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APO Summicron 50/2 ASPH: Central veiling flare / fogging


pajamies

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Having given my three day old APO 50 a bit of a work out I can't get

it to flair other than where you would expect any lens to do so.

As remarked above by Peter the little lens hood is a stubby unit,

probably it could have been a bit more utilitarian, but we can cope.

The lens is quite remarkable, it makes me wish I were a more talented

photographer.

Dee.

 

My point is that 50 AA gives occasional flaring in circumstances where I have not had any with my previous M lenses, the Summilux 35/1.4, the Noctilux 0.95, the WATE or the Summicron 90/2.

That is why it has been so hard to believe that this kind of flaring takes place with this otherwise incredibly performing lens.

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My point is that 50 AA gives occasional flaring in circumstances where I have not had any with my previous M lenses, the Summilux 35/1.4, the Noctilux 0.95, the WATE or the Summicron 90/2.

That is why it has been so hard to believe that this kind of flaring takes place with this otherwise incredibly performing lens.

 

I would have to agree with you, the flare on non-apo crons are still "somewhat reasonable", but with this lens I find it hard to believe. Its a new design with a hefty price tag too, wonder why its flare resisting properties are far from its summilux brother..

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Having given my three day old APO 50 a bit of a work out I can't get

it to flair other than where you would expect any lens to do so.

As remarked above by Peter the little lens hood is a stubby unit,

probably it could have been a bit more utilitarian, but we can cope.

The lens is quite remarkable, it makes me wish I were a more talented

photographer.

Dee.

 

It could well be that it is just lack of talent that gives me the occasional surprise flare !

We will see how much "The Hood" will help, see pict.

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It could well be that it is just lack of talent that gives me the occasional surprise flare !

We will see how much "The Hood" will help, see pict.

 

Might as well have a Noctilux with a hood that size on the 50 APO :D

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It could well be that it is just lack of talent that gives me the occasional surprise flare !

We will see how much "The Hood" will help, see pict.

 

I use a dslr before this !

 

My 75 2.0 is just a few weeks old and I am so impressed, I was considering this. No more.

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Good tidings ! Occurrence of flare in control through the EVF.

 

As helged pointed out, the flare is visible in the EVF, and can thus be avoided by changing the direction one is shooting at.

 

I had not observed this, because of obeying Thorsten O:s prescriptions for set up of the Leica M, thus using black and white in the EVF (to make focussing through the EVF easier, the red is more easily visible againts BW background).

The flare, however, is less visible in the BW EVF.

So, changing the settings of the EVF to color jpg fine made the flare easily discernible in the EVF, making it possible to avoid shots with flare !

 

What a relief ! Thanks helged !

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Pajamies, I was able to reproduce Lloyd Chambers' observations with my 50 AA on both M240 and M9. Chambers has concluded from additional testing that the lens hood is not fully sufficient on the 50 AA... when a strong light source from above the viewfinder horizon comes at the lens, the shade is not long enough to shield the front groups. If you look at your lens, you can easily deduce that the lens shade was substantially shortened as a stylistic issue. That is true for all of the Leica M 50's with built-in lens shades (and probably the 75, 90 and 135 as well). As you observe in your post, "Shading the lens with the hand from above removes the fogging."

 

Anyways, the 50 AA is just an incredible lens! ;) Just open it up to f/2 or f/2,8 and enjoy it!

 

Peter

 

Heliopan makes lovely metal screw in lens hoods, standard lens caps clip well at the end.

 

I am happy with my 55mm long metal on 90AA and 46mm short metal on 50Lux Asph.

 

If you are in UK check Teamworkphoto (London); short & long metal as well as rubber 39mm versions are available for about 10 quit a piece - small treat for such a spectacular lens.

 

To give you idea how it improves over original see this example from Pentax blog

Heliopan Metal Hoods and FA Limited Lenses - Page 3 - PentaxForums.com

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Edited by mmradman
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Might as well have a Noctilux with a hood that size on the 50 APO :D

:)

 

and there are a lot of alternative very low cost screw in replacement options available. Mine are all unused in my cupboard after I have tried them as replacements for the built in hoods on lenses ;)

I can force any of my lenses to flare in extreme circumstances, it just hardly ever happens in practical use. Some one mentioned earlier in the thread, with the new camera you can actually use the LiveView to check in that circumstance if you are unsure.

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Having given my three day old APO 50 a bit of a work out I can't get

it to flair other than where you would expect any lens to do so.

As remarked above by Peter the little lens hood is a stubby unit,

probably it could have been a bit more utilitarian, but we can cope.

The lens is quite remarkable, it makes me wish I were a more talented

photographer.

Dee.

I agree with Dee.....the little lens is quite remarkable. I have not noticed a discernible difference in flair from other lens I own.

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Does somebody understand of what use these lens hoods in tulip form are (Ultron 21)? As the corners are open they cannot be very helpful, I suppose.

Rectangular shaped lens hoods could be better than the round ones, I agree, but a misshaped tulip.

 

If I would buy the Ultron, I would try to get rid of this miscarriage. I have a crop camera by the way.

Jan

PS

I am a Dutchman and I don't remember, that I have ever seen tulips with open corners.

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Strange, for the price, I would have expected a discernible difference in flair but would hope for none in flare. ;)

I guess I should have explained a little better. I have not noticed that the APO 50 has a tendency to flair any more or less than other lens. I have the hood extended at all times. I do not currently have a UV filter for this lens. I guess I can try to induce flair and see what happens.and when.

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Mark,

Sorry! It went over my bonnet. I was not thinking of flare vs flair. The phenomenon I was referring to is.

Flare (Physics / General Physics) Optics

a. the unwanted light reaching the image region of an optical device by reflections inside the instrument, etc.

b. the fogged area formed on a negative by such reflections

 

The APO has a lot of flair and not a lot of flare.....:D

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Here is a link to a series of photos demonstrating the central fogging with the 50 AA.

Photos were taken yesterday at dusk gradually raising the lens. Leica M. Tripod. (f 5.6 as I recall, no photo diary...)

And the hood fully extended, of course. and the lens surface checked, no smears.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/u4fd8yvirw3pqou/4199wkCd2J

Edited by pajamies
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Correct - no distinct flare, but loss of contrast, particularly when the highlights are 10-15 degrees off the axis of the lens. pajamies's example above, with the central 'fogging', is illustrative of the issue.

Edited by helged
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