Fred Miranda wrote:
Thanks Jim!
Yes, f/2.8 reduces outlining making the overall draw smoother. I like both looks.
I wonder how the 35/2 8E compares to the 35/1.4 'pre-asph' @f/2. Anyone did a comparison?
When you get your Steel Rim reissue back, you should do a comparison with the LLL 8E. I think that's a better comparison since they're both reissues based on the v1 of their line.
Three of us have confirmed the wavy field curvature, are we sure this is not the character of the LLL 8E? Do we know if the original Leica 8E performs similarly?
I will check my collapsable version of the 8E tomorrow for field curvature. If it matches my regular 8E, then we have four copies performing similarly. In that case, then maybe it's just how this lens is. In practice, it doesn't cause issues for me like the field curvature of the CV 50 f/1 did, which was problematic both at infinity and at close distance. With both copies of my 8E, I'm not seeing dramatically soft mid-field at infinity (at 24mp), nor am I seeing sharp edges at close distance when shooting wide open.
BastianK wrote:
Hearing that I have little hope for the Hologon remake now, which is apparently very hard to produce according to a lens designer I talked to lately.
The Elcan seems really nice. As is obvious by now I am not much of a pixel peeper being a film shooter primarily. What the Elcan brings is really nice rendering and a fantastic tiny size! I really don’t like big lenses on M cameras, they just spoil the balance.
The problem is I already have a bunch of 50s, including the very small CV 50 2.5.
Love these pics Jim! Especially the Jordan and Lauren one. I notice most were taken w the 35mm. As a fellow M5 film shooter, what’s your take on the Elcan?
The M5 (i.e. the most ergonomical/well-laid-out and misunderstood Leica) balances nicely with the 'Elcan' and the 8-element. I use a generic 12504 hood on both lenses...which sadly chews up the paint :/
The 'Elcan' is a dual-character vintage-style lens. It has lots of personality wide-open, but calms down quickly, though. It never really gets extremely sharp in the corners. The build quality feels phenomenal, in-hand. The reverse aperture with Bart Simpson tab is weird, in theory, but only requires a little more thought in practice. Neither lens is cheap, but they feel very luxe, and I like the photos I take with them.
P.S. thanks for your work tracking down solutions to the M5's triangular light leak. I was able to pass your research on to Jadon at Red Dot Repair and get my camera patched up.
highdesertmesa wrote:
Nice shots – I really like the focus falloff and overall rendering here. Have you noticed if the focal length of the Elcan matches the 50 Lux ASPH or falls wider?
The M5 (i.e. the most ergonomical/well-laid-out and misunderstood Leica) balances nicely with the 'Elcan' and the 8-element. I use a generic 12504 hood on both lenses...which sadly chews up the paint :/
The 'Elcan' is a dual-character vintage-style lens. It has lots of personality wide-open, but calms down quickly, though. It never really gets extremely sharp in the corners. The build quality feels phenomenal, in-hand. The reverse aperture with Bart Simpson tab is weird, in theory, but only requires a little more thought in practice. Neither lens is cheap, but they feel very luxe, and I like the photos I take with them.
P.S. thanks for your work tracking down solutions to the M5's triangular light leak. I was able to pass your research on to Jadon at Red Dot Repair and get my camera patched up....Show more →
Great! I need to note down Red Dot Repair in case I need further M5 service. I’ve noticed some shops, even if they serviced the M5 in the past, no longer want to do it.
Desmolicious wrote:
Great! I need to note down RedDot Repair in case I need further M5 service. I’ve noticed some shops, even if they serviced the M5 in the past, no longer want to do it.
Jadon at Red Dot is top notch. He's young and brilliant and has some pretty cool ideas for the future (namely getting a vacuum chamber so he can re-coat old optics...or in the case of the M5 upgrade the finder optics to multi-coated).
Desmolicious wrote:
All shot at f2? Is this the OG Elcan or the LLL?
All wide open. Not the OG, LLL replica.
At infinity I see a noticeable drop in resolution/contrast away from the center area (just like the MTF graph shows) but at closer distance, the drop is not as significant.
Here is a sample showing at 2m:
(straight out of the camera using Adobe Standard profile)
I'm not sure why my M9-P shows the lens as "Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2 (IV, V) lens " in 'auto detection' even though there is no code on the lens...
M9 Digital CameraLeica Summicron-M 50mm f/2 (IV, V) lens50mmf/2.41/90s640 ISO-0.3 EV
