Jono’s Review: Leica 35mm f1.4 Summilux V1 (Steel Rim)

[Keith (M)]

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Hmm, I have my name on a waiting list but reading about the seeming near impossibility of using hood plus filter gives me pause for thought.  Intended use of the lens would frequently be with my M10M and I always have either an orange or yellow filter fitted to whatever lens I'm using.

[Al Brown]

Just now, Keith (M) said:

Hmm, I have my name on a waiting list but reading about the seeming near impossibility of using hood plus filter gives me pause for thought.  Intended use of the lens would frequently be with my M10M and I always have either an orange or yellow filter fitted to whatever lens I'm using.

I thought there were two hoods in the package, one for no filter and the other (vented) to screw on the filter.
The screen capture is from Leica RED DOT Miami video and confirms it (see list left).

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[Fred Miranda]

2 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

I thought there were two hoods in the package, one for no filter and the other (vented) to screw on the filter.
The screen capture is from Leica RED DOT Miami video and confirms it (see list left).

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Hi Al,

That is correct. The included ventilated rounded hood 'can' be attached to a filter but this combination causes 'hard' vignetting. Lots of reviewers are missing this point. It's unfortunate that Leica didn't pay attention to this detail. So, yes, you can attach the rounded hood (not the OLLUX version) to a protection filter but the image would have to be slightly cropped in post as the hard vignetting never goes way since it's pure black at the very corners. The thicker the filter the worse the hard vignetting and that's why I wrote that Leica engineered both hoods to be used without filters. At this point, for me it's either filter alone or hood without any filter.

I've posted samples showing this here: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1779165/3#16087546

I don't see any solution for this unless one finds a super duper slim filter with outside threads to attach the rounded hood. The B+W slim version is only ~3mm and it already causes hard vignetting.

[j453]

vor 5 Stunden schrieb CHP:

 

Have a few more that look very similar of the foggy forrest next to Leica Wetzlar and some I will not post as our faces are in it

[Al Brown]

1 hour ago, Fred Miranda said:

I don't see any solution for this unless one finds a super duper slim filter

Question: Did you try the filter+hood with the UPDATED M camera with the proper profile for the new Steel Rim? They all have them in the software update... This is a very important piece of information.

Edited November 20, 2022 by Al Brown

[Fred Miranda]

37 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Question: Did you try the filter+hood with the UPDATED M camera with the proper profile for the new Steel Rim? They all have them in the software update... This is a very important piece of information.

Yes I've tried with the new firmware with automatic lens profile. It does not work because of the 'hard' vignetting. Nothing can correct this, except for cropping the image.

[egrossman]

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On 11/20/2022 at 9:17 AM, Keith (M) said:

Hmm, I have my name on a waiting list but reading about the seeming near impossibility of using hood plus filter gives me pause for thought.  Intended use of the lens would frequently be with my M10M and I always have either an orange or yellow filter fitted to whatever lens I'm using.

@Keith (M)Perhaps a v2 would better suit your needs if the vignetting of the v1 reissue is too much of a problem (I'm on a wait list for the reissue). I use my late-German v2 all the time on my M10M and M10-D with Series 7 filters and vignetting isn't a problem for me. The v2 is supposed to be the same optical formula as the original v1 with updated lens coatings.

Erik

[shirubadanieru]

The benefit of the steel rim or the reissue of the lens is that it can use filters without a hood…so if you want the most compact set and still protect the lens, it’s perfect. The v2 pre-asph always needs a hood on as it has no filter thread, so that makes it more bulky and defeats the purpose of being the smallest f1.4 lens. The reissue has modern coatings though, so you’ll probably be ok without a protecting filter and just with the hood in really sunny days where you want to avoid flare. I do wish that Leica had built the filter thread so that it can fit the OLLUX and a filter…the original lens allowed for this, not sure why Leica decided to change the lens from e41 to e46 while making the filter situation worse VS the original…wonder what the designers were thinking.

Edited November 21, 2022 by shirubadanieru

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[28framelines]

5 hours ago, shirubadanieru said:

The benefit of the steel rim or the reissue of the lens is that it can use filters without a hood…so if you want the most compact set and still protect the lens, it’s perfect. The v2 pre-asph always needs a hood on as it has no filter thread, so that makes it more bulky and defeats the purpose of being the smallest f1.4 lens. The reissue has modern coatings though, so you’ll probably be ok without a protecting filter and just with the hood in really sunny days where you want to avoid flare. I do wish that Leica had built the filter thread so that it can fit the OLLUX and a filter…the original lens allowed for this, not sure why Leica decided to change the lens from e41 to e46 while making the filter situation worse VS the original…wonder what the designers were thinking.

Are modern coatings less prone to scratching?

[shirubadanieru]

1 hour ago, 28framelines said:

Are modern coatings less prone to scratching?

Yes, modern coatings are much stronger than old coatings. Especially Leica lenses up to the 1960s have really soft coatings, so I highly recommend you put a filter on them and do not clean the front elements. 

Edited November 22, 2022 by shirubadanieru

[Crem]

On 11/20/2022 at 9:37 AM, Fred Miranda said:

Hi Al,

That is correct. The included ventilated rounded hood 'can' be attached to a filter but this combination causes 'hard' vignetting. Lots of reviewers are missing this point. It's unfortunate that Leica didn't pay attention to this detail. So, yes, you can attach the rounded hood (not the OLLUX version) to a protection filter but the image would have to be slightly cropped in post as the hard vignetting never goes way since it's pure black at the very corners. The thicker the filter the worse the hard vignetting and that's why I wrote that Leica engineered both hoods to be used without filters. At this point, for me it's either filter alone or hood without any filter.

