Ron, I fully agree with your analysis on Summicron 35 ASPH, which was my first Leica lens. I later upgraded to a Summilux 35 ASPH (v.1). But I really miss the compact size of the Summicron 35 ASPH. I also prefer the Summicron 35 ASPH to the Zeiss 35/2 Biogon. Your Summilux 21 ASPH has a very nice center sharpness. Real nice set!
Seekuh, such a beautiful image at the Oktoberfest!
I've been on the road and will comment on the pics when I get back to looking at them on a proper monitor and have proper internet access.
Meanwhile, on the topic of 35mm lenses, I am actually looking into adding a 35Cron ASPH to my own setup. Why the 35Cron ASPH? Perfect compromise of size, speed and optics. I had the 35Lux ASPH V1, 35CronIV bokeh king and now the 35FLE. I really enjoy all of them, even the older 35Lux ASPH V1 was superb with a really nice smooth rendering at f/1.4 and once you past f/2 its sharp, I would say that it would be difficult to tell the V1 apart from the FLE, at least on my copy. Only gripe with the Luxes? More expensive, larger size, weight and rangefinder blockage with the hood compared to the Cron. It might not bother some of you if you shoot wide open in the center of the frame, but for me, not being able to see even 15-20% of the frame can make a difference to a good composition or a nearly good one. Plus I know that with the 35Cron ASPH, I don't have to make compromises on optics. A brand new 35Cron ASPH is 1/2 the price of the 35FLE if you know where to look for it right now, and you also have more color choices - black, silver, titanium or black paint
I think if someone is shooting the M8 with high ISO limitations, it would be worth considering getting the 35Lux ASPH either V1 or FLE as the additional speed does matter on the M8 in my opinion. Once you move up to the M9, I think the f/1.4 is nice to have but not really needed unless your goal is to shoot wide open for artistic reasons. Even more so if one ends up with the Mono or Type 240.
Seen the chat, figured I'd chim in on the 35cron-asph. It's a great lens, if compared to the 35/2zm it's almost exactly the same (zm cheaper), aside from a few small things I've noticed. The only one worth mentioning is, the 35zm tends to do double bokeh lines. Whereas the 35cron-asph rarely does a double bokeh line (making the 35cron-asph in my opinion a better lens for my style of shoting). However, price is three almost four times as high here.
The 35lux-asph V1 is a pretty fantastic lens, it's slightly softer wide open then the v2, but the bokeh tends to be nicer in more situations (not enough to really justify losing the sharpness of the v2). But both are good for the fact that one's cheaper! Focus shift wasn't an issue for me, on my version at f/1.4, since it was adjusted by DAG for wide open shooting.
The lux vs the cron comes down to speed/rendering/size.. I prefer the rendering of the lux, but the size of the cron. Would I buy a 35lux again (yes if it were my only lens, or if I didn't own the 50lux).
Right now I have 28cron, 35cron, 50lux, 75summarit, 90apo.... I'd just as easily own 35FLE or V1 + 75cron and be happy.
From what I have (mentioned above), I could drop the 35cron and 75summarit and not miss much. Or could just stick with 28/50 and be fine.
Just my opinions..
BTW, some great shots... Trees n Oceans, very nice guys!
edwardkaraa wrote:
How about the ZM 35/2? I agree however that if you want a Leica the cron is the best option imho. I have seen some tests that show the ZM 35/2 and 50/2 to be almost identical in performance to the cron equivalents.
Honestly, I find the 50zm better then the 50cron (based on feel from the images I've gotten from both lenses).. The 50APO however is top dog.
I'd love to try the 50AA and suspect it might be perfect with the new M, if the new camera's high ISO is considerably better.
