algrove Posted March 1, 2014 Share #821 Posted March 1, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) A friend is on his second 35 FLE. The first one went back I believe twice to Solms for horrible purple CA edge fringing (the same problem my 2006 50 ASPH Summilux had). He has now had it replaced and I gather it is quite a bit better if not 100% but this may be an inevitable corollary of very high resolution and contrast lenses on digital sensors. Wilson Mine is superb on the MM and of course the M240. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 1, 2014 Posted March 1, 2014 Hi algrove, Take a look here APO Summicron 50/2 ASPH: Central veiling flare / fogging. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Rick Posted March 2, 2014 Share #822 Posted March 2, 2014 My 35 FLE has been stellar. I was not aware of problems until RickLeica mentioned he had enormous problems with his 35FLE. I don't know about enormous, but I do not like the OOF rendering of background specular highlights. I also have a personal preference for the 28mm FOV. That's about it. Otherwise, the 35FLE II is a stellar choice. And, a lot of them, in a pinch, can perform double duty as a maraca. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewilde Posted March 2, 2014 Share #823 Posted March 2, 2014 The presentation I went to in the big fancy building in Oberkochen, was by some of the large foreheaded guys in white coats, from Carl Zeiss optics lab. I would tend to believe what they said, a lot more than some shiny suited policy wonk from the PR department. I have to admit however, that after two hours of looking at MTF graphs in an overheated darkened room, one had difficulty hearing the continuing presentation over the sound of snoring. There is a well known UK personality in the rangefinder world, who fell off his chair, to much muted sniggering. Wilson I meant a spin as in, same story different words. Maybe spin wasn't the right word After hearing how you all fell asleep, lets say that I heard the super condensed version of that presentation you got. Large foreheaded guys in white coats really does paint a picture tho! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewilde Posted March 2, 2014 Share #824 Posted March 2, 2014 You know, Leica goes on about how each lens is hand crafted, and hand inspected.. I don't understand how lenses leave the factory like this. You could train a school kid (in an hour) to pick out the flaws in some of these lenses that leave the factory.. They should just send their lenses to China to be inspected by 5 year olds, I think we'd get better QC results Algrove - How's the second APO, same performance as the first? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenPatterson Posted March 2, 2014 Share #825 Posted March 2, 2014 They (Leica) should just send their lenses to China to be inspected by 5 year olds, I think we'd get better QC results Impossible...all the 5 year olds already have jobs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jager Posted March 2, 2014 Share #826 Posted March 2, 2014 To add to the sidebar, my chrome 35 Summilux ASPH (first version, non-FLE) has always been outstanding. No discernible focus shift in normal practice. I remember the epic discussions here years ago regarding the many samples that did exhibit that problem, though. I also seem to have gotten lucky with my 50 APO. No discernible CVF as a practical matter. It's far and away my favorite lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thighslapper Posted March 2, 2014 Share #827 Posted March 2, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) You know, Leica goes on about how each lens is hand crafted, and hand inspected.. I don't understand how lenses leave the factory like this. You could train a school kid (in an hour) to pick out the flaws in some of these lenses that leave the factory.. They should just send their lenses to China to be inspected by 5 year olds, I think we'd get better QC results Algrove - How's the second APO, same performance as the first? That's the problem........ built by robots and inspected by machine is fine .... put humans in the chain and you get ..... errr..... human error ..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted March 2, 2014 Share #828 Posted March 2, 2014 If I understand correctly, production of the Apo-Summicron-M 50 mm Asph had stalled. Months ago, Leica said they will resume production "next week"—but in fact, production has not been resumed until just recently. A couple of days ago, I received a lens from the latest batch (serial no. 420XXXX). I am happy to report that this lens seems as flare-free as it gets. In particular, the central-veiling-flare issue at small apertures is totally absent—see pictures below, both taken at f/16 (full frames; compare these to e. g. #265 & #709). In the second picture, the sun was inside the viewfinder but just barely outside the 50-mm framelines. Okay—maybe I should run more than just one session of test shots to be absolutely sure about the lens' performance ... in particular, I'd like to test against an even brighter sun and also at a greater variety of focus distances. I cannot see any physical difference to earlier samples. It looks just the same, and also the focal length is exactly the same as the sample I tried two years ago (51.6 mm). I'm only speculating but I guess the optical formula has not changed but the internal design of the barrel probably has. 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/208297-apo-summicron-502-asph-central-veiling-flare-fogging/?do=findComment&comment=2542442'>More sharing options...
