M lenses - samples showing different colour rendering

[renes]

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Hello to everyone!

 

I am new to this forum, what brought me here is trying to find an answer which of M range lenses I like most. I have no experience with Leica lenses and all my 'knowladge' is based on samples I have seen on the net and here. I am already sure I will go with M lenses but do not know yet if I will choose Elmarit, Summarit, Summicron or Summilux. I have seen many samples taken with each of these lenses - actually all images look great - but can not find comparison based on the same place/subject/image to see more precisely differences of colour rendering and look which is the main factor for me.

 

If you know such examples and comparisons using the same subject, link them here please, as well the shots you have taken with two - or more - Leica lenses. Hope it will help me to choose final 3-4 lenses I want to buy.

 

Thanks! Piotr

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[jaapv]

Leica takes great trouble to make colour rendering similar throughout the range. Still, you might find slight differences but they will certainly disappear in postprocessing.

[paulsydaus]

The easiest thing to do might be to search Flikr by lens, however it given most of them will be PP'd I don't know how you could make any conclusions...

There would be subtle variations, for example the Noctilux is noticeably warmer and richer for me compared to the 50/2 Summicron.

However all Leica lenses are considered rich and contrasty with good resolution.

Colour rendition should probably be your least concern. I'd choose a focal length first (usually 50 or 35 to start with) then price (aka lens speed). Perhaps considering size as well.

The Summicrons are very popular due to their size, performance and weight, and they provide maybe the highest bang for buck...

[CheshireCat]

I am also very sensitive to color rendering.

It is very difficult to compare lenses, as environment lighting conditions greatly vary. E.g. two lenses may look equally good in artificial light, but totally different outdoor. Some old or cheap lenses may not resolve color nuances or may not render colors at the same level of modern or high quality lenses. Good glass costs a lot of money.

 

My two cents on your lens selection: The latest Summilux-M 35mm FLE has amazing colors.

[250swb]

You could try Sean Reid's web site, he's about the only tester I can think of that has a consistent setup for looking at the minutiae of lens performance.

 

But even then I'm not sure he pays that much attention to colour as unless the lens is just a dog, and no modern lenses are, then the subtleties of colour are a personal preference and shouldn't be just down to what the lens renders. Even the camera's firmware and the software used to process it will each introduce colour variations, so the same lens can perform differently on another model of camera, or with different software. No different to how it worked with film, each lens and film combination would render something individual, not a common colour response. So if Leica introduce a new firmware version for (say) the M240 it may also introduce a slight colour correction to make it more accurate, but you may have liked the previous version more. So finding lenses that meet your specific requirements is to my mind a complete waste of time, none of them, even the older ones, are not that far awry that you couldn't tweak the rendering in post processing to make the image how you like it.

 

Steve

[CheshireCat]

Leica takes great trouble to make colour rendering similar throughout the range. Still, you might find slight differences but they will certainly disappear in postprocessing.

 

While Leica lenses are very high quality, it must be noted that glass and coating quality changed over the years. When considering even modern but cheaper third-party lenses, this is even more important, as postprocessing cannot fix what never reached the sensor.

 

This is very well explained in this thread (check Denoir's posts): Digital-Picture review ZE 100 MP lens - FM Forums

[jaapv]

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The OP is asking about the current/recent range of lenses….

I would also like to quote Denoir as it applies to all advice given to the OP here:

I should add also that looking at colors in sRGB space is a sad story. For full appreciation of the colors a camera/lens combo can capture one should use ProPhoto RGB on a wide gamut monitor. As 99.9% of the world uses sRGB it is unfortunately impractical to do so, but it's a shame because much more is lost by using a too small color space than is by choosing one lens instead of another.

 

Note that he uses LAB. In LAB one can change the colour characteristic of an image far more dramatically than in RGB. And increase colour separation - and add colours that were not there in the first place.

[IWC Doppel]

Difficult to appreciate without a direct comparison. I'd suggest taking comparative shots between lenses before you buy. I did find the latest 35 ASPH notably more 'pink' than the pre ASPH Mk4, which in comparison was a little cooler and for me preferable.

 

Not a bug issue in my opinion (at least for me) but some lenses do seem to strike an appealing chord with colours that others don't. For me older glass does thus more often than modern, not sure why !

[IWC Doppel]

PS lots of threads regarding the 'look' of certain lenses on this forum if its rendering as well as colour

[mmradman]

Hello to everyone!

