35mm 1.4 floating vs non floating element

[Rick]

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FWIW my pre-FLE does not seem to suffered from a great deal of focus shift so I assume that the rear group is positioned marginally rearwards of the infinity optimised position.

 

Regarding the non-FLE, I have always suspected this is so.

 

Lens samples that are reported to not suffer from focus shift at near can not be concurrently optimized for distance, and will produce less contrast and sharpness at distance.

 

But, users probably wouldn't be aware of this unless they compared to a version that is set up for distance. They would just figure their particular lens is somehow immune from focus shift at near. But, of course, Optics doesn't give any free lunches. Such lenses that perform at distance and have little focus shift do not exist... unless they are the 35mm/1.4 FLE.

 

Rick

[Thomas Chen]

Hi

 

Since more people tend to use their Leica lenses on the new FF sony alpha 7 series and since I am thinking of adding a A7 (probably a7s for the silent shutter and high iso IQ), could users of the preFLE (a lens which signature I adore) especially on the a7s (but off course FLE and other 7 series experiences could be interesting) give their opinion on IQ

 

Greatly appreciated

Peter,

 

I sent a piece of PM to you. It seems not go through the web smoothly. Please confirm. Thanks.

[Twilight]

Peter,

 

I sent a piece of PM to you. It seems not go through the web smoothly. Please confirm. Thanks.

 

Got it. Thanks.

[exile]

Before buying, I test shot an FLE and pre-FLE side by side at all apertures on the same camera. Of the two specific lenses I tested, I noticed:

 

Pre-FLE advantages: much cheaper, slightly smaller and less weight, much smoother and quicker focus, noticeably better bokeh. Handled more like the 35cron ASPH I used to have.

 

FLE advantages: better contrast and sharpness within 1m focus distance, none of the focus shift displayed by the pre-FLE at f/3.2-5.6.

 

I mostly choose flare resistant lenses with a perceptibly sharp subject jumping out of a buttery smooth background. With this semi-wide focal length I personally shoot mostly in the 1m to infinity range and I value rapid focus. My previous fast 35mm was the Nokton f/1.2 which was massively big and heavy and lacked contrast and sharpness wide open compared to either of the 35 lux ASPHs. However the Nokton's bokeh was superb and so the 35lux ASPH FLE felt like too much of a downgrade in this regard for a lot of extra money.

After much consideration I chose the pre FLE because I just loved its images at f/1.4-2.8 and f/8-11. I hope that with familiarity I can learn how to compensate for the focus shift if I do need to use it in the more vanilla aperture range where this a problem. This is not as overly-optimistic as it sounds because I have extensive experience with a 50mm 1.5 J3 sonnar that is possibly the most notorious lens of all for focus shift.

[Dougg]

...After much consideration I chose the pre FLE because I just loved its images at f/1.4-2.8 and f/8-11. I hope that with familiarity I can learn how to compensate for the focus shift if I do need to use it in the more vanilla aperture range where this a problem. This is not as overly-optimistic as it sounds because I have extensive experience with a 50mm 1.5 J3 sonnar that is possibly the most notorious lens of all for focus shift.

Thanks for interesting comments. I have a pre-FLE also... I sent several lenses to DAG for various reasons but for all a check-over and focus adjustment as appropriate. He sent them back with a simple note that they all needed adjustment. The C-Sonnar had been "on" at about f/2.8 from the factory, and I would typically lean forward a bit or twitch the focus ring when wider open. It arrived back from DAG with ideal focus right about f/2, so now I don't make any compensations for front/back focus and don't notice the effect. I think he did about the same for the 2/50 collapsible Heliar and the pre-FLE Summilux, as I just don't notice any focusing discrepancies with these lenses anymore in ordinary usage.

 

Doug