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The 50mm asph summilux is a frustrating tease


Dikaiosune01

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I don't know what to call this tread. For the most part i is me re-iterating the problems that others have had. On the other, I'm not sure what to do next. I gone through the calibration problem... I've also had the hood problem... ...

 

When the stars align, this lens is absolute magic. Every other time, the focus is slightly off. It has reached the point where it is beginning to ruin my shot discipline; where i set my camera up for continuous shot and i rock my body forward and back hoping one of the images will be in focus - "focus bracketing"

 

How have you dealt with the focusing bracketing issue?

Has anyone switched to the 50mm summicron (or another lens) to deal with the issue?

 

note: I use a MP (film) and a 240 side by side. I keep the summilux on the 240; and the 35 summicron on the MP. However, I do occasionally switch the lenses on the bodies as situations require it.

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Be comfortable... this is a problem that lot of people do experience with lenses of great apertures... and, keep in mind : THE BETTER THE LENS (and the sensor or film), THE MORE YOU FEEL THE ISSUE : to say, what you call "the magic" of the lens sprouts out only when what you want IN FOCUS, is REALLY IN.

I have not the 50 asph... but I have suffered your issue with :

- Summilux 50 unasph

- Summicron 90 (many "bleahs" before understading that you really can take fine pics with it...)

- Summarex 85 (not surprisingly, the less suffering... is a very old design)

 

... and NOT with the venerable Hektor 7,3 cm f 1,9... which wide open is not so far from a 50 1,4 in terms of focus' criticity... but is a lens of the '30s...

 

Personally, I prefer to do bracketing not moving my head, but staying firm and moving SLIGHTLY the focus ring, not using continuous shot, which I don't love : not a difficult tehcnique to master(*), mostly beacuse I use it only on the 2 first lenses above quoted, and you can get accustomed to the degree of focus rotation to perform (with 3 or more lenses it can be hard... I play sometimes with the idea of having a Summilux 75... and am well aware that would need to learn ITS "bracketing movement"... :o)

 

(*) the trick is to learn to perform a certain rotation in, say, clockwise, and after, the DOUBLE of it counterclockwise : smooth rotation of the focus ring is essential... making a 4th and 5th attempt (3x and 4x the original movement) is much more difficult to learn...

Edited by luigi bertolotti
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the trick is to learn to perform a certain rotation in, say, clockwise, and after, the DOUBLE of it counterclockwise : smooth rotation of the focus ring is essential... making a 4th and 5th attempt (3x and 4x the original movement) is much more difficult to learn...

 

Yes this is how I focus bracket as I feel I have far more control that swaying back and forth. Sometimes I just drop the aperture down 1/2 and then 1 stop as the DOF is often still shallow enough.

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Has anyone switched to the 50mm summicron (or another lens) to deal with the issue? .

 

You mean change to a Summicron instead of simply stopping the Summilux down to f/2 :confused:

 

In addition to the advice above you could get an EVF for your M240, with which you would be able to use the viewfinder magnification function as well as focus peaking. You can of course use magnification and focus peaking without an EVF, but then you have to hold the camera like a P&S, or on a tripod. Ultimately if you are hand holding the camera you have to manage expectations and accept that shooting wide open will lead to far more focus failures, so take more pictures to compensate.

 

Steve

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I've had my 50 Lux FLE for almost four years and its focus - wide open and stopped down - has always been spot on. It does create magical images, although I shoot 35mm FL almost exclusively.

I recommend that you have Leica check its focus and return it to factory / original specs.

Rich

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I had a similar problem - when the focus hit the results were magical, but I missed too many shots too often. Then I realized that the DoF at around 1.5m only goes from 7cm to 21cm when changing from f/1.4 to f/4, so I can still get great Leica 3D separation at f/4, and I save f/1.4 for those times when low light forces it, or when I can take the time to focus accurately..... As Pete says, practice is the best advice for this (or any) lens with a wide aperture....

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Focusing the Summilux 50 ASPH is easy, as long as the lens and camera are within calibrated spec... I've had a Summilux 50 and a camera that did not play well together, and experienced the same... With my current M240 and Lux 50 it is very easy to achieve perfect focus at f/1.4.

 

I suggest you send the camera body and lens to Leica for calibration if you are having problems achieving proper focus.

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I have a summilux asph 50mm and a summicron 50mm. No focussing problems I know of.

 

I always keep my shutterspeed as high as possible and send my camera's into calibration when I detect a flaw in the focussing.

I use MP and M240 next to each other, but the 50 summicron stays on the MP. In the past I used the 50 summilux on the MP but that was more than 10 years ago, when I didn't had a digital M.

 

I heard somewhere that there is a difference in building the new 50mm 1,4 summilux asph, which could cause certain problems. I have no problems with my old 50 asph 1,4.

 

Is your 1,4 asph a new one?

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With my first M240 I had the same problem with 50asph, 75lux, 90apo but I memorized the amount I had to compensate and as Franz says, Practice Practice Practice, even with a perfect calibration rangefinder is not the easiest way to focus.

 

with new M240 I don't have any issues, its weird!

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There are three things you need to do: practise, practise, practise.

 

It sounds like a glib comment but it's true.

 

Pete.

 

This is very true. When I first bought my M9-P, I immediately joined this forum and I started reading about focus shift, lens calibration and even time I did not take a clear picture, I immediate thought of these issues instead of blaming myself for not using the equipment correctly.

 

Practise is very important.

 

Also very important is to avoid changing out lenses too quickly. For a long time I used the same lens on the camera for at least half a day on trips. This I found to be the best way to get used to the lens.

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There are three things you need to do: practise, practise, practise.

 

It sounds like a glib comment but it's true.

 

Pete.

 

Pete... :)given your Academic title I wonder if you have ever heard a sentence I heard years ago from a Professor of naval engineering, who told that a ship design needs three basic concepts to keep in mind : stay afloat, stay afloat, stay afloat :cool:

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This is very true. When I first bought my M9-P, I immediately joined this forum and I started reading about focus shift, lens calibration and even time I did not take a clear picture, I immediate thought of these issues instead of blaming myself for not using the equipment correctly.

 

Practise is very important.

 

Also very important is to avoid changing out lenses too quickly. For a long time I used the same lens on the camera for at least half a day on trips. This I found to be the best way to get used to the lens.

 

Now I recall to that I did have problems with my M8 and Elmarit-M 90mm. Focusshift? I don't know.

I have sent my lenses and M8 to Solms and they 6-bit coded all of them and calibrated lenses and camera. After that I did not have problems with either M9 nor M240

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I guess the stars aligned for me on this shot, taken but a few hours ago whilst out for coffee with a friend. Taken at f1.4 M240 :)

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There are three things you need to do: practise, practise, practise.

 

It sounds like a glib comment but it's true.

 

Pete.

 

I believe you're right. See below, Sitting in Starbucks demonstrating to another forum member how to focus:

 

Rotterdam M... in Black and White - pauljoostenfotograaf

 

blow-up:

 

Rotterdam M... in Black and White - pauljoostenfotograaf

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There are three things you need to do: practise, practise, practise.

 

It sounds like a glib comment but it's true.

 

Pete.

 

 

I wouldn't assume user error unless certain that camera and lens are well calibrated.

 

My 50mm Summilux hasn't given me any problems. My 90mm Summarit was very frustrating prior to focus adjustment to standard. Some said 90mm was just hard to focus and that I needed practice, but the solution was a trip for lens service.

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