LUF Admin Posted December 12, 2019 Share #1 Posted December 12, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) Leica introduces the Leica Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH! Available from today, German price is 11.900 Euro. Technical data Leica Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH Technical data Angle of view (diagonal / horizontal / vertical): ~ 27° / 23° / 15° M8: ~ 21° / 17° / 11° Optical design Number of lenses/groups: 8/6 Position of entrance pupil in front of the bayonet flange: 27.2 mm Working range: 1 m to infinity Focusing Scale: Combined, feet/metres Smallest object field: 211 mm x 317 mm M8: 158 mm x 238 mm Largest reproduction ratio: 1: 8.8 Aperture Setting/function: Preselection, with full and half stop detents Smallest aperture: 16 Number of iris blades: 11 Lens mount: Leica M quick-change bayonet Filter thread: E67 Lens hood: integrated Dimensions and weight Length without / with lens hood extended: ~ 91 mm / 102 mm Diameter without lens hood: ~ 74 mm Weight without lens hood: ~ 1010 g Leica Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH.: the new benchmark standard for portrait photography Hello guest! Please register or sign in to view the hidden content. Hallo Gast! Du willst die Bilder sehen? Einfach registrieren oder anmelden! The optical design of the Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH. is extremely complex and features eight elements arranged in six groups, two elements of which are asphericals made from special glasses. A floating element – only achievable with enormous effort in such compact lenses – ensures that the outstanding optical performance of the lens is maintained at all focusing distances. The almost unavoidable effects such as vignetting and distortion generally encountered in such fast lenses play practically no role at all. The integrated lens hood of the Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH. can be quickly and easily pulled out and locked with a twist to provide optimum protection against stray light and reflections. A closest focusing distance of one metre and a reproduction ratio of 1:8.8 make the Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH. an ideal lens for portrait photography. Its high speed for this focal length fully exploits the potentials of the M-Bayonet mount. It is a close relation of the Noctilux-M 75 mm f/1.25 ASPH. in terms of optical design and construction and offers a similar, extremely shallow, depth of field that is only around half the depth of that of the Leica Noctilux-M 50 mm f/0.95 ASPH. The Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH. owes its unique performance not only to the materials and glasses, but also to exceptional precision in the manufacturing and assembly process. This guarantees endurance and lasting value and is experienced in the extremely smooth focusing action of the lens and the control over bokeh, which demand exceptionally precise alignment of the optical system. With its ability to isolate subjects in space with an extremely shallow depth of focus and a focal length that simultaneously enables shooting from a less intrusive distance, the Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH. stands out clearly among the classical focal lengths for portrait photography. With the separately available M-Adapter L, the Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH. is also an attractive proposition for use with the Leica SL-System and on other L-Mount cameras. Thanks to 6-bit coding, the lens is automatically recognised by Leica SL and SL2 cameras and delivers optimum image quality in conjunction with their high-performance, high-res sensors. The Summilux-M 90 mm f/1.5 ASPH. is available from today. Frederick Edwin Bertin, phongph, Alistairm and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wlaidlaw Posted December 12, 2019 Share #2 Posted December 12, 2019 I suspect I may just have to live with my 1952 Leica 85mm/f1.5 Summarex for a bit longer with the €11,900 price for the 90 Summilux. For a mid 1930's design when computers were ladies with Melitta twirly desktop pin calculators, the Summarex is an amazingly good lens and it is a complex design. Max Berek really did know what he was doing. Wilson Hello guest! Please register or sign in to view the hidden content. Hallo Gast! Du willst die Bilder sehen? Einfach registrieren oder anmelden! anachronist, sblitz, SiggiGun and 14 others 16 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stripey Badger Posted December 12, 2019 Share #3 Posted December 12, 2019 Ho hum. That’s around £ ten grand. I won’t be upgrading from my Summicron 90 (which I rarely use anyway). It’s a brilliant lens in itself though and £6.5k cheaper. wlaidlaw and sblitz 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dem331 Posted December 12, 2019 Share #4 Posted December 12, 2019 Not on my shopping list, not just because of price - I find it hard enough to focus my 90 Apo summicron and have no wish for any less depth-of-field. But if Leica sell it well I think it is great, the more income they have the better for all of us! mike3996, sml_photo, Frederick Edwin Bertin and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
