75mm f1.4 Summilux

[SMAL]

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So, I currently own 24/1.4 Lux, 35/2 Cron V5,  50/1.4 Lux pre-Asph and 50/1 Nocti.

Since I bought the 50/1.4 Lux are rarely use the Noctilux, cause the closer focus, the lighter weight and the faster focus throw in the Lux are so much lovelier to handle.

Now I am thinking about trading in my Nocto for the 75/1.4 Lux as a portrait lens. My main reasons are the 75 Lux has a similar look, but a closer focusing distance, which I absolutely miss on the Noctilux. I simply love to get close. 

My „issue“ is, I’ve read some bad stories about badly adjusted 75/1.4 Lux lenses and it seems to be quite common. 

What are your experiences?

I would also love to see your examples!

Thank you!

 

[rosuna]

 

I had the Noctilux 50/1 but I sold it, and I regret that because it was a lens full of character. My Nocti had focus shift at medium apertures (say f/2 to f/4).

I kept my 75/1.4 because I thought at the time it was a very good normal lens and full of character at full aperture. It is, but it is also big and heavy, I hate those framelines and it is very difficult to nail focus at f1.4. At full aperture you can see fine detail with low contrast, good bokeh but a lot of aberrations. Sometimes it works (aesthetically), sometimes it doesn't.

The Noctilux is more versatile, fun to use and enjoyable but imperfect. The Summilux is a great portrait lens, but difficult to work with.

The Summilux seems to be a more rational/practical choice, but you will use it less than the Nocti (except if you do a lot of head and shoulders portraits). Now I would take the 50/1.

Edited May 15, 2019 by rosuna

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[jdlaing]

Never sell a lens.

[T25UFO]

Overgaard has just written a piece about the 75mm Summilux.  Interesting read:

https://overgaard.dk/Leica-75mm-Summilux-M-f-14.html

[ckuwajima]

The 75 Lux is heavy and challenging, but the results are awesome once you nail the handling. Love the close range, which is a little bit farther than the 0.7m found in Overgaard article.

[pico]

Nobody in his right mind would claim that a 75mm Summilux is easy to focus wide-open. If you cannot, just give it up!

[a.noctilux]

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45 minutes ago, ckuwajima said:

The 75 Lux is heavy and challenging, but the results are awesome once you nail the handling. Love the close range, which is a little bit farther than the 0.7m found in Overgaard article.

Mainly close range portrait, difficult lens when I use at f/1.4,

nailing focus is highest challenge with M, but when all is right, results are unique to this lens which is the prefered lens of it's creator Doctor Mandler.

Mine Lux 75 focus to about 70cm or 72 cm 🤠 ( a bit more "longer to left" from 0.8m than distance marking between 0.9 and 0.8 .

I think that in my use, mainly I put to the nearest focus distance, then rock my body to "nail focus".

[newnew]

For digital cameras EVF 2 gives great help and increases the hit rate on non moving subjects. I am having a lot of fun - a lot of misses too - trying to capture my grandchildren !

 

[didier]

I’ve had my 75 lux for over 15 years and love it on film Ms for portraits.

I had it adjusted (and coded) a few years ago to work with  my M240. I love it even more for portraits. The creamy bokeh is wonderful.

not as sharp wide open as the Noct .95 but different look, better forportrait in my view. Very sharp when you stop down.

It is hard to focus (long focus throw and heavy lens), but totally worth the challenge.

It has got  even more use since I bought a SL last october. They make  a perfect combo.

Get one if you have the opportunity, you won’t regret it !

 

Didier

[evikne]

I have all the Mandler lenses you mentioned in the first post, and I haven't dared to get rid of any of them yet (I know I will regret if I do). I think the 75 Lux has more in common with the 50 Lux than the Noct. The rendering is pretty similar, except from the focal length of course. Wide open the Noctilux is very unique, and nothing really compares to this I think.

You have probably read about my "issue" regarding my 75 Summilux. It needed one year and four times to service until the back focusing was fixed. But when it came back to me the last time, it was a great experience to nail the focus almost every time, and I could finally see the full potential of this great lens. 

