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35mm Summilux ASPH FLE Love/Hate


colint544

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I'm a Leica nut. Never happier than when I'm out and about, shooting with either my M Monochrom, M2, M4, or M5.

 

I've had two dealings with the factory. First time was when I needed my 28mm Summicron mk1 repaired (service was first class, reasonably priced, and the lens came back like new). Second time was when I dropped my M Monochrom mk 1 onto a concrete pavement. The rangefinder was knocked out of alignment, but otherwise everything worked. I had my trusty 35mm Summaron F2.8 on the camera at the time, and that didn't have a mark on it. That's one tough camera/lens combination. Not only did Leica pay for postage both ways, but they re-aligned the rangefinder, fully serviced the camera, and replaced the sensor with the new corrosion-resistant version. All for free. The camera was years out of warranty. That gesture by the company has made me a customer for life.

 

It's just this 35mm Summilux FLE...

 

I love and hate this lens. It's fabulous on the M Monochrom, and even better on a film M. Compact, fast, sharp. Extremely useful. You can do anything with it. It could be the single lens that I take when travelling.

 

And yet...

 

I bought it new. I'm not a wealthy guy. The only reason I could afford my Leica gear was because a newspaper gave me a staff job. They provided me with brand new Canon bodies and lenses. After six months, I sold all the Nikon gear I had amassed over the years as a freelancer. I was surprised how much it all went for on eBay. But it got me some nice Leica gear. Thank you, eBay.

 

My 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE had a distinctive rattle, straight out of the box. The aperture ring spun freely back and forth, scarcely a hint of a detent. I looked this up on the forum. I learned that these characteristics are normal. So it didn't bother me, especially because optically it's an incredible lens.

 

Recently the focus ring developed a millimetre or so of play. I put up with it. Then, a few weeks ago, that suddenly, went up to about five millimetres of play. Made the lens pretty hard to use. And now, it won't focus anywhere near infinity. The barrel kind of jams at about 15 feet. I don't want to force it. But I have looked after this lens, it hasn't been bumped or dropped. It cost more than my car. A lot more.

 

Leica have been good to me so I'll suck it up. When I have the money, I'll send it in and pay what it costs to have it fixed. It's too good a lens to have sitting around unused. Meanwhile, I have the 35mm Summaron F2.8. My copy was made in 1960. It operates with incredible precision. It's razor sharp. The focus tab is made of metal, not plastic. It's like a piece of art, a thing to remind you of how good manufacturing can be.

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm a Leica nut. Never happier than when I'm out and about, shooting with either my M Monochrom, M2, M4, or M5.

 

I've had two dealings with the factory. First time was when I needed my 28mm Summicron mk1 repaired (service was first class, reasonably priced, and the lens came back like new). Second time was when I dropped my M Monochrom mk 1 onto a concrete pavement. The rangefinder was knocked out of alignment, but otherwise everything worked. I had my trusty 35mm Summaron F2.8 on the camera at the time, and that didn't have a mark on it. That's one tough camera/lens combination. Not only did Leica pay for postage both ways, but they re-aligned the rangefinder, fully serviced the camera, and replaced the sensor with the new corrosion-resistant version. All for free. The camera was years out of warranty. That gesture by the company has made me a customer for life.

 

It's just this 35mm Summilux FLE...

 

I love and hate this lens. It's fabulous on the M Monochrom, and even better on a film M. Compact, fast, sharp. Extremely useful. You can do anything with it. It could be the single lens that I take when travelling.

 

And yet...

 

I bought it new. I'm not a wealthy guy. The only reason I could afford my Leica gear was because a newspaper gave me a staff job. They provided me with brand new Canon bodies and lenses. After six months, I sold all the Nikon gear I had amassed over the years as a freelancer. I was surprised how much it all went for on eBay. But it got me some nice Leica gear. Thank you, eBay.

 

My 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE had a distinctive rattle, straight out of the box. The aperture ring spun freely back and forth, scarcely a hint of a detent. I looked this up on the forum. I learned that these characteristics are normal. So it didn't bother me, especially because optically it's an incredible lens.

 

Recently the focus ring developed a millimetre or so of play. I put up with it. Then, a few weeks ago, that suddenly, went up to about five millimetres of play. Made the lens pretty hard to use. And now, it won't focus anywhere near infinity. The barrel kind of jams at about 15 feet. I don't want to force it. But I have looked after this lens, it hasn't been bumped or dropped. It cost more than my car. A lot more.

