Thanks guys, I just don't want to buy an M9. I would have a very hard time
convincing myself to like this camera. And I'm not talking the concept of it,
but just how not up-to-date it feels.
Imagine using your 20 years old 386 to process photos, yes the results can be great,
but I would want to connect it to my bike for some acceleration...
I really hope I'll be able to buy the new, modern M10 this year.
I can wait that long. At least I will have all my glass ready
Like that last one Ryan. Can anyone comment on the performance of the 28 cron v.s. the 35 cron (latest versions)? That 28 cron looks to be a great lens and I am wondering how the 35 compares.
Gary - I have used both. I used the 35 Cron ASPH only on the M8 though and the 28 on the M9. The best way to distinguish the two is the 35 seems far more clinical. The 28 Cron has a very smooth rendering where the 35 Cron ASPH seems to be more focused on sharpness. The 28 Cron is extremely sharp, but I always felt the 35 files seemed more 'crisp'. Both lenses are great. As you ofter hear....buy the length you enjoy more. You seriously can't go wrong with either. If you want pics from both I can provide......plenty
Gary Clennan wrote:
Like that last one Ryan. Can anyone comment on the performance of the 28 cron v.s. the 35 cron (latest versions)? That 28 cron looks to be a great lens and I am wondering how the 35 compares.
Gary, 28 Cron is way better. Sharpness, saturation, very unique rendering.
35 Cron has a look, but it's not great for landscape comparing to Zeiss 35 f2...
The only thing close to 28 Cron rendering is Leica R 28 ver2...
One of the most unique lenses available IMO.
rsolti13 wrote:
Gary - I have used both. I used the 35 Cron ASPH only on the M8 though and the 28 on the M9. The best way to distinguish the two is the 35 seems far more clinical. The 28 Cron has a very smooth rendering where the 35 Cron ASPH seems to be more focused on sharpness. The 28 Cron is extremely sharp, but I always felt the 35 files seemed more 'crisp'. Both lenses are great. As you ofter hear....buy the length you enjoy more. You seriously can't go wrong with either. If you want pics from both I can provide......plenty ...Show more →
Thank you for the information Ryan. It would be great if you could post (or email) two or three pics with the 35 cron. Basically, I would like a lens with characteristics of the 28 cron in a 35mm FL. In fact, I am perfectly happy with my 28 Elmarit-ASPH and the way it renders. A 35 Elmarit was never produced - correct?
snowboarder wrote:
Really? If you call 35 Cron clinical, what would you say about Lux 35?
In my opinion the 35 Lux is far from clinical. Sure, it is sharp dead center but I have never used a lens that goes from sharp to blur so...dare I say.....elegantly . Take a look at the MTF charts, huge wave in it where the edges are actually far sharper than the mid zone. The 35 Cron ASPH is similar, but nowhere near the extent of the 35 Lux. Not to mention, the bokeh on the 35 Lux and 28 Cron is far more pleasing to my eyes than the 35 Cron
First shots with the 35 Lux
35 Cron ASPH
several of them above were wide open, but look at the sharpness in this one at f/2
And Gary, for what its worth, I honestly (true - 100% honest) don't think I ever had one single 35 Cron ASPH shot wide open that the focus point was missed. I don't know why, but never focused a lens as good as the 35 Cron ASPH. The 35 Nokton I also nail 90+% of the time.
Andrew (snowboarder), great to see you here. I've followed you around a number of other image threads and look forward to what you achieve with Leica gear.
Ryan, very nice with the 75 Lux... yes, extremely tempting at a very reasonable price too, but at least for me, I feel 50-90 is where I want to be, and am still undecided about the 90 Cron AA. Not about image quality, but size and price for how much I will use it. Great to see those samples from the 35s again!
I currently find myself intrigued with 'vintage' lens options. Your Nikkor 10.5cm, along with what Gary and Dan have posted is an example. I'd love to see something from the Nikkor 8.5cm f/2... then there are the various 50s, and the Canon LTMs...
In the meantime I picked up a 1952 vintage 5cm f/1.5 Summarit. Looks to be in decent condition, though has certainly been CLA'd at least once. Not sure they put it back together perfectly because at farther distances the left side is sharper than the right side... but I bought it mostly for close range work at wide open or near wide open. I think the appeal is in its imperfections and busier background blur character.