To me, who shoot mostly wide open candid shots, the biggest inconvenience with the 75 Lux is the very long focus throw. Mine is a bit more than 180˚, so even with some pre-focusing it is pretty challenging to hit the focus rapidly enough. In addition the focus ring is very tight. The Noctilux is much faster and lighter to focus (about 140˚ focus throw). When shooting static objects the long and tight focus is a good thing however, that makes the focusing very accurate.

You asked for examples. Here you can see lots of examples of both lenses (the links may not work forever though):

https://realmoments.smugmug.com/keyword/50mm Noctilux f1.0/

https://realmoments.smugmug.com/keyword/75mm Summilux/

[a.noctilux]

 

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

 

My Joconde in 87

M6, Summilux-M 75mm, at f/1.4 or f/2

on Kodachrome 64

 

...

Same setup, in this second picture,

outside snow when skiing in the Alps

Lux 75 close down to about f/5.6 I think

 

 

Never saw the same rendering subtle hues with

any other lens that I use (d) for decades

[jdlaing]

1 hour ago, pico said:

Nobody in his right mind would claim that a 75mm Summilux is easy to focus wide-open. If you cannot, just give it up!

Please define “right mind”

[pico]

17 minutes ago, jdlaing said:

Please define “right mind”

One with adequate eyesight,  a brain behind it with self-trained discipline.

[a.noctilux]

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Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

focus stop at 70cm or 72cm ?

comparing the minimum hard stop to markings 0.8 and 0.9

I don't know if all Summilux-M 75mm's ring stops at this "almost 70cm"

[IkarusJohn]

2 hours ago, pico said:

Nobody in his right mind would claim that a 75mm Summilux is easy to focus wide-open. If you cannot, just give it up!

I must be completely out of my mind, then.

I'm sure we can agree on the one thing that is indisputable - the 75 Summilux has a long throw on the focus ring; longer than the 75 APO Summicron, and about the same (from memory) as the Noctilux 0.95.  I could never reliably hit focus with the 75 Summicron, whereas with the longer throw of the Noct and even with the shallower depth of field of the 75 Summilux, focusing has been reliable.  I take care with it, but it works because of the longer throw.  There is no difference in what you see in the optical viewfinder with any lens - what changes is your ability to align the parallax images and the accuracy of the focusing ring.  I find a longer throw on the focus ring enables finer adjustment, resting in ta higher hit rate than with the shorter throw Summicron ...

"right mind" indeed ...

Edited May 15, 2019 by IkarusJohn

[SMAL]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb evikne:

I have all the Mandler lenses you mentioned in the first post, and I haven't dared to get rid of any of them yet (I know I will regret if I do). I think the 75 Lux has more in common with the 50 Lux than the Noct. The rendering is pretty similar, except from the focal length of course. Wide open the Noctilux is very unique, and nothing really compares to this I think.

You have probably read about my "issue" regarding my 75 Summilux. It needed one year and four times to service until the back focusing was fixed. But when it came back to me the last time, it was a great experience to nail the focus almost every time, and I could finally see the full potential of this great lens. 

To me, who shoot mostly wide open candid shots, the biggest inconvenience with the 75 Lux is the very long focus throw. Mine is a bit more than 180˚, so even with some pre-focusing it is pretty challenging to hit the focus rapidly enough. In addition the focus ring is very tight. The Noctilux is much faster and lighter to focus (about 140˚ focus throw). When shooting static objects the long and tight focus is a good thing however, that makes the focusing very accurate.

You asked for examples. Here you can see lots of examples of both lenses (the links may not work forever though):

https://realmoments.smugmug.com/keyword/50mm Noctilux f1.0/

https://realmoments.smugmug.com/keyword/75mm Summilux/

So the Nocti has a shorter focus throw than the 75 Lux? THe focusing on my 50/1 is pretty tight too and was in Wetzkar just 4 month ago. So I can’t imagine the 75 Lux being tighter.

That‘s why I love my 50 Lux black paint so much. The focus throw us shorter, smoother and I can nail focus really fast. The Nocti is honestly collecting dust since then.

I can see what you say about the rendering. It’s indeed pretty comparable to the 50 Lux pre-ASPH.

