Gary Clennan wrote:
Yep - sure looks to be a great performer Douglas. Looks to have slightly more "jittery" bokeh than version V - correct? Where did you get the CLA done?
Hi, Gary. I'm not sure that I'd call the bokeh more jittery, but definitely more "swirly," since there is more field curvature and coma, although I haven't done any stringent tests or anything. I tend to like swirl in a lens wide open, and I like how it makes the DOF look more shallow. I've read that many feel that the collapsible has the best bokeh of the 50 Summicrons, but who knows?? It does have more aperture blades and a rounder aperture than my version V, so maybe stopping down a little is a different ballgame.
Apparently, this lens is also highly color corrected, compared to other Summicrons. While not quite an APO, Brian Sweeney says that it is achromatic and great for color, although most who use it tend to shoot B&W, it seems.
There seems to be very mixed opinions on the 50 collapsible on the web, so I was unsure about how it would perform. Most say that the 50 Rigid is much sharper, while others claim their 50 Collapsible is very sharp. Outside of sample variation, I have a feeling that much of the resolution criticism has come from lenses that aren't calibrated and/or have too much haze in the lens. The resolution seems good enough, to me, and I can always break out the version V if I need a flatter field at wider apertures.
Flare is also often a complaint with this lens, but I haven't had much issue with that, yet. My front coating looks pretty good, so maybe I'm lucky there. Again, it may just be because so many have haze inside, and that is pretty easily cleanable. The contrast certainly is tangibly lower than the version V.
I just love how the lens collapses to about the size of a 35 Summicron IV, and it is built like a tank. My only little handling complaints would probably be the 1m mfd and the longer focus through, but not too big of a deal. Really cool little lens for only a few hundred bucks. I should mention that my copy doesn't have the radioactive elements, and the front coating is purple. It's even possible that mine was recoated at some point, but I have no idea.
p.s. I got the CLA done by Steve's Camera in Culver City, CA.
Thank you Edward
Doug, very nice shot, and love the rendering with this 50 Cron collapsible!! The old lenses really have a magic which sometimes is lost with the uber sharp lenses now
Thank you Charles...I do have a question for you since you have this lens, a 24lux asph and a 50 lux asph. With only 2 lens as a combo which would you prefer 24lux asph+75lux or 24lux asph + 50lux asph? The 75lux is kinda big and heavy for me but i'm not sure if the 50lux asph will give a very similar look as the 75.
Two lens combo, my choice would be 24 and 50 Lux The 75 Lux is similar to the 50 Nocti f/1.0 in the way in renders, so I would choose depending on what you intend to shoot. For travel 24/50 Lux is easy and light
Allen: Great pictures in your last series. Particularly like the first and of course the last one, the latter being truly an outstanding capture, bravo!
______________________________ Best regards Hermann
Michael, cool shot with the horns. Funny!
Ron, those CV 21 1.8 shots look good. I'm tempted to try it out.
Luka, welcome back. Excellent shots as always.
Edward, excellent shots with your ZM18! Really nice pop, contrast and colors, all of them. The drawing on the ZM50/2 temple shot is also really nice.
Joakim, 35CronIV looking good.
Jonas, nice X1 shot with the frozen bike.
AshNZ, excellent set. #2 is my favorite, really nice. I agree the sensor dust on the digital M is very annoying.
Ryan, wow superb shot! Love it!
Charles, very nice high ISO portrait!
Douglas, nice shots with the 50Cron. I agree, these older lenses draws beautifully. Does it require modification to use on the M9?
Allen, really nice set of street shots!
Edwin, ah.. 75Lux magic! Excellent set! Love the colors on #1.
joe88 wrote:
Does (50 collapsible) require modification to use on the M9?
Nope. The M9 manual states that you can't collapse lenses into the body, but it actually depends on the lens. The 50 Summicron collapsible doesn't extend into the camera body as much as many wide angles do, although, to be safe, I usually remove and attach the lens in the extended position so that it doesn't bump anything internally.
douglasf13 wrote:
Ha! I only know that it is in the manual, because I read it on a forum thread.
The 50 Summicron Collapsible seems safe to collapse into the body, but I'm not sure about other collapsible lenses.
I used a friends collapsible 50 cron on a M8 and without thinking collapsed it many times. Never thought about it of being not save since it also worked on the M3.
Good to read this before I try other collapsible lenses
The calibration looks spot on too.
