How sharp is the 75mm Summicron?

[artur5]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Anybody interested on a Lux-R 80, now that the R10 is coming..?? :

 

O.K. I was only joking, I won't part with the huge beast...

 

According to Erwin Putts, both lenses (Lux-M 75 and Lux-R 80 ) share the same design and have only minor optical differences. Maybe the R-80 has the edge on the corners ( that must be pun intended, isn't Erwin ? )

My unit renders beautifully but, I admit, is a bit too soft wide open. Even at f/2 has a sort of glow and evident traces of C.A, ( and I'm not saying this is a defect, rather a "feature" of this unique lens )

Anyway, I'm intrigued by the fact that the owners of the Lux-75 say this lens wide open is sharper than the pre-asph Summicron 90. My Lux-R 80 is not ( I had a Cron-90 years ago )

[Guest guy_mancuso]

Arturo i think every 80 lux guy that used it and now has the 75 lux will say the same thing the 75 lux is sharper wide open compared to the 80mm. i would say at least a 1/2 stop sharper and maybe a full stop. So the 80 lux at F2 is like the 75mm lux at 1.4. At least that is the way i view the two , let's see what others say

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Guest guy_mancuso]

I was in Kansas yesterday shooting cabinets for aircraft and they wanted a couple worker shots , so I shot this at ISO 320 with the 75 lux at maybe 2.8 handheld. This lens is just sharp when you stop it down a touch.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

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

[carstenw]

Arturo, I agree fully with Guy, but unlike you, I miss that. I really liked that 80 Lux glow wide open, on FF. Stop it down to f/2.8 and it was very sharp. The 75 Lux is a little too sharp wide open for me, which is why I am getting the Noctilux with my 30% deal. The Noctilux on the M8 is closer to the 80 Lux on FF.

[artur5]

Carsten, I like that glow too and I agree that by f/2.8 is really a sharp lens. I was only puzzled by the fact that the 75 Lux seems to behave different than the 80-R and they are very close brothers. Erwin Putts says the 80-R has even better sharpness on the corners at f/1.4-f/2, but he is sometimes controversial.

If you've read the last review on Sean's site about 90mm. lenses, you'll see that the Elmarit 90 and the Asph Summicron are a close match -sharpness wise- at f/2.8.

Putts found the 90 Asph at f/2 better than the Elmarit at f/4.