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Leica 35mm cron IV


dalippe

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Hi,

 

I often read that people love the 35mm cron IV for its bokeh. Below is a portrait I took with the 35mm lux ASPH on my M8. I don't remember the aperture setting, but believe it was relatively open. I like this portrait but feel the that the rendering of the OOF background (especially in the upper left) is harsh and "dizzying", and detracts from the photograph. Do those familiar with the cron IV suspect that it would have rendered this background meaningfully differently, and in particular more smoothly? Maybe this is an impossible question to answer with the information presented but I'm trying to get a sense of when and if this lens might be a better choice than my lux.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

David

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Edited by dalippe
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I own both lenses, and no---the type of bokeh is practically identical. I do suspect that the effect (which occurs only under circumstances like this, i.e. a strong background pattern of alternating highlights and shadows) is caused by residual astigmatism, but I may well be wrong on that point.

 

The old man from the Age of the 3.5cm Elmar

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I have both of them and summarit 35/2.5.

Summicron IV is slightly sharper and has less light fall-off (on m8) than ASPH. On the other hand ASPH has smoother bokeh.

Surprisingly, Summarit 35/2.5 is as sharp as gen IV and has the smoothest OOF areas among these lenses.

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...the rendering of the OOF background (especially in the upper left) is harsh and "dizzying", and detracts from the photograph. Do those familiar with the cron IV suspect that it would have rendered this background meaningfully differently, and in particular more smoothly?...

Yes i don't like current 35/1.4 and 35/2 for this very reason.

35/2 IV bokeh at f/2.8:

 

3300307705_59212e7ae6_b.jpg

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I have the V4, the cron asph, and lux asph and comparing them the V4 has a nice smooth bokeh at f4-5.6 so especially with an evenly lit background. The leafy type background that you have is the hardest to get any kind of smooth bokeh and I believe all three lenses would have a similar look.

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This information (that both have similar bokeh) seems different that what is normally posted. I have both the 35 1.4 asph and the 35 2.0 pre asph(IV) and find them very different, The 35 1.4 works best in low contrast situations..like earlier morning or a cloudy day. The contrast even wide open is excellent and is balanced by the lower contrast source ambient light. Obvious choice for night or indoor available light shooting. This is a very special lens and extends your range of situations where exceptional images are possible.

 

The 35 con IV is my sunny day at the beach lens ...deep saturated color maybe a little warmer rendering ..and I have found the bokeh to be very smooth. Not as sharp wide open but at 5.6 exceptional. The version IV is known as the "bokeh king" ? This would be my choice for portraits (if a 35mm lens was called for). Less contrast than the 35lux which helps if you have bright beach or snow .

 

You may want to visit Reed Reviews(pay site) to see his tests of the 35mm alternatives as he tests for bokeh .

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These are unprocessed jpes from M8. All pictures were taken @ f3.2

The lenses are summilux 35/1.4ASPH, summicron 35/2ASPH, Summarit 35/2.5, Summicron 35/2 genIV.

Will it be difficult to match the images and the lenses?

 

Which two of them are the most pleasing?

 

leica 35mm lenses - a set on Flickr

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Thanks to everyone for responding. Given the differences in opinion, the answer seems to be a resounding "maybe" which in fairness is what I expected. It would have been odd to get near unanimity on such a subject.

 

A few responses to particular people:

 

Chad: I'm afraid your original message must have been deleted. What does that picture illustrate? Was it taken with the cron IV?

 

Sbelyaev: Interesting. You seem to say the reverse of the common wisdom. I've usually read that the modern ASPH is the sharpest and cron IV has the nicest bokeh. I'm afraid I didn't take away too much from the pictures, but to be fair the background in those is not the sort that would generally bring out large differences in bokeh between lenses.

 

Roger (glenerrolrd): Reid Reviews was the first place I checked but I don't find that he ever reviewed the cron IV. Am I missing something?

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Usually, when common wisdom does not match my experience I trust the latter.

It might be redundant, but I have 2 copies of both 35mm cron asph and 35mm cron IV.

My observations are reproducible. The background is busy enough to show the difference in bokeh and overall quality, which is minimal.

My point is that in a real world the differences are negligible. There is no way one can correctly match the images and the lenses on the first try (actually is is possible buy requires exceptional luck).

Those who could afford "only summarit" should not be frustrated, for they have a first class lens.

You have a great lens. Your picture is very nice (next time try not to cut the fingers..))

Stan

Edited by sbelyaev
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David,

 

have a look at:

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/analog-forum/59612-bokeh-des-m-summicron-35mm-iv.html.

If you scroll down to the bw picture by Tim Delbeck, made with the summicron IV, you'll see quite a similar structure of distant out of focus branches as in your picture.

 

Regards

Michael

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