50mm Summilux Pre-A Version 3 vs ASPH

[farnz]

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11 minutes ago, me111 said:

I hope some other people who have both chime in with some more comparison.

I agree with Evikne about the contrast.  It looks to me like the pictures are the wrong way around; ie the E43 pre-asph v2(?) is the first and the asph v1 is the second.

Pete.

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[me111]

1 minute ago, farnz said:

I agree with Evikne about the contrast.  It looks to me like the pictures are the wrong way around; ie the E43 pre-asph v2(?) is the first and the asph v1 is the second.

Pete.

I was wrong about E43. It is E46 (v3.)

But I can confirm that the first one is ASPH, and the second one is Pre-A. The CA in the second image can confirm it too.

[lct]

Just retrieved a comparo i did 17 years ago on Epson R-D1.
Good old times with 6mp sensors.
Not enough for resolution but contrast could be distinguished yet.
Unsure it will be visible on the forum but here we go.
50/1.4 v3 @ f/1.4 and crop above
50/1.4 asph v1 @ f/1.4 and crop below

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[costa43]

12 minutes ago, lct said:

Just retrieved a comparo i did 17 years ago on Epson R-D1.
Good old times with 6mp sensors.
Not enough for resolution but contrast could be distinguished yet.
Unsure it will be visible on the forum but here we go.
50/1.4 v3 @ f/1.4 and crop above
50/1.4 asph v1 @ f/1.4 and crop below

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!

 

 

The RD1 is no slouch. Crisp photos. 

[evikne]

58 minutes ago, lct said:

Just retrieved a comparo i did 17 years ago on Epson R-D1.
Good old times with 6mp sensors.
Not enough for resolution but contrast could be distinguished yet.
Unsure it will be visible on the forum but here we go.
50/1.4 v3 @ f/1.4 and crop above
50/1.4 asph v1 @ f/1.4 and crop below

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!

 

 

Thank you! This is much more as expected. The ASPH has a bit more sharpness and contrast, and the bokeh is softer and smoother, at least at f/1.4, where we avoid the jagged bokeh balls. The v3 has a slight green tint, whereas the ASPH is more neutral (my v3's green tint tends to disappear when stopped down a bit).

For the best comparison, you need to be able to switch seamlessly between images, and the order must be arranged so that both uncropped images come after each other, and then the cropped ones. I did this by downloading all the images to my Mac.

Edited February 29, 2024 by evikne

[lct]

5 minutes ago, evikne said:

[...] For the best comparison, you need to be able to switch seamlessly between images, and the order must be arranged so that both uncropped images come after each other, and then the cropped ones.

Can be done easily by readers if needed. I prefer sticking crops to images they come from but it's just me sorry 😎

[evikne]

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2 minutes ago, lct said:

Can be done easily by readers if needed. I prefer sticking crops to images they come from but it's just me sorry 😎

When viewed in the forum thread, it is most natural with the order they have now. 🙂

[me111]

Looking at @lct post, (I downloaded the images and juxtapose them side by side to compare) to be honest, I cannot distinguish which is more contrasty, so I try one more time. This time, less hash lighting to be concerned.

The first one is E46, and the second is ASPH.

In my former test, I think the angle of the light made the ASPH image very hazy. In this set, however, ASPH is more contrasty than E46, and the culprit, seems to me, is the more CA from the highlight in the E46's images. Yet overall, considering that they were designed more than a decade apart, as far as contrast is concerned, they are not very far apart.

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Edited March 1, 2024 by me111

[lct]

It is harder to read small inscripts like "compur" and "1:2.8/75" on the pre-asph image, somewhat expectedly. To get more acutance, better choose a Summilux 50/1.4 asph or if you don't need an aperture that fast, a Summicron 50/2 apo or a Planar 50/2.