Leica summicron 90mm f2 apo (M mount ) vs Leica Summilux 80mm f1.4 ( R mount )

[oudjunk]

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I'm interested both of these lenses for use with my Leica SL. 

I have had the leica summicron 90mm f2 v3 (pre asph) but i sold it already and i have plan to buy 

the new one (90 apo), yesterday I just read some review of Leica Summilux R 80mm f1.4 and i really like the bokeh.

 

Has anyone use both of these lenses? and which one is better for any situation? 

I like to candid other and portrait ( landscape sometimes ). I like the creamy bokeh. 

 

Thanks for your answer,

 

Chalat.

[Ivar B]

I have not used any of these lenses on my SL but I used both of them in tha past with Leica R8 and R9. These two lenses are quite different, really. The 80mm is like the M 75mm sibling, a bit soft wide open but stopped down it is razor sharp. The 90mm APO is razor sharp from f2 and gives a more clinical expression, perhaps. I remember one test I did checking chromatic aberration photographing green leaves against a blue sky, and I recall being surprised by how great the difference was. The Apo 90 draws very cleanly, while color fringing was very visible with the 80mm.

 

If you primarily shoot portraits I should think that the 80mm will do you well. The aberrations give a certain glow which many users like.

 

I don`t know how much the Apo 90 sells for now (it used to be very expensive) and perhaps the new SL 90 is an alternative to this lens as well. 

[helged]

I have not used any of these lenses on my SL but I used both of them in tha past with Leica R8 and R9. These two lenses are quite different, really. The 80mm is like the M 75mm sibling, a bit soft wide open but stopped down it is razor sharp. The 90mm APO is razor sharp from f2 and gives a more clinical expression, perhaps. I remember one test I did checking chromatic aberration photographing green leaves against a blue sky, and I recall being surprised by how great the difference was. The Apo 90 draws very cleanly, while color fringing was very visible with the 80mm.

 

If you primarily shoot portraits I should think that the 80mm will do you well. The aberrations give a certain glow which many users like.

 

I don`t know how much the Apo 90 sells for now (it used to be very expensive) and perhaps the new SL 90 is an alternative to this lens as well. 

 

 

+1. I have the 75Lux-M and the 90APOCron-M, and I use both on the SL. The characteristics stated by Ivar follows my experiences as well.

 

Another issue worth consideration is that the 90APOCron-M gives fairly uniform colour rendering at all f-stops. This is not the case with the 75Lux-M/80Lux-R. The latter has a somewhat greenish/blueish tint wide open, turning into more neutral-looking colours from f4 or 5.6. I like this duality - the softness and special colour rendering wide open and high sharpness/neutral colours stopped down a little.

 

Let me also add that both lenses are easily focussed on the SL, whereas an M-body requires absolute calibration of the view finder to be useful wide open.

[geetee1972]

I've also used the 80mm R Summilux albeit on demonstration loan on my SL and would agree entirely with the two asnwers above. Wide open the rendering is what I would call 'classic', a little soft but very pleasing and cooler in presentation. It reminds me of the Zeiss Sonnar 1.5 Classic.

 

In terms of decision making, consider that good examples of the R80mm Summilux are about as expensive as second hand 90mm APO Ms but the latter is likely to have stronger future residual value.

[ropo54]

Agree with the other comments.

 

Pre-owned R80s are at about the same price point as pre-owned M 90 APO summicrons in the USA.  I'm not sure whether the R80 prices will be on the upswing because of their unique Mandler design and the soon-to- be growing scarcity. 

 

Here are some examples of the SL w R 80 1.4. 

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Edited March 5, 2018 by ropo54

[helged]

See also this link, or this one, or simply make a search on this site a la "80 Lux", "90 Cron", etc. Lot's of info available!

[mmradman]

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Summilux R 80mm is a magic lens.

 

Zdravko by Mladen Radman, on Flickr

[mmradman]

Consider APO Summicrom M 90mm if can't find Summilux 80mm.  Difficult to resist feline charms.

 

King of the (Garden) Jungle by Mladen Radman, on Flickr 

Edited March 5, 2018 by mmradman

[oudjunk]

Thanks for all answers, The used of 90apo and the 80lux is not different price in second hand in my country. I have plan to go there for test before buying but the  90apo was sold already, So I can't buy it (I found both of them in the shop and they are good cosmetic condition and good price for me) or I have to find more on the internet. 

Edited March 6, 2018 by oudjunk

[jaeger]

I have recently acquired the APO 90mm summicron and I did consider R 80mm summilux before I pulled the trigger.  They are both great lenses I believe but APO is smaller in size however it's heavy and probably weight as much as the R80mm

 

Thanks for all answers, The used of 90apo and the 80lux is not different price in second hand in my country. I have plan to go there for test before buying but the  90apo was sold already, So I can't buy it (I found both of them in the shop and they are good cosmetic condition and good price for me) or I have to find more on the internet. 

[scott kirkpatrick]

I picked up an 80 SX R, an APO SC 90R, and an APO Macro EM 100R as the M240 appeared and made it possible to use these in the digital era.  All nice lenses with their assets and few flaws.  I've used all of them enough to see some good results.  Since then, better designs with AF have become available for the 90 and macro applications, but the 80 remains unique.  I think the Thambar 90 is completely over the top.  Haven't tried it, but don't feel any need for such extreme soft-focus when I have the R80.  The result is probably that the 80s will gain in value and the 90 and 100 will not.

Edited April 14, 2018 by scott kirkpatrick