Show us your APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH shots wide open

[Markah1]

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Careful on the close up portraits, though - APO  (“All Pores Observed”) can be less than flattering...

[low325]

On 7/6/2019 at 1:07 PM, Chaemono said:

Peter Karbe and his team may indeed have gone overboard with their obsession for optical excellence this time. Call the APO "too clinical," "too sterile," "too perfect," "too boring," "too whatever," but, at least, Leica delivered these attributes in a small package. 😂

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The 55 Otus is spectacular.  Love both APOs...

[Herr Barnack]

On 7/6/2019 at 11:40 AM, james.liam said:

...and this is what they call “too clinical”. For my own tastes, I find it stunning and so different that anything else (having never laid my hands on the 75 Nictilux). More compelling than the 50 Summilux I owned briefly. 

Portraits appear ‘etched out’ of the smooth background. 

JMHO, but I don't see the results created by the APO 50 'Cron as "too clinical."  Shot wide open, it is capable of artistic results, even when the in focus subject is razor sharp.  I think back to the Noctilux f/1.0 which some lambast as "too artistic."  For some people, nothing is ever good enough or right enough. 🙄

I think perhaps some M shooters should stop being such whiny little vajayjays and for a change simply be happy for the many outstanding lens options that Wetzlar has made available to us.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Herr Barnack

[Chaemono]

Apologies that I didn't use a polarizing filter.

Less compressed JPEGs here: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-cJFLQj/

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[Mahesh]

It must be me then, I fail to see what's special with the 50 apo. I would rather have the 50 lux or sonnar (that I have) or 50 cron, for that price difference. Has anyone compared 50 apo against 50 lux at f2? Maybe with monochrome the difference is clear.

I hope to see some comparison if anyone can please.

[astrostl]

https://diglloyd.com/prem/prot/LEICA/LeicaM/lens-Leica50f2-APO-ASPH-compare-WymanCanyonLowerCabin.html - "The Leica 50mm f/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH offers substantially higher image quality than the Summilux and Noctilux, at least from f/2 through f/4, and with much greater consistency across the frame (very low field curvature, if any)"

Would keep in mind that his context generally refers to viewing at 100%+ on a monitor, while agonizing over every pixel of the frame.

Edited July 14, 2019 by astrostl

[indergaard]

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5 hours ago, Mahesh said:

It must be me then, I fail to see what's special with the 50 apo. I would rather have the 50 lux or sonnar (that I have) or 50 cron, for that price difference. Has anyone compared 50 apo against 50 lux at f2? Maybe with monochrome the difference is clear.

I hope to see some comparison if anyone can please.

I have compared them. At f/2 the APO is sharper - and not just in the details, but also in the separation between the subject and the OOF areas. The APO is punchier. More 3D. The APO is free of chromatic aberrations at f/2. The Lux is not.
The APO also has significantly more vignetting at f/2. The Lux is far creamier. The APO's bokeh isn't smooth at all, contrary to what people tend to say. The Lux bokeh is so much smoother. Even the Sony Zeiss FE 55mm f/1.8 lens has far smoother OOF areas at the equivalent aperture (f2 vs v2) than the APO - at all distances.

What stands out with the APO is the purity of the image. The images are just very clear. Even at f/2 shot straightly toward a subject that is heavily backlit, there is zero fringing or CA, and the subject clearly stands out with phenomenal contrast.

Shooting the APO on overcast days like in the images above doesn't really yield anything special. If anything, those images would be better shot with the Lux at f/1.4 as the bokeh doesn't look very nice at all. But where the APO shines is in very difficult lighting scenarios where other lenses would fail (CA, fringing, fuzziness, loss of contrast, etc, etc). This is where the APO really shines and pulls it weight.

You don't buy the APO if you want character or a specific lens signature. If you want that, then the Lux, Noctilux, or preferably a vintage lens would yield better results.

