Focused at the infinity hard stop. Lots of detail and glow there.
It's interesting because when I use this lens, I get a vibe reminiscent of old Hollywood with its low contrast look. Surprisingly, I'm beginning to appreciate the lens flare it produces as well.
LEICA M10-RCooke Speed Panchro II 50mm f/2 lens50mmf/4.01/2000s100 ISO-0.3 EV
100% magnification crop from image above (Focused area)
Fred Miranda wrote:
Focused at the infinity hard stop. Lots of detail and glow there.
It's interesting because when I use this lens, I get a vibe reminiscent of old Hollywood with its low contrast look. Surprisingly, I'm beginning to appreciate the lens flare it produces as well.
Agreed, there is a lot of detail and glow at f/2 infinity, and not just in the center but across the frame. I'm bummed that on my vacation last weekend, I shot mostly stopped down. My favorites were all at f/2. I think I'll only be shooting this at f/2 from here on.
On the monochrome sensor with red color filtration, I'm liking the infrared-like effect that the f/2 glow can give the image. The red filter adds back a lot of contrast, but the image still stays "calm". I've settled on using the orange filter most of the time from here on out – and it matches the orange markings on the barrel
No tonal adjustments made to this image at all. This is just the default M11M/Auto profile in C1. Note that there is some slight motion blur visible at 1:1 due to too slow of a shutter speed (I was on a moving train).
highdesertmesa wrote:
Agreed, there is a lot of detail and glow at f/2 infinity, and not just in the center but across the frame. I'm bummed that on my vacation last weekend, I shot mostly stopped down. My favorites were all at f/2. I think I'll only be shooting this at f/2 from here on.
On the monochrome sensor with red color filtration, I'm liking the infrared-like effect that the f/2 glow can give the image. The red filter adds back a lot of contrast, but the image still stays "calm". I've settled on using the orange filter most of the time from here on out – and it matches the orange markings on the barrel
No tonal adjustments made to this image at all. This is just the default M11M/Auto profile in C1. Note that there is some slight motion blur visible at 1:1 due to too slow of a shutter speed (I was on a moving train)....Show more →
Absolutely right. When you use settings like f/2 or f/2.4 with focus stacking, your shots capture that ethereal quality that beautifully complements dramatic landscapes.
I need help deciding between (new) LLL Speed Panchro and (used) Summicron v5. I would save a few hundred if I go with Speed Panchro but should I still invest in Leica glass?
I'm absolutely in love with Panchro rendering except the blue-ish/purpl-ish smearing on some highlights in certain conditions. When stopped down, how do these two lenses compare? Although, I'm planning shooting mainly wide open whichever lens I happen to buy.
tommmi wrote:
I need help deciding between (new) LLL Speed Panchro and (used) Summicron v5. I would save a few hundred if I go with Speed Panchro but should I still invest in Leica glass?
I'm absolutely in love with Panchro rendering except the blue-ish/purpl-ish smearing on some highlights in certain conditions. When stopped down, how do these two lenses compare? Although, I'm planning shooting mainly wide open whichever lens I happen to buy.
Completely different rendering wide open. The Cron v5 has no glow, and it would be a more “normal” everyday lens. Cron is also much more compact. To me, the SPII is more of a special purpose lens, and I use a 35 as my “normal” look lens for f/2 shooting.
I also have Fujifilm GFX 50S II with two wonderful Fujifilm lenses. The quality and rendering are exceptional, but they are also very clean, neutral and in that way produce very fine "normal" look. Perfect for landscape photography.
What comes to my M11, I don't need another camera that produces very clean, neutral and normal photos. (M11 is of course capable of this.) I want the rangefinder experience. I want the all-manual experience. I want the challenge to do photography with less features.
I could turn off all the bells and whistles on GFX, but I would still have at bare minimum the electronic viewfinder and some electrical functions. On the M11, I can focus, and select the ISO, shutter speed and aperture all by hand and I don't need to turn the camera on to do that. Only setting I need to set after powering is white balance, and it will be 90% of the cases set as Daylight (or Kelvin 5500).
What I mean is that I'm looking for the experience, I'm looking for the feeling. I'm leaning towards the Speed Panchro from this point of view. One could always argue why not got for the film camera, but I've been there and I'm done with it. Digital Leica gets me as close as possible of film photography, as an experience and feeling. But I want the digital files.
Nevertheless, this isn't a rejecting decision. If I go for the Speed Panchro, it doesn't mean that I wouldn't buy Summicron also sometime in future. Hobby is hobby and it doesn't have to be optimized or you don't have to do reasonable and "right" decisions. Some might even question why the heck I have both GFX and M11 in the first place, but again this is just a hobby and I love medium format and rangefinder experience.
Ha, now I got me thinking why do I have to explain and justify all this, but thanks anyway for getting me to think this through in the first place, and sorry for the long post regarding
Took my Leica LLL 35mm f/2 8E lens out for a shoot today. Such a great lens, performs really well considering its age, and it has a unique charm in how it renders images. It's a perfect match for a M rangefinder camera.
