Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site

New Feature: SMS Notification alert

New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist

FM Forums | Leica & Alternative Gear | Join Upload & Sell

2 3 … 5 6 end

50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

Zero comparisons online of these three lenses. And can’t rent these anywhere, so bought a copy of each. Yes, I have a sickness. But, will only keep one of them. The v1 is 1960, v2 is 1961 and v3 is 2000. I no longer have the asph version or I would’ve included that too.

Planning to do a some comparison shots with my m10r and will share a few of them here.

All with the same settings on a tripod. Daylight WB in camera. Adobe Standard, with possible exposure tweaks to balance them.

Disclaimer: These image comparisons will probably be useless to most everyone. The v2 has had a recent CLA. The v1 and v3 as far as I know haven’t had a CLA, at least recently. Hopefully however it sheds a light on the rendering differences (notably the out of focus areas) of each lens.

Based on the terrible examples I'll post, let me know your favorite version!

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/1000s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/1000s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/1000s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/180s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/180s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/180s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/2000s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/1500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/1500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Edited on Jun 09, 2023 at 07:46 PM · View previous versions

Jun 09, 2023 at 03:59 PM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/500s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Jun 09, 2023 at 04:11 PM

Oldwino
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

It’s interesting how well the v1 does. Many people think it’s a terrible lens.

Jun 09, 2023 at 09:33 PM

rico
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

@lifeandmylens Cool project! I'm interested in linear distortion testing. I own the v2.

Jun 09, 2023 at 09:34 PM

rico
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

Oldwino wrote:
It’s interesting how well the v1 does. Many people think it’s a terrible lens.

One shooter on RFF swears by the v1. If you have the eye then any version should serve.

Jun 09, 2023 at 09:36 PM

highdesertmesa
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

v1 by far. I like the rounder bokeh and less swirl. They all have soap bubble bokeh, but the v1 makes better use of it, IMO.

Jun 09, 2023 at 10:58 PM

Timphoto
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

I prefer version 2.

Jun 09, 2023 at 11:52 PM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

A few at 1.4 and f2.

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/125s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/125s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/125s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/2.0 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/2.0 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/2.0 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Jun 10, 2023 at 07:11 AM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

Vignetting and distortion (I'll do a better distortion test later, but you can already see distortion popping up).

f1.4

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/125s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f1.4

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f1.4

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/90s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f2.8

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/45s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f2.8

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/45s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f2.8

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/45s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/25s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/25s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/25s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Jun 10, 2023 at 07:17 AM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

f5.6

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/12s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f5.6

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/12s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f5.6

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/12s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/6s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/6s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/6s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f11

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v1 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/3s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f11

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v2 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/2s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

f11

LEICA M10-R Summilux 50mm f/1.4 Pre Asph v3 lens 50mm f/1.4 1/3s 100 ISO 0.0 EV

Jun 10, 2023 at 07:21 AM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

Also interesting the coating differences between v1 and v2.

Jun 10, 2023 at 07:24 AM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

Another quick distortion test, the super exciting brick wall.

Horiztonal lines added to help illustrate the differences since I rushed through it and didn’t make it perfectly level. Probably it for the day, have to go refinish the floor in part of my house

Jun 10, 2023 at 08:14 AM

steve.chang
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

Amazing comparison. Thanks, Shawn.

Jun 10, 2023 at 09:05 AM

mulberry2006
Online
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

Quite fun to glance at these images and I must say that though I find the outline of the bokeh balls slightly more defined on the v1 compared to the v2, I am not sure I could tell you which one is which. v2 and v3 are very similar to my eyes. Which one do you like best Shawn?

Jun 10, 2023 at 09:31 AM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

mulberry2006 wrote:
Quite fun to glance at these images and I must say that though I find the outline of the bokeh balls slightly more defined on the v1 compared to the v2, I am not sure I could tell you which one is which. v2 and v3 are very similar to my eyes. Which one do you like best Shawn?

I waiver back and forth! I like something about all of them. I think the true comparison would be if all of them had a recent CLA. That would level the playing field.

But so far:

Handling:

I like the feeling in hand of the V1 and V2. It just simply reminds me that it’s an old vintage lens with some charm. The V3 feels exactly like any other modern Leica lens in the way that it handles - which is not a bad thing at all.

The shorter focus throw of the v3 is nice for quickly acquiring focus. The longer focus throw of the v1 and v2 is nice for more precision. Hard to pick a favorite on focus throw since I like something about both.

The closer minimum focus distance of the v3 (same as asph versions) is nice. I’ll do a few more comparisons at MFD tomorrow.

The aperture ring on V1 and V2 offers only full stops. The aperture ring on the V3 offers half stops. I actually prefer the former, as that way I know each click is a stop. But since many of my other lenses also offer half stops it can get confusing.

Rendering/Out of Focus Areas:

I like the v1 the best here. It’s the most “vintage-y”, is that a word?

Distortion:

The v1 would win this category. V2 has noticeable barrel distortion, followed slightly by v3.

Vignetting:

Not too concerning for me, as I often add in vignetting anyway. But basically V1 has the most vignetting, followed by v2 and then v3.

Final verdict of which one I plan to keep at the end

Jun 10, 2023 at 03:27 PM

mulberry2006
Online
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

I wonder how the Summicron 50v4&5 would perform at f2 compared to the Lux.

Jun 10, 2023 at 03:36 PM

mulberry2006
Online
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

lifeandmylens wrote:
I waiver back and forth! I like something about all of them. I think the true comparison would be if all of them had a recent CLA. That would level the playing field.

But so far:

Handling:

I like the feeling in hand of the V1 and V2. It just simply reminds me that it’s an old vintage lens with some charm. The V3 feels exactly like any other modern Leica lens in the way that it handles - which is not a bad thing at all.

The shorter focus throw of the v3 is nice for quickly acquiring focus. The longer...Show more →

If you can point out zones in the images I would love to read your interpretation.

Jun 10, 2023 at 03:37 PM

rico
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

lifeandmylens wrote:
I waiver back and forth! I like something about all of them. I think the true comparison would be if all of them had a recent CLA. That would level the playing field.

But so far:
...
Distortion:

The v1 would win this category. V2 has noticeable barrel distortion, followed slightly by v3.

Thanks for testing, particularly distortion (I agree with your assessment). Even for digital-era lens backed by in-camera correction, I prefer the optics to be linear by design. In that sense, I bought the wrong version. Everyone has their own criteria but I prefer Old World build, long throw, and the classic font. Leica fanatics are weird.

Jun 10, 2023 at 04:24 PM

steve.chang
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

https://wiki.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/images/3/3a/Puts-2002-M-lenses.pdf
Their soul and secrets
by Erwin Puts

Some interesting read on P.43-44

Jun 10, 2023 at 06:46 PM

lifeandmylens
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · 50 Summilux (pre asph) - v1, v2 & v3

mulberry2006 wrote:
If you can point out zones in the images I would love to read your interpretation.

For distortion?

Jun 10, 2023 at 07:25 PM

1 2 3 … 5 6 end
FM Forums \| Leica & Alternative Gear \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 3 … 5 6 end

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.