Stunning price for old summicron 35mm

The M2 8 element version is the most expensive M-mount Summicron.

Sometimes there are LTM and black 8 element copies that fetch even more.
 
Roughly almost $2K, I saw one sold somewhere recently for $2.2K here in the US so this is a relatively good price I suppose. It is staggering but this is the German version manufactured at the end of the run. I use this lens which I bought around this time last year for about half this price and I don't understand why the price has run up like this. It is extremely well made (according to Steve Choi) and great to use but still... 😱
 
That's a little more than I'd want to pay, but Ebay is not a rational system for pricing. I got $2168 for my V IV 35 (German) Summicron on Ebay, that's ridiculous. Some people have heaps of money, and make very high bids to ensure they will win. If two such people happen to coincide on a single listing, the seller can win big time.

I put up a listing once for a goggled first version 35 'lux. It sold for around $2,400, a nice price, but initially someone bid, then retracted their bid because they noticed a small flaw. Their maximum bid became visible to me once it was retracted: $5000, that's FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. If two yahoos like that meet up, you have to wear eye protection due to flying $$. Gosh, I hope that bidder isn't reading this. No offense!
 
One person from another forum stated that each eBay sale was "a story of one". I liked the phrase. You never know what you're going to get on eBay but recently prices have been good.
 
So the lens optics are identical for the 8-element version Summicron, but the goggles drive down the price by $1500? Wow.
 
5 or 6 years ago I sold a black paint 8 element in "user" condition for $600. Maybe 20 years earlier I'd paid $200 for it, also in "user" condition. That lens made plenty of money over the years.
 
Raid, the goggled version was made for the M3, and a large percentage of Leica users had M3 bodies back then. The goggles are bulky and introduce a lot of distortion and a flare amount of flare into the view. If you want the "look" of the 8 element in your photos they're a bargain. If you want a lens that's a joy to use don't get the goggled version.
 
raid said:
So the lens optics are identical for the 8-element version Summicron, but the goggles drive down the price by $1500? Wow.
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hi raid. i have the V1 35 Summilux with goggles and it goes for around $2k these days. i was looking for a non-goggled one a while back and saw them closing for $4k! those goggles are a hassle but the glass is the same. so until i find a cheap one, i'll live with them.
on another note, the hood(ollux) for the V1 summilux goes for around $600 in nice shape. i have never even taken it out of the house!

bob
 
Al,
I got that lens along with the M3, so they were a perfect match for each other.
I will not spend any money on replacing a lens with another that has identical optics but that has a better view in the VF. I don't even place much value on VF's even though they can make huge differences in the cost of cameras. My Canon 19mm 3.5 did not come with the matching Canon 19mm finder, so I used a FSU 20mm finder by Russar for the 20mm Russar. The sameappliesto my Rokkor 21mm 4.5. It's no big deal not to have a great finder. The lens optics are most important for photography. Collectors can have the luxury of getting exact finders and ... etc.
 
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bob338 said:
hi raid. i have the V1 35 Summilux with goggles and it goes for around $2k these days. i was looking for a non-goggled one a while back and saw them closing for $4k! those goggles are a hassle but the glass is the same. so until i find a cheap one, i'll live with them.
on another note, the hood(ollux) for the V1 summilux goes for around $600 in nice shape. i have never even taken it out of the house!

bob
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Hello Bob,

I also believe that the 8-element goggled 35/2 goes for $1500-$2000 these days when the lens is in very clean condition. My lens is in mint- condition, and I added the "minus" just to be on the conservative side.

I am in the process of raing cash to buy a Summilux with a really used and bent lens hood. Still, the hood does its job. It may even make the lens less attractive for prospective criminals aiming at stealing the lens.
 
I paid $450 for a mint one twenty-five years ago. I went to the dealers house, he slid-open a tool drawer cabinet and had eight of them!

My choice. 🙂

Just as happy -now- with my V1 M2 35mm F2.8 Summaron.
But still getting to know it.
 
It is the second version, based on what I have read about the serial numbers. I like it so far. It is a loaner for the time being.
 
Raid,

I've always been curious about that V1 Summicron that you say is your fav. How does it handle flare? I've only used a V4, and an asph, and I like those both for different reason, though I'd probably choose the V4 if I had to.

btw, I get the impression that the 'lux is not so good wide open. Not that I'm a sharpness freak, but I recall seeing this one photo where a person was in front of, and surrounded by, something like christmas lights, and IDK, maybe spherical aberrations(?), made the lights into this swirling nest of litebrite barbed wire. Distracting to say the least. I know that lens has it's following for sure though. Maybe I'm just jealous because I failed to buy one when they went for $750. 🙂
 
tonal1 said:
Raid,

I've always been curious about that V1 Summicron that you say is your fav. How does it handle flare? I've only used a V4, and an asph, and I like those both for different reason, though I'd probably choose the V4 if I had to.

btw, I get the impression that the 'lux is not so good wide open. Not that I'm a sharpness freak, but I recall seeing this one photo where a person was in front of, and surrounded by, something like christmas lights, and IDK, maybe spherical aberrations(?), made the lights into this swirling nest of litebrite barbed wire. Distracting to say the least. I know that lens has it's following for sure though. Maybe I'm just jealous because I failed to buy one when they went for $750. 🙂
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The 8-element Summicron is a very sharp lens when used closed down from 4.0,and it is also sharp enough wide open. Its built quality is first quality Leica. As for the Lux, I find it to be an excellent lens even when used wide open. The first version Lux seems to have been not as good as the second version Lux.
 
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