50mm Summilux vs Summicron

[tpf1952]

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I've owned 1 summar, 2 elmars, 4 crons, 2 luxes and 1 noct. Most of those for over a decade. If you're shooting on a digital M, I would say the lens to chose is the one that nails the focus most consistently. Lens and body can be slightly out of sync. Also you have to decide if focus shift when stopping down is an issue for you and your style of focusing.

Once you find a pair that work well together, then stick with it.

[tpf1952]

Great advice.

[DBAUDUI1]

Do not ever listen to ken Rockwell. I doubt that he even knows how to turn on a camera.

Hello,

I have the summicron 50 type 4 with thetab, the summicron 50 rigid (version 2) like new, and the 50 mm summilux asph black chrome. I am always impressed by the results I obtain from the summicron rigid starting from diaphragm 2.8 up to f11. It produces extremely sharp images with moderate contrast end very nice colours on film and on the Leica M240. At full aperture the summicron rigid shows less micro contrast than the summicron type 4, but is still very good. You can always increase the contrast a bit in lightroom. The summicron type 4 is very sharp and contrasty starting from F2 to F8 and gives marvellous images too, but sometimes too contasty and therefore less pleasing than the images from the summicron rigid.

 

Then comes the summilux 50 asph black chrome, which is in another league than the two previous lenses. My copy surely differs from Ken Rockwell's copy, as it is ultra sharp wide open, spot on, far better than the summicron type 4; with a marvellous colors and bokeh, that I never have obtained with any other 50 mm lens. I also have the summicron 75 asph which shows wide open the same quality of bokeh (creamy and colourfull). As you know both lenses share the same design principles and are really fantastic.

The summilux 50 Asph keeps also this high level of quality up to 70 cm (same as the summicron 75 asph), which is a plus compared with the summicron 50 rigid, which I still like for its soft and crisp rendering. The summilux 50 asph produces very well balanced images, very sharp and with truly excellent colours. To me the summilux 50 Asph gives colours as good as an apo lens at all apertures with a very nice bokeh you can not produce with a summicron, as it has one stop more than a summicron and is already at its top wide open.

 

As a conclusion, so far I have put summicron type 4 in a cupboard, and I intensively use the summilux 50 asph instead, as well as the summicron rigid when I want some older look in my pictures. The summicron rigid, togeteher with the summicron 35 8 lenses are very fine to take pictures of older (less young) people. The summilux 50 1.4 asph can be used to produce extraordinary nice, sharp and colourful pictures with excellent separation of your plan of focus from the background, nice bokeh like in a painting.

 

Best regards.

Dominique

[uhoh7]

Tabbed v4 cron is tiny, 900USD, beats the LUX asph at f2 close up, and is better on the edge for landscape.

 

L1056080 by unoh7, on Flickr

 

Scarlet by unoh7, on Flickr

 

This logic has already saved me 1500 USD, since that's how much the Lux APSH has dropped price since I got the cron

 

I really have learned to appreciate the cron over the years. Someday I will weaken and get a Lux

 

I have several super-speed lenses, CV 50/1.1, Canon 50/1.2 and Sonnetar to get me into the low light with M9.

Edited January 22, 2017 by uhoh7

[Tzengia]

Dear all,

it is my intention to buy a M10 and, as first lens, I think to buy a 50 mm due to the fact that at the moment I love to use a 50 mm 1.2 lens with my Canon 5D Mark III.

Reading this I got some ideas, but is somebody able to give some updated suggestions based on his experience with 50 mm from Leica lenses?

 

Thanks for your feedback!

Tzengia

Edited September 29, 2018 by Tzengia

[Tzengia]

 

[Tzengia]

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[evikne]

Dear all,

it is my intention to buy a M10 and, as first lens, I think to buy a 50 mm due to the fact that at the moment I love to use a 50 mm 1.2 lens with my Canon 5D Mark III.

Reading this I got some ideas, but is somebody able to give some updated suggestions based on his experience with 50 mm from Leica lenses?

 

Thanks for your feedback!

Tzengia

 

I also used Canon 50/1.2 on a 5D and loved it. I decided to buy Summilux 50 ASPH as my first Leica lens and have never regretted. This is the most natural choice if you want a fast 50 mm Leica lens. The colors are great and wide open it is perfectly sharp with a beautiful, silky smooth out of focus rendering.

[a.noctilux]

Dear all,

it is my intention to buy a M10 and, as first lens, I think to buy a 50 mm due to the fact that at the moment I love to use a 50 mm 1.2 lens with my Canon 5D Mark III.

Reading this I got some ideas, but is somebody able to give some updated suggestions based on his experience with 50 mm from Leica lenses?

 

Thanks for your feedback!

Tzengia

 

After dozens of 50mm for M (in many brands and mounts for long from f/0.95 to f/3.5 ), my last acquired and I love/like it very much ...Summarit-M 2.5/50 .

 

This cheap/small/light 50mm is the lens to learn to use.

Coupled with M10 (or other M), this combo is very nice handling and results are second to none.

 

To go with it, for a two lenses kit : Elmarit-M 2.8/28mm asph. to widen the scoop if need be and so cheap but nice (for Leica standard) .