 

Leica have been good to me so I'll suck it up. When I have the money, I'll send it in and pay what it costs to have it fixed. It's too good a lens to have sitting around unused. Meanwhile, I have the 35mm Summaron F2.8. My copy was made in 1960. It operates with incredible precision. It's razor sharp. The focus tab is made of metal, not plastic. It's like a piece of art, a thing to remind you of how good manufacturing can be.

 

I'm a Leica nut. Never happier than when I'm out and about, shooting with either my M Monochrom, M2, M4, or M5.

 

I've had two dealings with the factory. First time was when I needed my 28mm Summicron mk1 repaired (service was first class, reasonably priced, and the lens came back like new). Second time was when I dropped my M Monochrom mk 1 onto a concrete pavement. The rangefinder was knocked out of alignment, but otherwise everything worked. I had my trusty 35mm Summaron F2.8 on the camera at the time, and that didn't have a mark on it. That's one tough camera/lens combination. Not only did Leica pay for postage both ways, but they re-aligned the rangefinder, fully serviced the camera, and replaced the sensor with the new corrosion-resistant version. All for free. The camera was years out of warranty. That gesture by the company has made me a customer for life.

 

It's just this 35mm Summilux FLE...

 

I love and hate this lens. It's fabulous on the M Monochrom, and even better on a film M. Compact, fast, sharp. Extremely useful. You can do anything with it. It could be the single lens that I take when travelling.

 

And yet...

 

I bought it new. I'm not a wealthy guy. The only reason I could afford my Leica gear was because a newspaper gave me a staff job. They provided me with brand new Canon bodies and lenses. After six months, I sold all the Nikon gear I had amassed over the years as a freelancer. I was surprised how much it all went for on eBay. But it got me some nice Leica gear. Thank you, eBay.

 

My 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE had a distinctive rattle, straight out of the box. The aperture ring spun freely back and forth, scarcely a hint of a detent. I looked this up on the forum. I learned that these characteristics are normal. So it didn't bother me, especially because optically it's an incredible lens.

 

Recently the focus ring developed a millimetre or so of play. I put up with it. Then, a few weeks ago, that suddenly, went up to about five millimetres of play. Made the lens pretty hard to use. And now, it won't focus anywhere near infinity. The barrel kind of jams at about 15 feet. I don't want to force it. But I have looked after this lens, it hasn't been bumped or dropped. It cost more than my car. A lot more.

 

Leica have been good to me so I'll suck it up. When I have the money, I'll send it in and pay what it costs to have it fixed. It's too good a lens to have sitting around unused. Meanwhile, I have the 35mm Summaron F2.8. My copy was made in 1960. It operates with incredible precision. It's razor sharp. The focus tab is made of metal, not plastic. It's like a piece of art, a thing to remind you of how good manufacturing can be.

Hello colint544,

 

You may say you'r "not a wealthy guy",let me tell you are IMO but not only a very talented man (NB.in Rome "talent" was a money unit) I do like your pictures. Get that 35 Lux FLE fixed and feast our eyes.

 

Sincerly

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Colin hello,

 

You are not alone, mine too had a very loose aperture ring when new accompanied by a light rattle when shook. 

I returned within warranty as every time I focused my finger would brush against the aperture ring and alter my setting.  Very frustrating to discover it after having taken the picture.

All good on its return!

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Colin hello,

 

You are not alone, mine too had a very loose aperture ring when new accompanied by a light rattle when shook. 

I returned within warranty as every time I focused my finger would brush against the aperture ring and alter my setting.  Very frustrating to discover it after having taken the picture.

All good on its return!

 

Thank you. Yes, it's always good that such things can at least be remedied.

