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75 summilux or 80 summilux


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Hello All,

 

I have been researching the next lens for my Monochrom and after many reads on this and other forums thought the 75 summilux would be the one I'm after for portraiture and that special dreamy look wide open. However, more recently, a few members and other people have, on other threads, suggested the 80 summilux R is a very good lens (and significantly cheaper) as well given that it is the same design as the 75 lux.

With the R-M adapter is this lens coupled on an M body? How much of the viewfinder is obstructed compared with the 75 lux? What are people's experiences handling this large combo?

Thanks, H.

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I looked at many 75 before purchasing one 20 years ago. All were soft until 2.8

 

When I got the M9 I could see why. It back focuses or there is a focus shift and the lens is calibrated for 2.8 like the 50 1.5 Sonnar.

 

Sold it and purchased the 75 APO and found it far superior.

 

There are lots of ways to make a sharp lens soft. No way to sharpen up a soft one.

 

It is not a knife cutting razor sharp like my 100 APO R which I would not use for portraits. That lens will pick up skin texture on a baby at 2,8.

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I looked at many 75 before purchasing one 20 years ago. All were soft until 2.8

 

When I got the M9 I could see why. It back focuses or there is a focus shift and the lens is calibrated for 2.8 like the 50 1.5 Sonnar.

 

Sold it and purchased the 75 APO and found it far superior.

 

There are lots of ways to make a sharp lens soft. No way to sharpen up a soft one.

 

It is not a knife cutting razor sharp like my 100 APO R which I would not use for portraits. That lens will pick up skin texture on a baby at 2,8.

 

If you send a 75 lux to Leica to calibrate for digital they're razor-sharp at 1.4

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I looked at many 75 before purchasing one 20 years ago. All were soft until 2.8

 

When I got the M9 I could see why. It back focuses or there is a focus shift and the lens is calibrated for 2.8 like the 50 1.5 Sonnar.

 

Sold it and purchased the 75 APO and found it far superior.

 

There are lots of ways to make a sharp lens soft. No way to sharpen up a soft one.

 

It is not a knife cutting razor sharp like my 100 APO R which I would not use for portraits. That lens will pick up skin texture on a baby at 2,8.

 

How sharp do you want a portrait lens to be?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello all, I've been using and loving the Lux-R 35 and Lux-R 80 on the A7R and am interested in switching to the Lux 75 because it's more compact and lighter. (Gabriele Caproni's excellent review states that the first version without built-in hood 11 814 weighs only 490g, significantly less than the 80's 700g. I tend not to use hoods and would likely get the first version.).

 

I'd like to ask:

 

- What is the approximate focus throw of the 75 in degrees? From photos it appears to be slightly less than 180 degrees. The Lux 80 is about 200 degrees, which is for me acceptably but unnecessarily long.

 

- One concern I have is finding a 35 in M mount to match the 75. I've read here the suggestion than the Summicron-M 35 v4 is closest in rendition to the 75, but what about Summiluxes? I appreciate the uniformity (in both optical and ergonomic qualities) between my current pair of R Luxes, which are more or less the same size. If I do switch to M lenses, it seems I'll have to give that up. Is that so?

 

- The 75 is specified to focus to 0.75m, the 80 to 0.8m. In practice the 80 focuses past the 0.8m mark and a bit closer than that, probably not far from 0.75m if not exactly that. Does the 75 focus closer than the 0.75m in practice as well?

 

Thank you!

Edited by alanjung
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Hello all, I've been using and loving the Lux-R 35 and Lux-R 80 on the A7R and am interested in switching to the Lux 75 because it's more compact and lighter. (Gabriele Caproni's excellent review states that the first version without built-in hood 11 814 weighs only 490g, significantly less than the 80's 700g. I tend not to use hoods and would likely get the first version.).

 

I'd like to ask:

 

- What is the approximate focus throw of the 75 in degrees? From photos it appears to be slightly less than 180 degrees. The Lux 80 is about 200 degrees, which is for me acceptably but unnecessarily long.

 

- One concern I have is finding a 35 in M mount to match the 75. I've read here the suggestion than the Summicron-M 35 v4 is closest in rendition to the 75, but what about Summiluxes? I appreciate the uniformity (in both optical and ergonomic qualities) between my current pair of R Luxes, which are more or less the same size. If I do switch to M lenses, it seems I'll have to give that up. Is that so?

