50mm Summicron vs Elmar

[Firefly]

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Hi everyone, What are the respective merits of a V4/V5 50mm Summicron over the later 50mm Elmar M apart from the F2 against F2.8 of the Elmar.

Looking at daytime use on a film body, any real world differences? I like the idea that the Elmar collapses but is it inferior optically,

best regards, Rob

[01af]

What are the respective merits of a Summicron-M 50 mm (IV or V) over the later Elmar-M 50 mm, apart from the 1:2 against 1:2.8 of the Elmar?

More flares.

[luigi bertolotti]

Let's quote Erwin Puts (Elmar-M vs. Summicron last) : "Only in the extreme corners Summicron has an advantage"

[cpclee]

The elmar is less optically correct which means slightly worse corner performance and lower contrast but it has crisper details due to the small number of lens elements. I can be happier with either, but prefer the handling of the chrome elmar which feels like a dense little gem

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

I bet most people won't be able to tell the difference between images shot with the two lenses if you hid the EXIF data

 

Both the lenses flare when the light source is just around the edge of the frame but I find my copy of the Elmar-M holds contrast and ghosting better than the cron, even with a filter on

 

I have both but prefer the Elmar-M for the aforementioned reasons and also that it collapses and the chrome version looks gorgeous on a chrome body

 

Shot last evening:

 

 

With this combo:

 

Collapsed: