New edition of the Leica Summilux-M 1.4/35mm ASPH.

[Jeff S]

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1 hour ago, Stuart Richardson said:

I think the new hood looks like an ergonomic improvement, but I would be a little concerned if the aperture ring is now a little close to the focus...at least for use with gloves...

This was one of the concerns I had when I rented the 50 M APO to compare with my 50 Summilux ASPH.  Only way to know of course is to try.
 

Jeff

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[phototrope]

Picked up my silver 35mm FLE v2 today, and have a shoot lined up for tomorrow. Pictures coming soon.

[phototrope]

2 hours ago, Stuart Richardson said:

The only question I would have would be if there is some sort of stop or bump between .7m and closer, so you can tell when the RF decouples. But my guess is no, and it is not that important...the Zeiss ZM lenses focused to .5m, and it was not really an issue. 

Yes there is a bump. The focus ring clicks into the "bump" when rotated to 0.7m, and requires a little more pressure to move it on. In addition, the distance markings below 0.7m are coloured light grey instead of the usual red on the silver lens.

[Camaro5]

My current version FLE was purchased new just about three months ago and is my most used lens on my M10-R.  I don't really need that little bit of closer focusing so I'm keeping my hands in my pockets for now.  I like rectangular the hood on this lens and use it with a Lens Hoodie which IMO protects (and looks) better than the one that slides over the front.  

I'm kind of waiting for the 35 APO to become more readily available but I'm not holding my breath on that one.  

[chuhsi1]

2 minutes ago, Camaro5 said:

My current version FLE was purchased new just about three months ago and is my most used lens on my M10-R.  I don't really need that little bit of closer focusing so I'm keeping my hands in my pockets for now.  I like rectangular the hood on this lens and use it with a Lens Hoodie which IMO protects (and looks) better than the one that slides over the front.  

I'm kind of waiting for the 35 APO to become more readily available but I'm not holding my breath on that one.  

I have the same setup! What's a Lens Hoodie? I'm looking for something to protect my rectangular hood.

[Camaro5]

1 minute ago, chuhsi1 said:

I have the same setup! What's a Lens Hoodie? I'm looking for something to protect my rectangular hood.

It's a neoprene cover that fits over the front of the lens hood and covers it down to just above the focusing ring.  35FLE uses the XX Small.  It's a tight fit until they get broken in but not too bad.  Costs $11.  I have them on all my lenses.  Love these things.

https://www.lenscoat.com/hoodie-lens-caps-c-5.html

[S Maclean]

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5 hours ago, northernlights said:

On the topic of the new built in hood of the 35 FLEv2, a bit silly but I ended up buying an external screw in hood to protect the built in hood of the 50 APO against accidental knocks that can reduce the resale value. Lol  sorry digressed  

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That has to block a good deal of the rangefinder window no?

 

[northernlights]

9 hours ago, hdmesa said:

Looks aside (!), if you ever get a hard impact to that hood, it's going to transfer all the impact energy to the lens thread and damage the lens itself. The original hood is designed to absorb some of the impact shock and protect the lens.

Thorsten Overgaard was saying to get an additional hood to protect the lens. Lol. 

[Ouroboros]

23 hours ago, mrmalo said:

Does anybody here have any experience with this new style integrated hood?

Does it become loose or rattle over time?
Does it ever jam with dust etc? 

I like the idea of being able to order a replacement hood if I ever damaged it.

My 28mm summicron safari has the same twist and slide hood as the new 35mm foe v2 and is one of the reasons I ‘upgraded’ from the 28mm summicron asph v1 and it’s huge plastic clip on hood.
 

It locks into place with a twist, unlike others such as the 50mm and 75mm summicrons.  I much prefer this type of hood over the clip on or screw on type or those that simply slide backwards and forwards without the twist lock.

Personally I think the comments by people who are worried about impact damage to sliding hoods are overplayed unless they regularly throw their cameras around.

