Thoughts on this 1984 “King Of Bokeh” lens

[dav3]

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I found this recently serviced lens (model no. 11310) on the german market for around 2100$. Been loving the look of examples I found but wanted to hear people’s opinion or even personal experiences with it 

I’d pair it with my m11

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Edited March 11, 2024 by dav3

[egrossman]

Depends on where it's made. This is one of the only Leica lenses that makes a differences in terms of made in Canada vs Germany. The Canadian variant has plastic internal parts, whereas the German is all metal. See: https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/419364-plastic-king-of-bokeh/

Edited March 11, 2024 by egrossman

[dav3]

37 minutes ago, egrossman said:

Depends on where it's made. This is one of the only Leica lenses that makes a differences in terms of made in Canada vs Germany. The Canadian variant has plastic internal parts, whereas the German is all metal. See: https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/419364-plastic-king-of-bokeh/

This one’s the Canadian one. The German made one is around a thousand more. 

[lct]

Got my Canadian copy new in the eighties. Presence of plastic in its parts was not documented yet. Happened this to it in the twenties so i got a more expensive German copy that works superbly since then. More expensive but no regret.

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[la1402]

I had it a sold it (German version). The advantage of this lens is the tiny size. It’s nice but nothing special while the wonky oof behavior gets old quickly. If I would go tiny 35 again, it would be the new 35 Ultron 2.0. 

[GFW2-SCUSA]

I have the German version and like it for its size and color. I've never understood the King designation since it's not something I care a lot about. What I do find interesting is the price has tripled since I bought mine new. I remind myself of that and what a wonderful investment Leica lenses are! I try that rationale on my wife.  I don't think she is convinced... nor about boats...

[egrossman]

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I owned a German version of this lens. With its significant appreciation and the fact that it got almost no use since getting the even smaller 35mm Summilux pre-ASPH, selling it was a no-brainer to me.

[hjddd]

It works well with the resolution of M10-R， the photo is sharp ， but Iam afraid that it cannot reach the resolution of M11…

Edited March 12, 2024 by hjddd

[lct]

There is not to be afraid of the Summicron 35/2 v4's resolution or anything else on the M11. Below @ f/2, FF and crop. Of course, at smaller apertures, resolution is even higher.

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[WvE]

I have the German version since the late 90's, got it serviced in Wetzlar and added the 6-bit code. There are undoubtedly better lenses out there but for me it's a wonderful small lens with lots of character.

[geotrupede]

great lens, purchased few years back and enjoyed all the time on film. However, and I have the german version, it is a little fragile and things will need maintenance here and there. 

G.

[lct]

My German made Summicron 35/2 v4 is from 1991 and has been 6-bit coded by Leica too. Got it in 2019 in mint condition and i've not noticed any fragility since then. The lens works fine on both my M240 and M11 as well as my Kolari mod Sony A7r2. I like also its successor, the Summicron 35/2 asph v1, which is sharper below f/5.6 but i prefer the gentler rendition of the v4 on people and portrait. Only cons are its relative softness at edges and corners below f/4 and a bit of focus shift at about f/4 too. Color fringing is not perfect but neither is that of the asph v1 which has more distortion. A keeper for its character and compact size whichever the resolution of the camera IMHO.

Edited March 13, 2024 by lct