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APO-SUMMICRON-M 50 mm f/2 ASPH has arrived!


marknorton

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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.

 

For any company money is never no object. Leica has to move these things to re-coup R&D and manufacturing costs.

 

So the thing is not that much superior to the 'Lux? Even a little bit of superiority can go far if your Leica M (290) has 40-50MP. That's probably less than 5 years away in digital camera time, maybe 7 (tops) by Leica's clock. That's where they're looking. They know that the lenses are kept much longer than the bodies; there will be no digital M3.

 

Zeiss is openly committed to ultra-performance lenses that can hold up against the high pixel count sensors being produced even today. Leica has no choice but to follow. At some point increasing resolution will be handled not by better optics but by adaptive sensor firmware. Sort of like Hubble.

 

s-a

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Did you try the APO 50 on a Monochrom?

 

Or marknorton--any tries with a MM?

 

All,

 

 

just received the APO today via mail and happen to have a Monochrom. I did not have time to take more than a few test shots which I used to see how the focus behaves on my camera. Obviously, these are not scientific results in any way e.g. no tripod, a bit of camera shake at 1/30 sec, etc. Also, my estimates of where focus begins and ends are less than accurate.

 

Nevertheless I hope this is helpful in some way ... : )

 

 

Cheers, Chris

 

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

 

 

 

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<< just received the APO today via mail... >>

 

 

Hello Chris,

 

Thanks very much for these. You seem to be the first person on the forum here from the States to receive your 50 APO. Can I presume you ordered it through a US dealer?

 

I am eagerly awaiting my copy and am very encouraged to finally see them starting to show up!

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<< just received the APO today via mail... >>

 

 

Hello Chris,

 

Thanks very much for these. You seem to be the first person on the forum here from the States to receive your 50 APO. Can I presume you ordered it through a US dealer?

 

I am eagerly awaiting my copy and am very encouraged to finally see them starting to show up!

 

Hi Jager,

 

Congrats on buying the APO! I have not had time to really try it, but from what I have seen so far it works extremely well with the Monochrom. The IQ is visibly better than the Lux or even the Nocti.

 

I got mine through Meister Camera in Berlin. Apparently I was the first to order while I was in Germany last year. The plan was to pick it up on a subsequent trip. Who whould have thought that it'd take six month. :) The dealer was really nice about it though and agreed to ship at no additional charge. If the Monochrom is any indication, you might get yours in about a month.

 

Cheers, Chris

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100% crops from various areas would be helpful...

 

Hi Erik,

 

Here are a few crops of the focus and border areas wide open. I have taken these out of Lightroom by way of screen capture. The quality is thus not good, but hopefully it gives you a better view. Let me know, if you'd like to see any other areas or anything above f/2.

 

Cheers, Chris

 

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I realise the geometry of the shot may be confusing me but is the camera/lens combination front focussing? I realise a shot like this has more in the foreground than background but this mirrors my own results, much more in focus in front of the focus point than behind it. What's the distance from the camera to the focus point?

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I realise the geometry of the shot may be confusing me but is the camera/lens combination front focussing? I realise a shot like this has more in the foreground than background but this mirrors my own results, much more in focus in front of the focus point than behind it. What's the distance from the camera to the focus point?

 

Hi Mark,

 

I think you are right. When I look at the test shots, it seems that the camera-lens combination is front-focusing wide open. I stood pretty close to the hedge and maybe a little over three feet away from the focal point. Obviously nothing was properly executed in these tests, which makes me a bit hesitant to draw any conclusions at all.

 

A few more shots tonight confirmed that (a) the lens is very hard to focus, especially under low-light conditions, and (B) the image quality, when you get it right, is absolutely worth the trouble. I had the exact same issue when I started using the 75 Cron. After sending it to Allendale for an adjustment, it has become much easier to focus.

 

Cheers, Chris

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I had the exact same issue when I started using the 75 Cron. After sending it to Allendale for an adjustment, it has become much easier to focus.

 

It would be very disappointing if your new exotic Leica flagship lens needed to be re-calibrated out of the box to allow you to focus it properly :(.

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