I prefer the compact design and security of sliding hoods.

Edited September 17, 2022 by Ouroboros

[chasdfg]

9 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

My 28mm summicron safari has the same twist and slide hood as the new 35mm foe v2 and is one of the reasons I ‘upgraded’ from the 28mm summicron asph v1 and it’s huge plastic clip on hood.
 

It locks into place with a twist, unlike others such as the 50mm and 75mm summicrons.  I much prefer this type of hood over the clip on or screw on type or those that simply slide backwards and forwards without the twist lock.

Personally I think the comments by people who are worried about impact damage to sliding hoods are overplayed unless they regularly throw their cameras around.

I prefer the compact design and security of sliding hoods.

If the slide-out hood is sturdy (not too thin) and has a lock, I think its fine provided it is not too shallow to compromise on its ability to avoid flare on top of its ability to protect the front element from marking.

The 35FLE II has a lock, so that is a non issue here, but I'll focus on the sturdiness aspect from my pov. Without over-generalising, many Leica owners are concerned about protecting their lens as well as protecting the value of their lens (not mutually exclusive). A slide-out hood may do the job of absorbing impact but I have seen plenty of Leica lenses with such hoods for sale with warped hoods or some slightly bent out of shape. The lens works, hood works (provided it can slide in and out) but resale value is hurt. I for one keep an eye on resale value even if I don't intend to sell the lens - touch wood if anything happens to me the first things that go would be my camera gear since they're all indulgences. Or maybe I need to fund something more important in life. 

The rectangle hoods are very strong and provide good flare protection. They are also more easily user replaceable. I don't need to go find where the screw is to replace a slide out hood myself. If I don't want to replace the hood which is marked up or bent out of shape because it works, the next owner might, and they're likely going to be put off by it. Of course there is more to go into about pricing of a used lens. But all in all the rectangular hood is effective and more fuss-free in my view. 

That said, Leica's primary concern is not resale value or if a part is not so user replaceable. Leica themselves may make money on such a non-labour intensive repair. It's also a design choice, and I do like the sleekness of the new design. I was just responding to your ppointon damage to slide-out hoods being overplayed. 

There are lenses like the 35cron asph v2 and 28elmarit asph v2 which would benefit more from such a new hood because the rectangular hood makes the lens a lot larger than without the hood (but how to squeeze the slide out hood on such a small lens body, I don't know). Maybe they'll end up with a 35Apo styled squished hood, since there's no more space on the lens barrel to add a slide out hood without adding bulk.

Anyway, when I saw the 35FLE with the M10 Zagato a few years back and the 28Cron with the Lenny Kravitz Drifter set, I knew these types of hoods were coming. If I hit a reset button, of course I'd choose the new 35FLE over my current one, though not necessarily for the hood. And I'd still likely give credit to the rectangle hoods where its due from my experience, but live with the sleeker lens anyway. It's typical of Leica owners like us to debate about these things anyway - I'd say it makes our community colourful.

[Ouroboros]

23 minutes ago, chasdfg said:

.....That said, Leica's primary concern is not resale value or if a part is not so user replaceable. Leica themselves may make money on such a non-labour intensive repair. It's also a design choice, and I do like the sleekness of the new design. I was just responding to your ppointon damage to slide-out hoods being overplayed. 

 

 

Impacting a lens is always going to be something of a lottery with regard to the type and severity of the outcome.  I don't share the view that a detachable lens hood is necessarily going to protect the lens from damage in the event of being dropped or impacted in some way. 

Functionality, aesthetics and effectiveness of the hood is an important consideration for me.  I've not experienced significant flare with my 28mm summicron safari any more than I did with my previous v1 asph which has a much larger plastic clip on hood.  It seems to do it's job well enough.

As you say, we Leica owners often do debate such minor stuff ad nauseam but I do like the more compact design of the new lens over the previous versions.  I may well buy one if there are no major issues after the early adopters have had a chance to come up with some user experience . 

