New 28mm Summicron!

[Doug]

Woo-hoo! I just bought a new 28mm Summicron on eBay! Surprised, really, since I expected to be out-bid. I put in only a modest bid at the last minute, and it appears I was willing to pay more than anyone else... It ended at only $1875. That called for a bit of excitement with jumping up and down. Here's the auction page:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7516376813&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOAB:US:6

Maybe the high Reserve slowed enthusiasm in bidding as the amount got higher and higher, and it was met only in the last seconds of the auction.

Anyway, the lens is NIB with US warranty, from a Leica dealer. I've been wanting one of these for quite a while. It's my third Leica lens, and my third NEW Leica lens, but it's been a long spell since the previous one in 1968, a "fat" Tele-Elmarit.

Shortly after the auction close, I sent an email to the seller, asking for a phone number to call to arrange direct payment. About 5 seconds later the phone rang, and it was the seller calling me! Nice guy too. He said the lens was "new old stock" that had been on the shelf at his retail store in Calif for a few years, so he figured he had less into it than a newly imported one.

Won't this be sweet on the CLE? 😀

 

[jbw]

wow... i am jealous.... i have been cking ebay every day for this lens.... don't know how i missed this one.... Congratulations...... ( she said w/envy in her eyes.....) 🙂 ... and the crazy part is...that i am in san fran... just a bridge away from where the lens was located..

 

[Todd.Hanz]

Congrats Doug you deserve it, can't wait to see some pics. It seems not many people use this focal length, I'm having fun with my 28 ultron though it seems wider than it is sometimes.

Todd

 

[peter_n]

Congrats Doug I know you've been looking for one of these for quite a while. That is a nice looking lens and I have read that it is a fantastic performer. Looking forward to a few pics! 🙂

 

[SolaresLarrave]

I had it in my watch list...

Doug... people like you...

Oh, never mind. It's just plain, green envy, that's all. But I still happy about you! 🙂 Believe me, 😉 I am! 😀

 

[back alley]

1875?

didn't someone fight a war in that year?🙂

oh man, and i almost didn't get the 28/3.5 cause it went over 2 hundred! ha!

all jealousy aside, congrats doug and i cannot wait to see how you handle that lens.
i have been studying todd's technique with his 28 hoping to learn SOMETHING.

joe

 

[Doug]

Thanks for sharing my enthusiasm, guys! Francisco, truly, you were watching it too? And didn't bid? JBW, it might be worth a trip over to Sarber's Cameras in Oakland to see if he has other "new old-stock" goodies...

This is a crazy/expensive lens, even at mail-order price of $2595, and even at $720 less than that on eBay! Still 8x the cost of the 28 Ultron... But it has a unique set of attributes for a Leica-fit lens. Unbeatable optical quality (not saying unequaled), speed, and tiny size... not to mention the tab!

Todd, how do you use your Ultron's speed? I like the 75° angle of view... I use the 3.5/28 Skopar (which might end up for sale), several others in various film formats... and the 2.0/28mm SMC Pentax bayonet.

In February, I took out this last lens on a little ME Super as a test in the same sorts of circumstances I might face with the proposed 28 Summicron. I wasn't shy about using it wide open, something I'd always previously avoided. I think this example below was around f/2.8 though, or even f/4. I'll add a second example known to be wide open...