Summilux 50 & 35mm

[Augost]

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Hello, user of the 50 / 35 lux.

 

What I would like to know is if you use the f/1.4 stop often, and if so, for what?

 

ex.: bokeh, evening photography etc...

[nelly]

You do not say which versions of these lenses you are referring to as each design has it's own character

I have the latest versions of both of these lenses and shoot wide open with them often for both Digital and Film

Obviously 1.4 is great for low light shots, as is the great bokeh for certain artistic shots

Shooting at 1.4 in daylight with and ND filter is also possible and useful for me in my street photography

Both are incredibly sharp open and stopped down and I highly recommend.

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[akiralx]

Yes, I own the 35 Summilux FLE and the 50 Summilux pre-ASPH and shoot both often at f/1.4. - though the latter lens rather more often stopped down a detent (so between f/1.4 and f/2).

 

The more modern 50 Summilux-ASPH is a slightly better performer at f1.4 in terms of sharpness.

[algrove]

Hello, user of the 50 / 35 lux.

 

What I would like to know is if you use the f/1.4 stop often, and if so, for what?

 

ex.: bokeh, evening photography etc...

 

I shoot every Leica lens wide open unless I want to stop down for more DOF.

[bpalme]

Own both of the latest and shoot wide open often but it really just depends on the situation and the mood I'm in. I have no rules.

[MarkP]

Own both of the latest and shoot wide open often but it really just depends on the situation and the mood I'm in. I have no rules.

 

+1

[250swb]

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I have the 50mm Summilux and use it wide open when the light is very low, or when I see a photograph that is best made with a high level of differential focus. I don't use it just to display creamy bokeh for instance, it needs to have a purpose in the photograph, displays of bokeh can get very boring. In the greater scheme of things, and with the ability of digital cameras to increase ISO, an f/1.4 lens is far less useful than it was and an f/2 Summicron is nearly as good anyway.

 

Steve

[lars_bergquist]

I do own both the 50mm Summilux ASPH and the 35mm Summilux ASPH v.2 (or 'FLE').

 

I do occasionally – VERY occasionally – use the 35mm wide open at night and /or indoors, but mostly I prefer to stop it down to f:2 and the light is nearly always sufficient for that. Frankly, the occasions where f:2 would not have been enough are so extremely few and far between, that the extra outlay for the last f-stop would have been impossible to justify. I own this lens for historical reasons, actually (the reason went by the name of Kodachrome 64).

 

I do never use the 50mm wide open. This lens I own because I won't own a 50mm Summicron. I won't touch it as that lens ruined too many of my shots because of its internal reflections, general susceptibility to flare, and the occurrence of curious stray light phenomena such as rectangular patches of flare whenever a bright sky or a window was in the picture. You can live with such things with a SLR camera, because you see them directly in the finder, and you can try to change your position or get some extra shading for the lens. But with a RF camera, you see them when it's too late.

 

The old man from the Kodachrome Age

[Manolo Laguillo]

I do own both the 50mm Summilux ASPH and the 35mm Summilux ASPH v.2 (or 'FLE').

[...]

I do never use the 50mm wide open. This lens I own because I won't own a 50mm Summicron. I won't touch it as that lens ruined too many of my shots because of its internal reflections, general susceptibility to flare, and the occurrence of curious stray light phenomena such as rectangular patches of flare whenever a bright sky or a window was in the picture.

[...]

 

I parted from a incredibly sharp Summicron exactly because of that very same reason: flare in circumstances where it is not expected, where it should not appear. I went to the beautiful 2.5/50 Summarit instead of the 1.4/35 Summilux, the Summarit is much smaller, lighter and cheaper. Could you, Lars, be using this lens as well? In other words: if you don't use it wide open, why do you have the Summilux? :-)

Edited August 30, 2012 by Manolo Laguillo

[philipus]

As a film user, 1.4 is very useful to me in darker settings and I have three Summiluxes and other fastish lenses, too. I often find good use for these lenses as I rarely finish, say, a 100 roll during a day and need to use it at night. The extra stop means a real advantage to me in those situations.

 

However, I rarely try to achieve optimum blur, and actually find all the blurred out backgrounds one sees these days a bit tedious. In many cases they detract more from the subject than add.

 

In my experience the impact of bokeh upon the final image is notoriously difficult to predict when taking the picture so I try to stop down a bit just to be sure I don't overwhelm with a busy and detracting background. Still, when nicely done, a smooth blurred background will lift out the subject.

 

Philip

[mustafasoleiman]

I have both latest versions and I use them daily at about 5.6 and nightly as wide open as light available requires.

 

Of course you can go up with the ISO but that influences the quality of the image and the need to handheld also requires a minimum speed, so even though digital is more flexible than film, you still, or should I say I, still find the extra stop absolutely necessary for my style of shooting.

[lars_bergquist]

I parted from a incredibly sharp Summicron exactly because of that very same reason: flare in circumstances where it is not expected, where it should not appear. I went to the beautiful 2.5/50 Summarit instead of the 1.4/35 Summilux, the Summarit is much smaller, lighter and cheaper. Could you, Lars, be using this lens as well? In other words: if you don't use it wide open, why do you have the Summilux? :-)

 

I bought my 50mm Summicron ASPH in 2005, financing it mostly by selling both a 'pre-ASPH' Summilux and the Summicron. That was before the appearance of the Summarit line, of which I have tried only the 75mm. This was very good indeed; I sold it when going from M8 to M9, because on the M8, it was equivalent to a 100mm lens, a field of view I love, but on a M9 it is simply a 75, which I have little use for. And the 'lux does all the 'rit does; a Leica M is not a pocket camera in any case, whatever you put on it.

 

The old man again

[miessli]

i own both, but most of the time use only the 50lux, it is my big love, if possible wide open, love the bokee

[bruniroquai]

Mostly low light situations and bokeh , now I want to buy ND filter to use it here (south Spain , a lot of sun) at the mornings.

 

PS: Can Somebody recomended a good ND filter?

Edited August 31, 2012 by bruniroquai

[nelly]

Mostly low light situations and bokeh , now I want to buy ND filter to use it here (south Spain , a lot of sun) at the mornings.

 

PS: Can Somebody recomended a good ND filter?

 

I use Heliopan or B&W ND filters both are great

[sblitz]

i have the 50mm lux and shoot it wide open on occasion, most especially on the street at night but then only for subjects at a distance. as for my 35mm summicron i will shoot it at f2 when lighting requires and have never missed the 1.4. my main issue is that my photos are candids of one sort or another and 1.4 is a bit too tight to nail a moving subject and have in focus what you want in focus. if it were a shot of something or someone holding still, for the art effect sure. but that's it.