An Open Letter to Leica. Dear Stefan and Andreas...

[tappan]

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I am writing today in hopes that a new 24mm M lens will be in the pipeline and forthcoming in 2025 :-).
I am a loyal Leica user and lover of the 24mm focal length.
My 24mm Elmarit wants a new sibling. One with newer optics and closer focus.
I know that many traditional Leica enthusiasts are not as fond of the 24mm lens as I am.
Aww shucks, I know it would be big bucks, but please reissue the 24mm Summilux.
Thank you,
Mark

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[hunterits]

I agree....long overdue....well stated Mark.

[Overgaard]

Isn't the 24mm Summilux good enough? I have the 21mm Summilux and find it quite good. The design is only from 2008 which is not old for a Leica lens (sort of half way through its life-cycle). I think it just didn't sell much.

[jankap]

And for low light with the Elmarit see the post of user SrMi for what is possible today:

Q2 low light with Adobe's AI Denoise

Edited September 20, 2024 by jankap

[LeicaR10]

Tappan,   I couldn't agree more with you on stating the need for the M 24 Summilux.  I think the same would hold true for those who feel let down and very disappointed by Leica for not fielding the long promised SL 24 Apo Summicron or even a updated M 24 Elmar.  Thanks for stating need for the 24mm focal length be it for the M or SL lenses.  r/ Mark

[patrickcolpron]

9 hours ago, tappan said:

My 24mm Elmarit wants a new sibling. One with newer optics and closer focus.
I know that many traditional Leica enthusiasts are not as fond of the 24mm lens as I am.

The 24 Summilux is great as is, not sure it really needs to be revamped or improved.

What would be really cool is an APO 24 Summicron, smaller than the Summilux and a lens which would handle flare better than the now discontinued 24 Summilux. 

This said, I find the 24 Lux really great as is. I put the 24 Lux on par with the 21 Lux and 28 Lux in terms of colour rendition on both digital and film cameras.

I honestly don't think that many traditional Leica enthusiasts are fond of a 24 mil as a focal length on an M lens, otherwise I don't think the 24 Lux would have been discontinued but...

... but make an APO 24 Summicron and make it so expensive it becomes an object of desire and a dream lens for most, irregardless of the performance and rendering, a little like the APO 35.

But what do I know? I know I have a 24 Lux I am not parting with, even if Leica makes a close focusing 24 mil lens, imagine how ridiculous a portrait is at 40cm distance with a 24 mil lens, huh, I'd rather not.

Anyhoo, seems there is a small demand these days for 24 Summilux lenses but few people like the highly discounted price of them on the used market.

Taking this into consideration and imagining what a new one would have cost, I don't they would sell that many but I could be wrong because Leica seems to position the M system as more of a mirrorless camera than a rangefinder.

A camera to be used with Live View or a Visoflex 100% of the time. Hence making an M11 with a bigger battery...  

Edited September 20, 2024 by patrickcolpron
Because because ... I always think of something more once I press submit! Oh the infamy

[Smudgerer]

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I've the Elmarit 24 2.8 and apart from it's size I find it a very useful lens to have in the inventory, I like it's characteristics too apart perhaps the VF blockage when the rather massive hood is used, I dislike VF blockage on M's..............On the other end of things I also have the Voigtlander Color Skopar 25mm and that's tiny, no VF blockage at all and performance wise like many Skopars it is pleasantly surprising. I don't use a clip-on VF with either lens, just go with the M's 28mm whole frame and guesstimate where it maybe clipped.

[newtoleica]

The 24 Summilux is my most used lens for street photography. It’s long been my style to ‘tell stories’ with wide angle views on the street. 
I love the way the lens renders and the field of view. I don’t use an EVF but am familiar enough with the lens on an M to estimate what’s in and not in. 
this lens and the 35mm Summilux ASPH v1 are ‘the reason’ for using a Leica M IMHO. Nothing else comes close. 
A new 24… no, happy with the existing one, but would be good to have it back in production for those that want to buy a new one. 

[jaapv]

 

1 hour ago, patrickcolpron said:

the highly discounted price of them on the used market.

 

Not that discounted. Prices in the 4500-7000 $ range.

[patrickcolpron]

59 minutes ago, jaapv said:

 

Not that discounted. Prices in the 4500-7000 $ range.

If I recall correctly it was $7300 new, I might be wrong, at $4500 it highly discounted for a discontinued lens which some people really want, a little bit thanks to Alan Schaller and also the fact that it is a much better focal length than a 28 mil in my opinion. I find it much more useful for me than a 28 will ever be. 

A few can even be found with a quick online search, around $4000, to me that's a deal for such a lens.

In Europe it was €7020 new, a quick online search and it can be yours today for €4200, box, papers, everything with it, that's about 41% less than new, that's what I call I steep discount but 40% off might not be steep enough for some.

I wouldn't pay $7000 for one today knowing there is a sliding scale of prices out there, depending who is selling it and how much of a rush they are in selling their lens.

I am sure within a few weeks I could find an even better price for one.  

But what do I know... I know that for some people no matter what the price is for a lens or a camera, it will always be too high no matter what. 

[RexGig0]

I find 21mm, 24mm, and 25mm to be more interesting than 28mm, so, I support the call for an introduction or re-introduction of a “fast” 24mm lens, in the M lens line. It may be quite some time before I can hope to afford to buy such a lens, so, I cannot promise that I will be a buyer.

Interestingly, while using SLR and DSLR cameras, starting in 2009, I had little interest in the 24mm focal length. 24mm was simply an unused focal length, available in my 14-24mm, 24-70mm, and 24-105mm zoom lenses. Several years ago, I acquired a Cosina Voigtlander Snapshot Skopar 25mm f/4 lens, a tiny lens which has no rangefinder coupling, and therefore has to be focused using the distance scale. I found it to be a like-able little lens. Then, in 2022, I acquired a pre-owned Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8 ASPH, largely based upon Lloyd Chambers’ test shots and recommendation, which awakened an enthusiasm for the 24mm focal length.

Edited September 20, 2024 by RexGig0

[overexposed]

if they combo release the 21&24 lux sure.

i have both but use the 21more and i would love to have much improved optics with a large IC and sharp edges, a big flaw of the 21lux, even stopped down the edges are weak

and of course a much closer mfd to get a stronger bokeh

 

[Alberti]

My Elmar-M 3.4 has close-focus marks down to 40cm. This means that the factory had prepared a close-focus version at launch. 

Having a new capability of this 24mm wide angle with a close-focus is great for small stories (It cal already show buildings of innumerable stories.)

[Flou]

I love the way it paints colors and the look in black and white. I have not used it for a long time, because I am using the SL with my SL APOs (35mm and 75mm). These lenses are so incredible sharp even wide open and in combination with the autofocus, the pictures are amazing. 
 

But when I look at my photos taken with the M Summilux 75mm (which I sold years ago and totally regret it) and the Summilux 24mm, there is something really special in terms of rendering, which has some kind of magical paint-feeling. Hard to describe for a non-english-speaker like me. But I learned a lesson: Never sell a lens you like! 

 

Today I had the 24 Lux on my SL when I was out with my kids and in my opinion the lens is far from being perfect…but at f1.4 it has that wonderful look which alone will be the reason for me to never sell it. A new 24 Lux will be improved optically. My fear would be, that the character, which makes that lens so special, will be changed. 

 

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[newtoleica]

Typical 24 Lux look wide open on the M10M. Shot yesterday in Camden Market, London. 

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