Aperture ring on Summilux M 50/1.4

[triss]

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I have a new Summilux M 50/1.4 and when I put the aperture ring to 1.4 there is a very small step further against an even bigger aperture. Is that normal or should I point it out för the store where I bought it? When I measure the values in the file that I get from 1.4 and compare it to a file where I turned the aperture ring to full open there be a small difference. But enough so you can see it on the screen as well. Is it good or bad?

[hoppyman]

This is pretty common I think. The detent for f/1.4 is just not quite at the end of possible movement.  i wouldn't be concerned at all and the difference would be tiny, much less than makes any significant difference to the lens performance

[michaelwj]

I can't remember a lens where that wasn't the case.

But upon releasing the aperture ring it should snap back to the maximum aperture by itself.

Edited December 20, 2017 by michaelwj

[stephan54]

Mine does not show this, but that might be due for it developed a wobble of the front part just after I bought it new and it had to be taken apart and rebuilt in Wetzlar.

[M11 for me]

Well, it might depent on how much further you can turn your ring. I just looked at my 50mm Summilux lens. Yes, I can turn it a bit further than 1.4 (or 16) but very little. Maybe 0.2mm or even less. And the ring falls then immediately back to the 1.4 mark. I mention that as you wrote that when shooting you can see a slight difference in exposure (one picture is lighter than the other). I understood that when you turn your ring further than the 1.4 mark then it stays there and the opening of the lens is slightly bigger than with 1.4.

[triss]

Well, it might depent on how much further you can turn your ring. I just looked at my 50mm Summilux lens. Yes, I can turn it a bit further than 1.4 (or 16) but very little. Maybe 0.2mm or even less. And the ring falls then immediately back to the 1.4 mark. I mention that as you wrote that when shooting you can see a slight difference in exposure (one picture is lighter than the other). I understood that when you turn your ring further than the 1.4 mark then it stays there and the opening of the lens is slightly bigger than with 1.4.

 

It is like you say just 0.2 mm. But it doesn't fall back to 1.4. And yes the opening gets a little bit bigger. At aperture 16 it stops at 16. 

[M11 for me]

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So the only differences between yours and mine:

 

- When you turn it further than 1.4 your ring stays there and mine falls back

- You can not turn your ring further than 16. I can.

 

You see that the differences are minor and maybe in ½ year it will be different again . . . I would probably accept this.

[lct]

My 50/1.4 asph is spot on but my 35/1.4 FLE does the same as your lens. Pretty common, i would not worry about that

[colint544]

My oldest Leica lens is from 1960, and my newest is from 2015. They all do that.

[Tante Ilse]

My Lux just returned from CLA at Leica Switzerland. The aperture ring can be turned about the mentioned additional 0,2mm, and it snaps back to the next stop when released.

[Keith_W]

Since we are talking about aperture rings on the 50 Lux - does anybody else feel that it is too loose? It sometimes gets accidentally turned by itself. I would prefer it to be stiffer. 

[evikne]

I have a 35mm Summilux FLE where the aperture blades don’t open completely at f/1.4. The diaphragm isn’t 100 % round as I think it should. I can turn the aperture ring slightly beyond the f/1.4 mark, and then the aperture blades open up fully, but they will usually snap back to the f/1.4 mark after a while. 

 

The movement is so small that I don’t think it has any visible effect, but if I want to take a picture with perfectly round bokeh shapes, I twist the aperture ring a bit extra, just in case.

 

Edit:

I cannot understand that some say in this thread that an aperture can open up more than it was constructed for. Doesn’t the circular hole in the diaphragm (without the aperture blades) set the exact limit to the maximum aperture? So the aperture blades can only make the diaphragm smaller – never bigger.

Edited December 21, 2017 by evikne

[rodf]

Since we are talking about aperture rings on the 50 Lux - does anybody else feel that it is too loose? It sometimes gets accidentally turned by itself. I would prefer it to be stiffer. 

I have the same problem, mine can get turned by brushing against clothing, only 3 weeks old!

[M11 for me]

I have the same problem, mine can get turned by brushing against clothing, only 3 weeks old!

Before shooting I always have to check that setting. Very often the ring turns unintentionally. But it is the same with all my 3 lenses. It is a bit annoying sometimes; mainly when I want to shoot wide open and then realize the aperture has changed to 2.8 or smaller

 

On the other hand this might probably be an advantage when presetting the exposure time and then turning the aperture ring for the right exposure. It‘s then easier to adjust.

[lct]

I would not accept such lose rings. Easy to fix AFAIK.

[M11 for me]

As I said, all my lenses are the same loose and all were bought new in the beginning of this year. So I presume that they simply are like that. I might go to ask in the store if something could be done. But I have littele interest in giving my new lenses away to have something fixed that is probably ok. However, I have no experience in how this could be fixed.

Edited December 22, 2017 by Alex U.

[lct]

It's up to you but believe this owner of 30+ M & R Leica lenses, looseness of aperture rings is not normal at all. Your lenses should be fixed for free if they are still under warranty.

[Jared]

It is not at all unusual for Leica apertures rings to turn slightly past the marked maximum aperture.  Several (but not all) of my lenses do that.  It's nothing to worry about unless it really bothers you for some reason.  The lens will in fact be at f/1.4 whether you use the marked position or the slightly "wider" position.  In either case, the diaphragm is entirely out of the light path that gets to the CCD/CMOS chip.  At least that's true for my lenses.  Yes, you can see the diaphragm continuing to retract a bit farther, but if you shoot some manual exposures at both the marked 1.4 and the "slightly past" 1.4 values, I think you will find the exact same measured brightness levels in software.  

[Jeff S]

As I said, all my lenses are the same loose and all were bought new in the beginning of this year. So I presume that they simply are like that. I might go to ask in the store if something could be done. But I have littele interest in giving my new lenses away to have something fixed that is probably ok. However, I have no experience in how this could be fixed.

In the US, just call DAG (Don Goldberg) to get cost and timing estimate. He does excellent work, fast and inexpensively, without your having to deal with NJ issues.

 

Jeff

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[triss]

It is not at all unusual for Leica apertures rings to turn slightly past the marked maximum aperture.  Several (but not all) of my lenses do that.  It's nothing to worry about unless it really bothers you for some reason.  The lens will in fact be at f/1.4 whether you use the marked position or the slightly "wider" position.  In either case, the diaphragm is entirely out of the light path that gets to the CCD/CMOS chip.  At least that's true for my lenses.  Yes, you can see the diaphragm continuing to retract a bit farther, but if you shoot some manual exposures at both the marked 1.4 and the "slightly past" 1.4 values, I think you will find the exact same measured brightness levels in software.  

 

I did a little test with shutter speed set at 1/250 for two pictures. I then put a cropped one taken with aperture 1.4 over the full open one and as you can see in this picture there is a little difference between 1.4 square and the other bigger square. It is very little, so perhaps nothing to worry about. Question is which one is in fact 1.4? :-)

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