Summicron 75mm versus CV 75mm-Sean Reid's new review

[sean_reid]

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Ok, bored now...

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Well, the beauty of the web is that one can simply ignore the thread if he is bored.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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[sean_reid]

Now my fun begins , my wife calls me from NY sitting in the hotel lounge with clients and her purse gets ripped off. Luckily it was just her drivers license and 200 bucks. Now have to figure out how to cancel her drivers license before she leaves for Paris. Life just smacks you sometimes, been kind of a bad day all around too. sorry needed to vent

 

Sorry to hear it.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Thanks Sean luckily it was not her whole purse , we really would be in trouble. She leaves for Paris tomorrow and thankfully has her passport

[Peter L]

Bored ?, me too, all I see is a lot of blah , blah, blah and quack, quack, quack.

Erwin Puts isn't even in this dialoque, diatribe?. and it has little to do with photography.

 

Most of the amateur photography that I see here is not dependent on the small differences in lens characteristics that are being discussed, the Leica , Zeiss, Voigtlander, higher quality Canon, Nikon etc. lenses are far above(exponentially) the quality required for amateur photography.

 

Erwin deserves a great deal of respect and credit for the enormous amount of reseach he has performed, especially on Leica , he is probably the most knowledgable person in that area, others are merely newcomers,repeating others.

 

Erwin is a generous man, he donates his(huge amount) time, his website, even his book free, you may not like his writing style, his research, his conclusions, it is free, you don't have to read it.

 

Beating on him while you're saying you're not, is far from professional, people who do this probably have some problem, insecure, threatened perhaps, in any case not how a professional responds.

 

Professionals, at least my colleages, and I would hazard to guess all other professionals(heading: professional conduct) generally respond in a non emotional manner ,addressing a subject or problem whithin their area of expertise, from a knowledge base in an analytical manner.

 

Finally, it makes sense to read up on intended purchases, and if some reviewer points out a less expensive way to obtain equipment that renders nearly the same result or for most amateurs, no noticeable difference, than a valuable service has been provided, whether this information has been acquired impirically or analytically .

[Tony C.]

While technical characteristics are of some interest to me, I agree wholeheartedly with Sean and many others who emphasize the importance of how particular lenses "draw". And along those lines, I've been quite happy with the 75mm Summicron's signature during my early experimentations. Here are two examples.

 

Regards,

 

Tony C.

 

 

 

[hankg]

Bored ?, me too, all I see is a lot of blah , blah, blah and quack, quack, quack.

Erwin Puts isn't even in this dialoque, diatribe?. and it has little to do with photography.

 

Erwin most certainly did insert himself into this with the comments on his web site. I don't see any emotional diatribes here, but if it's OK for Erwin to coment on the writings and methods of others it certainly OK for others to comment on his writings.

 

By your comments you seem to feel that any old lens will do for the hacks here, as we don't come up to your high standards. So it's pointless even to discuss the differences between high quality lenses. You are entitled to your opinion and you don't need to listen to our blah, blah and quacking if you don't choose to. Now if you will excuse us while we carry on, you can get back to your superior photographic efforts.

[carstenw]

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Since I'm prepping these right now anyway, I thought this might be of interest.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Thanks for these, Sean. I am one of those who has been hoping for pictures of, rather than only by, the lenses.

[bill]

Well, the beauty of the web is that one can simply ignore the thread if he is bored.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Yes, Sean, I fully appreciate that, but this was one of the few threads I have bothered to follow on the digital forum lately because it is both interesting and relevant to me. I'm sad that it has been hijacked the way it has. Methinks I should just get around to subscribing to your site and cutting out the middle, er, critic.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[sean_reid]

Once you read the 75 mm lens review, feel free to discuss it further here if you'd like. I'll be happy to answer any questions that I can. I imagine its the 75 mm lens discussion itself that you are most interested in, yes?

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[bill]

Indeed I am. I am far more interested in comparisons of these two lenses than in comparisons of reviewers

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[george_b]

Indeed I am. I am far more interested in comparisons of these two lenses than in comparisons of reviewers

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Well said, arn't we all more interested in the lenses?

George

[sean_reid]

peter wrote:

 

"Bored ?, me too, all I see is a lot of blah , blah, blah and quack, quack, quack."

 

I'll ignore that last sophomoric jab.

 

"knowledgable person in that area, others are merely newcomers,repeating others"

 

Is that so? Your sweeping generalization is based on what, exactly?

 

"Beating on him while you're saying you're not, is far from professional, people who do this probably have some problem, insecure, threatened perhaps, in any case not how a professional responds."

