The Speed Panchro is not a great performer, certainly not anywhere near the 7 element Summicron.
I seem to recall a lot of people didn't like the Panchro II's body design. The weird "winged" focus tab was questioned, for instance - and didn't it need an unusual hood fitting?
But why selling a copy of an Summicron rigid when the original is cheaper? The Speed Panchro ll is not a copy of the Summicron rigid, but a copy of a famous cine-lens from the 1920's.
A Summicron Rigid with good glass will cost more. Often a lot more. Prices have really shifted in the last 5-10 years.
It does, but why make a lovely new rigid Summicron lookalike housing with a Speed Panchro optical unit? I’d understand if it performed better, but it doesn’t. The only reason I can think of is that they ordered or manufactured a lot of Speed Panchro optical units, and the first version sold so badly that they figured they needed to do something to sell the glass.
That would be awesome, especially if they also make a black paint one. I am afraid that my bp rigid Summicron is shelf ornament; I’m too concerned about it to take it out. A copy would be nice, especially if LLL have learned to collimate lenses properly since the first batch of 8 element 35s.
If you can find a Rigid Cron in new condition for $850, please let me know! - even more so for the LTM version, which the last time I checked were running about $3K USD for the used reissue version. I can't recall ever seeing an original Rigid in LTM for sale, but I think they do exist.
