juppmain Posted June 7, 2015 Share #1 Posted June 7, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, I have a Summilux 50 Asph and I like to add a second 50 mm lens. The Summilux is a perfect lens in my opinion, but sometimes i would like to have a lighter, smaller lens. Most of the time I don't use a camera bag, I just carry the camera on a strap around my shoulder and the summilux feels to big and often gets in the way. The question is Elmar M 50 vs Summicron Rigid. I like the look of them, but don't know what to expect in terms of ergonomics and image quality. Does anyone use one of these along with a Summilux 50? I shot film only (bw, color, slides), maybe I add a digital Leica M in the future. Thanks for your opinions Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 7, 2015 Posted June 7, 2015 Hi juppmain, Take a look here Add Elmar M 50 or Rigid Summicron to Summilux 50 Asph?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
elgenper Posted June 7, 2015 Share #2 Posted June 7, 2015 The Summicron Rigid is indeed somewhat smaller than the Summilux, but not by much. If you add the sunshade (mandatory; the old Summicron is notorious for flare), it is even longer than the Lux with extended shade, and it is almost as heavy. That said, it has a beautiful way of rendering; I own both and often use the old Summicron for that reason, esp. on my Monochrom. When I need something light and small, I use a Summarit 50, which is far smaller than either of the others, and very good optically. A collapsible Elmar is even smaller, of course. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbl Posted June 7, 2015 Share #3 Posted June 7, 2015 To OP, I can say I do the same. I have the Summilux and a current-non-APO Summicron as well and the weight difference is noticeable. Also, the Summicron has a shorter focus throw so it's a bit quicker to work with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgenper Posted June 8, 2015 Share #4 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) ... I have the Summilux and a current-non-APO Summicron as well and the weight difference is noticeable.... I guess a current Summicron (if black aluminum) is indeed lighter. But the OP asked about the Rigid one, which is a solid hunk of glass and metal. Mine weighs in at 290 g (with hood), while the Summilux Asph weighs 340 g. That´s a 50 g difference; not much. Again, the Rigid Summicron is a wonderful lens with lots of character, and well worth having for that reason alone. But to save weight and bulk, not. Edited June 8, 2015 by elgenper Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 8, 2015 Share #5 Posted June 8, 2015 I think, if weight is a concern and you want the images to match your Summilux, an Elmar-M collapsible would be the first choice. The image quality is impeccable, much better than the older types of Elmar collapsible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted June 8, 2015 Share #6 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) I have both lenses (and a few other 50's). The Elmar-M is a perfect second compact lens to complement a Summilux. Very compact and lightweight to carry and use, and overall excellent rendering. The option would be the 2.4 or 2.5/50 Summarit but the Elmar-M is lighter and cheaper. I'm surprised how much I've used it, especially with the 2.8/28 Elmarit ASPH and 4.0/90 Macro-Elmar as a lightweight kit. After all, in reasonably good light (unless after the thin-DOF-look) f2.8 is fast enough. I've just been doing a comparison and testing of my new APO-Summicron, Summilux ASPH (FLE), and Elmar-M this weekend on both the Monochrome and M240. No it's not as good as the other two lenses but I'm really surprised how well the Elmar-M holds up against the other two lenses. If I'm not pixel peeping, on superficial testing they all look great! Hard to tell on these small jpegs, really need monitors or prints, but you get what I mean. Waverly Cemetery, Sydney Monochrome v1, tripod-mounted Lenses all at f5.6 In-camera lens recognition on, no PP adjustments 1. 2.0/50 APO-Summicron 2. 1.4/50 Summilux ASPH 3. 2.8/50 Elmar-M Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited June 8, 2015 by MarkP 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/246073-add-elmar-m-50-or-rigid-summicron-to-summilux-50-asph/?do=findComment&comment=2830008'>More sharing options...
MarkP Posted June 8, 2015 Share #7 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) 100% crops of above all at f5.6: 1. 2.0/50 APO-Summicron 2. 1.4/50 Summilux ASPH Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited June 8, 2015 by MarkP 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/246073-add-elmar-m-50-or-rigid-summicron-to-summilux-50-asph/?do=findComment&comment=2830018'>More sharing options...
MarkP Posted June 8, 2015 Share #8 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) 100% crop of above at f5.6. 3. Elmar-M Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited June 8, 2015 by MarkP 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/246073-add-elmar-m-50-or-rigid-summicron-to-summilux-50-asph/?do=findComment&comment=2830019'>More sharing options...
lct Posted June 8, 2015 Share #9 Posted June 8, 2015 I second the choice of latest Elmar 50/2.8 or Summarit 50/2.5 but i have no experience with the current 50/2.4. The Elmar has more character, the Tessar look perhaps, while the Summarit has more resolution especially in borders and corners. Obvious differences are difficult to see above f/4 but at f2.8 the Summarit is significantly sharper, hence closer to the Summilux asph than the Elmar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted June 8, 2015 Share #10 Posted June 8, 2015 Above, this time at f2.8 1. 2.0/50 APO-Summicron 2. 1.4/50 Summilux ASPH 3. 2.8/50 Elmar-M Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/246073-add-elmar-m-50-or-rigid-summicron-to-summilux-50-asph/?do=findComment&comment=2830036'>More sharing options...