Anyway, here are some samples from trying to get a feel for it (on the M9):
I need to find a hood for it because it flares extremely easily. And wide open at far distances it's not great (again, could be my copy is decentered), but I like the feel from it. Also was somewhat surprised at how rich the colors are given how old the lens is. I haven't really done anything differently in LR compared to my modern lenses on the M9, though with some I raised the black point somewhat more.
Ron, thanks for introduction of Hamilton, very beautiful city I can see. As for LR tip. I realize shadow recovery is helpful for color but also reducing contrast I will play those setting more.
Your set on city abstract is very nice. I especially like #1 and #4. On your set of night street shots, my favorites are #1 and last. I agree Summarit has very special rendering character. But in your last picture, It seems too soft for my taste.
Andrew, A beautiful set. Very good color and compose on all of them. I really enjoy those 28mm shots. I have to agree this is a superb lens. Gosh, it is so expensive for a ‘28MM’ and ‘F2’… But looks like it deserves hyper based on images showing here.
Andrew(SD): Look forward to see more of your works here. I really like the last two shots, very beautiful. If rumor is true that only B&W leica, what will you do ?
To me, the flaws of M9 are slow processor, Crap LCD(but enough to check histogram), unclear Viewfinder frame line and No LV (not a big deal for me as I almost never use it). I guess for you, only the last relevant to prevent you get your results from tool POV. But to get full frame to use those outstanding lens designed for compensate them all IMO Controls like ISO, WB, Shutter, and aperture are the best of all cameras I used, even better than D700 in this regards. I think those should more relevant to you. Frame is not accurate, but you get thinking out of box, you know what is going on outside of the frame, thus you can choose how you like to compose or trap your target get into your frame etc, so it is not bad or good thing, just different.
I agree it feel dated on electronics, but are those prevent you take beautiful picture? Try it for a while to see if you love it or not
Rayn, your 75lux shots are beautiful. Those pics certainly will help your lucky buyer making decision. I really like the one: door frame with green around. Did you receive your D800 already? I did preorder a D800E, but I am not sure I still want it anymore
The M9 might be dated, in some ways, but it's certainly capable of exceeding most photographers abilities. I've owned, and used (and still own and use, for some work) most of the pro DSLRs and high end lenses. But few of them really felt like an extension of my vision like the M's do. Not to wax overly poetic about a tool (as I know Leica owners love to do ) but they really are something special. If you're just a pixel peeper, they're probably not your camera (unless you shoot exclusively at ISO 160, on 'Cron ASPH lenses ... doesn't get any better until you jump up a format.)
Quick shot from wandering back from dessert the other night.
rsolti13 wrote:
In my opinion the 35 Lux is far from clinical. Sure, it is sharp dead center but I have never used a lens that goes from sharp to blur so...dare I say.....elegantly . Take a look at the MTF charts, huge wave in it where the edges are actually far sharper than the mid zone. The 35 Cron ASPH is similar, but nowhere near the extent of the 35 Lux. Not to mention, the bokeh on the 35 Lux and 28 Cron is far more pleasing to my eyes than the 35 Cron
Thank you so much for this. To my eye 35 Cron has a beautiful "look", but doesn't
seem to be anything exceptional outside of that. It reminds me my 50 R f2
(never tried the 50 Cron M). Somehow when I look at my 28 Cron shots,
it's really something special and in the same time it's very very sharp.
35 Lux looks very clean and sharp and the bookeh is nicer. But somehow
it lacks a signature look... Don't get me wrong, maybe I'm spoiled by the 28 Cron
or don't have enough experience. 50 Lux seems very clean, but has
an exceptional clarity and pop which make a special rendering by that lens...
Maybe it's because 35 Lux is wider, so there is not as much pop?
Or it's rather the separation of the sharp area vs the background...
BTW there is a new 50 Cron introduced in 3 weeks - $1000 more expensive...
snowboarder wrote:
I just took my two new M lenses for a spin tonight. Sorry, the camera is not an M (yet),
but I'm excited I wanted to post something here
Andrew, very nice series. Are these from you NEX 5?
Andrew - interesting about a new 50 Cron. In some respects it's about time, considering how old the current design is. Sure, it's good, but many accounts indicate one can get as good or better from the ZM50 Planar for considerably less. I wonder if the new one will be ASPH? I could also see them updating the Lux ASPH in a couple years. It's a great lens, but could still be improved for close focus quality (I'm thinking under 1-1.5m distance, which might be a somewhat limited need)... though I'm sure any update will push it close to $5000. Have you heard any rumors about a 14mm? That one's been floating around for a while...
