Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph v2 (CF) optical changes

cbass
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph v2 (CF) optical changes

@Andrew CD

It depends on what you are looking to complement. If you are looking for a people/portrait lens, then it will come down to if you like the rendering and that is personal preference. Other than that, I would look at how it renders skin tones and what kind of skin tones. Zeiss are amazing lenses when it comes to landscape with more micro contrast than most Leica lenses, but I have found them many times to not render skin tones as accurate or flattering as Leica. Although I find their landscape rendering more pleasing. No experience with CV where I can offer input.

The Lux was designed for handheld night photography and refined over time. It has excellent coma correction, which is a problem on most fast 50's even today. It does very well with ghosting with point sources of light like streetlights. It is also one of the better Leica lenses when it comes to flare. It does flare and the older one had the ring flare, but it's very resistant to flare. The CV f/2.0 APO will do brilliantly here, but with a maximum aperture of f/2 instead of f/1.4 which shouldn't matter that much on digital.

This is a good video to watch. This guy has a lot of barely dressed women in his content so not appropriate for all areas, but I don't think this particular video contains any of that and is in line with what I was talking about.

Jun 02, 2024 at 01:06 PM

Andrew CD
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph v2 (CF) optical changes

cbass wrote:
@Andrew CD@

It depends on what you are looking to complement. If you are looking for a people/portrait lens, then it will come down to if you like the rendering and that is personal preference. Other than that, I would look at how it renders skin tones and what kind of skin tones. Zeiss are amazing lenses when it comes to landscape with more micro contrast than most Leica lenses, but I have found them many times to not render skin tones as accurate or flattering as Leica. Although I find their landscape rendering more pleasing. No experience with CV where...Show more →

Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. That's a useful perspective.

I'm a big fan of Zeiss lenses and quite agree, several of them are superb for landscapes (even the little 35mm f/2.8 is rather impressive). A 50mm equivalent of the 35mm f/1.4 Distagon would be an interesting alternative to the CV APO. I'm sure that the 50mm f/2.0 Planar is a gorgeous lens, too, but that isn't really what I'm looking for (in my previous post at the end of the previous page), given that I already have the CV f/2.0 APO and the 'Cron v5. The Sonnar is something different, of course ....

Andrew

Jun 03, 2024 at 06:47 AM

RustyRus
Online
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph v2 (CF) optical changes

Andrew CD wrote:
I’m back to thinking that, despite my preference for the size and shape of the Summilux, the right answer — for me, as a complement to the APO — is probably the Nokton. Am I missing anything?

Andrew

You are letting on paper characteristics get in the way IMO-

What lens will inspire you? Buy that one-

You already have a perfect lens in the 50 APO- Buy what moves you not what corner case picture will have the best chance of being perfect. Take the APO if thats what you want.

Jun 03, 2024 at 10:32 AM

brick33308
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph v2 (CF) optical changes

for what it's worth - I have version 2 of this marvelous lens that I purchased for $2700 in February from a reputable/nice guy right here on FM buy sell forum.

I think it boils down to whether or not you need the minimum .7M focus distance of version 3 as compared to minimum focus distance of 1 meter of version 2 (such as doing close up portrait work).

For me as primarily a street shooter (including candid street portraits where I'm much farther away than 1 meter) and couldn't care less about the improved flare performance of version 3, version 2 is all I could wish for in a 50mm lens.

If you have the extra $2K to burn on the version 3, go for it. But if not and/or you don't need the 1M minimum focus distance, my suggestion is go for version 2.

Jun 03, 2024 at 11:17 AM

Andrew CD
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph v2 (CF) optical changes

RustyRus wrote:
You are letting on paper characteristics get in the way IMO-

What lens will inspire you? Buy that one-

You already have a perfect lens in the 50 APO- Buy what moves you not what corner case picture will have the best chance of being perfect. Take the APO if thats what you want.

Perfectly reasonable comments. I am frequently guilty of overthinking things.

That said, I have found weighing up the different views posted in this thread and elsewhere really helpful in coming to a conclusion which I am much happier with — and which has saved me over £3,000 (UKP). I find looking at some of the great images here and elsewhere, and reading the excellent Lux vs Nokton vs CV APO comparison, quite instructive, in trying to better understand how these lenses behave and can best be used (as an aside, I also think that photographic equipment and photography are quite distinct hobbies ….). Here is one good example of images from Fred’s comparison that give a really useful perspective: Lux & Nokton at 0.9m This whole discussion also illustrates just how valuable this forum can be.

There are very understandable reasons why the Summilux Asph is many people’s favourite lens but, at this point in time, I am disinclined to spend £4,000 (GBP) on something that is not precisely what I am looking for. I say that primarily because of flare resistance but also because, as you rightly point out, the CV APO is perfect lens, for landscape, at least (although it seems to me that it and lenses like the Summilux and f/1.2 Nokton fulfill different roles).

In fact, I'm not going to rush to buy anything more at all that I really don't need to. And I’ve spent more than enough time on the photographic equipment hobby for the now. Time to focus more on photography and other things ….

Thanks again to all who took the time to post in this thread, much appreciated.

Andrew

Jun 04, 2024 at 04:24 AM

brick33308
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 Asph v2 (CF) optical changes

I shot these at the tailgate market this morning (a great place to practice rangerfinder focusing), all shot with V2 of this lens. It never disappoints - I need to take it out more often.

All processed with a Kodak Tri-X preset

Aug 03, 2024 at 12:14 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Leica & Alternative Gear \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end

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