ferider
Mentor
The 35 Nokton and pre-asph Summilux are quite different. The 35 Nokton has one more element, more distortion, less veiling flare, min. focus of 0.7m. The 40 Nokton is more similar to the Summilux.
To the OP: consider the v3 instead. It's a really cool lens. Flare resistant even without hood, tiny, great IQ, built like a little brick.
Roland.
Monochrom
Well-known
Hi, many has been said about the plastic parts of the v4 cron, i had to lub mine and of course dismantled it.
The plastics used are very common nothing from the space era...but don´t worry about it, plastics won´t give you hard times if not forced to crack....check if the focus is smooth.
I was very surprised when i performed focus test on my m9, it shifts from f2 up to f5.6, this is anoying because when you spend almost 2 k in one lens you don´t want to deal with this sort of things.
On the contrary i found my pre asph lux and v3 cron to be far more reliable in this way....althou the lux has a considerable amount of spherical abs...
Cheers!
The plastics used are very common nothing from the space era...but don´t worry about it, plastics won´t give you hard times if not forced to crack....check if the focus is smooth.
I was very surprised when i performed focus test on my m9, it shifts from f2 up to f5.6, this is anoying because when you spend almost 2 k in one lens you don´t want to deal with this sort of things.
On the contrary i found my pre asph lux and v3 cron to be far more reliable in this way....althou the lux has a considerable amount of spherical abs...
Cheers!
kbg32
neo-romanticist
I love my pre-asph Summilux, flare, spherical abberations, and all. It is what makes it special! The 'crons focus closer which is a plus.
Jubb Jubb
Well-known
Great lens. My best lens purchase ever made. Price seems a little steep though.
nobbylon
Mentor
Fantastic lens. Will you see any difference from an Ultron 35 1.7 or a Summilux pre aspheric from F2 onward? I doubt it but if you want one then buy it. I've had the others mentioned here and the V4 is now my only 35. Take cost and discussion of plastic out of the decision and the V4 makes sense.
fti
Established
Great lens. Currently the only lens on my M9. It's sharp enough for my taste and it's dimunitive size makes it even better. Perfect combo it goes almost everywhere with me.
If you find one in good condition for a 'decent price' I see no reason why you shouldn't get it. It's not like it's going to get much cheaper.
If you find one in good condition for a 'decent price' I see no reason why you shouldn't get it. It's not like it's going to get much cheaper.
sc_rufctr
Leica nuts
I picked it up today and did considerably better than $1,900. 
Very smooth focus with no play anywhere. The lens elements are spotless.
Body, almost perfect!
Very happy. (Doing an Irish jig)
I'll post some photos of it soon. This thing IS small!
Very smooth focus with no play anywhere. The lens elements are spotless.
Body, almost perfect!
Very happy.
(Doing an Irish jig)I'll post some photos of it soon. This thing IS small!
k__43
Registered Film User
ok, on the qualtiy issue raised by the OP:
I picked up a V4 for a price where it was almost cheaper than the new biogon I was planning to buy.
It has loss of the white paint which doesn't matter so much to me. After a few days of using it I realized the hood isn't exactly aligned with the camera, meaning the whole lens isn't. Turns out the lens module was a quite loose.
I unscrewed it fully cleaned the threads and put some loctite 243 on it. Screwed it back in, voila: problem solved.
Just remember: never grab the hood when you take the lens off the camera. Easy thing for me: cos since I have it, it is practically married to my M6.
I picked up a V4 for a price where it was almost cheaper than the new biogon I was planning to buy.
It has loss of the white paint which doesn't matter so much to me. After a few days of using it I realized the hood isn't exactly aligned with the camera, meaning the whole lens isn't. Turns out the lens module was a quite loose.
I unscrewed it fully cleaned the threads and put some loctite 243 on it. Screwed it back in, voila: problem solved.
Just remember: never grab the hood when you take the lens off the camera. Easy thing for me: cos since I have it, it is practically married to my M6.
Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
The v2 is (in)famously known for the aperture knob breaking, not because it's made of plastic, but because the part (made of metal) which connects it to the mechanism is tiny and prone to breaking if you put a lot of pressure when at one of the ends; it offers little resistance. The annoyingly-small and thin tab of the aperture ring is also prone to breaking, but you have to try purposefully to succeed.
I have never heard of the focus knob breaking on the v4. I own it, and I cannot see how that would happen unless you really meant to cause harm to it.
The aperture ring for the v4 is also made of plastic, but does not suffer any of the issues of the v2's