For those of you, like myself, with too much time on their hands over the holidays, you may want to try the following modification to correct the vexing problem of the bothersome and wickedly crooked lens hood of the 35mm Summicron ASPH:

On the lens hood, in the twelve and six o'clock positions, are tabs (with white lines) that fit into corresponding recessed cut-outs just beneath the aperture ring. These hold the lens hood secure and keep it from twisting. However, if the tabs are slightly misaligned in the manufacturing process the hood with not fit squarely, that is horizontal to the top plate.

The solution is to simply trim tiny bits of plastic from the edges of the top and bottom tabs. A tiny blade, saw or file should do the trick. While there is now a small amount of play in the hood if one twists it, the hood still fits tightly in position; but if it is bumped out of position it can be put square again by simply moving it back.

Hope everyone has a great new year.

Cheers,

Dennis

-- Dennis Couvillion (couvilaw@aol.com), December 30, 2001

Answers

It is also a simple and inexpensive fix to have it repaired properly.

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), December 30, 2001.

Dennis, this is not meant to be a fight against you... but... since I paid about USD 1135 for my new (current) 35 'cron, I don't see any reason or even any wish to get down to brass tacks by using pieces of plastic or toothpicks or whatever. Leica produced some insufficiencies here, and they had to remedy this. And they did. It took me five minutes in the store. That's all.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), December 30, 2001.

What about us folks who bought ours either second hand or grey market?

-- Dennis Couvillion (couvilaw@aol.com), December 30, 2001.

Dennis,

Sounds like a good solution. Unfortunately my lens rotates past the 12 o'clock position (judging by the infinity setting on the lens) and thus it seems to be the lens mount at fault and not my hood.

I marked off with a little pencil mark on the camera body the adjacent place where my 50/2 and 90/2 AA lens infinity line was (this is at the 12 o'clock position). My 35/2 Asph. definately goes slightly past this.

I merely turn my 35/2 lens so that it's infinity line lines up with the small 12 o'clock pencil mark on the camera. This means that it doesn't lock into place, however it is as stiff as to rotate and has virtually no chance of ever falling off accidentally. If it does, I would claim insurance on it. I am very reluctant to turn the 35/2 lens the degree or so past the place where my other lens stop (just to line up the hood) as it gets very tight to turn. Incidentally I am not suggesting for one moment that anyone else do what I do.

Really speaking I should of insisted on getting this minor problem rectified. I showed this 35/2 lens to the import agent. I think they thought I was making a fuss over virtually nothing. They did offer to have the lens repaired in Germany under warranty, however they didn't offer to replace the lens with a new one (I don't think they had one in stock at the time). I declined their offer because of the time involved. However to keep me happy they gave me a very, very good deal on the new Leica M motor.

-- sam smith (Ruy_Lopez@hotmail.com), December 30, 2001.

I have a Millennium painted version of this lens. forgive the apparent facileness of the question, but: what precisely (in very simple language) is the problem? I need to get it fixed once i know with what I'm contending.

Thanks.

-- PD (pd100@hotmail.com), January 02, 2002.

PD,

It concerns the plastic retangular hood that is fitted to the 35/2 Asph Summicron M being 'out of square' with the camera body i.e. the hood when viewed from the front is at slightly cocked to one side (usually the right side). It is purely a cosmetic thing and does not appear on the vast majority of these lenses as far as I can tell.

The hood on your painted version is probably metal and is most likely dead square. You can tell by simply mounting the lens on the camera and viewing the hood from the front.

-- sam smith (Ruy_Lopez@hotmail.com), January 02, 2002.