LEICA APO-Summicron-M 2,0/35mm ASPH is coming

film_man said:

.. Or you use more expensive glass and better construction. Etc etc

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Which is what Leica does which is why their lenses are so expensive.

film_man said:

Finder blockage is as much a basic feature as a 100% SLR viewfinder or a smooth focusing lens or wide open corner performance or anything else really, the whole contraption is a compromise just like any other man made object.

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No, it is more than any optical consideration, it is apractical one. What the use of having a finder if you cannot see the whole image???

I understand that it takes a lot of efforts to reduce the size of lenses but I find hard to accept to pay MORE to have a chance to use a camera as it should according to its design. I don't recall having a rebate when buying the camera...

Dali said:

No, it is more than any optical consideration, it is apractical one. What the use of having a finder if you cannot see the whole image???

I understand that it takes a lot of efforts to reduce the size of lenses but I find hard to accept to pay MORE to have a chance to use a camera as it should according to its design. I don't recall having a rebate when buying the camera...

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Even many (most?) Leica lenses block the viewfinder a little, especially if you use a hood. Even the tiny Elmarit 28/ASPH blocks a bit of the finder with the hood installed, hence the cutout in the hood. In practice, however, I don't even notice the blockage. I guess I've learned to ignore it.

It's really why Leicas are so much nicer to use with small lenses. 50 f2 or 2.5 (Summicrons, Voigtlander Skopar 50 2.5, Summarits), 35mm 3.5 like the old Summarons, etc.
The handling just becomes delightful.

I often use the Nokton 50 1.1 on my M5, because the bigger size of that camera works well with the big lens compared to the regular sized M bodies. But even the M5 is much nicer to use with small lenses.

Agreed. Never understood why people are attracted by hand grenades.

This is a great thread, very interesting and informative. Great depth of knowledge here.

I agree on small lenses: Summar 5cm/f2 is so tiny for a f2 lens, Summitar also. That is why I have sold my Summicrons 50mm (both Type II and Type III) - smaller 5cm/f3.5 Elmar and Summar are good enough for me.
I would go even further - I prefer LTM Elmar with an adapter over my Elmar M mount.

Although the article is now almost 20 years old, if you would like a good read check out the Mike Johnston article “The 50mm Lens and Metaphysical Doubt”
It’s on the web, look it up.
Although a lot has happened in lens design in the last two decades (especially it seems even ‘kit’ lenses have improved, even if they wouldn’t stand up to hard use). The main thing in good photography is still content, content and.....content.
Could David Burnett’s published pictures taken with a Holga have been better with if shot with a Hasselblad? I dunno, maybe, but they are still powerful pictures.
Or Michael Kenna’s art shots on a Holga? And yes, he also uses a Hasselblad to good effect, but still.....the Holga shots sell also.
I’m old and have been messing about with photography for 50 years now. Never been an artist, and not now either. And certainly don’t have the means to consider even CV lenses. (Plus, in 35mm, just not a RF sort of guy, much prefer SLR viewing and focusing.)
That said the fact that Leica is still alive proves there is a definite market for what they make. And, unlike the struggling other camera companies, they probably even make a profit.