Why doesn't E.Leitz reissue GREAT lenses?

Or....maybe this an opportunity for Leica;to make a digital friendly version of 21/3.4 S.A..
This would then give them a wide angle for a range of digital friendly character lenses which would then be ideal for use on the M11..(model no.for mono only M10 - I'm guessing
That we will eventually see.
It might persuade me to go digital.......
 
leicavidom said:
Or....maybe this an opportunity for Leica;to make a digital friendly version of 21/3.4 S.A...
Click to expand...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/798854-REG/Leica_11145_Super_Elmar_M_1_3_4_21mm_ASPH.html

Maybe the reason they don't "reissue GREAT lenses" is because they make new "GREAT" lenses already, optimized for usage on their newest cameras.

The Thambar is something totally different and not duplicated in their lineup. And as for a decades-old military lens, I doubt they couldn't best that with their modern designs, plus it's an awkward focal length.

I don't think there's any reason to reissue lenses that people have a mythical opinion of.
 
They did make a digital friendly version it’s called the Super Elmar? Had they called it an Angulon they’d likely have been slaughtered for sacrilege.

The existing lens is plentiful and great on film as it is, what need for a reissue?
 
I'd like Leica to issue lenses that I can actually afford, not some obscure lenses that give blurred (thambo) images and cost and arm and a leg.
 
won't happen for the reasons stated above - tooling alone for something they will only sell 2500 of is one reason.

The ‘affordable’ line of summarits was met with spit and hatred by many here, despite being very nice lenses. I shot the 50/2.4 for a while, lovely stuff.
 
I think they keep the tooling for their previous products. I'm thinking of the Leica "O" reissue of a few years back. They had the tooling, as I recall, to put it back into production. When they do have the tooling, I suppose the R&D work already having been done could make a re-issue cost effective. Of course, it would still take some time and money to set up and get back into production.
 
leicavidom said:
Been thinking about what lenses I would like to see reissued;top of my list would be
The amazing 21mm F3.4 Super Angulon - with a filter thread usable with currently available brands - 49mm sounds ideal. Unless Leica created a matching UV.,2x yellow and 4x orange in the original 48mm
This is an appeal for all you film users out there including moi.
Click to expand...

Just buy an original SA and use series 7 filters with the hood. Much more convenient to use and faster to change than screw in filters. B&W and others still make series 7 filters, and there are plenty of Leitz ones on the used market. But then the E48 are readily available used and new, I think B&W make them too.
The original SA is an amazing lens, don't let a simple thing like filters get in the way of using it.
 
^ 49mm filters also fit inside the hood, the same as Series VII ones.

It's a lens that really really needs that hood too, so popping a filter in there is no big deal to me.


FWIW I don't think 'Leitz' should reissue anything. Make new things. Then others can buy them, sell them shortly afterwards, then second buyer resells, then minor damage, then third buyer sells and fourth maybe loses the box and I might be #5..
 
Arthur said:
"A 66mm ELCAN could certainly be done but it was a special, rare, niche lens which never was intended for use by the general population. Design, raytracing, tooling, sourcing glass, all would be very expensive and the sales wouldn't pay for the investment."

A techie friend did an MTF study with it...

It was the sharpest lens he ever tested... 400 lpi!

We casually compared my Summicron Apo/Asph 50/2 with his Elcan 66/2 and...

...the Summicron Apo/Asph had "color fringing" that was absent in the Elcan 66/2.

?
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Sourcing glass! Yes, that is an important point. The same glasses may not be available now. So even if Leica has retained tooling--and they may have--the lens might still have to be redesigned. Apart from that, a question in my mind is whether there is a need for this focal length. It has never occurred to me that I need a 66mm lens. So the fact that a certain lens performs wonderfully may not be a sufficient reason for me to buy it. As to the lack of a finder frame, I guess one could split the difference between the 75mm frame and the 50mm (which is really a 60mm frame anyway).
 
I love the idea of a Summicron 50/v1 collapsible with modern (hard) coating or a Summilux 35/v1 with modern coating and filter threads. The problem is, I wouldn't pay new Leica lens costs for them as I imagine they'd be in the $3-5k range. If someone put them out with a Zeiss price point, I'd pick them up for sure.
 
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