MarkP Posted June 8, 2015 Share #11 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) 100% crops of above all at f2.8: 1. 2.0/50 APO-Summicron (clearly better here than the other two but I don't know if I'd keep it if I wasn't an Monochrome user) 2. 1.4/50 Summilux ASPH 3. 2.8/50 Elmar-M Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Edited June 8, 2015 by MarkP 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/246073-add-elmar-m-50-or-rigid-summicron-to-summilux-50-asph/?do=findComment&comment=2830037'>More sharing options...
MarkP Posted June 8, 2015 Share #12 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Hi Juppmain, I should remind you that that these were all shot on a Monochrom and would expect that most of these resolution differences would be obscured by the films grain, scanning, etc.. I most certainly wouldn't lose sleep over these differences on film, and you always have the Summilux when you need that extra bit of 'high performance'. In fact, my most used 50 on my M7 is the Elmarit-M. It fits the form-factor perfectly as it's so light and compact on the M7. Regards, Mark Edited June 8, 2015 by MarkP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.liam Posted June 8, 2015 Share #13 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) Distills down to really small or something completely different. The Elmar is undoubtedly tiny but it's a modern lens. I suppose if all you shoot are RFs the difference in bulk is noticeable but recently coming from DSLRs as I did, shooting something different (Rigid) in addition to the modern fast Summilux is the combo I settled upon. If you feel that the Lux/Elmar are a modern, yet redundant pair in rendering terms and you don't really shoot at wider apertures, consider the Elmar/Rigid as a combination. Edited June 8, 2015 by james.liam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rim_light Posted June 8, 2015 Share #14 Posted June 8, 2015 As I had the same "problem" of wanting to have some lighter 50mm lens than my Nocti, I choosed the zeiss sonar 1.5/50mm. The lens is wide open not as sharp as the Noctilux, but have the glown like the rigid summicron. That's why I like this lens. Small and nice rendering. Just my 2 cents to give you one more option Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen.w Posted June 8, 2015 Share #15 Posted June 8, 2015 Another vote for the Elmar-M, which I have in addition to the Summilux asph as my smaller, take-anywhere lens. To be honest, I often wonder why I still hang on to the Summilux. The Elmar-M is small, plenty sharp, and, with its short throw, it is lightning-quick to focus. It's a lens to make one excited about the M system as a whole. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bocaburger Posted June 8, 2015 Share #16 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) I owned 2 copies of the current Elmar-M, one black and one silver, and they both got loose and wobbly in short order. Even when collapsed, if you have the screw-on shade attached, it's barely shorter than an 11819 "tabbed" Summicron with the hood reversed. I went to the latter and am very happy. (I also have a Summilux of the e43 variety). So the 11819 would be my #1 recommendation, followed by the 2.5 Summarit then the 2.4 (in that order only because a mint 2.5 will be cheaper than a new 2.4). The collapsible Elmar I just can't recommend because of the problems I mentioned. Edited June 8, 2015 by bocaburger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted June 8, 2015 Share #17 Posted June 8, 2015 I owned 2 copies of the current Elmar-M, one black and one silver, and they both got loose and wobbly in short order. Even when collapsed, if you have the screw-on shade attached, it's barely shorter than an 11819 "tabbed" Summicron with the hood reversed. [...] Using the same hoods on both lenses, the Elmar 50/2.8 will always be a bit shorter. I like much the Summicron 50/2 # 11819 and it is indeed a very good lens but i still have 3 samples of the Elmar from 1968, 1995 and 2004 and none of them wobble so far. They stay extended much of the time though. FWIW. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/246073-add-elmar-m-50-or-rigid-summicron-to-summilux-50-asph/?do=findComment&comment=2830282'>More sharing options...
philipus Posted June 8, 2015 Share #18 Posted June 8, 2015 (edited) I, also a film-only shooter, have the Summilux Asph and find that it goes well with the Summicron 11817 which is much smaller and lighter, works very well without the (cool-looking vented) hood but isn't very large with it, and has a beautiful rendering. It's ergonomically a joy to use with a wide focusing ring and very distinct aperture ring. Br Philip Edited June 8, 2015 by philipus Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
juppmain Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share #19 Posted June 9, 2015 Hi, thank you all for your suggestions. I think I will go for a Elmar and see if i like the handling of this lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkP Posted June 9, 2015 Share #20 Posted June 9, 2015 Hi, thank you all for your suggestions. I think I will go for a Elmar and see if i like the handling of this lens. You will. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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