50mm Black Chrome Edition - APO-Summicron vs Summilux

[pedaes]

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9 minutes ago, evikne said:

In addition,

Yep - they all seem to be set up that way when built. It can all be adjusted 'out' if you need.

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[Pixeleater]

On 12/3/2020 at 4:40 PM, evikne said:

My experience is the opposite, which is perhaps a little unusual. I have had three standard 50mm Summilux ASPH with quite nice aperture rings, while the one on my  BC is a bit loose and sloppy. The scalloped focus ring, however, is fantastic.

This. Beautifully dampened and like silk when turned. The BC aperture ring does exhibit a slight looseness and is this side of sloppy.  I dislike the BC hood whereas the incorporated hood on my standard 50mm lux ASPH is sweet.

[evikne]

37 minutes ago, Pixeleater said:

This. Beautifully dampened and like silk when turned. The BC aperture ring does exhibit a slight looseness and is this side of sloppy.  I dislike the BC hood whereas the incorporated hood on my standard 50mm lux ASPH is sweet.

That's the way I feel it too. I have had both versions, and my dilemma is that I very much prefer the focus ring on the BC Lux, but the hood on the regular Lux. 

I even prefer the aperture ring on the regular version, but this may be due to individual differences.

[ELAN]

On 12/8/2020 at 9:20 PM, evikne said:

Thanks. I just checked my BC Lux now, and each aperture stop are well enough defined, but it still feels a little sloppy, because on every click I can turn the aperture ring a tiny bit extra in each direction (less than a millimeter). In addition, I can lift the entire aperture ring a tiny bit in all directions (up, down, right, left), as if it's a little too big for the lens barrel (still talking about very small margins). But I find both all these extra movements, and also the faint, metallic sound they make, a little annoying. I also hear that sound when I put the camera down on the table. Isn't this normal behavior for BC lenses? Am I perhaps too demanding?

My BC is nothing like what you describe, but I know what you mean, some of my aluminum lenses are like that.  On my BC lux the aperture ring sits tight and stop-clicks don’t wiggle (except a little beyond f/1.4) - I really like that about this lens. You should have yours fixed. 

[jakontil]

My APO BC aparture ring makes a slight noise @1.4, moved very slightly but wont worry too much compared to my lux bc

all because the apo BC used more regularly than the lux bc in my case

[evikne]

My Summilux BC was sent in for service a month ago. The store I delivered to said it looked just fine, but I insisted they should forward it to Leica for a check.

[Fedro]

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6 hours ago, jakontil said:

My APO BC aparture ring makes a slight noise @1.4, moved very slightly but wont worry too much compared to my lux bc

all because the apo BC used more regularly than the lux bc in my case

how does your apo BC go to 1.4?

[evikne]

On 12/10/2020 at 11:32 AM, ELAN said:

My BC is nothing like what you describe, but I know what you mean, some of my aluminum lenses are like that.  On my BC lux the aperture ring sits tight and stop-clicks don’t wiggle (except a little beyond f/1.4) - I really like that about this lens. You should have yours fixed. 

Today I got back my 50mm Summilux BC from service, and I am a little disappointed. The two months of waiting feels wasted. When I sent it, it was completely clean, now it's full of dust and I see no change at all with the aperture ring. No repair certificate or words from Leica shows that they have even touched it. And despite the guarantee, I still had to pay for the shipment between my local dealer and Leica. 

This is a very different experience from my previous repair, where they actually did more than I asked for. My old 35mm Summilux v.2 looked like it had got a complete re-paint and appeared brand new.

[T25UFO]

1 hour ago, evikne said:

Today I got back my 50mm Summilux BC from service, and I am a little disappointed. The two months of waiting feels wasted. When I sent it, it was completely clean, now it's full of dust and I see no change at all with the aperture ring. No repair certificate or words from Leica shows that they have even touched it. And despite the guarantee, I still had to pay for the shipment between my local dealer and Leica. 

This is a very different experience from my previous repair, where they actually did more than I asked for. My old 35mm Summilux v.2 looked like it had got a complete re-paint and appeared brand new.

That's not good.  Did it go back to Wetzlar?

I had a 50mm Summilux BC and it was fine - aperture settings tight with no movement.  I sold it when buying the 50mm APO Summicron BC and that is equally good.  Can be no excuses with a lens at this price point.

[evikne]

13 minutes ago, T25UFO said:

That's not good.  Did it go back to Wetzlar?

I had a 50mm Summilux BC and it was fine - aperture settings tight with no movement.  I sold it when buying the 50mm APO Summicron BC and that is equally good.  Can be no excuses with a lens at this price point.

I don't want to send it back again, so I will just keep it as it is. My local store didn't send it directly to Germany, but to a workshop in my country that should forward it to Germany. I almost suspect that the lens never was sent to Germany at all, because it didn't return in the ordinary repair box that I always get from Leica, and the packaging seemed very amateurish. The Norwegian workshop told me there was no need for any adjustments, so maybe they just kept it there for two months and sent it back to me.

[Ecar]

1 hour ago, evikne said:

I almost suspect that the lens never was sent to Germany at all, because it didn't return in the ordinary repair box that I always get from Leica, and the packaging seemed very amateurish. The Norwegian workshop told me there was no need for any adjustments, so maybe they just kept it there for two months and sent it back to me.