 

[otto.f]

1 hour ago, Ouroboros said:

flare

 

2 hours ago, chasdfg said:

flare

Jono states he sees no more chance of flare than with the v1, fwiw, but he had a sunny time with it in Greece. 

Edited September 17, 2022 by otto.f

[lecycliste]

Couple thoughts - the built-in hood on my 50/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH tends to slip back down from the so-called locked position - it can be too easily twisted to the unlocked position, and slips down. It’s also a bit on the thin side - slightly deformed now, but the lens is quite usable. So I’m not sure I like built-in holds. I’m just as likely to buy a circular screw-in hood instead, because it won’t move, and for protection. 

I just purchased a gently used 35/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH FLE (2010) 5 days ago. As I’m one to take the heretical view “Bokeh-schmokeh”, the two additional aperture blades don’t do much for me - I like the background smear with the 2010 35/1.4 just fine. I am a little torqued about the 12” closer focusing though (down to 15”) - closeups I like to do a lot - but I also own a Voigtlander 35/2 APO-Lanthar VM I can focus down to 19”. Since I usually stop down up close anyway, the larger max aperture of the 2010 35/1.4 Summilux makes little difference. The thing I do notice about my copy of the 2010 35/1.4 is the fancy rectangular hood tends to loosen and partially vignette pictures. I have to watch it like a hawk to use it, so I tend not to. 

And just one more thing - how is it Leica has priced the new 35/1.4 at $5395 (black finish), while the older 2010 lens is $5995 (black finish)? The optical design is unchanged, but the mount and iris diaphragm are more complex with longer rotation and more blades respectively. 

Edited September 17, 2022 by lecycliste

[Jeff S]

26 minutes ago, lecycliste said:

And just one more thing - how is it Leica has priced the new 35/1.4 at $5395 (black finish), while the older 2010 lens is $5995 (black finish)? The optical design is unchanged, but the mount and iris diaphragm are more complex with longer rotation and more blades respectively. 

Could reflect the strong US dollar, and possibly a re-adjustment for the 10% or so increase that had been added to offset US tariffs on German lenses (25%, but Leica spread it across products), which seems to have abated.  I suspect, too, that this leaves room to differentiate any future lens(es) with newer optical formulas and much higher prices (as the 35 APO).  But, as usual, only Leica knows these things, and don’t generally explain.

Jeff

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I think that's correct with pricing as @Jeff S mentions. It sounds like some countries did see a price increase but maybe only the US saw a price decrease?

[Franka373]

The slide out hood the 28 Summicron Safari locks into place as the new 35 is said to have.  I works well.  I much prefer the hood on my safari rather than the typical hood since I don't use hoods often, I do not have to take the hood off and put it back on and I like its lower profile. Too bad it doesn't come in black but the safari green is really not displeasing.  Camera west in the US still had the 28 safari in stock the last time I checked.  

[Photoworks]

oh yeah!

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[lecycliste]

The other problem is availability. I had a 35/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH on order at B&H for about 5 months before I came to my senses, canceled it, and took immediate delivery of a Voigtlander 35/2 APO-Lanthar VM instead. I decided I wasn’t willing to pay $7000 additional for smaller size and 20cm closer focusing. 

 

The new 35/1.4 Summilux is listed as preorder - coming soon (yeah right), and who knows when it will actually ship. I’d rather not miss pictures waiting for it - I’ll keep and use my 35/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH FLE (2010) instead. 
 

Edited September 17, 2022 by lecycliste

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[mboerma]

Can anyone explain what the difference in minimal focus distance between the APO and the new FLE implies? 30cm for the APO and 40cm for the FLE II. Is this a big difference?

[Huss]

2 hours ago, mboerma said:

Can anyone explain what the difference in minimal focus distance between the APO and the new FLE implies? 30cm for the APO and 40cm for the FLE II. Is this a big difference?

I did the math.  It is 10cm difference.