Michael, very nice of your daughter and love the window reflections. The Summarit 5cm f/1.5 is certainly not an ideal lens for wide open landscape images, unless you like softness. The 50 Lux ASPH is much, much superior in this respect, in fact it amazes me how good it can be at distance wide open... but that's not why I bought the Summarit. Rather, I wanted an anti-ASPH lens... something with a lot less edge to it.
Anyway, I have yet to try it at various apertures but did a few at f/2.8 for reference, as seen below vs. wide open:
And vs. the 50 Lux ASPH, both wide open:
I think you can tell which is the ASPH.
A few more from the Summarit:
And just for comparison, the CV40 f/1.4 with somewhat similar framing - a lens I bought for it's harder, livelier background blur.
Ron, I plan to give you a call soon. Perhaps we can meet up for another shoot.
Ryan, thanks for the comments, I am investigating the 35'cron right now as I already own the 35 lux asph v1. There is something about the clarity and size of the 'cron that appeals to me. BTW, your daughter looks like she has quite the character! You have captured her personality in the photos very well!
I am not a lover of the 35mm focal length, I tend to prefer the 24mm view of the world. I wish that I could afford Jags 24mm lux right now, but alas other expenses get in the way. I am also beginning to save for the M10
Charles and everyone else, thank you for the comments and encouragement.
Ron - I have seen a lot of samples on the Nikon 85 f/2 LTM and the lens looks excellent. There is a black version and a chrome, make sure to get the black. It is a few years newer with the same optical formula, but slightly improved coating and a hell of a lot smaller/lighter. That being said, take a look at the Canon 85 f/1.8 LTM too. That lens rivals the Nikon 85 f/2 LTM and I actually prefer the rendering better. CameraWest has a 9+ condition one available for $800 that is a real bargain if you ask me. The portraits I have seen from that lens are just plain beautiful.
I have never been a fan of the 5cm f/1.5 Summarit - but your shots actually look quite good. I don't know if its b/c you increased contrast drastically or what, but what you posted looks like a lot nicer to my eyes than what I'm used to. Almost every time I see shots posted they just look like there is a major haze over the entire image, but yours don't show that. Shot #3 on the prior page of the tree in the cemetary is excellent.
Michael - great shot of your daughter with the Cron. Looks like a paparazzi pic . Yes, I'm still looking for a D800....actually would prefer the D800E. If you aren't interested in it and end up having it come available PM me
Ryan - nice shot with the CV 35. I don't know if I have ever seen a digital image look so film-like
Charles, more excellent shots from Thailand and Bali! I really like the composition on your Bangkok street shot with the 50Lux a few pages back. Also, those 75Lux shots with the ND are also excellent!
Nate, more excellent shots from Myanmar.
Ryan, your 24 Elmar and 75Lux shots continue to impress me!
Zhangyue, congrats on the 50Lux ASPH. Excellent shots in the past few pages.
Luka, love those dance compositions and the experimental pp shots.
Ron, love those 30k run shots with the 21Lux! Also excellent set with the shadows and light switch and the abstracts, really nice compositions on all of them.
Ty, very nice shots with the 35Lux! Glad you like the lens
Ryan - thanks for the info. Your points seem to mesh with what I've found in my research and have started looking into the Canon lenses as well. At the moment I am undecided about longer than 50mm lens options, but would like to find a reasonable copy of the Nikkor 5cm f/1.4, based on the samples I've seen from it. Its rendering seems to be similar to the Summarit's but with better contrast and flare resistance. Plus I'd like to give a 50s era Sonnar lens a try. The Summarit is definitely a softer lens, both in sharpness and contrast when used wide open. As I mentioned, flare is a constant consideration. I've tweaked the files somewhat, but as mentioned, not a lot more than usual. Mostly just raised the black point when necessary.
The Hexanons look very nice with excellent color! Seems like you're exploring Leica 'alt' as well.
Charles - I love the last two wide angle portraits!
Joe - Looks like fun! Work or pleasure?
Just some shots from the neighbourhood... It was very windy a few days ago and while out for a walk at the park noticed some temporary fencing had been blown over. I liked how it pressed down on the grass and was warped in one section.
Great colors.
) but they really are something special. If you're just a pixel peeper, they're probably not your camera (unless you shoot exclusively at ISO 160, on 'Cron ASPH lenses ... doesn't get any better until you jump up a format.) 
