Summicron M 50mm vs Summicron R 50mm

[jyrkialanen]

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Hi and greetings from Finland!

 

I have been a LUF member for many years, and I must say it's a great place to get information about Leica equipment.

 

I know there are lots of threads about both R and M Summicron and I have read many of them, but I have a specific question on mind, so please bear with me.

 

At the moment I don't have a Leica camera but a Sony A7ll. Earlier I used to own a M9, but I have a less than perfect eyesight, so RF focusing was too hard. I still continue enjoying great Leica glass though. I use Summicron R 50mm MK2 with Techart pro adapter and like the results very much but I'm tempted to get a Summicron 50mm M because it's more compact than the R-version. 

 

So, which would be the closest Summicron M version compared to Summicron R MK2, which would share the same rendering characteristics: the drawing style, contrast, sharpness, bokeh? I know Summicron M V3 and V4/5 are both Mandler designs as is the Summicron R MK2, but which would be the closest to the R-version? OR are the differences so small that it doesn't even really matter? I'd have a chance to get either V3 or V4 from Finland but I don't have an opportunity to compare them side to side or even with the R Summicron so that's why I'm asking help from you, folks.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Kind regards, Jyrki

 

 

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[a.noctilux]

Hello Jyrki,

 

I use them Summicron 50mm R and M along for decades, I have never seen great differences on film and sensor.

Maybe sometime in contre-jour, high light spots hexagon shape (R lens "6") or "octogon" (M lens "8").

 

If we compare the lens diagram, we understand why : same figure.

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/50mm_f/2_Summicron-R_II

 

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/50mm_f/2_Summicron-M

 

If you are happy with the R lens, only differences from practical use can decide you.

From photographic rendering, I bet that you would not notice differences from the two wonderful lenses .

[TomB_tx]

I used the M v 3 and R v 1 since 1969 and found them complementary. (The M v 3 design followed the R v 1 by 4-5 yrs.)

Later I added the R v 2 and found I liked its images better, so used an R4 camera more during those years.

With the M9 I added the M v 5 Summicron, which seems to be very close to the R v 2.

However, I have used both on an A7, and there is more corner smearing with the M 50s, if that matters to you. The R lenses mount further from the sensor, but you trade the bulk and size of the adapter for a better match to the sensor.

I find the M 90 mm lenses (Summarit and TeleElmarit) perform very well on the A7.

[lct]

I have R 50/2 v2, M 50/2 v4 and v5. No problem to match them at all. No corner smearing with either on my A7s but it is a Kolari mod with a thinner sensor stack.

[tobey bilek]

50 M  4 or 5, same optics,  most similar to 50R  2.0 version 2

[jyrkialanen]

Wow, many thanks for your informative replies!

 

It was my pure guess that the closest match to Summicron R V2 would be M v4/v5 and now I got it confirmed, thank you!

 

I'm aware, that there is a possibility of corner smearing using Sony A7X with M-lenses, but the sample photos I have seen taken with Sony A7X/Summicron M 50 combo have not exhibited bad smearing nor color shift so I think I'll get the V4 and give it a try. There is one copy sold by a Finnish second hand camera shop so I'll have a 14 day trial period and can send the lens back if I find the smearing too strong and disturbing.

 

Anyways, thank you again to you all. Take care!

[OleAndre]

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Corner smearing won't be a problem, but be aware that field curvature will be quite visible in some situations. For example, if you take a picture on something that is around 2 meters away from you wide open, and the background is several meters behind your focus, then the corners tend to sharpen up. So bokeh will be great in the center and mid-field, but rather detailed towards the corners.

[lct]

Corner smearing won't be a problem, but be aware that field curvature will be quite visible in some situations. For example, if you take a picture on something that is around 2 meters away from you wide open, and the background is several meters behind your focus, then the corners tend to sharpen up. So bokeh will be great in the center and mid-field, but rather detailed towards the corners.

 

Interesting indeed. I don't recall having noticed that. With what lens and body if i may ask? Just curious.

[jmahto]

Interesting indeed. I don't recall having noticed that. With what lens and body if i may ask? Just curious.

I have noticed it (great bokeh in the center but less on edges) with 50 lux ASPH (on M9).

[Brian 111]

This is an old thread, but were the newer Summicron R 50mm f2 ll  lenses in any way better than older samples of the same lens.

[andybarton]

The v2 with the built in hood is better than the earlier version. 

[TomB_tx]

1 hour ago, Brian 111 said:

This is an old thread, but were the newer Summicron R 50mm f2 ll  lenses in any way better than older samples of the same lens.

Leica may have made coating changes during production of the Summicron R v2, but these were not announced or publicized. Otherwise i think the only changes were in number of cams, etc. (Unlike the Summilux R where the version with 60mm filters was a completely different design.)

[spydrxx]

Years ago when I was trying to determine which to get for my R bodies I came across Doug Herr's analysis, which prompted me to get version II, which in my mind seemed to offer slightly better colors than version 1. Hard to desribe it was sort of like VI slightly muted everything and Vii brought everything to life. I sold V1 and kept Vii. This was during the film era though...never tried a 1:1 comparison on digital. My pictures using VII on a foveon sensor later were absolutely beautiful in their rendering if that helps.