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Leica 35mm v4 vs 35mm v1 8 element


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I feel I can contribute to this thread- as I am a 35mm hoarder- and have V1 (goggles), V2 (tiny) & V4 ('bokeh king'). All three render great- and differently. I prefer the V1 and V4... The first two are built better. I have not done side by side comparisons but here are some samples- first up V1 with goggles:

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Now the V2- which has an odd kind of misty out of focus rendering:

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and lastly the V4 'Bokeh King'- which does have it's own magic I think:

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Sorry, but these appear 'apples and oranges' comparisons. Pehaps it's the resolutions involved but i cant much appreciate these finer points. However, the v.1 looks to be sharper than any 50 year-old optic I've ever seen. Or most 10 year-old lenses I've used.

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well I wasn't really trying to prove/demonstrate anything- just give examples from each lens. I would do a side by side comparison but both my digital M's are away being repaired...

 

It is true the V1 does seem to be frighteningly sharp for its age. The quality of the build is also impressive. I was quite pleasantly surprised- that cat shot is one of the first shots I took with that lens-the hyper clarity pleased me.

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According to my memory (on Kodachrome 25 and 64 ) version 1 renders beautifully at about f 5.6, very finely detailed color including pastels. Contrast is not very high. The Summaron 2.8 does just as well at 5,6. Very similar to version 1. Version 4 is sharper,smaller, has higher contrast. Both version 1 and the Summaron are better built mechanically. My version 4 has had problems with the front ring becoming loose because I was not careful with the lens hood.

I usually take version 1 and/or the 1.4 aspherical (1st version) along for use on the M9 and now the M240. The results are different from Kodachrome, but the lens characteristics remain. I have not made side by side tests. What I mention are subjective opinions.

The differences are most noticeable in pictures with pastel shades, where the lower contrast of the old lenses seem to render more shades of color.

Teddy

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The differences are most noticeable in pictures with pastel shades, where the lower contrast of the old lenses seem to render more shades of color.

Teddy

 

This may be a Leica 'thing'; I have a 28 R Elmarit v.2 and the most dramatic thing I noticed aside from the resolving power was the subtleties of coloring it could render in comparison to my Nikkors. It was very startling when I was shooting a series of images of delicately toned tulips of an almost pastel shading and only the Leica was capable of showing this.

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