LEICA SUMMICRON 35mm F2 with G

Affordable 8-element Summicron with goggles

A review and photo examples of the LEICA SUMMICRON M 35mm F2 with goggles.

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Gallery

The sample photos were taken with the LEICA M10

1．Overview

The Summicron 35mm F2 with goggles is a lens made for the Leica M3, and is equipped with goggles that convert the M3’s 50mm viewfinder to 35mm.

Therefore, the tabs are designed so that when attached to an M-type Leica, the viewfinder frame will be 50mm, and when the lens is attached to M-type Leica bodies from the M3 onwards, the 50mm frame will be displayed.

Although it is a lens with goggles, there is no problem attaching and using it with digital M (M8, M8.2, M9, M typ240, M10).

The minimum shooting distance with goggles is 0.65m, which is an advantage of being 5cm closer than the 0.7m without glasses.

The lens barrel is the same as the original Summicron, so the lens hood named IROOA can be used. There is a stopper so the hood cannot be attached backwards, just like with the Summicron without goggles.

2．Usage

The image quality is just like that of an eight-element lens, and it has a soft feel when the aperture is wide open, but it’s not too hard even when stopped down and the core is extended, giving it an exquisite feel.
The lens with goggles has the same exterior paint and the feel of the stopper as the eight-element lens, and there is no difference other than the ostentatiousness of the glasses. The crepe paint finish on the glasses part is beautiful and the paint film is strong, so it didn’t peel off even when I frequently took it in and out of the camera bag.

It seems like a long time ago now, but when I got my hands on it, the Summicron with glasses was overwhelmingly cheaper than the Summicron without glasses, and could be purchased for a few tens of thousands of yen.

3．Add info.

The Summicron 35mm 8-element lens is a legendary lens, and a good one without glasses costs more than three times as much as one with glasses. As of 2024, the price of the 8-element lens has also risen, and a good one without glasses can reach three digits of yen. With glasses, it can be obtained for about one-third of that.

A brief description of each Summicron is given below.

The 6-element lens has always been cheaper than the Summicron 35mm, probably because it is less popular despite the small number of lenses.
The 7-element lens is relatively expensive, with 50,000 units produced, and maintains a price similar to the next aspherical type.
The aspherical type is still the current lens as of 2024, and has a long life and is produced in large numbers, but the list price has risen and the used price has not fallen as a result.
The apotype is a lens from a completely different world, costing over 1 million yen, and is out of reach for poor Leica users.

仕様

Items	8elements	6elements	7elements	Asferical-type	APO-type
Focal length	3.5(cm)	35(mm)	35(mm)	35(mm)	35(mm)
Max aperture	2	2	2	2	2
Min aperture	16	16	16	16	16
Aperture blade	10	10	10	10	11
Lens Construction	6群8枚	4群6枚	5群7枚	5群7枚	5群10枚
Min distance(m)	0.7 goggles 0.65	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.3
Lens length(mm)	29	33	26	34.5	40.9
Lens Max diameter(mm)	51	51	52	53	53
Filter Size	E39	E39	E39	E39	E39
Lens hood	IROOA	12504 12585	12524 12526 12504 12585	12524 12526 12504 12585	専用ねじ込み
Lens mount	M	M	M	M	M
Weight(g)	195 *	170 *	160 *	255 *	320 **
Release date	1958~ *	1696〜 *	1979〜 *	1996〜 *	2021〜
Production numbers	38,000 units *	28,000 units *	50,000 units *	110,000 units *	Unknown

*：The numbers are taken from Leica Wiki. The values do not include minor differences in specifications.
**：No official weight figures have been released.