evikne Posted December 12, 2019 Share #5 Posted December 12, 2019 I'm looking forward to see some sample photos! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wlaidlaw Posted December 12, 2019 Share #6 Posted December 12, 2019 It is interesting that although the 90 Summilux looks more compact than my 85/1.5 Summarex and presumably uses light alloys for the barrel and maybe some of the sleeves, it is heavier at 1010g. My all brass Summarex is only 846g with hood and end caps. There must be some serious lumps of very dense glass in the Summilux. Wilson Frederick Edwin Bertin 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wattsy Posted December 12, 2019 Share #7 Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm sure it's a terrific portrait lens. The problem IMO is that it is wasted on a tiny piece of film or dreary 35mm digital. Edited December 12, 2019 by wattsy Stuart Richardson, LocalHero1953, philipus and 2 others 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
vanGeist Posted December 12, 2019 Share #8 Posted December 12, 2019 Thanks, but my 90 Cron is still fine. Herr Barnack and happymac 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
snz Posted December 12, 2019 Share #9 Posted December 12, 2019 Well seems like a hell of a lens but uh... I really did not expect that price tag. That's Noctilux territory! a5m 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aj37 Posted December 12, 2019 Share #10 Posted December 12, 2019 I wonder how many M camera bodies are going to need a rangefinder tune-up to focus this thing accurately at 1m...? Paulus 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Keith (M) Posted December 12, 2019 Share #11 Posted December 12, 2019 I would have thought that the majority of of those buying a 1kg, f1.5 90mm manual focus lens for portraiture will be SL/SL2 owners. Leicaiste and kevjed 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Arrow Posted December 12, 2019 Share #12 Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) Could me more interesting than the 75 Noctilux when already owning a 50 0.95. Looking forward to see what it can do in aesthetic rendering terms Don't think this beast will make sense on an M, either. Will it make sense on the SL? In the 90 mm focal length I usually shoot portraits anywhere between f4 and f8. Edited December 12, 2019 by Arrow didier 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oka Posted December 12, 2019 Share #13 Posted December 12, 2019 ...it looks from the MTF and sample photos that bokeh is a lot smoother than in Noctilux 75. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Blues_junkie Posted December 12, 2019 Share #14 Posted December 12, 2019 I love shallow depth of field and use it often to isolate the subject. This focal length and speed seems to be a perfect expansion of the Noctilux range even if they do call it a Summilux. I reckon it will be awesome on an SL or SL 2. Would I use it on my M10.... don't think so. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LocalHero1953 Posted December 12, 2019 Share #15 Posted December 12, 2019 I won't be getting it......you can't tell the difference between modern lenses now..........I'll stick to my Thambar 😁. Seriously though, I agree it is more likely to be used on the SL. I wonder if Leica has designed it with this in mind - and how much the M viewfinder is blocked by this one. EoinC, mmx_2 and Arrow 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sls Posted December 12, 2019 Share #16 Posted December 12, 2019 It is an ideal portrait focal length, but pro portrait photographers will be using an 85/f1.4 with auto-focus. I had a 90/f2 ASPH and used it for portraits, but just found it too heavy and tricky to focus at f2, so sold it and went back to using a 1974 90/f2.8 Tele-elmarit. I'm thinking of getting a 90/f4 Elmar, although the Tele-elmart is not far behind. The Voightlander 75/f1.8 is one of their best lenses and costs £500. So not sure about this. M lenses are meant to be small and practical. I'll stick to 50 Lux for portraits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hektor Posted December 12, 2019 Share #17 Posted December 12, 2019 Congratulations to Leica and Peter Karbe. charby57, Herr Barnack, farnz and 1 other 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
UliWer Posted December 12, 2019 Share #18 Posted December 12, 2019 (edited) Would there be more reasons to congratulate if the lens would weigh a pound more and had even less millimeter of depth of focus? Edited December 12, 2019 by UliWer Susie 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
oldwino Posted December 12, 2019 Share #19 Posted December 12, 2019 Is this lens, which may prove to be nearly impossible to rangefinder focus on a M camera, still a rangefinder lens, when you need an EVF for accurate focus? a5m 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dem331 Posted December 12, 2019 Share #20 Posted December 12, 2019 14 minutes ago, oldwino said: Is this lens, which may prove to be nearly impossible to rangefinder focus on a M camera, still a rangefinder lens, when you need an EVF for accurate focus? My feelings exactly. A pure EVF M is coming or the M line is now the MF SL line MarkP, colint544, Paulus and 3 others 6 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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