Reissue 35mm Summilux Pre-Asph V1 Steel Rim

[trisberg]

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3 hours ago, Xavier said:

I am using both an M body and an SL body, so I am wondering, is it possible, at least when using the lens on an SL body to reduce the MFD using an extension ring ? Is that practical ? Being able to focus to, say 50ish centimeters would be just fine, I am not looking into very close MFD...

Have you looked at any of the close focusing adapters for the SL system? I've seen one from 7artisans and think others have this feature too.

-Thomas

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[justru49]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb Xavier:

....say 50cm-3m range .... 

to be really sure, you should ask Leica.

But I'm pretty sure, that it will not work in this range. I have a set of fixed distance extension rings for M from Novoflex and tried the shortest, around 1 cm, with my M35 Summicron. The difference between MFD and infinity at the lens made only some cm difference in object-distance for a sharp image and the whole things plays around 15-20 cm distance to the object. Getting a sharp picture from 1 m distance is absolut impossible.

That's the problem with old lens-designs 😞

[Xavier]

6 hours ago, trisberg said:

Have you looked at any of the close focusing adapters for the SL system? I've seen one from 7artisans and think others have this feature too.

-Thomas

Thanks a lot, this is indeed one of the options I am looking at.

6 hours ago, justru49 said:

to be really sure, you should ask Leica.

But I'm pretty sure, that it will not work in this range. I have a set of fixed distance extension rings for M from Novoflex and tried the shortest, around 1 cm, with my M35 Summicron. The difference between MFD and infinity at the lens made only some cm difference in object-distance for a sharp image and the whole things plays around 15-20 cm distance to the object. Getting a sharp picture from 1 m distance is absolut impossible.

That's the problem with old lens-designs 😞

This is exactly what I fear. I did some basic calculations that also seem to confirm that concern too. But you are right, asking Leica would be the best way, I will try to do so next week.

Thanks to the two of you for your replies!

[Xavier]

Yes, I had seen this, but do not really feel able to do such a thing, especially on such an expensive lens. Right now, I am looking into the close focus adapters, which could do the trick for me (there are several, I need to choose, then I will probably take the time to see how this works on my existing lenses before I get back to the 35mm lens purchase plan).

[dennersten]

Up 4.30 in the morning. F 1,7

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5 hours ago, Al Brown said:

The second I pulled out the Steel Rim they were like... WHOAAA BUDDY, HOLD ON, WHATCHA GOT THERE, IS THAT THE ORIGINAL MAYBE?

These guys are just bragging about their early 3-digit serial numbers ...

[kivis]

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So overall are folks happy with reissue steel rim? About to pull the trigger.

[kivis]

Quality issues?

[kivis]

3 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

A plethora.
 

 

So is this reason enough to put off the purchase until these issues are sorted out?

[Smudgerer]

Just now, kivis said:

Quality issues?

Just the lens hood/s and filter issues that have been gone into ad-nauseam here on the forum which Leica may or may not sort out in our lifetime. The lens itself is quite lovely though..........To use this lens at it's optimum "look" you'll probably need to be able to use an ND filter in most daylight conditions so you can stay around f1.4-f2, that's why the lens hood/filter setup on this lens as it is now is a PITA.

Otherwise there's the Voigtlander Nokton 1.4 II SC or MC lens that has got a perfect hood/filter set-up and in my view the lens itself is damn close to what the 35 Summilux Classic offers. It comes in black finish too which may or may not be a plus for you.

I have both lenses and frankly the images / results are hard to tell apart on film which is the usage that concerns me most.

[kivis]

3 hours ago, Smudgerer said:

 

Otherwise there's the Voigtlander Nokton 1.4 II SC or MC lens that has got a perfect hood/filter set-up and in my view the lens itself is damn close to what the 35 Summilux Classic offers. It comes in black finish too which may or may not be a plus for you.

I have both lenses and frankly the images / results are hard to tell apart on film which is the usage that concerns me most.

Wow I have the CV Nokton 35mm f1.4 MC and I am very happy with it. I think I will stay put for now.

[darylgo]

5 hours ago, Al Brown said:

Absolutely not. Just buy it, everything can be sorted later if needed.

+1

 

2 hours ago, kivis said:

Wow I have the CV Nokton 35mm f1.4 MC and I am very happy with it. I think I will stay put for now.

Flaws and all, I would buy this lens again.  The Leica goodness far outweighs concerns, issues and problems encountered.  

[pippy]

5 hours ago, Smudgerer said:

...I have both lenses and frankly the images / results are hard to tell apart...

Out of curiosity, Smudgerer, do you not find that there is noticeably more barrel distortion with the Nokton than with the Summilux?

Philip.

Edited June 26, 2023 by pippy

[Smudgerer]

8 hours ago, pippy said:

Out of curiosity, Smudgerer, do you not find that there is noticeably more barrel distortion with the Nokton than with the Summilux?

Philip.

Hello Philip, yes there is barrel distortion with the Nokton, actually with both lenses and perhaps slightly more so with the Nokton 35 SC, but to be honest for the images I like to make it doesn't matter at all, my snapping of brick wall days are long gone. I do like the way the Nokton is put together, it's size and haptics are slightly preferable to me over the Summilux but having said that I am having a hard time with going ahead with the decision to return the Summilux, it's "look" on film in the f1.4-f2 range does have a beautiful quality to it.

