Will you pay $7,195 for the new 50 'cron Asph?

[steveyork]

Makes the Asph Summilux I purchased back in '05 seem like a pretty good deal now. They'll probably sell more then any us anticipate. I've been constantly amazed over the last several years at how willing amateurs are to shell out big $$ for new M9s, Summiluxes and Noctiluxes at these very high prices. Maybe Leica noticed too.

 

[vitaly66]

I bought one but had to send it back already. It was a pretty good lens except the autofocus feature seemed to be very slow.

 

[elmer3.5]

Hi, no i wouldn´t pay such amount for a lens...it´s way too muhc to carry on the strets, even 1000 usd is too much but that´s my limit....

The other day bought a summilux 50mm asph. and an elmarit 21 mm NIB but solely for doing business, sold them quickly and used the money for my girls education 😛

My c-sonnar is enough for me, small, fast and sharp!

 

[rxmd]

Somewhere I read a statement from a Leica representative that worldwide there are some 1500 die-hard Leica collectors that will buy anything from Leica, no matter what, at pretty much any price. Just from the new Summicron 50/f2 alone these people have just made Leica $11 million.

Products like this keep the company floating to develop the next iteration of digital camera.

 

[jplomley]

I can't fault my v5 Cron. Have made exhibition prints from my film M's and digital M's with this lens that just blow me away. Paid $1500 used and it was worth every penny. I doubt the improved performance of the new version would even be noticeable in print, especially as all my work is handheld street images. Steadiness and subject movement are the limiting factors, not lens performance in this genre. I think we get carried away with pixel peeping.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

Yes. I am getting a matched pair and using a metal lathe to turn them into goggles for motocross racing. I will, of course, strip the metal parts down to the brass/aluminum and anodize the them in platinum. So mounted, I fully expect them to see two weeks into the future, cure cancer, feed the hungry and maintain a cutting edge superior to Wolverine's adamantium claws. Ahem.

 

[EZfan]

Compares a 50mm APO lens with any non-APO lens to see the red channel, it looks like the color produces by a non-APO lens is fading. Try it and you'll be hooked, believe me.

 

[Paul Luscher]

No, I will struggle along with my old pre-ASPH 50mm Summilux. Works good enough for me...and I will have that "classic" look, which everybody suddenly wants after they've sold off the lenses that gave them that look for that super-sharp ASPH lens, without having to buy expensive software to get it...

 

[J J Kapsberger]

I can't fault my v5 Cron. Have made exhibition prints from my film M's and digital M's with this lens that just blow me away. Paid $1500 used and it was worth every penny. I doubt the improved performance of the new version would even be noticeable in print, especially as all my work is handheld street images. Steadiness and subject movement are the limiting factors, not lens performance in this genre. I think we get carried away with pixel peeping.

We certainly do at times.

I have the first version of the 1979 optical formula: made in Canada, vented hood, focusing tab. I paid $950 for it a couple of years ago. I'm glad I did--that lens has delivered results that stun and leave me wondering how it can be improved. I guess it can, and I'd really love the new Apsh, if only to own, and admire, something of such ultimate performance.

But I can't reliably focus a RF lens at f/2.0, and my arms and hands can't work like a tripod. Likely I'd never realize the performance difference.

Still, I'd buy the new lens. But I can't afford to.

Nevertheless, I wish Leica well. I hope it's a commercial success and a reason for their designers to be proud.

 

[PhotoMat]

That can probably be said for nearly every Leica lens. I mean, compare the price of the 35 Summarit to the 35 Skopar, just for example.

Or how about a 50/1.8 Nikkor for $100 new, compared to the 50/2 APO ASPH. 🙂

This situation has existed for ages. It's a limited production item that offers the absolute best build quality and performance with no expense spared. Similarly, one can buy a 4 wheel vehicle (say, a Kia) at the bottom of the price curve, or a 4 wheel Maybach at the top...or a $2M Bugatti 🙂

I might pick up one to throw in the glovebox of my soon-to-be-acquired Veyron, assuming that I have some leftover change and that the car does, in fact, have a glovebox.😉

 

[mfogiel]

I have looked at the technical sheet of this lens. I think they are anticipating the future: with the sensors getting more cramped with pixels, and at the same time gaining in ISO performance, the f2.0 50mm lens will be optimal, on condition that it will still be able to outresolve the sensor, and not generate any unwanted issues, like vignetting, distortion, chromatic aberration. This is THE 50mm workhorse lens for the M10 and M11, and it is evident that these cameras will have more than 18MP. If fashion and landscape photographers will embrace Leica M for their work, then they won't blink at the price.

 

[MCTuomey]

They really killed off the 'lux with this. With a clean 8000 ISO, the demand for high speed should decline dramatically, leaving this new 'cron king of the hill!

Couple the new cron with the M9-M ... will be interesting to see the results, especially at higher iso's. No chrominance noise, no CFA, with a lens whose resolving power across the frame is otherworldly. F/2 will become the new f/1.4 as noise performance continues to improve.

I won't buy either, because I can't, but I'm going to enjoy seeing what they can do.

Someone mentioned the irony that only Leica can bring out an apochromatic lens with a monochromatic camera ... more power to them.

 

[jdriffill]

The target market might include people who already have the 0.95 Noctilux, the 50 Summilux asph, the current 50mm Summicron, the 75mm Summicron asph, the 28mm f2.0 asph, etc, etc.. Such a person might feel a keen desire to have this lens.

 

[Araakii]

The target market might include people who already have the 0.95 Noctilux, the 50 Summilux asph, the current 50mm Summicron, the 75mm Summicron asph, the 28mm f2.0 asph, etc, etc.. Such a person might feel a keen desire to have this lens.

And these people are pretty common, at least based on what I can see.

 

[ChrisC]

In parallel forums to this site there are threads being written by wealthy, enthusiastic hobbyist flower, dog, cat, and grandchildren photographers queuing up for the ASPH; but those forums are being written in Chinese and Arabic.

This lens may well turn out to be a masterpiece, and given a lottery win I wouldn't hesitate to buy it for my work, just as I also wouldn't hesitate to get a 60mm f4.0 Coastal Optics for use on Nikon. But if you're not making photographs of substance needing exhibition prints 40 inches wide, there are many 50mm lenses that will work superbly.

But I do dread the crappy posts of flower, dog, cat, and grandchild photographs this fabulous lens will inevitably provide.

.............. Chris

 

[splitimageview]

I do dread the crappy posts of flower, dog, cat, and grandchild photographs this fabulous lens will inevitably provide

Thank goodness we don't have to endure these taken with cheap lenses. 😉

 

[bhop73]

I can't even get myself to spend around $1200 for a used 50 'cron..

 

[Araakii]

But I do dread the crappy posts of flower, dog, cat, and grandchild photographs this fabulous lens will inevitably provide.

.............. Chris

They are just doing what they like to do. If these shots were taken with a cheap point and shoot, would you not dread as much?

What's wrong with wealthy hobbyists? They just want the best stuff they can get. They are not obliged to take good photos.

 

[Araakii]

I can't even get myself to spend around $1200 for a used 50 'cron..

I think the first couple purchases are the most difficult decisions. Once you get through that psychological barrier, you will soon forget about the price tag.

 

[Ken Ford]

I think the first couple purchases are the most difficult decisions. Once you get through that psychological barrier, you will soon forget about the price tag.

Very true! What's that old saying? "The joy of high quality remains long after the pain of high price is forgotten” or something like that.

That said there's no freaking way would I spend $7K on this lens, ever if I could afford it.