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/4000s100 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.41/4000s100 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/4000s100 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/1000s100 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/4000s100 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/4000s100 ISO0.0 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/1000s100 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.81/2000s100 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/1000s100 ISO-0.3 EV
LEICA M10-RLeica 35mm f/2 Summicron 8-Element lens35mmf/2.01/4000s100 ISO-0.3 EV
Sonnar-7 wrote:
The Panchro is just pure magic, it has become my main 50mm lens.
Light Lens Lab Speed Panchro II 50mm f2 & Nikon Z6 ii
I mean this most respectfully, perhaps it is my monitor, but most of the pics you post look out of focus.
I don't see this issue with pics taken w the Pancro posted by others.
Desmolicious wrote:
I mean this most respectfully, perhaps it is my monitor, but most of the pics you post look out of focus.
I don't see this issue with pics taken w the Pancro posted by others.
Can others confirm if the issue is on my end?
I will try to make a few simple tests to see if there is an issue in that regard with my copy but it might just be my ability to choose a relevant point of focus.
I should work on that, I’m a bit to carefree in my shots, the glow of the Panchro possibly worsens a bad habit.
Desmolicious wrote:
I mean this most respectfully, perhaps it is my monitor, but most of the pics you post look out of focus.
I don't see this issue with pics taken w the Pancro posted by others.
Can others confirm if the issue is on my end?
---------------------------------------------
Sonnar-7 wrote:
I will try to make a few simple tests to see if there is an issue in that regard with my copy but it might just be my ability to choose a relevant point of focus.
I should work on that, I’m a bit to carefree in my shots, the glow of the Panchro possibly worsens a bad habit.
They don’t appear soft where they are focused on, but Sonnar-7 tends to prioritize focusing on distant subjects. As a result, this can cause closer foreground objects to be out of focus due to the wide-open aperture.
Aug 14, 2023 at 05:09 PM
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Desmolicious wrote:
I mean this most respectfully, perhaps it is my monitor, but most of the pics you post look out of focus.
I don't see this issue with pics taken w the Pancro posted by others.
Desmolicious wrote:
I mean this most respectfully, perhaps it is my monitor, but most of the pics you post look out of focus.
I don't see this issue with pics taken w the Pancro posted by others.
Can others confirm if the issue is on my end?
I think they are out of focus. Mid-distance with this lens at f/2 using the rangefinder is very tricky: focus is right at the very near-most side of the DOF with the sharpest point just behind the point of focus. This happens from around 3-5m distance. Closer or farther and the point of focus is more toward the center of the DOF. And just genre-wise, without a dominant subject to focus on, I would choose f/5.6 at these distances.
Example at ~3m where rangefinder focus was on the front-most leaf of the metal plant sculpture, but sharpest focus is about 10cm behind. The point of focus actually is within the DOF, but it’s close enough to the edge of the DOF that it takes on more glow and softness. Just something to account for when shooting at f/2. Perhaps others lens/body/rangefinder combos give different results, but I’m happy that the rangefinder is perfect at closer distance below 3m and further than 5m out to infinity.
If using an EVF and the results are not sharp, I’d blame low shutter speed or not zooming in to focus as the culprit. It’s not possible to focus this lens at f/2 when zoomed out and looking at the entire frame.
Desmolicious wrote:
I mean this most respectfully, perhaps it is my monitor, but most of the pics you post look out of focus.
I don't see this issue with pics taken w the Pancro posted by others.
Can others confirm if the issue is on my end?
I see this especially with Sonnar-7's Panchro images - they kind of look like film scans where the film 'popped' and the resulting scan was soft at the grain level. But I've also noticed it less intensely with wide open shots posted by others, which when zoomed in the focus appears to be correctly on the intended subject. But when the same images are zoomed out, the lens's wide open glow somewhat obscures the exact point of focus and my eye instead latches on to background content that appears snappier/sharper. It's difficult to describe but the example by HDM directly above is a good visualization of what I mean.
Fred Miranda wrote:
They don’t appear soft where they are focused on, but Sonnar-7 tends to prioritize focusing on distant subjects. As a result, this can cause closer foreground objects to be out of focus due to the wide-open aperture.
Yes, Sonnar-7 appears to like putting a lot more OOF foreground elements in images than we're probably used to seeing, which I think makes the images look even more misfocused. It kind of 'hurts' my eyes at first but it also has a certain nostalgic charm (thanks to the Panchro's wide open glow) that I can't help but look at more closely.
I think that's what happens when the point of focus is just slightly at the close end of the f/2 DOF – it will appear sharp-ish when zoomed in, but it will look soft zoomed out. Most of the time that slightly missed point of focus falls behind the subject, so you never really get a sharp feel to the image when zoomed out.
There is also a distinct look to some images here that are shot in color and also very slightly overexposed – gives a very Hollywood look due to the glow combined with stronger purple fringing.
