marknorton Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share #61 Posted January 28, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) I think my conclusions at this point are that the lens has little to offer me on a camera with only rangefinder focussing beyond the improvement in colour fringing which is clear to see. Buy elsewhere in the lens range - a Noctilux, a wide Summilux, a WATE and you have immediate access to new image making, shallow depth of field, ultra wide angle, low light and so on. Mess up slightly using any of these lenses and you will still have something different and potentially interesting. Fail to get the focus exactly right or introduce the slightest camera shake with the APO lens and you're little better off than a "cooking" Summicron. I readily admit I may well have missed the point of this lens; I'm keeping mine because I think it will offer more on an M240 body but I think the Summilux represents much better value and, in the real world, is just as good. I think it will take someone with rather better photographic skills than mine to produce results which are night and day different from the lenses we are used to. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 28, 2013 Posted January 28, 2013 Hi marknorton, Take a look here APO-SUMMICRON-M 50 mm f/2 ASPH has arrived!. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Bundestrainer Posted January 28, 2013 Share #62 Posted January 28, 2013 I think my conclusions at this point are that the lens has little to offer me on a camera with only rangefinder focussing beyond the improvement in colour fringing which is clear to see. Buy elsewhere in the lens range - a Noctilux, a wide Summilux, a WATE and you have immediate access to new image making, shallow depth of field, ultra wide angle, low light and so on. Mess up slightly using any of these lenses and you will still have something different and potentially interesting. Fail to get the focus exactly right or introduce the slightest camera shake with the APO lens and you're little better off than a "cooking" Summicron. I readily admit I may well have missed the point of this lens; I'm keeping mine because I think it will offer more on an M240 body but I think the Summilux represents much better value and, in the real world, is just as good. I think it will take someone with rather better photographic skills than mine to produce results which are night and day different from the lenses we are used to. Thank you for sharing this. I picked up the lens today and only took a few test shots. I'm not sure whether I'm going to keep the lens but won't make my decision before the next weekend. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundestrainer Posted January 28, 2013 Share #63 Posted January 28, 2013 In case someone is interested, on my flickr account you can find some quick and dirty test shots taken with the lens: Flickr: - Hilmo -'s Photostream Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted January 28, 2013 Share #64 Posted January 28, 2013 ... because I think it will offer more on an M240 body ... No, it won't. If you don't see the point of this lens on an M9 then you won't see it on a new M (Type 240). And one thing is for sure—this lens is not, repeat: NOT about bang for the buck. It's about what can be done when money is no object. ... but won't make my decision before the next weekend. Better make that: "... before the next two or three weekends." I'm fairly sure the lens will grow on you, way beyond mere sharpness superiority, when you're using it for longer than just half a week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share #65 Posted January 28, 2013 No, it won't. If you don't see the point of this lens on an M9 then you won't see it on a new M (Type 240). And one thing is for sure—this lens is not, repeat: NOT about bang for the buck. It's about what can be done when money is no object. Well, if I could focus the thing accurately and consistently, that would certainly be a start towards appreciating the lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted January 28, 2013 Share #66 Posted January 28, 2013 Well, if I could focus the thing accurately and consistently, that would certainly be a start towards appreciating the lens. Huh! That's the weak point indeed, and the exact reason why I refrained from ordering one yet. If they'd only make that damned focusing throw a little longer ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
don daniel Posted January 28, 2013 Share #67 Posted January 28, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Huh! That's the weak point indeed, and the exact reason why I refrained from ordering one yet. If they'd only make that damned focusing throw a little longer ... Is it shorter than the focusing throw of the summilux? If not, I don't understand the problem. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted January 29, 2013 Share #68 Posted January 29, 2013 I have no film camera (and never had film Leica). But I'm not sure that most lenses will outperform the M9. For example images shot stopped down to f/5.6 with either the 21 SE or the 24 Elmar show significantly more fine details than images shot with the 28 Summicron (on the M9), at least viewed at 100%. Did you try the APO 50 on a Monochrom? Or marknorton--any tries with a MM? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobu Posted January 29, 2013 Share #69 Posted January 29, 2013 Did you try the APO 50 on a Monochrom? Or marknorton--any tries with a MM? No, I don't have the Monochrom, just the M9. Boris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share #70 Posted January 29, 2013 Did you try the APO 50 on a Monochrom? Or marknorton--any tries with a MM? Same with me, no MM. I've tried it on M8s and M9s but settled on the M-9P which focusses most accurately with my Noctilux. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bundestrainer Posted January 29, 2013 Share #71 Posted January 29, 2013 Same with me, no MM. I've tried it on M8s and M9s but settled on the M-9P which focusses most accurately with my Noctilux. No MM here. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted January 29, 2013 Share #72 Posted January 29, 2013 Hello Everybody, A lot of the discussion going on here now is very similar to discussions that went on in the 1960's when Leitz took away the option of the later version of its M3 range/viewfinder with the introduction of the M4 using the cheaper M2 range/viewfinder & adding the 135mm frame to it while at the same time discontinuing both the M3 & the M2. The M2 range/viewfinder became the basis of the M4 range/viewfinder & all subsequent M range/viewfinders right up to & including today. When people complained about focussing with the original Noctilux or with 135mm lenses without eyeglasses some people suggested a properly calibrated M3. That was 46 years ago. While: On the one hand a properly calibrated M3 range/viewfinder .91X in today's M-240 would solve a lot of the problems people are writing about. On the other hand it is tied to a technology which was dispensed with almost half a Century ago as being too expensive to produce then & was replaced with a cheaper, less acurate sucessor. Fast Forward to today: And now the current, less costly version of the range/viewfinder is considered to be a dinosaur from another age. People are looking to replace it with an even less costly again successor. Sometimes the past is prologue to the future. It is possible Leica might divide its direction of range/viewfinder development in the future & create, on the one hand, an electronic replacement for the current range/viewfinder & simultaneously, on the other hand, build a parallel version with an upgraded optical/mechanical range/viewfinder able to maintain M3 standards of magnification & viewing ease. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share #73 Posted January 29, 2013 Focus throw for the APO lens is 43mm; for the Summilux, it's 45mm; for the Noctilux (which only goes down to 1m), it's 62mm. Not sure a longer focus throw would help is the rangefinder is not precisely aligned. That's why I hope the M240 will prove easier to use with the most critical lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
okram Posted January 29, 2013 Share #74 Posted January 29, 2013 Focus throw for the APO lens is 43mm; for the Summilux, it's 45mm; for the Noctilux (which only goes down to 1m), it's 62mm. Not sure a longer focus throw would help is the rangefinder is not precisely aligned. That's why I hope the M240 will prove easier to use with the most critical lenses. Do You, by any chance know the focus throw of the 75/2? I am looking for this all over with no results… Thanks, Marko Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted January 29, 2013 Share #75 Posted January 29, 2013 Hello Guys, How about focus throw also in degrees. Some people worry about degrees, others millimeter. Do you think a larger image magnification would help? Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted January 29, 2013 Share #76 Posted January 29, 2013 It is possible Leica might divide its direction of range/viewfinder development in the future & create, on the one hand, an electronic replacement for the current range/viewfinder & simultaneously, on the other hand, build a parallel version with an upgraded optical/mechanical range/viewfinder able to maintain M3 standards of magnification & viewing ease. I know which one I'd get... But no goggles please. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share #77 Posted January 29, 2013 If you think of focus throw in degrees, the 50's are all close to 90 degrees. The APO 75 Summicron is a bit longer, maybe 120 degrees. the 90mm Elmarit is close to 180 degrees, the 90mm Summicron about 150 degrees, roughly Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Lemon Posted January 29, 2013 Share #78 Posted January 29, 2013 Here is my first shot with an APO at the Leica Akadamie MM workshop last Friday - ISO320, F2 @ 1/250. I then ordered one (from Red Dot ). 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/196814-apo-summicron-m-50-mm-f2-asph-has-arrived/?do=findComment&comment=2227880'>More sharing options...
pgk Posted January 29, 2013 Share #79 Posted January 29, 2013 And one thing is for sure—this lens is not, repeat: NOT about bang for the buck. It's about what can be done when money is no object. An astute observation I suspect. Perhaps the point is that whilst Leica make many exceptional lenses, they may also now make a lens against which all others can be judged;). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted January 29, 2013 Share #80 Posted January 29, 2013 Hello Mark, Shortening the focus throw while at the same time reducing the magnification of the range/viewfinder multiplies the reduction in focussing accuracy. This makes it easier to create an acceptable alternative non-mechanical/optical focussing system since the standards that needs to be bettered have been lowered. An M3 with a .91X range/viewfinder can easily focus a 135mm F4 Elmar from 1960 which has an approximately 300 degree focussing throw & has no need for goggles. Think of a 50mm lens with a 180 degree focus throw on a camera with a .91X range/viewfinder. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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