50mm lens comparison

[kaspart]

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Here's a 50mm Leica lens comparison, same setup as the 35mm version.

 

These are the lenses:

 

- Summilux 1.4/50 E46

- Summilux 1.4/50 asph

- Summicron 2/50 DR

- Summicron 2/50 V5

- Elmar 2.8/50

- Tri-Elmar 4/28-35-50 E55

 

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Link to the full res pictures: https://www.flickr.com/gp/kaspart-/7zWxRh/

 

Thomas

Edited May 3, 2014 by kaspart

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Kaspart,

 

I appreciate your efforts. Thank you.

[IWC Doppel]

Interesting, I know the 50mm MkV, the Summilux Asph and pre ASPH very well, but find the picture quite uninformative in this test (sorry, but thanks for the effort), somehow the 35mm test of the same shot was a little more informative, I do think the only way to really evaluate a lens is to use and own for a short period. Leica secondhand makes this eminently possible. Which do you prefer ?

Edited May 4, 2014 by IWC Doppel

[brusby]

Thanks. All nice lenses, but it seems the lux asph is among the sharpest, if not the sharpest at all apertures in both the center and edges. Plus it has arguably the best bokeh.

 

I really thought the Summicron v5 would have been closer in edge sharpness, particularly when stopped down a bit, but was surprised to see it always seemed to lag behind. Maybe the poorer Summicron results are the result of focus shift, something of which the Lux ASPH is probably less susceptible.

Edited May 4, 2014 by brusby

[Guest Ansel_Adams]

This again reinforces for me how good the Summicron is - best overall lens for me. The DR and Elmar are very poor in the corners and resolution wise.

[luigi bertolotti]

This again reinforces for me how good the Summicron is - best overall lens for me. The DR and Elmar are very poor in the corners and resolution wise.

 

+1

[Guest Marc G.]

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Thanks. All nice lenses, but it seems the lux asph is among the sharpest, if not the sharpest at all apertures in both the center and edges. Plus it has arguably the best bokeh.

 

I really thought the Summicron v5 would have been closer in edge sharpness, particularly when stopped down a bit, but was surprised to see it always seemed to lag behind. Maybe the poorer Summicron results are the result of focus shift, something of which the Lux ASPH is probably less susceptible.

 

The 50 Summicron v4/5 suffers from focus shift, while both Summilux ASPH and latest Summicron suffer from slight field curvature. This kinda defeats this test scene as both aren't well suited for planar subjects like a fence.

 

This being said, I find the Summilux to be superior to the Summicron (both latest versions), just as expected by the MTF and my own experience.

[algrove]

Tough crowd. Thanks for everything. A year or so ago I did a similar comparison with the APO and 2 Noctiluxes too, but instead of telling which image was from which lens I let various members guess.

[kaspart]

Interesting, I know the 50mm MkV, the Summilux Asph and pre ASPH very well, but find the picture quite uninformative in this test (sorry, but thanks for the effort), somehow the 35mm test of the same shot was a little more informative, I do think the only way to really evaluate a lens is to use and own for a short period. Leica secondhand makes this eminently possible. Which do you prefer ?

 

I agree, on the 35mm test there's more to discover on the pictures. On the other hand I find the Bokeh comparison of the 50mm quite informative.

I prefer the Summicron V5 as an everyday lens, but love the Summicron DR for it's mechanical perfection and the Elmar for its beautiful 15 blade diaphragm...

Altough the Summilux asph has the best overall performance I couldn't really make friend with it. It's somehow too long and feels unbalanced on the body. So it has to go in favor of the pre-asph lux, which is the black paint version I simply can't part with

[IWC Doppel]

My 50mm journey is settling down on too many, I currently have an F1 Noctilux, a late E46 per asph summilux, a MkV summicron and an Elmar-M. The Elmar-M is superb and well worth trying. Hoping to settle on 2 at most, but that means selling the Elmar-M and probably the Summicron which I really don't want to do !

 

Your summilux pre asph black paint looks beautiful !

[jbl]

I've been shooting primarily 50mm for the last three/four years. Almost exclusively and I've really found myself in it.

 

With that comes lenses though [emoji2]. I think I'm up to seven 50s.

[tedd]

On 5/4/2014 at 8:52 AM, kaspart said:

Here's a 50mm Leica lens comparison, same setup as the 35mm version.

Link to the full res pictures: https://www.flickr.com/gp/kaspart-/7zWxRh/

 

Thomas

I realise that I'm digging an old thread up here but wanted to say thanks for this! We have a baby on the way and I need to get sensible, which obviously has me wondering if I should upgrade my v5 'cron to a 'lux asph! Jokes aside, this is the first comparison that has really let me see how much "better" the 'lux is than my current lens at smaller apertures, f4 for example. The extra contrast (and I think flare resistance?) was very easy to spot. F1.4 is a nice bonus as I've got my SL and 80mm 'lux-R for sale into the baby fund and like the idea of a one lens kit (also selling my 28 and 90 as I almost never use them due to not wanting to carry them around). Thanks again!

[tedd]

Sorry to bump an old thread AGAIN, but I have been so close to pulling the trigger on a 'lux so many times now and every time I look through my v5 pictures again I see this magic in the rendering. I think everyone on this board probably knows what I mean and I'm curious - do those who have owned both think that the 'lux has just as much of that or is it a Mandler thing that you just don't get with the new ASPH designs? 