I've posted samples showing this here: https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1779165/3#16087546

I don't see any solution for this unless one finds a super duper slim filter with outside threads to attach the rounded hood. The B+W slim version is only ~3mm and it already causes hard vignetting.

@Fred Miranda thanks for all the info and test photos. Does the ventilated round hood have filter threads on both sides? Meaning the hood goes on the lens first and then you screw the filter into the hood's threads? Or does the filter go on the lens first and then the hood screws into the filters threads? I find it really surprising Leica would sell a lens that hard vignettes if you use a filter + hood. Definitely disappointing as I want to use this lens with B&W film and color filters (with a hood). My Summaron 28 remake requires the hood to go on first and then the filter goes on second (no hard vignetting).

Edited November 22, 2022 by Crem

[Fred Miranda]

4 hours ago, Crem said:

@Fred Miranda thanks for all the info and test photos. Does the ventilated round hood have filter threads on both sides? Meaning the hood goes on the lens first and then you screw the filter into the hood's threads? Or does the filter go on the lens first and then the hood screws into the filters threads? I find it really surprising Leica would sell a lens that hard vignettes if you use a filter + hood. Definitely disappointing as I want to use this lens with B&W film and color filters (with a hood). My Summaron 28 remake requires the hood to go on first and then the filter goes on second (no hard vignetting).

Unfortunately there are no threads on the outside of the hood. It looks like Leica didn't design either included hood with filters in mind. They could have offered a hood that is similar in design to the 12504 where filters can be dropped inside the hood.

The good news is that I don't see extra flare without the hood and this makes the system very compact.

I have purchased a slim ventilated 46mm metal hood from Ebay to see how it works with filters and hopefully there won't be any hard vignetting. I will post an update when I tried this tomorrow.

Edited November 23, 2022 by Fred Miranda

[Crem]

1 hour ago, Fred Miranda said:

Unfortunately there are no threads on the outside of the hood. It looks like Leica didn't design either included hood with filters in mind. They could have offered a hood that is similar in design to the 12504 where filters can be dropped inside the hood.

The good news is that I don't see extra flare without the hood and this makes the system very compact.

I have purchased a slim ventilated 46mm metal hood from Ebay to see how it works with filters and hopefully there won't be any hard vignetting. I will post an update when I tried this tomorrow.

Amazing they missed that. I really was expecting front filter threads on the screw in hood. Maybe Leica will sell a 3rd hood as an optional upgrade 🤣

[Fred Miranda]

I have a found a solution for using a protection filter + hood with the new 35/1.4 Lux Steel Rim.

I purchased this slim ventilated hood from Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264632460681

The hood is slimmer than the included Leica's rounded hood and I can have a filter attached to the lens and the hood attached to the filter without causing any hard vignetting.

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[rocheung]

On 11/24/2022 at 9:02 AM, Fred Miranda said:

I have a found a solution for using a protection filter + hood with the new 35/1.4 Lux Steel Rim.

I purchased this slim ventilated hood from Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264632460681

The hood is slimmer than the included Leica's rounded hood and I can have a filter attached to the lens and the hood attached to the filter without causing any hard vignetting.

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

I also did the same thing too to use a thinner generic hood instead of the genuine one. I also tried the thin B+W filter, a bit improve but still cannot totally eliminate the hard dark corner. It is even worse if you stop down the aperture. Hope Leica issue an improved hood to overcome this problem. 

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[Studienkamera]

2 minutes ago, rocheung said:

Hope Leica issue an improved hood to overcome this problem. 

+1

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[hdmesa]

On 11/22/2022 at 6:28 PM, Crem said:

Amazing they missed that. I really was expecting front filter threads on the screw in hood. Maybe Leica will sell a 3rd hood as an optional upgrade 🤣

Brought to you by the same people that designed the hood for the 50 Lux Black Chrome.

[SJH]

On 11/24/2022 at 1:02 AM, Fred Miranda said:

I have a found a solution for using a protection filter + hood with the new 35/1.4 Lux Steel Rim.

I purchased this slim ventilated hood from Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/264632460681

The hood is slimmer than the included Leica's rounded hood and I can have a filter attached to the lens and the hood attached to the filter without causing any hard vignetting.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Thanks for this and just so everyone is aware this particular one only ships to the US, however, this link is for what looks like the same hood but it's available in the UK/Europe. Seems like the same sort of issue really as the 50mm BC but Leica sent me a screw in replacement on that one. Hopefully they'll redesign it or make a one available to existing owners as per the BC 50. https://order.ebay.co.uk/ord/show?itemId=162459391682&transactionId=2303813294006&mkpid=0&emsid=e11401.m1842.l5919&mkcid=7&ch=osgood&euid=ad77e7cc093b4a7cb71e34ea8090a2b8&bu=44946508107&exe=0&ext=0&osub=-1~1&crd=20221207201628&segname=11401#/

[Keith (M)]

Just had notification that the lens is available from Leica Mayfair.  I have decided not to take up the opportunity, so UK readers - feel free to jump in!  

[shirubadanieru]

7 hours ago, Keith (M) said:

Just had notification that the lens is available from Leica Mayfair.  I have decided not to take up the opportunity, so UK readers - feel free to jump in!  

I may take it if they ship to Japan! Can you dm me please?