Leica 35mm APO ASPH Waiting time [merged]

[Herr Barnack]

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The APO 35 Summicron is like a UFO - we can see pictures of them, we can hear tales of people who have supposedly seen them, but for some reason we never actually see them in real life - as in for sale at a Leica dealer. 

Why is that, and when will we at long last be able to actually order, buy and own a APO 35??  🙄

[vinicio]

I live in Italy. I  ordered it in March 7th and had in my bag mid April

[M11 for me]

Congratulations. That must be a great experience.

[RMF]

1 hour ago, Herr Barnack said:

The APO 35 Summicron is like a UFO - we can see pictures of them, we can hear tales of people who have supposedly seen them, but for some reason we never actually see them in real life - as in for sale at a Leica dealer. 

Why is that, and when will we at long last be able to actually order, buy and own a APO 35??  🙄

 

1 hour ago, vinicio said:

I live in Italy. I  ordered it in March 7th and had in my bag mid April

 Nice that you found one... rare beast over here in the States.  I've basically given up looking, but once they become availalbe I hope it lives up to my expectations. 

[txjm]

I'd ordered one from my dealer back in late March 2021 and received it in Nov.  Unfortunately that copy turned out to have a large spec of dust right in the center of the aperture.  The dust is by far the largest I'd seen in any of my lenses and my guess is it's at least a quarter inch long.  It didn't affect performance at all but paying close to $9k after taxes for a lens to have this upon receiving was unacceptable.  So I returned it and my dealer promised I would get the next one they receive next.  Late Jan 2022 I got a call from them and the new lens was in my hands. It's spectacular to say the least!  A tad sharper than my sharpest and best lens the 50mm summilux.  However the 35mm APO does have a bit of barrel distortion wide open.  Overall fantastic lens and lately been the only lens I carry with me.

My point to this thread is I compared the serialization of the serial numbers between the Nov 2021 copy to the one from Jan 2022 and the difference is 158.  So my assumption is between Nov 2021 and Jan 2022 approx. 158-ish of these lens were shipped out of Wetzler.  Also keep in mind I heard Leica has a holiday shutdown during that time.  Nevertheless even if it's double and 300 copies of the 35mm APO is shipped out every couple months out of Wetzler, I don't think that's even close to meeting the supply demand of this lens.  Also from it's March 2021 introductory to Aug 2021 I have heard of very few people receiving a copy.  My dealer whom I known for a long time said they did not receive a single copy of that lens during that period.  Last, keep in mind that at times they may be missing one last shipment of a part in order to begin assembly.  Boules are long led items and my guess is during covid not all the lens are delivered on time and some weeks or months they could have zero delivery of this lens due to even one part missing on-hand.  Getting the wavefront error of an asperhical surface for a lens of this size is challenging, and believe there's four aspheric lens in the 35mm APO.

[Franky]

I ordered the APO 35mm in March 2021 in Germany and also put myself on a waiting list in Hong Kong and the USA.
In November 2021 I got the lens from Germany.
Well worth the wait even though I have the 35 FLE.
I guess I'm still on the other waiting lists

[Erato]

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10 hours ago, Herr Barnack said:

The APO 35 Summicron is like a UFO - we can see pictures of them, we can hear tales of people who have supposedly seen them, but for some reason we never actually see them in real life - as in for sale at a Leica dealer. 

Why is that, and when will we at long last be able to actually order, buy and own a APO 35??  🙄

House Intellingence is going to reveal something on May 17th during the hearing but it is not about the secrecy regarding the lens mentioned above.😅

Edited May 12, 2022 by Erato

[LeicaR10]

Herr Barnack,   The fabled 35 Apo is alive and well.  Like any hard to manufacture and hand made lens, it takes highly skilled personnel to make them.  I was fortunate that my Leica dealer simply called me one day and asked if I wanted one.  He got four in from Leica USA.  That was last October.  The 50 Apo is similar in production; with one person with critical lens making skills being a key focal point in that lens production. (I suspect it takes highly skilled hands and a lot of patience to meet the precise tolerances for these lenses)   I can say, the my copy produces superb and highly resolved images and unique character of its own.  Of course, every type of Leica lens renders differently.  Is the lens worth the money and patience waiting for one to be available?  It all depends on the photographer needing or wanting that particular lens...for me, it is worth every dollar spent for it.  From what I have learned about the rumored 35 and 50 Lux lenses, those too will be worth the wait and money.  Last, as I have learned over 50+ years in photography, it is not the brand, camera model or lens that makes the photograph.  It is the photographer's creative vision to render a superb masterpiece based on content that makes the viewer; Stop, Look, Think and if possible Feel something about that moment in time.  r/ Mark 

PS  I am certain you will get the call or email a 35 Apo is awaiting you...perhaps soon.