 

I'll let the moderators deal with the personal attack. Give it a day or so. There is actual moderation on these forums.

[scott kirkpatrick]

This thread seems to have a continuing life (that is, it has been hijacked into some interesting directions), so I'll add a point. The unusually tiny CV15/4.5, which is dwarfed by the newer ASPH lenses and the Zeiss monster 16/2.8, is actually a bit larger than classic rangefinder lenses. In the picture below, I put my Summicron 50/2.0 collapsible, Canon 35/2.0, CV15/4.5 in the front row and two modern, ASPH lenses, not the biggest by any means: the 35/2.0 asph and the 24/2.8 asph. The Canon and collapsible Summicron are traditional designs from the 1950s. They are sharp, at least on center, and they flare like crazy when there is bright light anywhere in front of them. It's an effect that can be used, but a little strong to be considered candidates for Sean's "sunny day lens" category of spreading a little highlight intensity around to flash up the shadow detail. The Summicron shows a few marks of its chameleon nature -- presently it thinks it is a Noctilux. The DV/15 is coded more permanently, thanks to its JM mount, as a WATE.

 

One thought that results from this little exercise -- it is useful, in photographing the actual lenses, to compare the sizes and feel of lenses of different focal lengths. How does a 75 or 90 AP0-ASPH feel in your hands if you are used to the 35/2.0 asph, or to the 50/1.4 asph?

 

scott

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[egibaud]

Hi Sean,

 

Thank you for saving me US$1500+

 

You were right the CV75 is just an amazing lens for this price. I am not sure the price difference with the Cron75 could be justified.

 

I made many shots yesterday and I am very impressed.

 

Thanks again for your review,

 

Eric

[Ecaton]

Hi Sean,

 

Thank you for saving me US$1500+

 

You were right the CV75 is just an amazing lens for this price. I am not sure the price difference with the Cron75 could be justified.

 

I made many shots yesterday and I am very impressed.

 

Thanks again for your review,

 

Eric

 

My original plan was to bridge my wait for a 75 Cron with the CV 75. But the excellent optical performance of the CV, the lack of availability of 75 Crons and Sean's comparison made me change my mind. I think the CV is simply an excellent lens a, not just "for this price" as you mention.

There is one considerable weakness of all CV screwmounts though, which matters in practice, but which Sean has not mentioned in his reviews yet: mounting them on a Leica M is i) a fumbling execrcise, ii) difficult in dim light, iii) taking to much time when speed matters, iv) requiring your full attention, which does not always feel comfortable in crowded unfamiliar places. Mounting a Leica lens takes a fraction of the time and can even be achieved easilly in dim light.

 

Best

Martin

[wlaidlaw]

There is one considerable weakness of all CV screwmounts though, which matters in practice, but which Sean has not mentioned in his reviews yet: mounting them on a Leica M is i) a fumbling execrcise, ii) difficult in dim light, iii) taking to much time when speed matters, iv) requiring your full attention, which does not always feel comfortable in crowded unfamiliar places. Mounting a Leica lens takes a fraction of the time and can even be achieved easilly in dim light.

 

Best

Martin

 

Martin,

 

Is it not best to have one mount per lens and just leave the LTM to LM adapter permanently on the lens, maybe even with a tiny dot of Loctite? You would then mount as per any other M fit bayonet lens. This is what I do for M42 lenses, leaving the adapters mounted all the time. Of course, this has the expense downside of have to have as may adapters as you have LTM or M42 lenses.

 

Wilson

[Ecaton]

Martin,

 

Is it not best to have one mount per lens and just leave the LTM to LM adapter permanently on the lens, maybe even with a tiny dot of Loctite? You would then mount as per any other M fit bayonet lens. This is what I do for M42 lenses, leaving the adapters mounted all the time. Of course, this has the expense downside of have to have as may adapters as you have LTM or M42 lenses.

 

Wilson

 

I actually have adapters permanently mounted on the CV 15 and 75, yet mounting the lenses remains fumbling compared to Leica's m mounts.

[gravastar]

I think the problem is there's no red "nipple" on the lenses or mount to help you align the lens when you attach it to the camera. I'm forever turning the lenses around to try and line them up with the camera body.

 

Bob.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[stunsworth]

Bob, I use the focussing mark on the lens. A bit to the right as I look down on it and it fits every time.

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Yes the Red dot is just not for show, there is a good reason it is there and really helps in the dark when mounting a lens. Yes folks the Red Dot has a purpose. LOL