p.2 #2 · Leica 50 Summilux M Lenses - Still Worth It?
rscheffler wrote:
Back in 2013 I took the 50mm lenses I had available for my M9 and did an impromptu bokeh comparison shooting some foliage in my backyard. I found the web-rez images I had posted on my blog back then, and have put them in an online gallery you can access here (and download all of them if you wish): https://postimg.cc/gallery/NqGWPvsg
Based on the file numbering I used, I'm guessing I shot a sequence of each from wide open through probably f/4 or f/5.6. These are probably somewhere on an older hard drive...
Given that this was done over 10 years ago, nothing released since then is represented, which is a considerable number of lenses, such as the VM 50/1.2, 50/1.0, current 50/1.5 Nokton, 50/1.5 Heliar, TTA, Mr. Ding, etc.
In any case, below are the wide open shots from the first set. Lenses include 50 Lux ASPH, ZM 50/2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 LTM, (very different optics from the current VM 50/1.5), Canon 50/1.4 LTM, Zeiss Opton Sonnar 50/1.5, Nikkor-SC 50/1.4 LTM, Leitz Summarit 50/1.5 and for fun, the VM 40/1.4 MC. Info is in the watermark:
I don't recall what the focus distance was for the above images, perhaps 1m. In the gallery link at top is a second set of the same scene with the camera moved back slightly farther, perhaps to achieve a focus distance of around 1.5m. And below is a third set of a difference scene:
At the time my conclusion was that the Voigtlander 50/1.5 LTM was very similar to the rendering of the 50 Lux ASPH with just a touch more bokeh outlining. Biggest difference in normal use was that the Voigltander was more likely to show purple fringing at wide apertures in high contrast transitions and it had a noticeable central sharpness sweet spot. I didn't like it much because of this sharpness falloff and that its MFD was 90cm, IIRC. The first version VM 50/1.5 was apparently the same optics but with coating improvements. The current VM 50/1.5 Nokton is a new optical design and apparently a much stronger performer (see Fred's test of it elsewhere on this board)....Show more →
p.2 #3 · Leica 50 Summilux M Lenses - Still Worth It?
rscheffler wrote:
This Flickr member Benny Ng has a bunch of albums for various M and LTM lenses, though no direct comparisons, and some albums only have a few photos.
p.2 #4 · Leica 50 Summilux M Lenses - Still Worth It?
Like FM, I don't think that forum is overly active now, but has some good archive material if you look for it. Unfortunately nowadays similar comparisons are probably more likely to be found on a FB group... or deep within a bloated video.
p.2 #5 · Leica 50 Summilux M Lenses - Still Worth It?
Fred Miranda wrote:
I agree, Ron. It's not a perfect lens. Maybe the closest thing to perfection can be found in the SL 50/2 Cron, but it's not an f/1.4 lens and its rendering might be overly corrected. The Leica 50/1.4 SL Lux performs better than the 50/1.4 M Lux, but it's not flawless either, as the corners never become outstanding even when stopped down. And let's not forget, it's also gigantic and weighs a ton! So, there's no perfection, even with large lenses, because there's always some compromise, especially in size. I suppose the perfect lens is the one we can accept the compromises and still produces great real-world images, like the ones you posted in the other thread....Show more →
Fred, are you referring the SL 50/2 Cron APO or the newer non-APO variant (aka re-badged Panasonic 50/1.8)?
p.2 #6 · Leica 50 Summilux M Lenses - Still Worth It?
dalegaspi wrote:
Fred, are you referring the SL 50/2 Cron APO or the newer non-APO variant (aka re-badged Panasonic 50/1.8)?
The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 ASPH. lens, along with other SL APO lenses, maintains high performance across the field even when wide open, and shows minimal improvement when stopped down. In my opinion, this nearly achieves perfection and perhaps the lack of imperfections is also a character of its own.
In the M-mount world, it's like to using the Voigtlander 50/2 APO-Lanthar, but with autofocus and even better performance at f/2. I haven't had the chance to try the non-APO SL 50/2.
p.2 #7 · Leica 50 Summilux M Lenses - Still Worth It?
Fred Miranda wrote:
The Leica APO-Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 ASPH. lens, along with other SL APO lenses, maintains high performance across the field even when wide open, and shows minimal improvement when stopped down. In my opinion, this nearly achieves perfection and perhaps the lack of imperfections is also a character of its own.
In the M-mount world, it's like to using the Voigtlander 50/2 APO-Lanthar, but with autofocus and even better performance at f/2. I haven't had the chance to try the non-APO SL 50/2.
i completely agree with you. i also noticed that the SL APO 50/2 (an the 35 and 90 variants) are SO good that it's the first time i've been blown away by a lens after a long while. so good out of the box... it explains why they don't have Lightroom profiles...because they don't need no stinkin' profiles! :-)
i also have the SL 50 (which came with the SL2 when i bought it) which i thought is good in its own right...but it's no SL APO. :-)
