Leica newbie - disappointed in rigid Summicron 50 sharpness

[TRIago]

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The 50 rigid I have is really sharp. Maybe it's got something defective.

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Anthony MD]

On 5/29/2011 at 9:08 AM, spydrxx said:

If "sharpness" of test targets is your criteria for a lens and you don't like what you see in your present lens, sell it and get a current model, it renders quite differently. Personally I like the renderings of both...but subject matter drives which one I would use. FWIW I keep on hand both a current one and a collapsible one from the 1950s giving me choices in how I want the final product to come out.

Want sharpness?  Try the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2 ZM…!

[spydrxx]

1 hour ago, Anthony MD said:

Want sharpness?  Try the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2 ZM…!

Got it. It really delivers but differently than the Summicrons, at least in my usage.

[willeica]

On 5/29/2011 at 12:23 PM, guernate said:

Hi,

 

After many years, I finally gave in and bought an M3 with the 50mm rigid Summicron and at the same time, an Elmar-C 90 mm.

The camera is everything I hoped it would be - a real delight to use (and so is the M6 I bought since!), but I have been disappointed from the start with the Summicron, which produces images very much on the 'soft' side.

From what I've read, this seems like heresy

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, but the one I have certainly isn't as sharp as the Elmar.

I've attached some 'test' shots, all at closest focus, taken on a tripod with a cable release. The images are cropped to about the central 'half' of the frame. They represent the Summicron at F4; Summicron at F2 and the Elmar at F4.

 

Any ideas on whether this is just normal for this version or if there could be an issue with this specific example?

 

Thanks,

 

Denis

You cannot compare a 90 with a 50. The results will be influenced by different light paths etc. The 90 will generally not have the edge issues which you will get with wider lenses. The important issue is what are the 'real life' photos taken with the Rigid lens like? I have used a 50 Rigid and also a 50 DR (slightly better) and I have liked the images I got with them. I never do this type of thing. What you are doing here is measuring the field of sharpness for a close up item, but you need to be looking at images taken at a normal distance. With the DR there is a close up feature, but the lens is more or less the same as the Rigid.

William 

[evikne]

The OP has not visited the forum for over 13 years. I doubt if he still cares about any replies. 😄

[willeica]

25 minutes ago, evikne said:

The OP has not visited the forum for over 13 years. I doubt if he still cares about any replies. 😄

We should not judge people by how often they appear on the forum. We need to have a welcome open to everyone. I'm surprised that you would check things like this. 

William 

[evikne]

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4 minutes ago, willeica said:

We should not judge people by how often they appear on the forum. We need to have a welcome open to everyone.

Of course we shouldn't. And if the OP doesn't read our answers, they can always be useful to someone else.

[Anthony MD]

15 hours ago, spydrxx said:

Got it. It really delivers but differently than the Summicrons, at least in my usage.

I took off the Planar, too sharp, and replaced it with the Rigid, way nicer…!