63strat Posted November 2, 2008 Share #1 Posted November 2, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) I know many of you will think I'm being too picky, but I prefer lenses without the finger-focus tab. I have a new Summilux 50/4, which has a focus ring and the tab, so at least with this lens I can choose to use either. The 50mm 'cron has no tab, and as far as I can tell, neither do the new 21mm & 24mm 'luxes. I don't suppose Leica offers a mod to remove the tab altogether on my '50 'lux, right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 2, 2008 Posted November 2, 2008 Hi 63strat, Take a look here Focus tab. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
bill Posted November 2, 2008 Share #2 Posted November 2, 2008 What on Earth does this have to do with the M8??? Regards, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
canlogic Posted November 2, 2008 Share #3 Posted November 2, 2008 Probably because he has an M8 and uses it unlike some. I doubt that Leica will remove the tab but maybe someone like DAG could. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
63strat Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share #4 Posted November 2, 2008 What on Earth does this have to do with the M8??? Regards, Bill I own an M8.2 and the Summilux 50/1.4 is my lens. Good enough? 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted November 2, 2008 Share #5 Posted November 2, 2008 I own an M8.2 and the Summilux 50/1.4 is my lens. Good enough? Many of the knowledgable people who may be able to answer your question do not frequent this single-model sub-forum. You would have a better chance at getting the answer you seek by posting it elsewhere. "Good enough"? Regards, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 2, 2008 Share #6 Posted November 2, 2008 I own an M8.2 and the Summilux 50/1.4 is my lens. Good enough? It is better in the Customer Forum. And, AFAIK, no, Leica will not remove the tab for you. FWIW, i have lenses both with and without tabs. I used to hate the tab (especially the locking ones), but now, my 50 Summicron from '74 doesn't feel right without one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
63strat Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share #7 Posted November 2, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) Many of the knowledgable people who may be able to answer your question do not frequent this single-model sub-forum. You would have a better chance at getting the answer you seek by posting it elsewhere. "Good enough"? Regards, Bill I'm new to this forum; I'm not sure what section of this forum is better for this type of question. Where do you suggest? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
63strat Posted November 2, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted November 2, 2008 It is better in the Customer Forum. And, AFAIK, no, Leica will not remove the tab for you. OK, live and learn, thanks. (That's all I would have needed to hear, rather than a slap on wrist.) Thanks for the advice too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfokevin Posted November 2, 2008 Share #9 Posted November 2, 2008 What on Earth does this have to do with the M8??? Regards, Bill As long as I have been here the general protocol is that all Leica related complaints are directed to the M8 forum... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephengilbert Posted November 2, 2008 Share #10 Posted November 2, 2008 Lout: an awkward brutish person. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted November 2, 2008 Share #11 Posted November 2, 2008 As long as I have been here the general protocol is that all Leica related complaints are directed to the M8 forum... Regards, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted November 2, 2008 Share #12 Posted November 2, 2008 Lout: an awkward brutish person. ...and who rattled your tiny little cage, Stephen? Regards, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrewer Posted November 3, 2008 Share #13 Posted November 3, 2008 I think it's all down to what is your habit When I had a 50 'Cron without I enjoyed the feel between thumb and forefinger But after I got the 35 'Cron I really began to enjoy the quickness with which the tab operated Suit yourself, I guess Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted November 3, 2008 Share #14 Posted November 3, 2008 SLR lenses are L-A-R-G-E and have space for acres of rubberized focusing rings. Leica M lenses are compact and most wide angle lenses do not. Human adult fingers do not come arbitrarily small. Hence the tabs. Tabs with infinity locks existed until the 1950's because most lenses had single focusing helicals and hence they rotated during the focusing. Consequently, they had to have the infinity locks because otherwise it would have been close to impossible to adjust the aperture—the entire front end of the lens rotated freely. There were some 1950's lenses which, though they had double helicals and straight-line focusing, had the locks as a reminiscence; conservative photogs felt queasy without them. Examples were the M Summaron and Summicron 35mm lenses. But as the mounts were revised during the 1960's, the locks went out. The old man from the Age of Collapsible Elmar Lenses Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_x2004 Posted November 3, 2008 Share #15 Posted November 3, 2008 I'd learn to use the tab. You can focus and f/stop at the same time and with familiarity you know where the lens is focused before lifting the camera to your eye. It just ... works. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted November 3, 2008 Share #16 Posted November 3, 2008 I'd learn to use the tab. You can focus and f/stop at the same time and with familiarity you know where the lens is focused before lifting the camera to your eye. It just ... works. Seconded. I prefocus regularly with my tabbed lenses before ever raising the camera. Regards, Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted November 3, 2008 Share #17 Posted November 3, 2008 I don't like them either. I went out of my way to get an LHSA 50/1.4 ASPH because it has a proper focusing ring. There is plenty of room on the regular 50/1.4 ASPH barrel for a focusing ring but Leica unaccountably chose to put a tab on it. With the wides you have to put up with it or buy Hexanon or Zeiss optics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun Posted November 3, 2008 Share #18 Posted November 3, 2008 Personally, I like focusing tabs -- but I acknowledge that they work better on some lenses than on others. ON the small version IV 35/2, for example, it is simply brilliant -- a wonderful piece of engineering and ergonomics. But on larger -- and especially heavier -- lenses, I find the focus tab alone to be inadequate. Hence (I suspect) the provision of both a broad focus ring *and* a tab on the Summilux 50. It would seem the best of both worlds to me -- allowing some degree of rapid prefocusing while also offering better grip with the ring.... But as you can see from the previous posts, it's a highly subjective issue!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
63strat Posted November 3, 2008 Author Share #19 Posted November 3, 2008 I don't like them either. I went out of my way to get an LHSA 50/1.4 ASPH because it has a proper focusing ring. There is plenty of room on the regular 50/1.4 ASPH barrel for a focusing ring but Leica unaccountably chose to put a tab on it. With the wides you have to put up with it or buy Hexanon or Zeiss optics. I'm not familiar with that lens. I've googled for it, but can't find out if it's still in production, or if it's just available as new old stock. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted November 4, 2008 Share #20 Posted November 4, 2008 It was a limited edition run. They're on sale on eBay. Type LHSA into the eBay search engine and run down the page and you will see two or three of them. They are visual clones of the original v.1 Summilux and come in silver chrome and black paint. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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