[IkarusJohn]

5 hours ago, T25UFO said:

Overgaard has just written a piece about the 75mm Summilux.  Interesting read:

https://overgaard.dk/Leica-75mm-Summilux-M-f-14.html

Against my better judgment, I read it.  Thorsten always seems to flirt with sweeping misstatements, like:

Quote

In short, one could say that perspective and depth of field is the same for all lenses and all apertures. It's the crop (and anlargment) that changes when you change lens. One can take a 18mm lens and if one crop into the middle, the image one will be looking at will be the same as a 400mm lens would make. That is the simlicity of this.

Almost. But let's state that as an almost correct rule for now.

Ugh.  We get a lot of comments here like this which only serve to confuse.  I'm sure it is unintentional.  Combined with Thorsten's crop of the 21 Summilux portrait, he tries to suggest that the image is what you would get with a 90 Summicron ... What he is overlooking is the difference between achieving the same framing with different lenses and using different lenses from the same point of view.  

Take the 21mm portrait.  That is taken from a particular perspective at f/1.4.  If you crop that image, you're not going to magically change the depth of field - you're just cropping it!  If, however, you move your camera (towards the subject, if you're using the 21mm) or away from the subject (if you're using a 90mm) to achieve the same framing, then you're not only changing the perspective, you're also changing the distance from the subject which will affect the depth of field.

Yes, a longer lens will give a shallower depth of field if you stay in the same place, as the field of view will have changed.  If Thorsten had framed the 21mm portrait with a 90mm lens, and run back 20 or so yards to achieve the same framing, provided he didn't change his aperture, the depth of field would be ... the same!

And for the record, aperture ALWAYS changes depth of field.  Perspective NEVER changes if your camera is in the same place.  And NO, cropping an image in post will not affect the depth of field - that is baked into the image.

[ckuwajima]

3 hours ago, a.noctilux said:

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focus stop at 70cm or 72cm ?

comparing the minimum hard stop to markings 0.8 and 0.9

I don't know if all Summilux-M 75mm's ring stops at this "almost 70cm"

From Leica Summilux-M 75mm f/1.4 Technical Datasheet, this lens focuses from 0.75m to infinity.

[Soden]

3 hours ago, IkarusJohn said:

I must be completely out of my mind, then.

I'm sure we can agree on the one thing that is indisputable - the 75 Summilux has a long throw on the focus ring; longer than the 75 APO Summicron, and about the same (from memory) as the Noctilux 0.95.  I could never reliably hit focus with the 75 Summicron, whereas with the longer throw of the Noct and even with the shallower depth of field of the 75 Summilux, focusing has been reliable.  I take care with it, but it works because of the longer throw.  There is no difference in what you see in the optical viewfinder with any lens - what changes is your ability to align the parallax images and the accuracy of the focusing ring.  I find a longer throw on the focus ring enables finer adjustment, resting in ta higher hit rate than with the shorter throw Summicron ...

"right mind" indeed ...

Maybe the left mind?

 

For 75 focal length I like the longer throw, I can get more accurate focus, but you need patience. Maybe it is this last attribute that is lacking.

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[evikne]

6 hours ago, SMAL said:

So the Nocti has a shorter focus throw than the 75 Lux? THe focusing on my 50/1 is pretty tight too and was in Wetzkar just 4 month ago. So I can’t imagine the 75 Lux being tighter.

That‘s why I love my 50 Lux black paint so much. The focus throw us shorter, smoother and I can nail focus really fast. The Nocti is honestly collecting dust since then.

I can see what you say about the rendering. It’s indeed pretty comparable to the 50 Lux pre-ASPH.

Yes, the 75 Lux has a much longer and tighter focus throw than the Noctilux. So for my type of photography this is the least suitable lens and the one I use the least (but I really love the rendering and bokeh). You probably know that the design of the 75 Lux is based on the 50 Lux. I like to think of the 75 Lux as the 50 Lux' "big brother". And because the 50 Lux is so much easier to focus and handle, I usually choose this one instead, and go for the Noctilux when I really want something different. 

The 75 Lux is great when you have time for focusing and when you need close details. The short near limit combined with the focal length can be really useful sometimes (not exactly a macro lens, but the closest I get with my lenses today). And of course when you need the longer focal length. So I have realized that I need them all.