50mm summilux ASPH Black Chrome - have you tried it?

[rf15e]

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I have the 50mm 1.4 black chrome. I managed to get a used one from Adorama for $3800 and it still has 2 years of warranty left. I traded the 50mm 1.4 asph silver for it. I basically traded for the same lens but i absolutely love the black chrome version. To me the focus is much easier than the original, the tab always made me over or under shoot my focus. I absolutely love the look of the lens. I also believe my pictures are a bit better on the black chrome, it makes me think that the glass they chose for this lens has been binned. Also this lens will hold its value better than the original since they should be limited to 500 world wide only.

I like the way the lens hood looks but the clips are kinda crummy, i don't normally use it. But when i do use it i get a lot more compliments on the camera setup.

It is my absolute favorite and something that will be passed on to my kids and hopefully their kids.  

[ardbeg]

2 hours ago, rf15e said:

I have the 50mm 1.4 black chrome. I managed to get a used one from Adorama for $3800 and it still has 2 years of warranty left. I traded the 50mm 1.4 asph silver for it. I basically traded for the same lens but i absolutely love the black chrome version. To me the focus is much easier than the original, the tab always made me over or under shoot my focus. I absolutely love the look of the lens. I also believe my pictures are a bit better on the black chrome, it makes me think that the glass they chose for this lens has been binned. Also this lens will hold its value better than the original since they should be limited to 500 world wide only.

I like the way the lens hood looks but the clips are kinda crummy, i don't normally use it. But when i do use it i get a lot more compliments on the camera setup.

It is my absolute favorite and something that will be passed on to my kids and hopefully their kids.  

I love my BC as I am not a fan of focus tabs. Lovely action on the focus. The hood is also very nice aesthetically but I got an Overgaard screw in E43 to E46 converter/hood rather than use the original hood -- more convenient in my view.

[Jeff S]

15 hours ago, rf15e said:

Also this lens will hold its value better than the original since they should be limited to 500 world wide only.

 

This thread is a year old.  It appears that production was increased by up to an additional 500 units to satisfy demand.  The LHSA version, however, remains limited.

Jeff

[Ponnefaxen]

Does anyone know how it compares size-wise to the regular 50 Lux? I know it is heavier. But, minus hood, how do they compare in length and diameter?

[WvE]

On 5/16/2022 at 11:51 PM, Ponnefaxen said:

Does anyone know how it compares size-wise to the regular 50 Lux? I know it is heavier. But, minus hood, how do they compare in length and diameter?

Not sure but read somewhere that the BC is a tad shorter, minus hood that is. 

[anickpick]

vor 3 Stunden schrieb WvE:

Not sure but read somewhere that the BC is a tad shorter, minus hood that is. 

Nope. It just seems to be shorter, but it really is not. Actually, it is about 1mm longer..

[WvE]

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12 hours ago, anickpick said:

Nope. It just seems to be shorter, but it really is not. Actually, it is about 1mm longer..

It's all about appearance :)

[Petrichor]

I have come over from the Summicron V 5 which I enjoyed but it didn’t excite me.

Love the BC and although I believe it’s only 95grams heavier it’s overall ‘heft’ makes it feel much more.

Struggling a bit with camera shake. Don’t know if the combo of increased weight and longer time to critical focus combine to that shake.

Anybody else facing similar challenges?

My BC is a definite keeper, and I know practice makes perfect just wondering if there’s a shortcut?

At my age I want to get the best (I can) out of it.

 

 

[kinetic]

14 hours ago, Petrichor said:

I have come over from the Summicron V 5 which I enjoyed but it didn’t excite me.

Love the BC and although I believe it’s only 95grams heavier it’s overall ‘heft’ makes it feel much more.

Struggling a bit with camera shake. Don’t know if the combo of increased weight and longer time to critical focus combine to that shake.

Anybody else facing similar challenges?

My BC is a definite keeper, and I know practice makes perfect just wondering if there’s a shortcut?

At my age I want to get the best (I can) out of it.

 

 

I don't notice a lot of camera shake with the lens, nothing out of the ordinary. I do, however, shoot at 1/250th of a second or faster as a general rule. I have the M11 so bumping ISO up when needed hasn't really been an issue. Not sure if that helps, as I'm thinking you probably already shoot with shutter speed in mind, but just in case, it might be interesting to see if shooting at faster speeds can be helpful.

[Fred Miranda]

14 hours ago, Petrichor said:

I have come over from the Summicron V 5 which I enjoyed but it didn’t excite me.

Love the BC and although I believe it’s only 95grams heavier it’s overall ‘heft’ makes it feel much more.

Struggling a bit with camera shake. Don’t know if the combo of increased weight and longer time to critical focus combine to that shake.

Anybody else facing similar challenges?

My BC is a definite keeper, and I know practice makes perfect just wondering if there’s a shortcut?

At my age I want to get the best (I can) out of it.

 

 

Generally speaking, a heavier camera and lens combination can help stabilize your shots, especially when shooting handheld. This is because the extra weight can act as a counterbalance, reducing the amount of camera shake caused by your hands or body movements.

[RexGig0]

14 hours ago, Petrichor said:

I have come over from the Summicron V 5 which I enjoyed but it didn’t excite me.

Love the BC and although I believe it’s only 95grams heavier it’s overall ‘heft’ makes it feel much more.

Struggling a bit with camera shake. Don’t know if the combo of increased weight and longer time to critical focus combine to that shake.

Anybody else facing similar challenges?

