de-cobweb the rest of your gear when your item finally gets delivered. It also refers to the expletives deleted while you wated. Just a thought. ;-) Tim Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted June 7, 2007 Share #28 Posted June 7, 2007 I presume "at cost" means something like 30% off list price, given the talk about Leica not losing money on the 30% rebate lenses. This is still significantly more than a perfect second-hand copy, but could be a good deal for someone looking for a new copy. I wonder if the same disease is hitting the glass used in the Tri-Elmar as hit the Noctilux, ie. some ingredient got much more expensive, and the new price is too high to sustain? Or maybe the rumour is simply false. Leica doesn't often discontinue newer lenses, and this one is a technical marvel. Carten if the above is directed at my post then No I have no idea. What I was told was this photo shop has stopped carrying Leica gear and had a few items left. They were trying to move them AT the COST to them from Leica USA to recap there investment and clear out the Leica line. Now that may have changed since the overwhelming responce to the M8. But Asheville is a small town and there might not be a real Leica following there. I think the owner told me they had the M7 sitting on the self for a year and a half +. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted June 7, 2007 Share #29 Posted June 7, 2007 Frame lines don't change with this lens do they when you move to a different focal length Hi Guy Yes - they do, and each focal length is properly rreported in the exif. I love mine - great all-rounder. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted June 7, 2007 Share #30 Posted June 7, 2007 Someone just offered me to buy one too. No money right now Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Branch Posted June 7, 2007 Share #31 Posted June 7, 2007 .........Safe: WATE, 28/2.8, 28/2, 50/1.4, 75/2, Probably OK: 24/2.8, 50/2, 50/2.8, 90/2, 90/4, 135/3.4, Skating on Thin Ice?: 21/2.8, 35/1.4, 35/2, 50/1, 90/2.8 I think it depends on the time scale - in the medium to long term none of the current lenses is safe. However in my opinion Leica's future has to be to concentrate on being THE supplier of premium priced high performance optics. It is not a case of other brand lenses on Leica cameras but rather of Leica lenses on other bodies. This is the heart of the commercial battle ground. Leica are not going to give ground on coding and lens selection options unless and until they get the necessary arrangements in place to expand into that bigger market. Why on earth give away your bargaining position? Currently some of the M lenses are best of breed and have some life left - but - there is absolutely no need, (let alone technical feasibility), to put a bigger sensor in an M body so people will inevitably want to exploit the potential for smaller lenses that cover only the 18 X 27 format and/or lenses of the current size which give even better performance on the digital sensor. If I'm right with my thinking then the "vulnerable" lenses are the 21/2.8, 35/1.4, 35/2, 50/1, 50/2, 50/2.8, 90/2.8 and 90/4. They can’t chop both 35s so something is going to have to be sorted out but objectively the current 35s are just not as good as some of the other lenses – though they are perfectly adequate – and if 35 is the new “Standard” then a 35/2.8 looks to be almost essential. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eoin Posted June 7, 2007 Share #32 Posted June 7, 2007 ......the current 35s are just not as good as some of the other lenses – though they are perfectly adequate..... I would have thought that the current 35 Summilux Asph is amongst the best lenses leica produce now..... na! you must have had one of those back<->front focusing copies. Positively the 35 Summilux Asph is a stunning lens:p. Different lenses for film and digital, reminds me of EF and EF-S lenses, I'm all right, I'll keep my options open with lenses that do both very well now! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted June 7, 2007 Share #33 Posted June 7, 2007 Safe: WATE, 28/2.8, 28/2, 50/1.4, 75/2 Probably OK: 24/2.8, 50/2, 50/2.8, 90/2, 90/4, 135/3.4 Skating on Thin Ice? 21/2.8, 35/1.4, 35/2, 50/1, 90/2.8 My lists would look a little different: Safe: WATE, 24/2.8, 28/2, 28/2.8, 35/2, 50/1.4, 50/2, 50/2.8, 75/2, 90/2, 90/4 Don't know: 50/1, 90/2.8 Unsafe? 21/2.8, 35/1.4, 50/1, 135/3.4 Justification: I have never heard anything bad about the 24, the 35/2 is a little jewel with which only a few have had problems, the 50 Cron has already been analysed and found to be too expensive to update, the 50/2.8 is much loved, the 90/2 is sharp and wonderful, and the macro 90 likewise. The rest of the first line is without reproach. However, the 21 is known to have soft extreme corners wide open, the 35/1.4 is wonderful but Leica seems unable to guarantee that it focuses correct throughout the aperture range, the 50/1 is a little wild on the edge and needs to be replaced rather than terminated since it is a showcase lens, the 90/2.8 is not as sharp as the 90/2 (!), and the 135/3.4 cannot be focused reliably with the M8 but probably needs a redesign to bring it to f/2.8 with optional glasses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicaiste Posted June 7, 2007 Share #34 Posted June 7, 2007 According to this site http://www.summilux.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=13125 the reason is that the front lens glass of the TRI-ELMAR which was subcontracted is not available anymore. "Le sous-traitant pour la production de la lentille frontale, qui présente des spécifications pointues, aurait arrêté la production ... " Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Campbell Posted June 7, 2007 Share #35 Posted June 7, 2007 I must have gotten one of the last TEs - I bought it from Hong Kong a couple of months ago (there were none anywhere else that I could find). It was older stock in that it was uncoded - but it made the round trip to NJ surpisingly quickly. I like it very well - it's a useful range of focal lengths for the m8. The only issue that I have with it is that at 28 it has a bit more linear distortion than I'm used to in a Leica lens, but at least on the M8 it's simple (rather than mustache) distortion so it's easy to fix in PS in cases where it matters (I've made an action). Somewhere out there (perhaps Puts) it has been suggested that it is very expensive to produce, and that it may be that Leica doesn't make money on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
volkerhopf Posted June 8, 2007 Share #36 Posted June 8, 2007 Yes Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elopezso Posted June 8, 2007 Share #37 Posted June 8, 2007 I contacted Leica New Jersey today, to ask about whether Leica would be filling orders for those who ordered the Tri-Elmar months ago. The sales person at Leica New Jersey could only confirm that Leica would not be producing the lens anymore. Vicki said she'd send Leica Germany an email with my question, but since it took them a while to get back to her, asked me to call back next Monday. Will report on her answer next week. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfarkas Posted June 8, 2007 Share #38 Posted June 8, 2007 The 28-35-50 Tri-Elmar never sold in any great numbers. The reality is that Leica M shooters want fast glass. f/4 just doesn't cut it for most people. The Lux and Cron are King and Queen, sort to speak. From a resource standpoint, if you have a limited amount of resources to produce product, you should allocate a larger portion to what customers are demanding and waiting for. Maintaining tooling, machines, parts, and technicians to make anything else at this point wouldn't be the best use of those resources. By discontinuing slow selling items, Leica can focus on making more 75 f/2s, 90 f/2s, WATEs, etc. which are backorded for months. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a replacement. If anything new were to come along, I'd expect something along the lines of a 35 Elmarit-ASPH or a 15 Elmarit-ASPH. Affordable and easy-to-manufacture (relative to exotics) or fast, wide primes without compromise. Just my two cents. David Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elopezso Posted June 8, 2007 Share #39 Posted June 8, 2007 Maybe Guy or Sean can speak to one of their contacts and get us a quick answer on whether outstanding orders will be filled. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogopix Posted June 8, 2007 Share #40 Posted June 8, 2007 Hi David! Yes agree completely. Leica has just so much in resources, people and material, and they need to focus on the more important. All MATE owners, think this way- they will be rare, and more valuable! :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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