[Herr Barnack]

Quote

... From what I have learned about the rumored 35 and 50 Lux lenses, those too will be worth the wait and money...

@LeicaR10 Do tell...

[LeicaR10]

Herr Barnack,  I sent you a PM.  r/ Mark

[scott kirkpatrick]

A modest size batch of this lens started to appear in the US last March.  When a friend heard of one appearing at a Leica Store in his area, hesitated, and was too late, I sent out some messages to a few small sources that might get one, and a month later, mine arrived, as did his.  It is quite lovely, with great color rending, sharpness and contrast, so I am very happy with it.  It does have some distortion (about 1/3 as severe as the classic WATE), probably as a result of fitting the design into a very small rangefinder profile, and designing for film without digital postprocessing.  It has barrel distortion in the center going over to a bit of pincushion at the furthest corner.  You need to be a bit obsessive to even notice it.

I think the takeaway is that Leica is now making that at a better rate, but may run short on critical components, so will have interruptions.  Obviously they can sell all that they can make, so the waiting lists at the Leica Stores will not empty for many more months.  Try smaller places that have a good rapport with their Leica representative.  At B&H you will probably be wasting your time. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by scott kirkpatrick

[tom0511]

its not only this lens, it happens quite often with Leica products. Maybe a plan to make the product feel more "luxury"? 

I believe, it is just how Leica is. Very high quality standards, limited production capabilities, and maybe a little bit of ignorance/stuburness regarding customer wishes/needs.

[Herr Barnack]

21 hours ago, vinicio said:

I live in Italy. I  ordered it in March 7th and had in my bag mid April

  Huh.  I guess I'll have to move to Italy to get one. 😧

Edited May 12, 2022 by Herr Barnack

[Armen]

Hi, i'm from Andorra, i ordered one in a shop and i had it in two weeks.

 

Need more time... but probably i'm going to sell it, great lens but i can't get used to 35mm

[jpto]

It looks like some stock is trickling out -  All Good Friends Camera - a HK grey dealer had a few over retail pricing.

Leica APO-Summicron-M 35mm F/2 ASPH. Lens Black 11699 *BRAND NEW* – AGFCamera

I'm going to wait for retail pricing or used.

[IkarusJohn]

I put my name on the list with the local Leica dealer earlier in the year (March?).  Got notified the lens was available last week - passed on this one as I’m still trying to find the time to come to grips with the Distagon.  I expect another one to come in later this year.

[BigBabyEarl]

I was told years of waiting at Leica Miami and Los Angeles. Such a bummer. I found a few brokers selling on eBay but it feels lame paying $2500 over msrp. Any leads?

[Stuart Richardson]

4 minutes ago, BigBabyEarl said:

I was told years of waiting at Leica Miami and Los Angeles. Such a bummer. I found a few brokers selling on eBay but it feels lame paying $2500 over msrp. Any leads?

I don't have any leads, but I would just ask at different Leica stores around the world. They all have phone numbers and the vast majority have people that speak English. Countries that have VAT will remove it from the price when they ship outside of the country/EU, so it is at times cheaper to buy it from those markets. Leica Miami is a great store with superb service, but there are also great stores in other cities around the world...Leica Store Wetzlar seems to have stock of things at times when others don't and are used to foreign customers. I have heard the same about Leica Vienna. It is worth checking regularly.

[Danno_photoguy]

1 hour ago, Stuart Richardson said:

I don't have any leads, but I would just ask at different Leica stores around the world. They all have phone numbers and the vast majority have people that speak English. Countries that have VAT will remove it from the price when they ship outside of the country/EU, so it is at times cheaper to buy it from those markets. Leica Miami is a great store with superb service, but there are also great stores in other cities around the world...Leica Store Wetzlar seems to have stock of things at times when others don't and are used to foreign customers. I have heard the same about Leica Vienna. It is worth checking regularly.

I agree that Leica Miami is a great store (my Silver M11 is being delivered from them today).  When I asked Josh (from the shop) about the waiting time for this lens, he told be it would be 5 years.  That was an amazing comment, I thought.  

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[Stuart Richardson]

I agree. But I also don't believe that you will have to wait 5 years if you ask at other stores and keep actively looking.