The recent Leica prices are really getting out of this world - I am simply no longer able nor willing to pay for lenses in a price range above 3-4k, so unfortunately this wonderful lens will obviously never be for me.
I do not appreciate the direction Leica is going with such lenses - maybe a new 1.4/75 APO for 5-6K would have just been all right :banghead::banghead:
As far as I see it, Leica has a three-prongs approach to lens design and production, plus a fourth:
1. Slow(er) lenses; Elmars, Elmarits.
2. Medium fast lenses; Summicrons
3. Fast lenses; Summiluxes
(4). Special lenses.
In groups 1-3, you have pretty much one each for every focal length, except for 18mm and 135mm which only have one, and for 21mm, 24mm and 90mm which only have two. 75mm also has 2, considering that the f/1.4 is not in production anymore. The differences between lenses in group 1-3 are speed, of course, and (for the f/2.4 lenses) slightly build quality - optically, they all range from extremely good to exceptional.
Plus, there are (4), the special lenses (special for different reasons): the two Noctiluxes and the APO Summicron 50mm, the Thambar, the 90mm Macro, the Tri-Elmar, the 28 f/5.6...
Out of the special lenses (and out of the ultra-wide Luxes), some are an exercise in lens design, pushing the envelope in ways that no other lens maker can do. The 50mm Nocti and the new 75mm Nocti are two of such lenses, as is the 50 APO, or the ultra-wide Summiluxes: as such, it is only expected that they cost what they cost. If one doesn't need them, or if they are out of one's price range, the good thing is that one can get fantastic lenses in the M lineup for every focal length for very different prices, from (Leica)Affordable to (Leica)Expensive. True, the former are STILL expensive compared to non-Leica standards, and the latter might be Outofthisworld expensive compared to non-Leica standards. But this is the nature of the beast when you start using Leica :banghead:
Best regards,
Vieri