Stein K S Posted December 26, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted December 26, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi Does anyone have experience wish botn the Cron 35 v IV and the Summarit 35 2,5? And in particular the wide open performance? I have the Cron... a lens with great "personality" to put it that way (I will always keep it!), but also a bit " over the edge" annoying edge sharpness wide open in certain situations... So... I know that the Summarit is still "cheap" and "suffer" from Double Gauss construction, but it is still a 30 year more modern design than the Cron. Maybe it afterall could make the difference I am looking for in certain (landscape) situations. I am not looking for the optimal sharpness such, but a somewhat more even performance over the entire area than the Cron... Â Comments... Is it worth a try or is it just waste of time & money? The Cron 35 asph or the Lux being the only options! Â Regards Stein Kjetil (and hope for some response as this is my first thread Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 26, 2012 Posted December 26, 2012 Hi Stein K S, Take a look here Cron 35 v IV vs Summarit 35 2,5. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
otto.f Posted December 26, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted December 26, 2012 I own the Cron 35 IV and tried out the Summarit several times, but I find it a lot of money. I even find the Summicron asph a lot of money because they both cannot pass the IV for me, in character indeed. I found the Summarit on the harsh side and not subtle enough in color-rendition, I do not know what that would mean for landscape because that's a subjective or artistic choice. I cannot come over the disadvantage of all Summarits of 1m as the closest distance to object. So I tend to see the Summicron asph as a nice lens for those Leica customers who are not able to find a version IV anymore, but not as a fundamental better choice. The Summiluxes are a completely different story. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted December 26, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted December 26, 2012 Welcome to the forum ! I have not the Cron 35IV, but have the Cron asph and tested the Summarit: if you are looking for evenness of behavior in the whole frame, imho the Cron asph is the perfect choice... the Summarit (which, to be honest, i tested for 3 hours only) looked to me even sharper, but with a contrast even too strong... which made me prefer the color rendition of the Cron asph... frankly, i tend to consider it, after 3 years of usage, the "35 for the rest of my life" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted December 26, 2012 Share #4 Â Posted December 26, 2012 HiDoes anyone have experience wish botn the Cron 35 v IV and the Summarit 35 2,5?..... [Cron] a bit " over the edge" annoying edge sharpness wide open in certain situations... So... I know that the Summarit is still "cheap" and "suffer" from Double Gauss construction, but it is still a 30 year more modern design than the Cron. Maybe it afterall could make the difference I am looking for in certain (landscape) situations. I am not looking for the optimal sharpness such, but a somewhat more even performance over the entire area than the Cron... Â Comments... Is it worth a try or is it just waste of time & money? The Cron 35 asph or the Lux being the only options! Â Regards Stein Kjetil (and hope for some response as this is my first thread I have had both. Both are excellent lenses and are of a more 'traditional' design relative to the current Cron and Lux, and contain no aspheric elements so have a different bokeh. Without trawling through loads of images, from memory, I would say that the Summarit probably has a more even performance wide open, and amongst its attributes is a high resistance to flare (hence contrast comments). If I had the choice though I would be hard pushed to decide between the two. I suspect that the more rounded performance of the Summarit might just be useful in 'certain (landscape) situations' and if it is these situations that you find the Cron lacking, then a Summarit is worth considering. Â FWIW, having owned the Cron Mk4, Cron Asph, Summarit and Lux Asph (none FLE), I am now more than happy with the Lux Asph (none FLE), but my second choice ..... would probably be the Summarit..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stein K S Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share #5 Â Posted December 26, 2012 Hi and thanks Otto! Really nice to read how much you appreciate your Cron 35 IV! I do to... for respons somewhat hard to explain; all my other lenses are "technically" better... (Cron 50, Elmar 50 new, Elmarit 90 last and Elmarit 28 asph)... I guess this is the Leica thing... Â Regards, Stein Kjetil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted December 26, 2012 Share #6 Â Posted December 26, 2012 I have been through a few 35's and would personally place the MKIV amongst the best for colour (less pink than the ASPH) and rendition at medium f stops 2.8-4.0. I would probably buy one if my brother didn't have one that I borrow. I have never tried the Summarit but would be keener to pick up a Summilux ASPH pre FLE if at all possible, it betters the IV side by side and offers a different rendering plus an extra stop. Â I think you might regret selling the IV, I am not a fan of it wide open but that's about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarcRF Posted December 26, 2012 Share #7  Posted December 26, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) It's hard to believe people still think that the summarit line is some kind of discount/cheapo lenses. they are clearly not. where leica saved the money is:  a) no aspherical surfaces little less close focusing (35/50 got 0.8 meters, 75 got 0.9m and 90 got 1m, unlike another poster at the top mentioned) c) hoods cost extra d) no chrome versions available e) no fancy leather pouch  Leica did not save money from lesser glass, lesser materials or crappy quality control.  I tried the 35 cron asph on a workshop for 2 days and got a 35 summarit last week. just because they are not aspherical does not mean that their performance is weakened. a 1450€ lens might not be able to take on a much bigger, heavier 35 summilux fle but it isnt meant to  speaking of the performance: many reputable people (take e.g. erwin puts) took on the matter on analyzing the summarits. he pointed out that the 75/90 are not up there with the apo asph summicrons of their focal length. not because the summarits suck but the summicrons are just that good. furthermore he pointed out that the 35 summarit performs at least equally as good as the summicron asph.  after all it just is a matter of the need for low light ability. if f/2.5 is enough for you then expect nothing less than leica quality. I'm using a 28 elmarit asph, 50 summilux asph and 2 summarits (35/90) and I'm always surprised how sharp these little lenses are. even when compared to a lens like the 50 summilux asph which has a much better reputation than the poor little summarits.  