Wich version of Leica 35/2 Summicron is better 2nd or 3rd?

[ferjuaristi]

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HI guys, i got 2 offers from this lens, (2nd and 3rd Generation) any advice on which one to get?

The price is about the same.

 

Thanks

 

fer juaristi

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[jaapv]

Erwin Puts on the subject:

 

6.6.7 2.0/35, Summicron, (3), 1971

A Midland redesign of the six element version, still with the same number of glass

elements, brought some improvement in overall contrast. specifically on axis. In the

field the performance drops significantly and is somewhat below that of the previous

six element design. The optical design uses different glass types and the second

group has a very small airlens, where the first version was cemented. Flare tendency

is reduced compared to the previous designs.

Vignetting is lower with less than 2 stops, but now some distortion is visible.

Generally however, these differences in fingerprint are low and will be visible only in

direct comparison. This lens has a few millimetres more length to make the reading

of the numbers on the rings easier.

[lars_bergquist]

Translation: There's no practical difference.

 

The two versions have in common a pretty 'busy' bokeh however. It is not as smooth as either that of v.1 nor that of v.4 (which was not for nothing dubbed 'the bokeh king'). That said, the aspherical current version is marginally better in the bokeh department than even v.4. Some say it is inferior, but that is because they do not like sharp lenses; not knowing what bokeh is, they say "bad bokeh" when they mean "I don't like that lens, sort of". *)

 

The v.4 is a great favorite of mine, very good definition though a bit softer microcontrast than the ASPH. It is surprisingly good on the M9 when properly coded or identified.

 

The old man from the Age of the 3.5cm Elmar

 

*) 'Bokeh' is of course a Japanese word meaning 'slightly fuzzy' or 'a bit absentminded'. In photographic usage, is has come to mean how a lens draws out-of-focus parts of the image. Performance in the plane of optimum focus is not 'bokeh', natch!

[ferjuaristi]

thanks guys, I think I will save a bit more cash for the ASPH version

[farnz]

The version 4 is a solid favourite of mine too and I prefer it's pictures to those of the asph that I sold. And yes I do like sharp lenses and none more so than the 50 Summilux asph. Natch.

 

Pete.

[Jeff S]

The 50 Summilux asph is also a favorite of mine...somehow both smooth and sharp simultaneously, for lack of a better description. My 35 Summicron asph lacks that quality, although still a very fine lens, so I'm curious how the new 35 Summilux asph will render.

 

Jeff

[lct]

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....Some say it is inferior, but that is because they do not like sharp lenses; not knowing what bokeh is, they say "bad bokeh" when they mean "I don't like that lens, sort of"...

Some sharp lenses have pretty smooth bokeh, the last Elmar 50 for instance, when others have not.

[lars_bergquist]

Some sharp lenses have pretty smooth bokeh, the last Elmar 50 for instance, when others have not.

Right. You can have quite a bit of under- or overcorrected spherical aberration, for instance, and it will not affect performance much in the plane of best focus. But out-of-focus areas will suffer. As I wrote above: Bokeh has nothing to do with 'sharpness' (= definition in the plane of optimum focus).

 

And this is the main reason why the 50mm Summilux ASPH is so translucently, magically sharp, and still has such lovely bokeh: Spherical is under superb control. Even though I use 35mm lenses more than 50mm, I love that lens. It is probably the best 50mm lens extant. The 0.95 Nocti is just as good in most respects, at least from f:2.8 on down, but it is not especially practical, unless you have some very special needs and urges.

 

The current 50mm Summicron is also very well corrected, but it is inferior to the 'lux in the department of flare, stray light and internal reflections. Even the pre-ASPH 'lux was better in that respect.

 

The old man from the Age of the 3.5cm Elmar