 

- The 75 is specified to focus to 0.75m, the 80 to 0.8m. In practice the 80 focuses past the 0.8m mark and a bit closer than that, probably not far from 0.75m if not exactly that. Does the 75 focus closer than the 0.75m in practice as well?

 

Thank you!

 

For the time being, I own both the 75 'lux and the 80 'lux. The focus throw angle is about the same on each, the 75 is about 200 degrees as well, maybe a little less. The 80 throw seems a little easier to allow fine focus, especially with an EVF, because the diameter of the ring is larger, making the actual throw distance greater.

 

I believe the actual close focus distance of the 75 is very close to the specification 0.75m. I just eyeballed it here at home, and that's approximately from rear of the camera (film plane) to subject. The image magnification is about the same between the two lenses at close focus at near focus.

 

Despite having owned both for almost a decade, I just got around to doing a head-to-head comparison of these on the same camera body (Leica M) last weekend. Other than the slight difference in magnification, their performance is remarkably similar. I suspect a blinded tester would be unable to tell them apart. Based on their serial numbers, my M and R lenses are only about 3 years apart in age.

 

There isn't a great deal of difference in the weight for my two lenses, I have the newer 75 with the built in hood. The 80 has a built in hood as well. The length of the 75 is actually longer than the 80. With the Leica M to R adapter attached, the 80 is almost identical in length to the 75. With the newer 75, the weight difference is only about 150g or so.

 

The one clear advantage the 75 offered was in rangefinder coupling....I've about convinced myself to sell the 80 'lux. Although this violates the "never sell Leica glass" rule, I believe I have two lenses here that are nearly identical in the image quality that they deliver.

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Thanks for all your responses. I received a 75mm lux a few days ago and am delighted with it. Not quite as heavy as I thought but still more than most people would like on an RF. Looking forward to using and exploring its capabilities.

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For the time being, I own both the 75 'lux and the 80 'lux. The focus throw angle is about the same on each, the 75 is about 200 degrees as well, maybe a little less. The 80 throw seems a little easier to allow fine focus, especially with an EVF, because the diameter of the ring is larger, making the actual throw distance greater.

 

I believe the actual close focus distance of the 75 is very close to the specification 0.75m. I just eyeballed it here at home, and that's approximately from rear of the camera (film plane) to subject. The image magnification is about the same between the two lenses at close focus at near focus.

 

Despite having owned both for almost a decade, I just got around to doing a head-to-head comparison of these on the same camera body (Leica M) last weekend. Other than the slight difference in magnification, their performance is remarkably similar. I suspect a blinded tester would be unable to tell them apart. Based on their serial numbers, my M and R lenses are only about 3 years apart in age.

 

There isn't a great deal of difference in the weight for my two lenses, I have the newer 75 with the built in hood. The 80 has a built in hood as well. The length of the 75 is actually longer than the 80. With the Leica M to R adapter attached, the 80 is almost identical in length to the 75. With the newer 75, the weight difference is only about 150g or so.

 

The one clear advantage the 75 offered was in rangefinder coupling....I've about convinced myself to sell the 80 'lux. Although this violates the "never sell Leica glass" rule, I believe I have two lenses here that are nearly identical in the image quality that they deliver.

 

Thank you for the very helpful response! Last week I went ahead and ordered the Lux 75 also -- but a relatively new copy (from 2000) and thus the lighter 11810 version. The focus ring is silky smooth, contrary to some reports on earlier copies.

 

My Lux 80 is from 1983. The focus is quite stiff, and that contributed to my impression of an over-long focus throw.

 

The weight difference between the two is quite noticeable for me (560g vs 700g). And doubly noticeable when I compare the Lux-R 35 and Lux-R 80 combo (700g + 700g) with the CV 35/1.2 (with hood) and Lux-M 75 combo (~480g + 560g)!

 

And I concur with you that the MFD of the Lux 75 is close to 0.75m. So is the MFD of the Lux 80 (although specified at 0.8m). They focus down to essentially the same distance.

 

I am using A7R and don't have any experience with M bodies and not much with M lenses either. I enjoy the relative portability of the 75. At the same time I must say I enjoy the heft and girth of the 80 and how it fits in my hand. I only wish it were maybe 100 grams lighter--it'd be perfect.

 

Image wise I need to use the 75 more to tell, but they do look very similar.

Edited by alanjung
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