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I had a 28mm Summicron that inexplicably started to fall apart in a way not dissimilar to your description, Colin. It suddenly developed a lot of play in the lens barrel (not at the front as seems common with the 28/F2). Leica were good enough to service it for free (though I seem to recall they had adjusted it for back focus a couple of years previously and I made clear that I thought that work may have been a factor in the later "falling apart" :D ). In my experience, if you politely explain that the product has fallen short of the kind of workmanship you expect at this level, Leica will usually do the right thing, even well outside the warranty period. There is also the Sale of Goods Act which, according to some interpretations, can be invoked up to 6 years after purchase to compel the retailer to put right inherent manufacturing defects. Failing all this, it may be that the cost of servicing this lens isn't going to be as bad as you fear. Although it seems like the lens is failing catastrophically, it might be a relatively straightforward repair and the cost may not be prohibitive. Of course, the moon might be made of cheese too. :D

Edited by wattsy
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I may be wrong but it sounds as though its simply that something has loosened internally (there are some very small screws which should have been 'loctited' in place when the lens was built but they may not have been or insufficiently). I'd ship it to Leica and explain how their service has been exemplary in the past and that the lens has not been maltreated. If you are a pro photographer you can probably get Leica 'pro' status which is in my experience the best available bar none! (I've pm'd you about this).

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Thanks for your replies, guys. I suppose a lens is just a manufactured thing, made of metal and glass glued and bolted together. I'm sure the overall design of this particular lens is sound, it's just that there's a lot of precision engineering, possibly more so than in the earlier, simpler Leica lenses. You can get a copy that someone failed to tighten something up properly, or something was missed, or whatever.

 

I'll just need to get it sent off.

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

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I've had mine about 6 years now, though it hasn't had intensive use since I got a 28mm. I've just checked: the aperture ring turns freely but with clear detents and with only a slight amount of play and no rattle. Focus still stiffish and smooth.

Free-turning aperture rings seems to be how Leica likes to make them, but there seem to be plenty of reports of 'free' being a bit too free.

Edited by LocalHero1953
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I've had mine about 6 years now, though it hasn't had intensive use since I got a 28mm. I've just checked: the aperture ring turns freely but with clear detents and with only a slight amount of play and no rattle. Focus still stiffish and smooth.

Free-turning aperture rings seems to be how Leica likes to make them, but there seem to be plenty of reports of 'free' being a bit too free.

 

Yes, the freely-spinning aperture ring seems to be the modern way with Leica lenses. My 2010 vintage 28mm Summicron has this to some degree, but there is enough damping, and the clicks feel very positive. There's a quality feel when you move the aperture ring back and forth.

 

The 35mm Summilux is from 2011, same as yours, but there is virtually no detent, and even a little lateral movement too. It feels cheap, loose, and not especially high-quality when you move the focus ring back and forth. So easy to inadvertently alter the aperture setting. It was like this from brand new. I don't think it's nitpicking or fussy to notice such details on a lens which cost not far from £4000.

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Like this? It's quite common and an easy fix. This guy made his own tool. When it happened to me I sent it off to leica.

 

 

Mine rattled (it's a normal trait and had no bearing on the lens at all) and Leica fixed this for me - not sure what they did.

 

I would say your aperture ring is abnormal and in need of a look, maybe related to the wobble, My aperture ring is perfect (IMO).

 

It's a Love/Love lens for me, one of my all time favourites.

Edited by Paul J
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I have about the same experience as you, the focusing ring got stuck and had only like 5mm play. I was shocked, I’m thinking maybe because I stored it for long period in the drybox (I bought in 2011, use it few time with NEX-7, gave away the camera and never use it until 2015).

 

Long story short, I finally bought a Leica camera and use my precious lens to one its really belong, its native body. It had no issues at first but one day it got stuck with only like 5-10mm to play, but because I was thinking maybe it was stored for quite long time, the oil became dry, I tried keep moving the focusing tab with a bit of force, back and forth. Well I’m not suggest you do the same but in my case, the stuck became loose and I don’t know how the focusing ring went back to normal again, until now I have no issues whatsoever.

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  • 8 months later...

Update - just got my 35mm Summilux ASPH FLE back from Leica. Aperture ring detents now nice and firm, focus ring silky smooth with no play, and the rattle has been banished.

 

Feels like a new lens, and better than when I bought it new seven years ago. £322. Very happy!

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Yes the solidness of Leica from the time of the Summarons and the M4’s does not come back. Not even the amount of aperture blades that ensured a total round pupil comes back, although a little bit since the 90’s. So waiting for the repair of your FLE with the Summaron in your hands is a warm loss.

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oh my... my few months old 50mm lux black chrome has play over the focus ring.  Leica USA has screwed my M240 body once and I don't have confidence to try them again.  What should I do?

 

Changing hobby could be one option or try independent repairperson.

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