[Leica] What are the rumors around Leica and Photokina? WAS : Leica annual report

[benedenia at gmail.com (Marty Deveney)]

There is a 50/2 prototype at Solms with aspherical elements that was
the basis for the "it would be too expensive" statement.  Since is was
made in the 90s (or maybe even in the 80s, I'm not sure) technology
for incorporating floating elements has improved, a number of more
expensive lenses have ben brought out, potentially decreasing the
price shock and more than anything, the rest of the Leica line has got
seriously better.  Leica is selling a lot of M9s.  At least some of
them might be to people who don't have legacy lenses.

The 50 Summarit comes nowhere near the current Summicron, and only
focuses to 90 cm.  The ones that are better than the Summicron are
incremental improvements.  I have the Cosina Zeiss 50/2 and have tried
all the Voigtlander labelled 50s.  I'm hoping for something that puts
the 50/2 back as an optically benchmark lens, not one that's lingering
in the Leica line because they don't feel motivated to upgrade it like
they have literally to literally all their other lenses.

I still have my 50 Summicron too (and an embarrassing number of other
50s* and near-50s) but would still get an improved version.

Marty

* Unless you're Jeffrey Smith, in which case my 50s are just
inadequate, not embarrassing.

On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 5:51 PM, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> 
wrote:
> As far as a new 50 Summicron goes I think they think they've done all the
> R&D they're in the mood to do on a medium speed normal and its called a 
> 50mm
> F/2.5 Summarit-M. Your not paying for a more modern design because you're
> not getting one. You are getting low tech. low cost. Money saving Leica
> design. But with a new name and a new few other things I'm sure. And the
> difference between 2 and 2.5 is what fraction of F stop? A small one. I may
> be impressed by the sound of the word "Summicron" over "Summarit" but the
> masses out there buying Leicas are not going to be. If they want more 
> modern
> optics in a 50 non fast lens from Leica they'll get the 2.5. ?Its 13 
> hundred
> dollars and some of the specs are better than the Summicron which cost two
> grand? The resolution specs at least are supposedly better on the 50's
> coming out of Cosina with the Voigtl?nder and Zeiss logos on them.
> When they do get around to updating the mythical 50 Summicron they'll not
> just add ASPH elements but complicated internal mechanisms to justify
> charging many thousand of dollars for it. Money I have no intention of
> spending.
> I got mine new on my first M in May 1993 for $650. New at Adorama.
> Got glowing results from it. And plan to get more glowing results from it.
> The next year they came out with the one with the built in shade. I like
> mine much better. My shade is plastic. Some day I'll get the metal one for
> it. The contrast is a bit low they saw. Does that mean I was using a 2.5
> printing filter and they were using a 2? Where are my tissues? The
> distortion on the Summicron is perfect. There is none. But on the Summarit
> its there. Slight. But there.
> I'm glad I got Summicron when I got it.
> And you can still get a used one for I bet the exact same amount.
> In effect I've just rented mine for free.
>
> --
> Mark William Rabiner
> mark at rabinergroup.com
>
>
>> From: "Peter A. Klein" <pklein at threshinc.com>
>> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
>> Date: Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:11:49 -0700
>> To: Leica Users Group <lug at leica-users.org>
>> Subject: Re: [Leica] What are the rumors around Leica and Photokina? WAS :
>> Leica annual report
>>
>>
>> *Something* is in the works. ?But who knows what that something is? ?It
>> could be anything from a major new model to an exciting new rebadged
>> Panasonic point-and-shoot. ?As to the 50 Summicron, I've heard someone
>> from Leica (I think Stefan Daniel) say that they had looked at improving
>> the 50 Summicron, but it simply wasn't cost-effective to do so. Of
>> course, they could change their minds. ?In the face of a $5,000 Summilux
>> Asph, hey, a $4,000 Summicron would seem positively economical.
> snip
>>
>> --Peter
>
>
>
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