35 and 50 Summicron vs. Summilux for portraits?

[philipus]

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there is a severe difference in character between e.g. a 50 summicron and the 50 summilux asph. rendering of out of focus areas for example. this is where the summilux lenses usually shine. the performance of the 35 and 50 1.4 asph lenses is a bit better in case of the 50 (measured against the 50 summicron version 4 and 5) and simply better in the 35mm focal length. this shows in size and cost of the lenses.

 

David, in general I must agree with most of the other comments. The Summicron 50 is particularly clean & sharp for straight ahead head shots, even wide open at f2.0 . I recently used one for a series of portraits in B&W. The Cron is superb in many other uses. If I had to choose, I would and have purchased the 50 Summilux and sold my 50 Cron. You can get nearly the same image stopped down 2 or 3 steps with the Lux. In my B&W tests, it was hard to choose which particular elements were more outstanding than others.

 

The real value of the 50 Summilux is shooting it wide open. There is so much air & space in the delicate transitions into the oof areas. There's just nothing else like it in the 35mm format. Yes a Nocti is sublime, but it is not a reliable tool that lets you predict the outcome. It can be VERY fickle, but that's ok as well.

 

You won't go wrong with either lens. In fact, they make a wondrous tandem, covering the waterfront. Just enjoy the beauty proffered by these magical prisms.

 

There was a test of 50mm lenses in LFI 6/2011 which is worth getting. It shows that the (then) latest versions of the Summilux and the Summicron gave much clearer and micro-contrasty results than their predecessors. Interestingly in that comparison, and to my eyes at least, the difference was greater between the Summicron v 4 and v2 than between the Summilux Asph and II. Based on that test, however, the difference in the out of focus rendering between the Summilux Asph and the Summicron IV wasn't that great (p 42), but everyone's taste and preferences are different. If anything, the Summicron IV has a slightly harsher oof rendering than the Summilux Asph, which is more creamy.

 

I only have the 35 and 50 Summiluxes and bought them because I use film only; the extra stop is of real value to me in many situations of available darkness, to quote Puts. Of the two, the 50 is the strongest and most balanced lens. It virtually never flares and is extremely well controlled. The 35 is certainly no couch potato and performs really well too; we're discussing minor finer points here (and those bent towards looking at MTF graphs can likely analyse this in greater detail). I should say, though, that if I were shooting digital I would not have bought the Summiluxes. I am no bokeh fanatic and so would not have felt that extra stop to be of value to me in light of the price difference to the Summicrons or the Summarits.

 

Attached is a shot from the 50 Summilux just to show how it behaves on film when put in a difficult spot flare-wise. Not badly, imho.

 

Edit: Perhaps it helps to include a shot of this lens slightly more open. And the last one is an environmental portrait with the 35 Summilux, shot at f8.

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[hoppyman]

....Tricky backlight and exposure. That first one is lovely and has a nice dreamy look so I am picking that is an older lens, a 50?.......

 

David that backlit shot was with the Summilux 50 ASPH (or possibly the APO 75 ASPH. I will check the original file). I linked to it specifically to illustrate that results can look quite different from the same lens. My stufff is adjusted in developing though and of course these are only little down sized versions of the files.

 

Edit yes that first shot of Bec was with the Summilux 50 ASPH as was the second. Now look at that shot next to the close up of Natascha (which has has some skin smoothing and retouching too....... Same lens. Content and Light matters and technique shooting and developing matters.

 

By the way also an example of (deliberate) 'flare'. That may be another '50' thread ;-)

 

Just trying to make the point regarding properties attributed to particular lenses like "bokeh king' 'creamy' or contrasty' 'clinical' etc can really be simplistic.

[NZDavid]

Backlight portraits can be beautiful, I have done a few of them. Somertimes with our harsh light (in NZ as in Oz) they are the best choice! Acknowledging your technique makes the pictures, but that 5 Summilux-Asph is a cracker of a lens.