might sound like I'm taking it personally that people crizicize the summarits but the truth is they are a lot better than their reputation and if I would turn back the time and start at the point where I bought my first leica I wouldn't hesitate and get a summarit 50 as my first lens instead of the summilux asph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stein K S Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share #8 Â Posted December 26, 2012 Hi and great reply Marc! Totally agree...did read Mr Puts myself. And from feel, build quality is up there. However, have no personal experience with using it/them. I like the smaller lenses, I do not need the extra stops of the lux, however, I like to play some with lack of DOF... and a good/pleasant edge to edge performance at 2-2,5 is what i need. Stein Kjetil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarcRF Posted December 26, 2012 Share #9  Posted December 26, 2012 then I suggest getting the summarit  my other suggestion is getting it as fast as you can. the prices of the lenses will go up by january 1 2013. the summarit will then cost 1600€ instead of 1450€  this was just an example as all lens prices will go up with the new year... it reaches from a 150€ rise on summarits up to a 400-500€ rise on 21/24 summilux , noctilux Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stein K S Posted December 26, 2012 Author Share #10  Posted December 26, 2012 Paul... Hi and thanks! And PS; despite all "weaknesses", the Cron will always be with me  Stein Kjetil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted December 26, 2012 Share #11  Posted December 26, 2012 then I suggest getting the summarit my other suggestion is getting it as fast as you can. the prices of the lenses will go up by january 1 2013. the summarit will then cost 1600€ instead of 1450€  this was just an example as all lens prices will go up with the new year... it reaches from a 150€ rise on summarits up to a 400-500€ rise on 21/24 summilux , noctilux  Really ? Nothing I have seen on UK sites Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MarcRF Posted December 26, 2012 Share #12  Posted December 26, 2012 i've seen the list of the new prices at a dealer. € prices for sure. of course they raise the prices when a new model is released... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted December 26, 2012 Share #13 Â Posted December 26, 2012 ...Does anyone have experience wish botn the Cron 35 v IV and the Summarit 35 2,5? And in particular the wide open performance? I have the Cron... a lens with great "personality" to put it that way (I will always keep it!), but also a bit " over the edge" annoying edge sharpness wide open in certain situations... I am not looking for the optimal sharpness such, but a somewhat more even performance over the entire area than the Cron... I have both lenses but use them on crop bodies only (R-D1, M8.2). According to J.M. Sepulchre who tested them on the M9, the Summarit is less even than the Summicron in that it is generally softer in the corners than the latter. But the Summicron exhibits some focus shift contrary to the Summarit. In the center, the Summarit is generally sharper. In my own experience, the Summarit has less flare, more contrast but keeps a smooth bokeh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stein K S Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share #14  Posted February 21, 2015 I have been through a few 35's and would personally place the MKIV amongst the best for colour (less pink than the ASPH) and rendition at medium f stops 2.8-4.0. I would probably buy one if my brother didn't have one that I borrow. I have never tried the Summarit but would be keener to pick up a Summilux ASPH pre FLE if at all possible, it betters the IV side by side and offers a different rendering plus an extra stop.  I think you might regret selling the IV, I am not a fan of it wide open but that's about.  Hi It has been a while since the last comment on this thread. However, I have since then ended up with a 35lux pre-fle... while still keeping the cron iv... And I am so happy with this combo! Thanks! Best advice ever  PS; I know I did comment at the time that I did not need the 1,4 stop as such... and I still don't.... But what a "drawing" this lux provides!  Regards, Stein Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonio Russell Posted February 21, 2015 Share #15 Â Posted February 21, 2015 I own the Cron IV and have tested the ASPH and had a play with the Summarit. Â Personally, I will be getting the ASPH as soon as funds permit. The Summarit is very nice also but minimum focus distance and max 2.5 aperture would be a backwards move for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted February 23, 2015 Share #16  Posted February 23, 2015 I now have my own MkIV Summicron and have swapped my Summilux ASPH. for the Aspherical, whilst they are both lovely I couldn't justify keeping both. I have added a Summaron f2.8 as well  As a good value combination I think the Summilux ASPH. and Summicron MkIV is a fab combination. I love the MkIV at f4 and the ASPH. is just lovey wide open Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted February 23, 2015 Share #17 Â Posted February 23, 2015 I think you might regret selling the IV, I am not a fan of it wide open but that's about. Â I had the same opinion about the IV wide open since I owned it, about 14 years or so, until I sent it for a CLA to Leica because there was something wrong with close focus at 2.0. After this CLA I use it very often at 2.0 with very satisfying results, whereas formerly I wouldn't dare going wider than 2.5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IWC Doppel Posted February 23, 2015 Share #18 Â Posted February 23, 2015 I had the same opinion about the IV wide open since I owned it, about 14 years or so, until I sent it for a CLA to Leica because there was something wrong with close focus at 2.0. After this CLA I use it very often at 2.0 with very satisfying results, whereas formerly I wouldn't dare going wider than 2.5 Â My comment was a little harsh, my copy has been CLAd and coded, it's just the bokeh is a little muddled at f2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
otto.f Posted February 23, 2015 Share #19 Â Posted February 23, 2015 Muddled was the word indeed, but maybe it's also my Monochrome that makes it less so recently Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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