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Summilux-M 75mm – What can I expect?


evikne

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I have recently got my 75mm Summilux back from service because of back focusing. It is a bit better, but still far from perfect. At a distance of one meter, the focus is very good. But at three meters the focus is about 10 cm behind. And the back focusing increases even more at longer distances.

 

Is this a well known problem for this lens? Shouldn't it be possible to get a better result, or is a visoflex the only safe alternative for accurate focus?

 

I will mainly use this lens wide open. Would it be easier to calibrate it for f/1.4 only, instad of all apertures? 

 

Do I have to pay for another service if I am not satisfied?

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Sorry to hear this - my 75 Lux does not have any focus issues. It is a little hard to focus wide open due to the shallow DOF. But the focus as such is fine. I also not aware this is a specific issue of this lens. What service has done the work on the lense ?

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I sent my M246 along with my 75Summilux and a couple of other lenses together to DAG for calibration. I had only been using the 75 with the EVF but wanted to use it with just the range finder. After calibration, focus is great without using the EVF. You may want to send in your camera with it to have it checked also. I have since sent in other lenses for calibration (without the camera) and they have come back fine also. My camera was apparently a bit off originally, which wasn't obvious with more forgiving lenses. I feel liberated without having to rely on the EVF!

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Is this a well known problem for this lens? Shouldn't it be possible to get a better result, or is a visoflex the only safe alternative for accurate focus?

Mine came back fine - send it back and request recalibration.

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I have owned four 75 Summilux over the years and found it to be quite variable from copy to copy. This is probably the most important point to have in mind--  some M lens specifications are more variable than others, it seems.

 

The lens I have kept easily lives up to all of the hype about endless mystical capabilities, :), so I would try again with yours, given that you aim to use its special qualities (@f/1.4).

 

--But at three meters the focus is about 10 cm behind. And the back focusing increases even more at longer distances.--

 

Clearly, something, or somethings, are not adjusted correctly. Leica Customer Service Wetzlar is quite good now, I have found, and surely represents the best option for a full diagnosis and adjustment of your lens. You can contact them directly.

 

If your Norwegian importer actually sent the lens to Leica CS, it will have come back with a signed certificate with Leica logos all over it. If you have that certificate, Leica will certainly service it again without charge. If you do not have that certificate, then you might want to look your importer directly in the eyes......

 

best of luck

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Just to avoid misunderstandings, i presume your in focus and out of focus pictures were all shot at f/1.4 right? If so this is not normal at all. This lens has indeed a bit of focus shift around f/4-f/5.6 which means that focusing at f/1.4 may lead to softer results when stopping down to f/4 or f/5.6 w/o focus adjustment but this is not your problem if i understand well. Looks like your lens and/or rangefinder needs some calibration. 

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I bought this lens because of its legendary bokeh. And I have seen that my copy has the «magic» inside when I have nailed the focus (by focusing a bit nearer than the rangefinder suggests. So I will give it another try. 

 

It came back with a signed certificate, so I hope they will service it again without charge (and I hope I don’t have to wait another three months). 

 

I love Leica because of the rangefinder, so using an EVF for this lens wouldn’t really be an alternative.

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Just to avoid misunderstandings, i presume your in focus and out of focus pictures were all shot at f/1.4 right?

 

Yes, all pictures with all lenses were shot at f/1.4.

Edited by evikne
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Which body do you have?

 

I had a 75 lux on my M9 but sold it as it was impossible to focus. Regretted it afterwards ans re-bought a 75 lux for my M10. With the M10 the 75 lux is a joy and much easier to focus. I don't use EVF, only the rangefinder.

 

Regards,

Arne

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Your 75/1.4 should be serviced for free normally but Leica may advise you to send in your M10 and other lenses as well. Otherwise lenses like 75/1.4 or 90/2 are tricky to focus with rangefinders given their shallow DoF and lesser forgiveness of digital. I use more my 75/1.4 with mirrorless than rangefinder bodies now i must say as i don't have to focus bracket anymore and closeups where DoF is ultra thin are much easier. Matter of tastes anyway B)

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I sent my late production German copy in for calibration and 6 bit coding when I bought it a few years ago.

No focus problems, beautiful lens.

 

It is said the camera and lens should not need to be calibrated together as they are both calibrated to a standard. However, I would have thought that if the lens is on one end of the ‘acceptable’ calibration scale, and your camera at the other then that may be adding to the problem. However, it would not be the first time that a lens has to go back to Leica for calibration as they didn’t get it right the first time.

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  • 2 months later...

Yesterday I got my 75 mm Summilux back from service for the second time, with no improvement at all. Of course very disappointing! The lens back focuses exactly as much as it did when I delivered it, about 10 cm at 2–3 meters – a normal portrait distance.

 

In the meantime I’ve also got a new lens, a Noctilux f/1.0, which I can focus wide open with millimeter precision at any distance. My two other lenses focuses perfectly as well. So my camera cannot be the problem.

 

But how is it possible that Leica don’t see this obvious flaw? In the submission form I also asked if they could loosen the focus ring i bit. When I got it back, they answered that this unfortunately wasn’t possible. The focusing problem wasn’t mentioned at all. Could they possibly have overlooked this whole issue and sent it back without any changes? I didn’t get a new, signed test certificate this time.

Edited by evikne
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Could they possibly have overlooked this whole issue and sent it back without any changes?

 

Yes!

Was it serviced in Germany?  If so, contact customer service. I've  sent you a pm re contact name and details

 

Regards,

Mark

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