I got SteelRim , after a month dust went in to the inner glass, and some spots spots found at the front element, I returned it to the dealer for a service, and to my surprise Leica Australia replaced with a new one. What a fantastic service. My copy is perfect, no aperture ring wobble, smooth focus, and on top of that beautiful images and colour.
Yes!! Popcorn in hand. About to make my review in a few days too. Love this lens after DAG tighten the aperture with a 10 days turnaround and paid around $120.
FWIW-I own both the new Steel Rim and the Nokton and I vastly prefer the Steel Rim. I don't feel that they're actually comparable lenses. It's true that at f/1.4 the Steel Rim's glow is kind of out of control, but there are times when that's actually useful, when you want those glowing highlights. And at f/1.7 the glow is tamed a great deal, and the sharpness and texture of the images stands out to me. From f/2 I find that the SR is like the perfect Summicron / Ultron that I always wanted, with a vintage OOF look but modern contrast and gentle falloff. Overall I find the pictures more vibrant and the colors richer with the Steel Rim. The differences are very visible to me after shooting thousands of photos of all kinds with both lenses. Not to say that the Nokton isn't a great lens, especially for the price. But I don't think these types of test shots can really capture what makes a lens unique-for that you need to really shoot a lot in a variety of real-life situations. In terms of build quality: I like the handling of my Steel Rim quite a lot, but I also wish that the aperture ring were more dampened. I shoot it without a hood, using just a filter on the lens. No lens is perfect, and I feel that the Steel Rim is quite a niche lens, but for me it's proven to be my one-and-done 35mm.
Well-done! Beautiful images! No surprises. I agree with your findings. I test-shot a Voigtlander Nokton II MC at a coffee shop meet-up about a year ago. Then, last May or early June, I test-shot a pre-aspherical Summilux Version II, a demonstrator Summilux ASPH FLE, and my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1.4 ZM, together, at a Leica dealer. Then, at the end of June, Leica USA, in New Jersey, received a shipment of the Re-Edition Steel Rim lenses. I ordered quickly, before they were sold-out. I was blessed to receive a good one. My Re-Edition Steel Rim Summilux may well remain my only Leica-brand M lens to have been bought new, rather than pre-owned, so, I am glad that it was a positive experience.
i LOVE the look of that MAP exclusive Nokton Classic. Brass, the barrel design is very much like the first version but the optical used the second version which reduces the focus shift. it's SUCH a beautiful package! (edit: seems like MAP exclusive might use the v1 optical design, apologies from me) I do think the focus shift in Nokton is causing that loss of sharpness and that's a common problem among lens of that formula. Refocusing differently might be the solution but it's not a big deal especially on mirrorless.
@@kurocamera interesting. i may have mistaken because i read somewhere Voigtlander used the new dispersion element there but i Googled again, some says it's the version 1 too. Sorry for the wrong info!
@@dlyon9673 well honestly you can’t really compare the 1.5 ii to these old design lenses. The 1.5 is much sharper with its aspherical design, especially in the corners. That’s why I compared it with the lux asph and the thypoch 35 asph in my last video. Optically they are in different leagues.
I have your titanium version of the pre-ASPH and the reissued steel rim. Both have that Leica glow at wide open aperture. It is a bit hard to definitively say which lens is better because the glass of the vintage one might have some imperfections that I am not aware of. I probably should use these two lenses more than the vintage 35 mm Summaron f/2.8 lens that I like a lot. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I am thinking about saving up for the steel rim but, in the meantime, I got the Voigtlander 35mm f1.5 Nokton. A bit bigger than the f1.4 but I can live with that as I found the f1.4 just a bit difficult to use. It’s so good I’m wondering whether to bother saving up for any other 35mm
The Voigtlander 35 1.4 Nokton II currently sold addresses the issues of the v1 optics: distortion, focus shift, and field curvature. The Map Camera version is the old v1. It's too bad we don't have a v2 version with the brass construction of the v1 Map Camera special edition.
@@JimmyCheng I see. I'd read the vII improved on all those issues over the vI, but perhaps not as much as I thought. Thank you for the clarification. I thought you were using the Map Camera version for the testing, but I probably wasn't paying close enough attention.
@@hdm-nm nah it was my bad, I forgot to point out it is the v2. I have not really test them side by side tbh, I thought the map camera one has the newer optic. I'll do some comparison to see if that is or is not the case.
@@JimmyCheng Yes, it's my understanding that there are two types of the version I: the regular black production version and the special edition silver Map Camera version. And I read there is only one version II, which is also black. If there is indeed a silver and brass vII, it would mean Map Camera made two separate special editions.
It is a love hate relationship for me. The SR is my favorite lens I have used but its currently in Germany because the aperture ring seized up and was very hard to move. So we will see....going on Month #3 of it being gone. Kind of thinking of picking up a v2 and selling the SR when I get it back.
nice comparison video jimmy, and about that leica steel rim many complaint in that build quality maybe they are build or assembled in Portugal not germany ? 😅 because many of leica Summicron lenses are made there and also so can make more of that in order. I will stick to my Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm F1.5 II. it`s small enough and great built quality than that NOkton 35mm F1.4 even on the mark 2 version side by side I tried it.
They are built in Germany as far as I know (as engraved), Only a handful of lenses are built in Portugal and they are cheaper than the German counterparts actually. The 35 1.5 ii is my favourite 35 right now! Sharp yet with smooth bokeh.
i own the germany copy of V2 pre-A, was quite intrigued with the steel rim reissue look, after viewing your review, it deter me to pull the trigger due to ... not so solid build.
I think the glow on the 8-element at f2.0 is just right, and the steel rim or pre-asph at f1.4 is a bit too much. As for the build quality, for sure, Leica has cut corners for modern products. I doubt i will buy any of these newer lenses (newer than 11663) because of the look, ergonomics, or build quality, and that’s a big problem for leica.
@@dacookieman_ I’ve oddly never bought a new Leica item. All used and I guess I’ve been lucky. The only thing I had to do once was replace the focus tab in my 35 pre asph lux. I got it so cheap because of the broken tab and it took a $40 part to repair.
Yeah it’s a bit of an unfortunate situation for Leica users out there. But at least they replaced it and send back the updated hood instead of the original design.
