Leica 50mm Summicron APO vs 50mm Summilux (unmarked, but also APO) - is there a drastic difference at f/2?

[jaeger]

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I thought the 11891 and 11688 are sharing the same optics unless you think 11688 was built upon 11868 (type 2) optics but it's not true.  

 

But only the Summilux 50 asph.

Edited May 26, 2018 by jaeger

[lct]

There have been five (or more?) variants of the Summilux 50/1.4 asph IINW. The black regular version (11891) has been launched in 2004 and the silver one (11892) in 2006. The special edition LHSA came out in 2005 with black paint (11627) and silver (11628) coatings. Then the black chrome (11688) which is a limited edition of 500 pieces in 2015. All share the same optics AFAIK hence including one apo element according to D. Farkas quoting P. Karbe below. My experience is limited to 11891 though.

http://dfarkas.blogspot.fr/2008/09/photokina-2008-day-2-taking-it-easy-and.html

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[jonatdonuts]

Lovely photo. 

 

'Modern' Leica glass, including the Summilux manufactured in 2004, were designed primarily for film but can already render 48MP on a digital sensor without issue. It would be interesting to see exactly how many MPs these lenses can render before they are out-resolved by the sensor...

 

 

I have both and the 'cron is in its own league.... Period...

It is the harbinger for future high resolution lenses that are needed to match the constantly improving sensors...

 

Albert      

Edited May 26, 2018 by jonatdonuts

[skater75]

The lux is a great lens and I generally prefer a lux to a cron if weight is not an issue. But I swear I see something special in most pictures I see taken with the APO Cron. A certain sharpness and micro contrast in the subject that seems sharp and detailed without being too clinical, and a nice out-of-focus, or bokeh if you prefer, that provides good subject separation but isn't too painterly or distracting. I don't know how to effectively describe it, but I swear I can see it. Maybe I'm just fooling myself. I don't own the APO. I'm just looking at other people's pictures.

 

I owe APO 50 mm and it is the lens that provides you some inspiration. Not because every picture taken with it is better than taken with some other less expensive lens. Surely not. Some pictures come out as average and some as below average. But because _the_best_pictures_ taken with the lens are outstanding. There is some magic about them indeed that cannot be put into words. It is a benchmark. The horizon you never reach. But it keeps you going.

[skater75]

LHSA 50 mm APO on M246

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[low325]

Amazing lens. Love the antique soft shutter.

[aesop]

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On 2/5/2018 at 11:26 PM, Jeff S said:

Quite the contrary, I trust my own eyes and hands. And print workflows vary; otherwise we’d each produce the same results. The lens is but one tool in the chain from subject to print display.

 

Apart from IQ, had I not rented the APO, I would not have known the ergonomic issues I noted above. Didn’t see that in a table.

 

Nor anything about color or tonal transition. Or flare. Or....

 

And yes, a lot about photography escapes measurement. Thank heavens.

 

Jeff

 

     ...superb real-world comments here, Jeff.

There is a lot lot to be said for tables and charts, but I'd love to see a 'test' where ten random unidentified prints from each lens are shuffled, placed within a pile and force-ranked according to viewers' preferences. Proof of the pudding and all the rest of it, if you get what I mean. For the record, I use both lenses.

Quick aside - interestingly (and to my eternal amusement), the image that generates most attention from my framed 20" x 30" prints was one shot with my non-aspherical 50mm Summilux (11114) purchased way back in 1990.

Chacun à son goût, non?

 

S.