35mm 1.4 Summilux pre-asph

[evikne]

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You have probably discovered the newly started 35mm Summilux pre-ASPH image thread. I'm sure it will eventually become a great source of inspiration:

 

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[Ernstk]

15 hours ago, Steven said:

Fair enough. When do i lose the newbie title though ? It’s almost my 1 year anniversary. 

Maybe when you think less about lenses and more about taking photos. You, as the photographer will make a much bigger difference than any lens can. 😊

[Ray Vonn]

2 hours ago, Steven said:

Great to know. And now you love it ? 

I do. Hard evidence that sharpness isn’t everything (though it’s images are not soft). In the right conditions, it can produce impressionist images. But there’s no way I could render that after first using the lens. I used to mock Leica owners pontificating like this but now it’s like I’ve turned into one of them because of the lens.  The difference between Leica and Zeiss, you finally get it after getting familiar with this lens. Anyway, got to be careful here, this thread is not about the cron iv. 

Edited February 2, 2021 by Ray Vonn

[Ernstk]

3 hours ago, Steven said:

 

On the one hand, I am a little bit disappointed that it cannot be an all rounder lens, while the Nokton could be.

It's a perfect all rounder lens, just not at f1.4. But at f1.4, it's another lens entirely.

Ernst

[Ernstk]

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[Ernstk]

1 minute ago, Steven said:

I always find it funny when people who hang out in forums make fun of people who care about gear. The good old "take pictures and stop worrying about your camera" adage.... 
I personally like to do both. 

I'm not making fun of you. Really, I'm not. I care about gear too but I care more about trying to take good photos.

Ernst

[AndreasG]

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I use this lens mainly at night where it still performs very well.

M10-D

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[evikne]

8 minutes ago, Steven said:

And I don't consider myself a beginner, as @evikne first stated. Leica newbie seems a better term. 

A Leica newbie was what I meant too. Sorry if that wasn't clear enough.

[evikne]

5 minutes ago, Steven said:

Another one that shows the softness at 1.4.... Seems like one might get used to it and learn to love it. 

But you don’t need to shoot at f/1.4 all the time. See it as something you can select in special occasions. Try f/2.0 and you have a very different lens.

[pgk]

One probably wide open on the pre-asph Summilux 35mm, from the M9:

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[pgk]

And one stopped down a bit (around f/4 I suspect) where it handles flare quite well (UVa and correct hood fitted):

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[pgk]

And for completeness, one well stopped down in very harsh light:

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[pgk]

3 minutes ago, Steven said:

My issue so far is that while the lens seems reliable at f2 and stopped down, it’s unpredictable at 1,4. Some shots I love. Some shots are unstable/ruined.

Wide open it has a mix of significant aberrations which will suit some subject matter but not work at all well for others. Try it wide open at night and keep some pinpoint highlights (streetlights) at edges and corners of the frame - impressive!

[Ernstk]

4 minutes ago, Steven said:

I like shooting at 1.4. 
but it’s true that the difference between 1.4 and 2 is quite massive on this lens. I’ll post an example I took today. The 1.4 shot looks like the front element has some grease on it, while the same f2 shot it tack sharp. Two lenses in one. 
 

my issue so far is that while the lens seems reliable at f2 and stopped down, it’s unpredictable at 1,4. Some shots I love. Some shots are unstable/ruined. So it forces me while I learn the lens to take out my m10p again and momentarily put my m10d on the shelf. 

It sounds like there may be some issues with your lens. Maybe a v2 would be a better option?

Ernst

[Ernstk]

1 minute ago, Steven said:

What kind of issues ? It seems to be the consensus here that wide open this lens can give you the best or the worst. 

Yes but you're saying that it flares quite badly even when stopped down? Maybe there is haze or fungus on some of the elements?

This photo is with my v2, shot straight into the sun at f11. Yes, there is some flare but it's not excessive.

Ernst

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[Guest Nowhereman]

1 hour ago, Steven said:

...The latest film I co-produced was just announced to be in the last 15  shortlist for the best foreign film at the Academy awards. Lets see how it goes, but You cant imagine how carefully the director chose her lens. She only selected one and shot the whole movie on it. It had a huge impact on the final results. 
Gear matters. Lenses are a specialty. 

Steven - So, which lens did she choose and why? I presume that the film was shot digitally? The following discuses how Pawel Pawlikowski (director of Cold War) and his cinematographer matched their Alexa shoots to the B&W look of Kodak 5019 (Vision 3) film; and how they were inspired by the still photography of Ralph Gibson:

On 2/17/2019 at 9:33 PM, Nowhereman said:

Last night, I finally saw Pawlikowski's Cold War. Post #146 above included a quote that the cinematographer processed the Alexa  takes (digital) to match the B&W look from Kodak 5019 (Vision 3). This article has an interview with cinematographer, Łukasz Żal, in which he states that they developed LUTs, one for day and another for night, for this grading. The interview also has interesting information on choice of lenses, focal length and apertures, which corresponded to the visual and dramatic intent of the film. In another interview, Żal states that in the six-month pre-produciton period he and Pawlikowsi watched French Nouvelle Vague films, especially mentioning Godard's À bout de souffle; he also says that some of the high contrast look of Cold War was inspired by Raplph Gibson's photography.

Watching the film, I had the impression that the fragmented story-telling, with sudden cuts, were inspired  by À bout de souffle, leaving it for the viewer to fill in the connections. One article on the film included the Miles Davis quote, "It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play." Much of the impact of the film comes from this limitation, not too much dialogue or explanation. Really cinematic. This film is only 77 minutes, excluding the titles and credits. For me, it's relevant to editing a sequence for a photobook, where less can, indeed, really be more. If interested in photobooks you may want to pick up reading in the middle of this LUF thread, on my photobook project, which may just have had a breakthrough on the long and twisted road towards publication.

Incidentally, the subject of the above thread is that it's instructive to consider how cinematographers look at film vs digital, because their approach to this is generally practical (and effective). The thread itself gets too vituperative for reading through in it's entirety which, in a way, proves the point about cinematography that is in the premise of the thread.

Getting back to the Summilux 35 pre-ASPH, I'll be interested in how you end up — and hope to know that before this year is up. As you may recall, I have the Summicron 35v4 — Wetzlar (black) and have suffered from it's poor construction —  and have mentioned that I've been interested in the Summilux 35 pre-ASPH, the version with goggles, Summilux 35 pre-ASPH (11871), that focus down to 0.65 meters. Need to get that out of my system, either by getting one or forgetting about it. I also the the Summilux 35 FLE.
________________________
Frog Leaping photobook

Edited February 2, 2021 by Nowhereman

[evikne]

Love the rendering at f/2.0. Sharp in the center. A bit fuzzy in the corners, but that doesn't matter in a portrait.

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Edited February 2, 2021 by evikne

[evikne]

Another portrait at f/2.0:

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[pgk]

56 minutes ago, Steven said:

Not sure I understand what you mean.

Here's one from ~1980 from an infinity lock lens:

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[pgk]

And from the 1990s - Islay - probably wide open:

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