 

Two lasts thoughts out loud:

- Leica M is not to compare with other systems (DSLR or mirrorless) : it's so Special System that it's not relevant to "compare"

- Every lens is to learn how to use before judging so advices are only "to begin with" and "go on after that"

Edited September 29, 2018 by a.noctilux

[Lelmer]

I have both summilux asph and summicron mk5 but tend to use the summicron mk5 due to its size and character.

Peters

 

 

Me too. 

[easy_action]

This is from one of the first images taken with my BC Summilux.  Saw tooth and onion ring bokeh artifacts are a bit annoying in an otherwise pleasant image.  I realise that the background foliage and backlighting encourage this behaviour, but i'm not sure that a Summicron would have done the same thing. 

 

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[lct]

Typical OoF rendition of the 50/1.4 asph around f/2.8 i would say. 

[a.noctilux]

This is from one of the first images taken with my BC Summilux.  Saw tooth and onion ring bokeh artifacts are a bit annoying in an otherwise pleasant image.  I realise that the background foliage and backlighting encourage this behaviour, but i'm not sure that a Summicron would have done the same thing. 

 

50mm Summilux black chrome bokeh 6x6 resize.jpg

 

 

Typical OoF rendition of the 50/1.4 asph around f/2.8 i would say. 

 

I think that Lct has the answer.

Same oof  in my experience with Summilux-M 50mm asph. and other lenses otherwise super rendering: Apo-Summicron 2/75, even the Noctilux 50/1.0 at some apertures.

 

 

This is from one of the first images taken with my BC Summilux.  Saw tooth and onion ring bokeh artifacts are a bit annoying in an otherwise pleasant image.  I realise that the background foliage and backlighting encourage this behaviour, but i'm not sure that a Summicron would have done the same thing. 

 

50mm Summilux black chrome bokeh 6x6 resize.jpg

 

Here is the kind of "nice image but ..." because the lens used has that properties by construction (in this case shape of the aperture opening).

With Summicron IV or V , the oof would be filling with octogon shapes (of the 8 blades aperture).

 

That thing bothered me so much that I sold the Lux asph. lens as I used it less and less.

 

In meantime, I use lenses with "rounder aperture" like these Summilux-M non asph. or Summicron collapsible in place of more modern Summicron 50mm

 

 

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Even Canon LTM 50mm have same shape of aperture...

 

[evikne]

I hate these jagged bokeh shapes too. But an easy and effective way to get rid of them is to shoot wide open. 

Edited October 3, 2018 by evikne

[a.noctilux]

I hate these jagged bokeh shapes too. But an easy and effective way to get rid of them is to shoot wide open. 

 

You are right spot on Evikne.

 

For me, I used lenses wide open if they are small (Elmar f/3.5 * , ahem Summaron 5.6/28) for more dof.

I overused the Noctilux wide open in the past and now I find that "boring-always-same-effects".

In my practice, now I need more dof in my pictures, so always use lenses at full open is not an option .

 

I understand that Noctilux-look, but now there is other styles for me.

 

*

bonus with the Elmar f/3.5, 5cm even close down the aperture stays round .

Edited October 3, 2018 by a.noctilux

[evikne]

In my practice, now I need more dof in my pictures, so always use lenses at full open is not an option .

 

Of course, but to avoid these jagged shapes it is only necessary to shoot wide open when there is small out of focus light sources in the background. Otherwise they will not occur anyway. 

[epand56]

I only have two lenses that will come in my grave with me and they are both Summilux Asph.

I also have the Summicron 50/2 v. 4. It's a great lens I will leave to my grandsons.

[semi-ambivalent]

Tabbed v4 cron is tiny, 900USD, beats the LUX asph at f2 close up, and is better on the edge for landscape.

...

Careful around that tab; it's held on by a single small screw that exits the focusing ring and goes into the tab. Plastic female threading in the tab. Lateral force on the tab will crack it off the screw. I've done this twice now and the tab is currently being held on (quite well actually) by double sided Gorilla Tape. Terrible design flaw but the lens is wonderful. Can't imagine where you'd find one for just 900USD. Some other world maybe?

[a.noctilux]

On 12/19/2016 at 3:00 PM, jaapv said:

As soon as somebody starts comparing lenses on "sharpness" you can be sure that the rest of the discourse is nonsense.

You can compare resolving power, micro- and macro contrast rendering, distortion, whatever.

You can compare MTF curves, or even better OTF diagrams, but "sharpness" is not quantifiable.

 

The best thing would be to use and compare the two for your own style and subjects.

Lacking that, the opinion of leading experts in the field can be valuable. Sean Reid springs to mind, and certainly an authority like Erwin Puts. But it would be foolish to base a purchasing decision on Internet bloggers of doubful reliability.

 

As for the two lenses you mention, you can not go wrong with either. Both are top class 50 mm lenses.

Purchasing one or the other is entirely determined by your need of a wider aperture or not.

👍 Words of wisdom .

I would like to quote Jaapv here,

for all of us who hesitate between two or more lenses

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[evikne]

To me, sharpness is among the least important factors when I choose a lens. Here is my checklist in priority order (assuming I can afford it):

1. Speed
2. Rendering
3. OOF rendering (bokeh)
4. Near limit
5. Size
6. Sharpness

Other things that many people argue about, like micro contrast, corner sharpness, distortion etc. isn't even on my list.