[Leica] New 35/1.4 ASPH?

[photo.forrest at earthlink.net (Philip Forrest)]

Now isn't this coming on the tail end of the $3000 lens is leaps and
bounds better than the $1800 lens thread? But now they are being
compared to a $300 Nikkor?

As for size, you have several choices with respect to lens design. Even
with aspherics which don't allow for more compactness but for more
correction.

Super fast lens
Super small lens
Super sharp lens

You can only have two of these things and the one missing will suffer.
If Leica were to shrink the size of their Summilux line, then the
lenses would suffer from less correction. Leica is making lenses for
digital cameras now which work so much better with retrofocus designs
than older ones in which large rear elements sit millimeters from the
plane of focus. All that glass enables Leica to do things with light
that they have never before. Of course, they could make the design more
conservative but then they would call that a Summarit. Oh yeah, already
done. 
If Leica relaxes the designs more the lenses will stick out
farther like the ZM line does. They can't just decide that a new 35mm
ASPH 'lux is going to be the same size as a Pre-ASPH 'cron and make it
happen. If they did, then they'd be holding back some aspect of imaging
quality and the M8/9 can find lens faults like no other system out
there. They are pretty unforgiving cameras, so Leica is just trying to
reconcile their new path in digital photography and trying to optimize
a lens which can hack it on the M9.

Phil Forrest



On Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:30:21 -0500
Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote:

> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBcZ1jaWXRw
> > 
> > Look at the lens at 0:59.  This is the likely to be the new milux-M
> > 35/1.4 ASPH.  Note that the hood design is different from the
> > current version, and the lens itself is also larger.
> > 
> > Joseph
> 
> 
> It's my understanding that unlike the current (late 90's) Summicron
> ASPH 35 the Summilux ASPH 35 blocked the rangefinder for the past ten
> or twelve years. I had the Summicron so it didn't bother me. But that
> was not my excuse for getting it instead of the Summicron I think it
> was not the principle of the thing - it was the money.
> What I expected to see at this juncture was a new design which didn't
> block the viewfinder. Why not? design has come a long way.
> Instead I see  one more of the new  bloated Leica super lenses. Such
> as the Summilux 21 and 24 and Noctilux .95. I call that real bad news
> especially in this case. As the 35 has always  been a lens which is
> small and light and relatively affordable.
> Perhaps there will be a new generation of multi millionaire
> photojournalists who will be using this gear. As is now its a bit
> much for a successful dentist to bite off.
> A 35mm lens when  I got my M6  in April  of 1993 was the what we now
> call pre aspheric Summicron or Summilux. Both were the same size.
> Both were far lighter and smaller than the aspherics which came out
> as the current models in the late 90's. You put a 35mm lens on the
> camera and forget it. Maybe even didn't use a lens shade. No use for
> a collapsible this glass were near pancakes.  A two pancake short
> stack. It a very low key way of working. My Summicron ASPH when I got
> it felt was so heavy that I found it a bit of a bummer.
> What smoothed it over was my sure ability to get stupendous results
> wide open. It was a super lens as far as I could imagine. And all my
> pals were using Nikons and canons so for my lens I could have got a
> half dozen of theirs. But it was worth it.
> To me I call a 35mm lens on a 24x36 format camera I'm used to the
> "bring back the shot" lens.  Instead of being hard ass with a 50 or
> artsy with a 24 the 35mm lens is just going to be able to get a
> picture. Other focal lengths can be just too much. So SURE I used it
> wide open a good deal of the time the lens was always on my camera.
> And the camera was always on me. And I'm a night person.
> I was not going to drag the 24 around all day it was twice the size
> and weight and really got in the way.
> But now the 35mm is catching up. I call that a bummer.
>  I think that with the use of aspherics a Leica m rangefinder lens
> can be made compact so it dos not block the viewfinder. Instead a
> line of super lenes. The Noctilux should have been reduced to the
> size of the first 1.2. Instead of becoming even more bloated in every
> way. I think if they were smart they would re introduce a modern
> Noctilux 1.2. A Summilux on one or two steroids instead of the lens
> which ate NY.
> 
> Its time for Leica to think about some new years de bloating.
> Happy new year half the cultures out there think the new year is in
> March. And you can to. I know I do.
> 
> Lets see Leica come out with a lens which is smaller not bigger.
> A lens the size of a pre Summacron  or Summilux 35mm.
> Both were identical in size in weight other than the writing on the
> front of the barrel. Or if you measured the f stop.
> 
> My 35mm Summicron ASPH in February of the year 2000 cost me $1495.
> A nikon lens at the time cost what 300 dollars? It cost $319.95 now
> so maybe it was 200 usd. So you could get five to eight of them.
> Now a new Summicron ASPH  cost 3 grand; the price has doubled.
> But is one of the cheapest lenes Leica has now and I thought there
> was a Leica rumor they were phasing it out. Or I dreamt it last
> night. Same thing. It is now.
> 300 by the way goes into 3000 ten times.
> The decimal system.
> 
> The new generation of cutting edge Leica shooters will be doing what
> they always did. Using very old used Leica gear.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [Rabs]
> Mark William Rabiner
> 
> 
> 
> 
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