The new Summarit lenses announced by Leica this morning are a triumph of design. What’s more, they are beautiful. The big surprise is the weight of the aluminium versions. Anyone used the to the extra heft of a chrome Summilux 35 or 50 will be amazed to find these new lenses weighing more or less the same as the black versions. They could even be lighter; I haven’t checked the stats.
The design is superb, with a new lens cap design that can fit over the hood or the lens. Leica has also taken the opportunity to increase the aperture of the new Summarits to 2.4 instead of 2.5.
In the past I often heard that Summarits were made to a lower manufacturing standard that other lenses in the range. I cannot say I have ever noticed this. But, if there were any lingering doubts, the newcomers are exquisitely crafted and desirable.
They also represent good value for money by Leica lens standards. I can see them cannibalising sales of Summicrons, although we have to wait for verdicts on optical performance.
The Summarits are certainly lighter and smaller than equivalent Summicrons and I think Leica has a winning range here. I think the aluminium versions will be in demand by owners of the new T.
You’re right. They look fantastic. When the Summarits were introduced about 5 years ago they were regarded as a poor man’s lens, not quite up there with proper M stuff. But I’ve seen fantastc results from some of these lenses and i don’t think the difference is all that great. After all, most lenses spend their lives at F4 and not F1.4 or F2 so the 2.5 max aperture doesn’t matter a lot. For general use I imagine any of these lenses will do a great job and I’d certainly like to add a couple to my collection. Surprisingly, by Leica standards, they are almost affordable.