I'm afraid you are likely right... I'd call CS in Wetzlar and be honest about it. They should know if they had the lens in their hands. If they didn't, send it directly (and have a conversation with your dealer...)

[farnz]

On 1/13/2021 at 9:46 AM, Fedro said:

how does your apo BC go to 1.4?

According to Peter Karbe the 50/1.4 Summilux-M asph ('standard' lens) has always been an APO lens but wasn't labelled as such.  Since the 50/1.4 Summilux-M asph BC is the same optical formula as the 50/1.4 Summilux asph then it is APO too. 🙂

Pete.

[Danner]

12 hours ago, evikne said:

Today I got back my 50mm Summilux BC from service, and I am a little disappointed. The two months of waiting feels wasted. When I sent it, it was completely clean, now it's full of dust and I see no change at all with the aperture ring. No repair certificate or words from Leica shows that they have even touched it. And despite the guarantee, I still had to pay for the shipment between my local dealer and Leica. 

This is a very different experience from my previous repair, where they actually did more than I asked for. My old 35mm Summilux v.2 looked like it had got a complete re-paint and appeared brand new.

If it came back dirtier than when sent in, I would be more than disappointed.  I feel you on the repair that din't really fix anything.  I sent in a Bronica lens with a tight aperture ring recently, it was "cleaned" and came back about as stiff as when sent in.  Waste of money, and time.

[Fedro]

6 hours ago, farnz said:

According to Peter Karbe the 50/1.4 Summilux-M asph ('standard' lens) has always been an APO lens but wasn't labelled as such.  Since the 50/1.4 Summilux-M asph BC is the same optical formula as the 50/1.4 Summilux asph then it is APO too. 🙂

Pete.

right you are Pete, but I think he was comparing to his Lux BC so I took it he meant cron in this case. Anyways it is all for good fun

Fedro

[evikne]

5 hours ago, Danner said:

If it came back dirtier than when sent in, I would be more than disappointed.  I feel you on the repair that din't really fix anything.  I sent in a Bronica lens with a tight aperture ring recently, it was "cleaned" and came back about as stiff as when sent in.  Waste of money, and time.

Yes, I cleaned it carefully with a damp q-tip before I sent it, but now it looks as if it has been left unprotected on a shelf in a dirty warehouse all the time. There is a lot of dust between all the ribbed and knurled parts. This is certainly not what I'm used to from Leica.

[Stein K S]

16 hours ago, evikne said:

I don't want to send it back again, so I will just keep it as it is. My local store didn't send it directly to Germany, but to a workshop in my country that should forward it to Germany. I almost suspect that the lens never was sent to Germany at all, because it didn't return in the ordinary repair box that I always get from Leica, and the packaging seemed very amateurish. The Norwegian workshop told me there was no need for any adjustments, so maybe they just kept it there for two months and sent it back to me.

Hi

I do not like what I hear at all! If they are the guys I think they are, I would really challenge them! I have experience of very little Leica ¨dedication¨ and close to no Leica competence in that ¨handling agent office¨ (am I right?)! The idea of checking with Wetzlar would be very tempting!

[evikne]

1 hour ago, Stein K S said:

Hi

I do not like what I hear at all! If they are the guys I think they are, I would really challenge them! I have experience of very little Leica ¨dedication¨ and close to no Leica competence in that ¨handling agent office¨ (am I right?)! The idea of checking with Wetzlar would be very tempting!

Yes, and now I remember one more thing: The Norwegian intermediaries always send me a message when they receive repaired cameras and lenses from Leica and that they will forward it to the store, where I can pick it up in a few days. But that did not happen this time. I only got a message when it arrived at the store. So I don't think this lens has ever been in the hands of Leica.

Edit:

I have now sent an e-mail to Leica customer service. It will be exciting to see the answer.

Edited March 3, 2021 by evikne

[evikne]

I received a very quick and interesting response from Leica:

–––––––––––––––––––––

"Dear Mr. Vikne,

Thank you for your mail.
We never received your device at all as there is no repair record registered in our system. For repair, I recommend contacting Fotocare in Oslo.
They are our direct contact in Norway and really reliable.

…

Mit freundlichen Grüßen / kind regards

Liberty Seria
Customer Care Representative"

–––––––––––––––––––––––

So the Norwegian workshop has just fooled me. They never forwarded the lens and additionally charged me for nothing. I will of course never use them anymore for my Leica repairs. 

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Hallo,

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[wizard]

Am 13.1.2021 um 10:46 schrieb Fedro:

how does your apo BC go to 1.4?

All it takes is a little more determination and effort 🙂.

[Stein K S]

1 hour ago, evikne said:

I received a very quick and interesting response from Leica:

–––––––––––––––––––––

"Dear Mr. Vikne,

Thank you for your mail.
We never received your device at all as there is no repair record registered in our system. For repair, I recommend contacting Fotocare in Oslo.
They are our direct contact in Norway and really reliable.

…

Mit freundlichen Grüßen / kind regards

Liberty Seria
Customer Care Representative"

–––––––––––––––––––––––

So the Norwegian workshop has just fooled me. They never forwarded the lens and additionally charged me for nothing. I will of course never use them anymore for my Leica repairs. 

Hi and thanks a lot! Really disappointing!

Control question; what did you pay for this claimed repair?

 

Leica Store Oslo deserve to be notified as well...