pre-asph vs asph on m9

[marcyf64]

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I am using a pre-asph 35 and 50 cron from my old m-6 on my new m-9. Can someone please tell me the pros and cons of the pre-asphs vs the asphs? Is it worth trading in the old for the new?

 

second question if i may - why is my profile picture so large - how do i turn it into a nice discrete thumbnail?

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[Hank Taylor]

All I can tell you I love my pre-asph summilux 35 mm. I wouldn't trade it in for a new asph even if I could trade evenly across the board. There is something special and magical about this lens, it sees things that only our imagination dreams about..

 

Keep it and enjoy...

 

Hank:

[cheewai_m6]

i'd be interested for comments on this as well because i have the 35mm cron type 3 (1974) and a 50mm cron type 3 (1972). i like the 50mm, not so much the 35mm.

[lars_bergquist]

First, many older lenses -- most of them in fact -- work very well on M8 and M9 cameras and produce pleasing images. 'Pleasing' is of course subjective. The aspherical lenses can be shown to be technically superior. Test bed performance may not be terribly relevant to your needs or wants. Some specifics:

 

The pre-ASPH 35mm Summilux at large apertures does indeed show some things you never imagined. On the other hand, it does not show some things that should be there. People who are pleased with this lens should try out the bottom of a Coke bottle.

 

The v.2/3 35mm Summicron is not popular due to its harsh bokeh. The v.4 (1979) is a very nice lens indeed and I have just sent mine to Solms for coding (I also have a Summilux ASPH). You may even find that coding is not really necessary, just convenient. It is a very problem-free lens.

 

There is no aspherical 50mm Summicron; the current lens was designed in 1979 by the same Walter Mandler who did the v.4 Summicron 35mm, and other classical M lenses. You will have no problem with any 50mm Summicron.

 

The old man from the Spherical Age

[luigi bertolotti]

 

I am using a pre-asph 35 and 50 cron from my old m-6 on my new m-9. Can someone please tell me the pros and cons of the pre-asphs vs the asphs? Is it worth trading in the old for the new?

 

second question if i may - why is my profile picture so large - how do i turn it into a nice discrete thumbnail?

 

If You like to have your profile picture shown as avatar, it must be a 80x80 pixel image : see the instructions in \miscellaneous\Your profile :

[nhabedi]

People who are pleased with [the pre-ASPH 35mm Summilux] should try out the bottom of a Coke bottle.

 

Well, IMHO this comment more or less invalidates the rest of what you wrote. Even if it was a bit tongue-in-cheek, I've yet to see a description of any Leica lens that was that far off the mark.

 

As a general answer to the original poster I'd like to repeat that a lot of members of this forum are, I think, too obsessed with (Leica) lenses. Pretty much every lens you can fit to a Leica (or other M-mount) rangefinder is great or at least good enough. If your photos aren't good enough, the lens will very likely not be the reason.

 

See also here: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/customer-forum/104184-famous-leica-photographers-who-used-third.html.

[adli]

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The 35 cron pre-ASPH (v4) is one of the smallest lenses available and also known for its beautifull bokeh. This makes it a very desired lens among many photographers.

[@bumac]

I love my pre 35. It is my allways-on-lens for my M8.

[microview]

The 35 cron pre-ASPH (v4) is one of the smallest lenses available and also known for its beautifull bokeh. This makes it a very desired lens among many photographers.

 

Yes, I just found one in London; but the next day they had a silver ASPH! Went back and tried it – after the v4 it seemed massive and massively heavy too. Image quality with my M9 I thought was not more pleasing.

I rather regret selling a mint black paint 50mm pre-ASPH Summilux in favour of the newer one.

[d2mini]

So for a soon to be Leica newb, what ARE the benefits of the new asph 35mm?

[pgk]

So for a soon to be Leica newb, what ARE the benefits of the new asph 35mm?

Well one is less flare in my experience - I had a v.4 but now use the asph - but whether this is important to you depends on your style of shooting suppose.

[microview]

Well one is less flare in my experience - I had a v.4 but now use the asph - but whether this is important to you depends on your style of shooting suppose.

 

Much less? I had two samples of the 35ASPH with the M8 and found them very flare prone. Using the v4 without a hood would be unwise, but with the hood it's not inferior (I would say) to its successor – about on a par.