Dario Antonaci Posted October 31, 2017 Share #1 Posted October 31, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) i just realized that the pre-asph 90mm cron is about the same price as my elmarit 90mm. my elmarit is an incredibly sharp lens, even wide open. how about the cron? i guess it‘s not as sharp wide open, but how is the performance stopped down? let‘s say 2.8-4/5.6? i want to do more people photography in the future, but i would consider myself a serious (1)wildlife- and (2)nature photographer. for (1) i really could need the extra stop (and i love the summicron look), and for (2) i need a SHARP lens, since i‘m doing big landscape prints of photos shot with my M240. i know i know, it‘s not about sharpness (i just recently learned this after reviewing photos i took of a friend with a canon 50/1.2 LTM), BUT as a passionate landscape photographer, being able to take tack sharp photos at 2.8-5.6 is a must. does/did someone own both lenses? can someone post a sample shot of the cron focused to infinity? wide open and/or stopped down? thanks a lot Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 31, 2017 Posted October 31, 2017 Hi Dario Antonaci, Take a look here pre ASPH 90mm Summicron performance. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
lct Posted October 31, 2017 Share #2 Posted October 31, 2017 You mean 90/2 v3 i guess. Not the best lens for landscapes as it is a bit soft in borders and corners below f/8. I mean a bit softer than your 90/2.8 (v2 i guess). At f/2.8 both lenses are sharp in the centre of the frame but 90/2.8 v2 is sharper in borders and corners again. Also 90/2 v3 has significantly more CA than 90/2.8 v2. 90/2 v3's forte is portraiture at f/2 IMHO. For landscapes i would keep your 90/2.8 v2 or try the 90/2 apo. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted October 31, 2017 Share #3 Posted October 31, 2017 General principle - for 90s prior to the 90 ASPH, any Elmarit/Tele-Elmarit outperforms any Summicron, especially at larger apertures. The Summicrons were journalistic lenses, not landscape lenses. As it happens, I was just trying a copy of the 1980-design compact E55 90mm Summicron (I presume that is v.3). Below is one of my test shots from 60 feet/20meters or so. Full frame and cropped for detail (M10 camera). F/2.0 If it is any help - after making this test, I took the Summicron back and kept my 75 Summarit, which at f/2.4 is much sharper and more "90 Elmarit"-like (although you don't say which 90 Elmarit you have - there was a 1960s version and a 1990s version). 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/278296-pre-asph-90mm-summicron-performance/?do=findComment&comment=3385761'>More sharing options...
adan Posted October 31, 2017 Share #4 Posted October 31, 2017 Now for fairness - here is another 90mm Summicron (1980 design), closer to infinity and at f/6.3 or so, on an M8. I.E. "pre-cropped" by the sensor to about a 120mm field of view. Crop for detail, and the whole picture. 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/278296-pre-asph-90mm-summicron-performance/?do=findComment&comment=3385768'>More sharing options...
Dario Antonaci Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share #5 Posted October 31, 2017 Thank you very much for the photos adan. i didn't expect more at f2, i think it's not meant to be tack sharp wide open. i guess it's more about low light and bokeh, which would be the reason for me to change from my elmarit. but the second one, stopped down, sorry i almost can't believe that this is all the lens could perform! does anyone else have a infinity shot? coming from a 50mp DSLR and the latest 300mm f2.8 lens from canon, i didn't expect very much sharpness when i sold it to buy my Leica M system. but reviewing the first few photos, i could not believe how good the elmarit is! i expected the summicron to be on par when stopped down! so this is kind of bad news for me now... for reference, here are some photos of my elmarit on M240 in full resolution.... In studio with flashes, f8 or 11: 38036933402_749283b0fb_o.jpg infinity landscape, f5.6 maybe f4: 36674014726_6ea07f5b4c_o.jpg wide open wildlife: 36674107676_a49efb54da_o.jpg photos my have lost some quality due to flickr... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario Antonaci Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share #6 Posted October 31, 2017 looking at the landscape shot now, i doesn't look that much sharper than adan's, plus the CA i didn't notice before Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted October 31, 2017 Share #7 Posted October 31, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have the pre asph f 2. A bit soft at 2 and plasticky looking on digital. 2.8 much better. 4.0 collapsible current elmar is as good as it gets, close and far, 4 to 11. 4 is already very very good. to perfect. So why carry something heavy? Last version of2.8 Elmarit was never one of my favorites. Tamarkin has a dozen 90 2.8 visoflex Elmarits in the case recently. These work close and far unlike the last version which does not divide for visoflex use. Tele Elmarit by Mandler small & light. Good from 4-11. Under 6 feet, soft and less contrast than micro Elmar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dario Antonaci Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share #8 Posted October 31, 2017 f4 is way to slow for my needs. that’s why i’m asking for information on the last pre asph summicron. so why carry something so heavy? because it‘s worth it i guess... coming from a „super“ telephoto equipment and climbing mountains with it, i can only smile when i read things like „travel with noctilux“... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted October 31, 2017 Share #9 Posted October 31, 2017 Sometimes, f2 is really useful... I have an item that is a VERY late one (3.688.941, last batch in chrome) and is one of my favorite 90s : not sharp as the last Elmarit but when one works at f2 isn't to look for sharpness : here a shot and a 100% crop (M240) : it was a foggy evening... and f2 was welcome : 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! Stopped down (here, I think at f8, or maybe even f11) it's satisfactory even at close distances : Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Stopped down (here, I think at f8, or maybe even f11) it's satisfactory even at close distances : ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/278296-pre-asph-90mm-summicron-performance/?do=findComment&comment=3386074'>More sharing options...
adan Posted November 1, 2017 Share #10 Posted November 1, 2017 I don't know if Luigi sharpened his images in post-processing. I did not, in my first examples. I wanted to show the "native" results. Here is that landscape crop again, with a simple Photoshop "Sharpen" filter applied. One thing about those c. 1980 lenses is that their softness, when present, is similar to a mathematical gaussian blur, and thus responds nicely to digital sharpening math as well. 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! Erwin Puts' description of the v.3 90 'cron (last pre-ASPH) is: "....at f/5.6 the overall image quality is of a really high order, comparable to that of the Elmarit 2.8/90mm, which has more sparkle and points to the new era..." But I don't want to "sell" or "un-sell" the 90 Summicron either way, just try to give a fair picture of what it does. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Erwin Puts' description of the v.3 90 'cron (last pre-ASPH) is: "....at f/5.6 the overall image quality is of a really high order, comparable to that of the Elmarit 2.8/90mm, which has more sparkle and points to the new era..." But I don't want to "sell" or "un-sell" the 90 Summicron either way, just try to give a fair picture of what it does. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/278296-pre-asph-90mm-summicron-performance/?do=findComment&comment=3386189'>More sharing options...
Dario Antonaci Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share #11 Posted November 1, 2017 yes luigi, that‘s what i mean. corner to corner sharpness is very rarely needed when shooting wide open. especially focused to infinity. adan, since i only had the sharpest lenses in the game in my dslr days, i often forget that it is possible to sharpen the photos in post. maybe this is the key to get sharp landcape fotos with the cron an f4-f8... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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