Re: 35 Lux ASPH v.1 vs. v.2... Joe did a quick comparison test and from what I recall, it seems the two lenses traded bokeh characteristics/performance, with the v.2 being smoother in OOF foregrounds, but slightly harsher with backgrounds. It would be neat to do a shootout with those two and the CV 35 f/1.2 II.
ocean2059 wrote:
Ron, I fully agree with your analysis on Summicron 35 ASPH, which was my first Leica lens. I later upgraded to a Summilux 35 ASPH (v.1). But I really miss the compact size of the Summicron 35 ASPH. I also prefer the Summicron 35 ASPH to the Zeiss 35/2 Biogon. Your Summilux 21 ASPH has a very nice center sharpness. Real nice set!
Thanks Ocean! The 21 Lux has been a nice surprise. It's not brutally sharp wide open, but I guess it has that 'Leica Lux' sharpness. At f/2 it's pretty much razor sharp centrally, but I shoot it mostly at f/1.4 or stopped down beyond f/8.
Hilmar - nice one of your GF!
Marc - a fun photo! Kids are great to photograph when they're comfortable with the camera, or not trained by their parents to stop in their tracks and put on a cheesy smile.
Luka - great set! Especially like #3 and the last one.
My cousin's dog, out on the farm...
50 Lux ASPH for first two, 21 Lux for last one. All wide open. In the first two I exposed for the shade, but in the wide shot, the background blew out too much, so exposed for the highlights and in LR opened up the foreground about two stops and the file held up quite nicely.
This dog was a challenge... every time I'd crouch down to do a photo, he'd get up to sit right beside me, so I could better pet him. Eventually he got the message to stay put, but then didn't like to make eye contact with the camera, which was OK, so long as he didn't turn his head all the way away from the camera.
denoir, great set. My favorites are the second and the last shot. Very nice tones in these!
Marc, that shot is awesome! Very nice composition and very unusual.
Ron, the last shot of the dog is also my favorite. Really nice. And I like very much your lively story on how you got the shot. I can imagine how you tried to make the dog stay put. I know how difficult this is. A dog realizes if you like him so he wants you to pet him constantly.
I also wanted to as Leica shooters about ND Grad filters. With the new Leica having live view, this will make the use of these (and other) filters much easier. I wanted to know if standard Lee (4X6) type filter holders/systems will be compatible with the Leica and M mount lenses. I realize that there is a Lee system designed for rangefinders but it would be nice to use the standard system as they are easier to come by used. As the front element of most Leica/ZM lenses are quite small, does this mean a different ND Grad filter style will be required? I am thinking that the transition area of these grad filters might not work on smaller lenses. I would typically use a hard grad style and not soft. Any input would be appreciated.
Gary, I think the guy to ask is Dan (thrice). Maybe Boris (Bobu) too, but for sure Dan.
Edward - looks good! I think you got great skin tone in that image, let alone for ISO 2500!
Ash - looks fine to me. It's a bit on the contrasty side, but not objectionable. If I was to nitpick, the sky seems a bit too cyan to me, but it could just be me...
Going back a few pages and apologies if I missed someone ...
Charles, beautiful set with the wedding shots!! Love the pp too!
Ron, some excellent shooting past few pages including this page. Love the Golden Retriever set. The last tree set reminds me of one of my favorites book, the Ents from Lord of the Rings. Your color pp is superb as always. When I look at a lot of your pics, I like how the lens doesn't really dominate a lot of your compositions and pictures, it just gets out of the way to reveal the scene.. really really enjoyable Would you mind sharing some of your sharpening tips with LR4 to some of us?
Joakim, nice set from the marathon!
Ash, nice shot from Down Under.
wstam, I like the tree shots posted, very nice!
Hilmar, very nice and varied set from NYC! 3rd shot is my favorite and I like the timing on the last shot! The Oktoberfest shot is also nice!
Luka, excellent set from Croatia! #2,5 and 6 are my favorites.
Marcsery, nice shot with the 50 pre ASH.
Edward, welcome to the thread!! and an excellent ISO2500 shot to start of with! Agree with Ron, skin tones are exceptional for ISO2500 on the M9. So what are your initial impressions with the camera?
Would you mind sharing some of your sharpening tips with LR4 to some of us?