I've another lens hood option arriving soon for the Summilux to try out and if that works as a temporary solution to the filter/vignetting issue then maybe I will keep the Classic whilst awaiting Leica's promised revision of their hood.

[pippy]

1 hour ago, Smudgerer said:

...I do like the way the Nokton is put together, it's size and haptics are slightly preferable to me over the Summilux but having said that I am having a hard time with going ahead with the decision to return the Summilux, it's "look" on film in the f1.4-f2 range does have a beautiful quality to it...

Hi, Smudgerer, and thanks for the reply.

Many years ago I was strongly attracted to the earlier version of the 35 Nokton but the v1 suffered from pronounced barrel-distortion* which I believe was one of the main points Voigtlander addressed with the v2 (along with the focus-shift tendency). I ended up buying the 40mm Nokton instead of the 35 primarily because its rendering is considerably more rectilinear and I agree completely about the haptics; both the lens and it's LH-6 hood are a joy to use.

I hope Leica manage to resolve the hood issue. I'd like to have a copy of the Steel-Rim re-issue but as I already have a '74 v2 such a purchase would be difficult to justify...

Philip.

* As it happens I do take snaps of brick-walls very often (in the form of architectural subject-matter) so this was an important consideration for me.

Edited June 27, 2023 by pippy

[Smudgerer]

Ok, a solution of sorts for the lenshood/filter/vignetting issue that bugs many of us who bought the 35 Summilux Classic, and cheaper than the other option of just buying the otherwise excellent VM 35 Nokton I.4 II SC......( which is worth getting anyway if you use B&W film )

The other day I found and ordered this lens hood off of Amazon Fr:

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07HF1JRH1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

It arrived this morning much sooner than expected and I have tested it out on my M10-R with the 35 Summilux and a Leica x16 13055 ND filter and there is no vignetting now, then re-mounting the Leica vented hood and re-testing again with the same ND on the lens and there's the annoying hard corner vignetting. So for the outlay of €7.99 for the hood bought off of Amazon the filter/vignetting problem does go away. Downside is that the slots in the vented hood do not quite line up properly so there's not a clear shot through them in the viewfinder, however this is not a big deal and varies with filter thickness anyway, it's a hell of a lot better than hard vignetting.........But then the same thing happens with the Leica supplied hood depending on the threads and thickness of whichever filter you use. One nice bonus with the €7.99 lens hood is that you get a cap that fits over the hood and you get some decent extra lens protection that way.

The same hood / cap combo can be found in the USA off of Ebay, here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264632460681?mkevt=1&mkpid=0&emsid=e11051.m43.l1123&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=0a1772409af3403c87ee51471e3f9aae&bu=43186400381&osub=-1~1&crd=20230622093412&segname=11051

I hope that Leica will come up with the solution it owes to us who bought into this otherwise magic little Summilux, a replacement lens hood needs to be thought out and executed well. It occurred to me throughout all this dance that if a hood was designed that could accept filters inside the hood like used to be offered with the earlier versions of the Summilux 35 that could be a better idea with using say a 49mm filter thread inside the hood.............Don't know. But meanwhile here is a temporary answer to the annoyance with a grand outlay of about €8,00. The way Voigtlander have done all this with the 35 1.4 Nokton kit is still way better than Leica's efforts in my opinion though.

[RexGig0]

On 6/26/2023 at 1:28 AM, Al Brown said:

It is one of the smallest, most versatile, universal, fastest, modern yet classical and - not sure if this matters but still - most beautiful M lenses out there.

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Yes, the “beautiful” part does matter. If I like looking at it, I am more likely to bring it along, with the camera attached. 
 

Another part is that it is “relatively affordable,” as Leica Summilux lenses go, if one can manage to find one listed at the official Leica price. I am on one notification list, perhaps two.

Edited June 28, 2023 by RexGig0

[lefse]

On 6/14/2023 at 7:13 PM, Al Brown said:

You can ask here. This gentleman did a proper close focus mod and it looks awesome.
 

 

What filter is that? A super thin one that allows room for the OLLUX hood to fit?

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[Stephencdean]

Just got my lens back from Wetzlar for a floppy aperture ring issue. To be honest, the aperture ring still feels as floppy as when I sent it to them. Just doesn’t feel like usual Leica quality. Spoils the lens a bit for me, as you use the aperture ring quite a bit, so keep getting reminded. Anyone else have a similar issue? 

[maxpower]

I just got one of these little critters because I wanted to compare it to my german v2 pre-asph. The first thing I noticed is that one of the hoods is missing from the box (the round one)! I'm in contact with the shop to figure that out, the box looked unopened so not entirely how that's possible. I'm not an expert by any means, but thought I'd also share my quick initial impressions.

I still have to play more to figure out which results I like best, it might actually be this one (maybe because of the new coatings) and the focus seems better, but that could be a problem with my v2. My other initial impressions would be that it looks great on my silver camera, it's nice to be able to use filters and the results seem pretty good so far. Flares also seem nicer on first test. But then on the other hand, adding a filter obscures the nice steel ring, the lens cap feels very flimsy compared to my v2 (which has a steel cap), obviously the missing lens hood issue, and I noticed that on my v2 the lens is a little more "recessed" which feels like it could protect the lens better against accidental bumps compared to this new model. But that is probably just a feeling to get used to.