 

I am new to this forum, what brought me here is trying to find an answer which of M range lenses I like most. I have no experience with Leica lenses and all my 'knowladge' is based on samples I have seen on the net and here. I am already sure I will go with M lenses but do not know yet if I will choose Elmarit, Summarit, Summicron or Summilux. I have seen many samples taken with each of these lenses - actually all images look great - but can not find comparison based on the same place/subject/image to see more precisely differences of colour rendering and look which is the main factor for me.

 

If you know such examples and comparisons using the same subject, link them here please, as well the shots you have taken with two - or more - Leica lenses. Hope it will help me to choose final 3-4 lenses I want to buy.

 

Thanks! Piotr

 

Hello Piotr,

 

Welcome.

 

You asked very wide question, perhaps first step for you is to familiarise yourself with the range of M lenses.

 

There is Wiki tab at top of the LUF (Leica User Forum) page, this link will bring you straight to M lens range http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/M_Lenses_x_Focal_Length

 

Wiki provides links to discussions stored on LUF that are specific to target lens.

 

I have highlighted in your query words used by Leica to denote range of lenses differentiated by maximum F stop - these are just trademark names, so all current Summilux lenses are f1.4, Summicron are f2 etc.

 

There will be differences, some very subtly, between lenses of same focal length but different F stop, and some users will declare preference for one lens over the other but that is more a case of justifying purchase decision rather than result of comparative testing and choosing a favourite a a result, there are exceptions of course.

 

Some lenses are highly specialised like 50mm f2 APO and 50mm f0.95, these lens command price premium - 2 to 3 times more expensive than standard 50mm f1.4 lens. Also some out of production types are highly regarded due to unique optical characteristics, 75mm f1.4 springs to mind.

 

For majority lens is chosen for speed or size or price or combination of these factors. All M current and past lenses draw beautifully in majority of shooting situations. Some handle flare better than others, in general all are excellent. Colour between various Leica M lenses should be similar, perhaps comparing Zeiss to Leica or Voightlander to Leica would reveal different colour rendering. There are users on LUF who can write volumes on the subject.

 

Do you plan to use M lenses on Leica M camera or other Mirrorless type?

[mirekti]

You could try Sean Reid's web site, he's about the only tester I can think of that has a consistent setup for looking at the minutiae of lens performance.

 

 

I like his approach, but for a pay site it is quite slow, and not to mention many tests were done on M8.

[tobey bilek]

For all practical purposes, the lenses all match to the eye. I did see a chart years back showing the differences, but they are so minor you will not see them. `Lux, Summicron, Elmar , has nothing to do with the color. It is determined by glass types required by the design mostly.

 

If you see differences on the web, they can be caused by user adjustments or more likely, different compression schemes. The web screws up all my photos, even those "save for web", plain sRGB, and mail programs. Some of the changes are radical.

[algrove]

Perhaps after reading more, Sean Reid is very thorough, you might want to narrow it down and then rent a couple of selected lenses to see how they render for you.

[renes]

Thanks to you all for the answers, many suggestions and for pay my attention to different factors that matter and which can have influence on colours estimation of lenses before I watch photos on the web! They all make sense and make me realize that I have to take a couple shots with each lens that will fall to my hands fitted to my camera before buying decision. And I will do so. I want to share though that based on many photos I have seen on the net, I would say that Elmarit and Summilux are those lenses which colour rendering I like most. Summarits and Summicrons images - again, based on the pics I have seen on the web - had to me a little more 'greenish' tone? which made interested image overall but not touched me so as Elmarit's colours, alhough they are a little bit saturated. I use now Fuji X-E2 and thougt that Elmarits can work great with Fuji's PRO Neg Std. or PRO Neg Hi film simulation and complement one another. I hope Fuji will make full frame camera in next two years because I really like X-E2 images, features - and its price comparing to M9 or M240 but APS-C size limits using WA Leica lenses of which 21/28/35 are my preferable.

 

Thanks again for your response, I will definitely take comparative shots between lenses before a buy.

If you will take in future comparative shots of the same subject/place/scene, it may be a good idea to share with them here to keep the thread helpfull for others?

 

Thanks.

 

[NJH]

I see a difference between my Zeiss planar 50 and Leica Elmarit 28 APSH but honestly that is only using either the cameras jpegs or white balance as shot when in Adobe ACR. Any differences disappear into insignificance as soon as one starts playing with the sliders in PP. I humbly submit that if you are liking the Fuji colours (I loved Astia for skin tones on my X100) the lens will make maybe 1% difference and the other 99% will come from your skills in PP, setting profiles etc. etc. and all that other lovely stuff in digital photography which means time, money spent and skills developed on the computer.