helged Posted March 2, 2014 Share #829 Posted March 2, 2014 Thanks 01af, please report back when you have had some time with the new APO50! Much appreciated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted March 2, 2014 Share #830 Posted March 2, 2014 My latest one is a 423xxxx. Still in the box after looking at the rings as I am tied up for many weeks right now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 2, 2014 Share #831 Posted March 2, 2014 I am still interested to know what the 50 APO owners feel they get from of its images, that they would not have got from one of its cheaper competitors, the older Summicron, the ASPH Summilux or even the 50ZM Planar. I would like to seem some crops of images taken with the 50 APO and one of its competitors pointing out the differences. Usually when Leica replaces a lens, it is a case of “oh don’t pictures taken with the old lens look quaint/soft/ancient etc.” However in this case, the competitors are so good even on the current M240, I wonder if the differences are like the stratospheric HiFi system going up to 100K Hz, for the benefit of any passing bat. I am not doubting that the lens can produce wonderful images, it is just that I have not seen any hard evidence to date but I am very willing to be convinced. In theory its apochromaticity should produce considerably sharper images but are they visible with the naked eye or even with pixel peeping? Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted March 2, 2014 Share #832 Posted March 2, 2014 Wilson When I first got my APO50 I decided to do a casual test with my MM. There is a wooden carved Man of the Sea statue near the fishing pier close by. I took around 8 or more 50 lenses (MATE included) and shot on tripod at open aperture and another f-stop around f4 or 5.6 (if I remember correctly)with each lens. Somewhere I posted these photos without captions so others could pick their "favorite" and then I would tell them which lens shot the image they preferred. I usually do not do this kind of thing, but back then I had 3-4 fewer 50's than I do now and just wanted to have a record for my future use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay B Posted March 3, 2014 Share #833 Posted March 3, 2014 A couple of days ago, I received a lens from the latest batch (serial no. 420XXXX) Original 50AA lens production all started with 420xxxx... Seems the newer ones are 423xxxx. My latest one is a 423xxxx. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
erudolph Posted March 3, 2014 Share #834 Posted March 3, 2014 Original 50AA lens production all started with 420xxxx...Seems the newer ones are 423xxxx. Mine is 417xxxx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
platypus Posted March 3, 2014 Share #835 Posted March 3, 2014 Mine is 417xxxx ............and mine is 416xxxx Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay B Posted March 3, 2014 Share #836 Posted March 3, 2014 Interesting. I've only seen 420xxxx in various posts where folks were posting their s/n. Too bad Leica has very little rhyme or reason with the s/n allocations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Root Posted March 3, 2014 Share #837 Posted March 3, 2014 Mine is also 416... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
platypus Posted March 3, 2014 Share #838 Posted March 3, 2014 Mine is also 416... Have you experienced any problems with yours? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted March 3, 2014 Share #839 Posted March 3, 2014 Original Apo-Summicron-M 50 mm Asph lens production all started with 420xxxx. Seems the newer ones are 423xxxx. Umm ... so it seems mine isn't new but a refurbished one? Or maybe there were a few 420XXXX numbers left so they used them up in a new batch? Whatever—performance so far is immaculate. The sun is shining so I'll try to fire a few more test frames later today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
helged Posted March 3, 2014 Share #840 Posted March 3, 2014 Original 50AA lens production all started with 420xxxx... And the lens I have has SN 415xxxx. Looking forward to some additional test shots, O1af! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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