[tightsqueez]

4 hours ago, tedd said:

Sorry to bump an old thread AGAIN, but I have been so close to pulling the trigger on a 'lux so many times now and every time I look through my v5 pictures again I see this magic in the rendering. I think everyone on this board probably knows what I mean and I'm curious - do those who have owned both think that the 'lux has just as much of that or is it a Mandler thing that you just don't get with the new ASPH designs? 

I don’t think any of these lenses render magic… no rabbits jumping out of hats for me. I’ve owned both and the Lux ASPH is a phenomenal lens. If I didn’t own the 50 APO and 1.2 Noctilux I’d be rocking the Lux. 
 

It’s not without faults though (show me a lens that doesn’t). I’m not a big fan of the ninja aperture shape from f2.8 - f5.6, and the lens isn’t really flare resistant. Haptic speaking… the 50 Cron V is much better. But that’s nitpicking. 
 

Just pull the trigger. Quit wasting time. You may love the lens and then wish you’d did so sooner. Or, you may not find the magic you’re looking for. If so, sell it. Life is too short to sit on the fence for long. Maybe rent one? 
 

Funny thing is that if I showed my wife these comparison pictures, she’d look at me and wonder the hell is wrong with me, “They all look the same!!!” 

[Masukami]

48 minutes ago, tightsqueez said:

Funny thing is that if I showed my wife these comparison pictures, she’d look at me and wonder the hell is wrong with me, “They all look the same!!!” 

Fortunately my wife thinks my lenses all look the same - so she never knows when I’ve ‘invested’ in a new one…

[tedd]

8 hours ago, tightsqueez said:

I don’t think any of these lenses render magic… no rabbits jumping out of hats for me. I’ve owned both and the Lux ASPH is a phenomenal lens. If I didn’t own the 50 APO and 1.2 Noctilux I’d be rocking the Lux. 
 

It’s not without faults though (show me a lens that doesn’t). I’m not a big fan of the ninja aperture shape from f2.8 - f5.6, and the lens isn’t really flare resistant. Haptic speaking… the 50 Cron V is much better. But that’s nitpicking. 
 

Just pull the trigger. Quit wasting time. You may love the lens and then wish you’d did so sooner. Or, you may not find the magic you’re looking for. If so, sell it. Life is too short to sit on the fence for long. Maybe rent one? 
 

Funny thing is that if I showed my wife these comparison pictures, she’d look at me and wonder the hell is wrong with me, “They all look the same!!!” 

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you! I came from Canon with their 50mm 1.2L and when I go back and look at those files now they just look like photos. When I look at files from the Summicron it almost looks like you could walk into them. When the stars align I also find this with my 28mm Elmarit IV, though not my 90mm or even the revered 80mm Summilux (too long maybe? Or maybe I'm just not a good enough photographer for a longer lens!). I feel @adancould have a valuable opinion here! 

I think you're right though and I just need to stop worrying about it and do it. I can't justify having both, though I can afford to and then sell the one that have less magic dust sprinkled on it. Thanks for your input!

[BartS]

On 1/28/2022 at 4:26 PM, tightsqueez said:

I don’t think any of these lenses render magic… no rabbits jumping out of hats for me. I’ve owned both and the Lux ASPH is a phenomenal lens. If I didn’t own the 50 APO and 1.2 Noctilux I’d be rocking the Lux. 
 

It’s not without faults though (show me a lens that doesn’t). I’m not a big fan of the ninja aperture shape from f2.8 - f5.6, and the lens isn’t really flare resistant. Haptic speaking… the 50 Cron V is much better. But that’s nitpicking. 
 

Just pull the trigger. Quit wasting time. You may love the lens and then wish you’d did so sooner. Or, you may not find the magic you’re looking for. If so, sell it. Life is too short to sit on the fence for long. Maybe rent one? 
 

Funny thing is that if I showed my wife these comparison pictures, she’d look at me and wonder the hell is wrong with me, “They all look the same!!!” 

That was also my first reaction, all pictures are the same 

I don't think that any Leica lens will prevent you from making pictures with a strong message or wonderful composition. The magic should come from the photographer, from the photographic eye.

Apart from that, I like the tonality (in black and white) of my Summicron DR, printing pictures from it in the darkroom is a joy! (I shoot film). My Summicron V is equally good (little more contrast), both lenses are equally sharp, for digital I prefer the V, for analog the DR, it also has a subtle difference in character which I like. 

I think test like these are nice as a starting point but also a little bit misleading.  If you are not photographing walls, fences or papers from the front (with aperture wide open) it is totally irrelevant if the focal plane is flat / straight from left to right or a little bit bend, since most of the time you are shooting a subject in a 3d situation and only the subject is pin sharp. And, composition-wise, you should not place the main point of interest in the far corners, so most of the time corners sharpness is irrelevant (maybe not for landscapes and architecture). 
If your subject is mainly people (for example) you should not lead your choice for a lens by test with fences or walls as a subject, you better browse through pictures on flickr, or rent one.

But maybe photographers should not worry that much about the lens, like you said, just pull the trigger, go out and take good pictures. I never heard someone complaining about Steve MC Curry, who should with Nikon, or Eugene Smith (Minolta).
 

Edited January 30, 2022 by BartS

[M11 for me]

Am 28.1.2022 um 17:17 schrieb Masukami:

Fortunately my wife thinks my lenses all look the same - so she never knows when I’ve ‘invested’ in a new one…

I would never want to fool my wife like this. We have to have trust.

You might have joked with your post. 

Edited January 30, 2022 by M10 for me

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