Double Negative Posted January 16, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted January 16, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Added today is the Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH review. Â If you truly wanted to buy only one lens for your camera, this (or the slightly wider Summilux -M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH FLE ) would make ideal candidates for modern, care-free, high-quality mechanical and optical performance when nothing less will do. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 16, 2012 Posted January 16, 2012 Hi Double Negative, Take a look here Leica Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH review. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
egrossman Posted January 16, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks for the review. I did catch one error... the 35mm Summilux FLE isn't a couple of thousand more, rather $1,000 more (at least at list price of $4,995) vs the 50mm Summilux's price of $3,995. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share #3 Â Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks for the review. I did catch one error... the 35mm Summilux FLE isn't a couple of thousand more, rather $1,000 more (at least at list price of $4,995) vs the 50mm Summilux's price of $3,995. Â Hmm, good catch. I had $4-5k and $7k stuck in my head. Yes, list price is what I'd want to compare (not the over-inflated and volatile street price). Fixing now... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted January 16, 2012 Share #4  Posted January 16, 2012 Interesting thanks. Did you test bokeh at f/2.8? 100% crop above compared to the smoother Summilux 50/1.4 pre-asph (last version). Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/170665-leica-summilux-m-50mm-f14-asph-review/?do=findComment&comment=1899784'>More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share #5 Â Posted January 16, 2012 Interesting thanks. Did you test bokeh at f/2.8? 100% crop above compared to the smoother Summilux 50/1.4 pre-asph (last version). Â I didn't "test" bokeh since it's not really quantifiable. Being both subjective and somewhat unpredictable - your photos serve as a valuable illustration however. Â What stands out are the OOF highlights - showing perhaps the difference between the older version's 12 aperture blades over the newer version's 9. The rest of the background seems fairly similar. Â Generally, the older pre-ASPH lenses have a "different" bokeh than later ASPH versions, but it varies and sometimes goes the other way. Where it's more obvious IMO, is the latest 35mm Summilux, which had a regular ASPH version before the introduction of the FLE. The latest version's bokeh is "not as nice" as the previous ASPH-only. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share #6 Â Posted January 17, 2012 We're going to do another Lens Shoot-out (50mm) (or add to the existing one) to include the Summilux - or perhaps add a section to the Summilux review so one can compare against other lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted January 17, 2012 Share #7 Â Posted January 17, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) If you want a surprise entrant for this comparison, add the Elmar-M as well (only recently discontinued.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindolfi Posted January 17, 2012 Share #8 Â Posted January 17, 2012 Yes, I agree with Jaap about the Elmar 50/2.8 M (latest). Fantastic lens: no distortion, great bokeh, hardly chromatic aberration and very little coma in the corners, no focus shift. In my direct comparison showed it to be better than the Nokton 50/1.1 at f/2.8 and f/4 in all of the above aspects. Â If you need nothing wider than f/2.8, this is the 50 mm lens to bring: it is tiny. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share #9 Â Posted January 17, 2012 I would agree on the Elmar; a really solid performer. I'm actually interested in the vintage one myself (with 15 blades). Â It's true in general - if you want the best technical image quality, it's a safer choice to go with slower lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindolfi Posted January 17, 2012 Share #10 Â Posted January 17, 2012 The recent Elmar 50/2.8 has 6 slightly curved blades that give nice shaped bokeh disks, not the sprocket wheel type bokeh highlights of the Summilux 50 asph when closing down to f/4 and f/5.6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share #11 Â Posted January 24, 2012 Updated the Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH review to include MTF, distortion and illumination charts! Â The recent Elmar 50/2.8 has 6 slightly curved blades that give nice shaped bokeh disks, not the sprocket wheel type bokeh highlights of the Summilux 50 asph when closing down to f/4 and f/5.6 Â Agreed. It's interesting to note that newer Leica lenses tend to have less blades comprising the aperture than their older versions. Of course, not many lenses out there can say they have 15 blades, but still... A bummer for the bokeh aficionados. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted January 24, 2012 Share #12 Â Posted January 24, 2012 A bummer for the bokeh aficionados. No. Contrary to common belief, the aperture blade count is mostly irrelevant for the bokeh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share #13 Â Posted January 24, 2012 No. Contrary to common belief, the aperture blade count is mostly irrelevant for the bokeh. Â To a degree, sure - but "it depends." Just look at the photos above. If you shoot wide open - then yes, of course... Aperture blades have no impact on bokeh. Â See also this result of shooting with a Hasselblad/Zeiss combo - with five aperture blades. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Gunst Lund Posted January 24, 2012 Share #14 Â Posted January 24, 2012 The number of blades and their shape give the shape of the out of focus highlights. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share #15 Â Posted February 15, 2012 Our friends at the Leica Russia Blog liked the review and translated it into Russian! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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