Edited July 14, 2019 by indergaard

[hillavoider]

I got a second hand copy of this lens, its very sharp, but I am having trouble even at F2 nailing focus, so I have been practising. What I have noticed is that when focus is nailed the image looks better then any lens I have except the 35 SL APO 

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[hillavoider]

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[hillavoider]

want one daddy 

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[hillavoider]

excuse the boring photo at F2 but detail blows me away 

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[hillavoider]

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[hillavoider]

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[hillavoider]

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[Chaemono]

vor 7 Stunden schrieb indergaard:

The APO's bokeh isn't smooth at all, contrary to what people tend to say. The Lux bokeh is so much smoother. Even the Sony Zeiss FE 55mm f/1.8 lens has far smoother OOF areas at the equivalent aperture (f2 vs v2) than the APO - at all distances.

The best review I read from you, indergaard. I would replace the word ‘smooth’ with ‘creamy’ in the above paragraph, though. The APO renders the OOF area, at all distances, like a planar design and the FE 55/1.8 like a Sonnar type lens. 😀  But the APO bokeh is still smooth as a baby’s bottom and its blur interacts with the in-focus subject very harmoniously, meaning it’s not distracting at all.

[oudjunk]

I wasn't interested in APO 50 because of its price and i thought F2 is not enough for the bokeh lover like me until i come to see this thread  

[Chaemono]

vor 1 Stunde schrieb oudjunk:

I wasn't interested in APO 50 because of its price and i thought F2 is not enough for the bokeh lover like me until i come to see this thread  

Most owners of the APO are fond of optical excellence and bokeh lovers at the same time. 

[dkmoore]

On 7/14/2019 at 7:12 PM, indergaard said:

I have compared them. At f/2 the APO is sharper - and not just in the details, but also in the separation between the subject and the OOF areas. The APO is punchier. More 3D. The APO is free of chromatic aberrations at f/2. The Lux is not.
The APO also has significantly more vignetting at f/2. The Lux is far creamier. The APO's bokeh isn't smooth at all, contrary to what people tend to say. The Lux bokeh is so much smoother. Even the Sony Zeiss FE 55mm f/1.8 lens has far smoother OOF areas at the equivalent aperture (f2 vs v2) than the APO - at all distances.

What stands out with the APO is the purity of the image. The images are just very clear. Even at f/2 shot straightly toward a subject that is heavily backlit, there is zero fringing or CA, and the subject clearly stands out with phenomenal contrast.

Shooting the APO on overcast days like in the images above doesn't really yield anything special. If anything, those images would be better shot with the Lux at f/1.4 as the bokeh doesn't look very nice at all. But where the APO shines is in very difficult lighting scenarios where other lenses would fail (CA, fringing, fuzziness, loss of contrast, etc, etc). This is where the APO really shines and pulls it weight.

You don't buy the APO if you want character or a specific lens signature. If you want that, then the Lux, Noctilux, or preferably a vintage lens would yield better results.

I don’t disagree with most of what you say above but what I would point out is that very similar comments where made about the 50 Lux having no character when the M240 was released. I didn’t take the time to search through the forum to link but I very clearly remember the conversations of people thinking the 50 Lux was too sterile. 

The point for me is that I do in fact believe the APO has character  Would we say Giselle B doesn’t have character, she is surely close to perfect, at least to my eyes  

I keep both lenses because I love them both. Yes, love. 😍

Edited July 16, 2019 by dkmoore

[Chaemono]

‘A lens has character’ means that composition and interaction between OOF area and in-focus subject contribute to make a picture look interesting. ‘A lens has  no specific character or signature’ means composition matters most. Indergaard is right. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Shlomo]

On 7/8/2019 at 9:17 PM, benqui said:

"The Apo 50 is almost my favorite portrait lens in combination with the Mono 1"

To me, the benqui is almost my favorite portrait photographer in combination with the seductive smell of a magnificent female.

😘

Cheers, Shlomo

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by Shlomo