My BC is a definite keeper, and I know practice makes perfect just wondering if there’s a shortcut?

At my age I want to get the best (I can) out of it.

 

 

As Fred Miranda just indicated, a bit of heft can help stabilize things. To maximize the benefit of the heft, be sure to support the camera/lens combo from below, with an upraised forearm, so that bone, rather than muscle, is providing the support. Rest the camera’s base plate on the “heel” part of the palm of the left hand. For added effectiveness, keep most of the triceps part of the left arm against the torso. 

The young ones, among us, can hold hold an M camera with the right hand, and use the left thumb and one or two left fingers on the lens. I started serious photography, with interchangeable-lens DSLRs at age 48, and added the Leica M system at age 56, by which time my right hand, arm, and shoulder had several impediments to strength and steadiness. I was not young, anymore, when I started M system shooting.

We can do this. 🙂

Edited April 13, 2023 by RexGig0

[oka]

50bc is in middle of nowhere.

It’s not practical as it weight more and miss the integrated hood.

Nor it’s not investment as it’s not limited edition lens / rare lens.

You buy it purely for the looks (external).

I will swap mine for the new 50lux asph2. I have never been fond of 50lux asph rendering, I like more Noctilux 0.95 or 1.2 (reissue), pre asph or 50apo

50lux was not technically good enough, rendering was not special enough and it was kind of little brother of all other 50mm lenses.

Edited April 13, 2023 by oka

[TomB_tx]

1 hour ago, RexGig0 said:

To maximize the benefit of the heft, be sure to support the camera/lens combo from below, with an upraised forearm, so that bone, rather than muscle, is providing the support. Rest the camera’s base plate on the “heel” part of the palm of the left hand. For added effectiveness, keep most of the triceps part of the left arm against the torso. 

That's the "Leica hold" I was taught in 1965, with the left-hand thumb & forefinger handling focus and f-stop. You could always tell an SLR shooter trying Leica because their left hand would wrap OVER the lens, blocking the viewfinder... I used to handhold down to 1/15 & 1/8 sec with this hold doing available light reportage work.

[hdmesa]

7 hours ago, oka said:

50bc is in middle of nowhere.

It’s not practical as it weight more and miss the integrated hood.

Nor it’s not investment as it’s not limited edition lens / rare lens.

You buy it purely for the looks (external).

I will swap mine for the new 50lux asph2. I have never been fond of 50lux asph rendering, I like more Noctilux 0.95 or 1.2 (reissue), pre asph or 50apo

50lux was not technically good enough, rendering was not special enough and it was kind of little brother of all other 50mm lenses.

You must be from an alternate universe to the one most of us live in 🙃

 

[RexGig0]

23 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

That's the "Leica hold" I was taught in 1965, with the left-hand thumb & forefinger handling focus and f-stop. You could always tell an SLR shooter trying Leica because their left hand would wrap OVER the lens, blocking the viewfinder... I used to handhold down to 1/15 & 1/8 sec with this hold doing available light reportage work.

Interesting. I seem to have learned this “Leica hold” when learning how to use DSLRs. 😉

I have not asked my wife which camera system that she first learned, decades ago, before met. She was the mentor who finally persuaded me to use serious interchangeable-lens cameras, rather than cheap film “point-and-shoots.” Something about handling her employer’s Nikon DSLR, in 2008 or 2009, caused something to “click,” in my brain. Until then, I was content to be her driver and spotter. (I guess that “spotter” is what one is doing, with or without binoculars, helping a photographer find birds and other interesting things.)

[phototrope]

I think Leica is making a serious mistake by making only a limited run of these. If these were readily available brand new and with a full warranty, I for one would buy it for whatever inflated price they want to charge for it - and I'm sure so would many others.

[ZoomP]

For those with this lens, can tell me if Leica included the rear hood cap all this time? I have an early ones from 2017 (serial no 4658xxx) that I just acquired today.  It's missing that.  Seller had it since new but he couldn't recall if it came with it.

I am going to ask the local Leica to order one for me even though I won't be using the hood but would like to keep all the parts original. If you have the parts no for the rear hood please post it here. Thanks.

 

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Edited July 18 by ZoomP

[evikne]

52 minutes ago, ZoomP said:

For those with this lens, can tell me if Leica included the rear hood cap all this time? I have an early ones from 2017 (serial no 4658xxx) that I just acquired today.  It's missing that.  Seller had it since new but he couldn't recall if it came with it.

I am going to ask the local Leica to order one for me even though I won't be using the hood but would like to keep all the parts original. If you have the parts no for the rear hood please post it here. Thanks.

 

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Yes, I had one of those for my BC Summilux. I didn't use the hood either, and instead I used the nice, smaller metal cap. Unfortunately, I don't know the part number you're looking for.

 

Edited July 18 by evikne

[ZoomP]

25 minutes ago, evikne said:

Yes, I had one of those for my BC Summilux. I didn't use the hood either, and instead I used the nice, smaller metal cap. Unfortunately, I don't know the part number you're looking for.

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

look at the underside of the cap, there should have a parts no like 10450 for example.

 

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Look here: Leica M

[evikne]

4 minutes ago, ZoomP said:

look at the underside of the cap, there should have a parts no like 10450 for example.

 

Unfortunately I've sold it. But I think it might be the same as this one:

https://leica-camera.com/en-GB/product/lens-hood-cap-m-50-f14-11714-black-anodised-finish?srsltid=AfmBOoorqnDBPTU1NBuMXIjlbVAbfVt3VngDUdRL8_xPr-z8S8zmi8-s