75mm Summarit f/2.4

[adan]

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On 4/6/2020 at 8:39 PM, Edwin Ho said:

Could anyone who owns this lens please share your user experience, in particular with an M9.

I have used the 75mm Summarit f/2.5 on an M9, and the f/2.4 on my M10.

The 75 Summarit (both versions are optically identical) is a very, very good lens. At f/2.4-2.5 and at most distances it marginally outperforms the vaunted and expensive 75 APO-Summicron at f/2.0-2.5. In actual performance, I'd rate it as the best of the Summarits, hands down.

Its only weaknesses are that since it is not APO, it sometimes produces very faint red/magenta edge aberrations (far less than the 90 Summarit, which is a very different, if enjoyable, kettle of optical fish). E.G. dark branches silhouetted against sky. Or in a few of the black eyelashes/hairs in the example below.

And that without the floating element of the APO-Summicron, it starts to lag in resolution near the close-up limit (< 1m), at smaller apertures.

(Full disclosure - personally I now use the APO-Summicron. The heavier weight of glass and tighter damping of the focus movement make it slightly easier to nail focus in micro-DoF situations, and it is better in the studio (close focus with smaller apertures). And I found one used, about the same price as a new Summarit.)

But wide-open the Summarit can still usually match or surpass the Summicron even close-up - see below (M10, f/2.4 version at f/2.4 and about 0.85m, ISO 400). Bokeh is generally better than average. Generally very flare-resistant.

If one does not need the extra close-focusing, the f/2.5 version is identically good.

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Crop for eye:

 

 

[Edwin Ho]

Thank you Andy, I had a quick visit to your website Colorado Seen and have bookmarked this site for future visits.

The Summarit f/2.4 is plenty good for me and I have already placed an order two days ago.

 

 

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[Jeff S]

14 minutes ago, Edwin Ho said:

The Summarit f/2.4 is plenty good for me and I have already placed an order two days ago.

 

 

Hope you ordered from dealer with remaining inventory, given discontinuation.

Jeff

[Edwin Ho]

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

Hope you ordered from dealer with remaining inventory, given discontinuation.

Jeff

 

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

Hope you ordered from dealer with remaining inventory, given discontinuation.

Jeff

Thank you for your concern. I am purchasing from a long trusted Leica dealer and it comes with the usual 2 year warranty.  In any case I will check it thoroughly before taking delivery in a couple of weeks.

I am revisiting my option of either 28/75mm or 35/75mm. As I have mentioned in another post, I already owned the 28mm Elmarit f/2.8 asph.

The consideration for a 35mm was purely because of the frame line which is more visible on an M9. I am having second thought about this as it is not that critical as I am practising  "shooting from the hip" for street photography. Furthermore 28mm will have a slight edge for improved DOF (for zone focusing). And the 75mm will fill the gap if I need further reach than the 28mm.

 

[AndreasG]

vor 24 Minuten schrieb Edwin Ho:

As I have mentioned in another post, I already owned the 28mm Elmarit f/2.8 asph.

Keep it, it is an excellent lens for street, that is my own experience. It is very sharp, you easily can crop down to a 35mm angle in post processing without visible loss.

[Edwin Ho]

11 minutes ago, AndreasG said:

It is very sharp, you easily can crop down to a 35mm angle in post processing without visible loss.

I concur.

[matted]

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On 4/7/2020 at 6:36 AM, dau said:

 

If the lens has been launched after the firmware, then the firmware will not know the code. I could not find out whether the M9 actually knows the 1:2.4/75mm or the 1:2.4/35mm, but I would rather think so.

I can’t confirm the 1:2.4/75mm, but my M9 does recognize my 1:2.4/50mm Summarit properly so unless the Summarit update was staggered I would expect all of them to be recognized. 

[Edwin Ho]

I collected my brand new 75mm yesterday. These are my first impressions:

• Well built and compact even with hood attached
• I like the rubber (slightly soft feel) focus ring
• At f/2.4 it separates the subject well from the background
• I like the colour of images taken with this lens
• Loving this focal length

Together with the 28mm and M9 it should serve me well.

I will need to "get to know" this lens for the next month or so.

I do have a Match Technical 1.25x magnifier and will test its significance and whether it is necessary for the 75mm.

[otto.f]

4 hours ago, Edwin Ho said:

1.25x magnifier and will test its significance and whether it is necessary for the 75mm.

Technically, so apart from your eyes, a 75/2.4 falls within the range of what’s possible with the rangefinder base of a Leica M. Only a 75/1.4 and wider, the 90/2.0 and wider and the 135/3.4 are over the edge. 

[Archiver]

@Edwin Ho Hope you're enjoying the new Summarit! I've had the f2.5 version for some years now, and although I don't use it that much, I'm very happy with the results when I do. As part of a 28/75 kit, the Summarit is a great choice. The closer 75cm focus of the f2.4 version would be nice, although I probably wouldn't use it that much for it to matter.

On M7 with Fuji XTRA400

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M7 - Green by Archiver, on Flickr

On M9

M9 - Elephant Suspension by Archiver, on Flickr

Edited May 26, 2020 by Archiver

[Edwin Ho]

@Archiver I do and the 75mm will always go with my 28mm in my bag when I take my M9 out for a walk.

[zoe]

here is the 75  2.4 shot with the M9mono

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[Archiver]

8 hours ago, zoe said:

here is the 75  2.4 shot with the M9mono

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Wow, the Summarit even sees back in time! 😃

[stephengv]

Is this lens still worth it, despite being discontinued?

 

I already have a 50 summicron and 90 summicron pre-asph, is it worth having this lens?

[adan]

That depends on what capabilities you would like. Personally, I use a 75 (the APO-Summicron version, but they are pretty similar in many ways) and use no 50 or 90 at all at this point.

The 75 Summarit f/2.4 is worth consideration if you would like:

- a portrait short tele that is substantially smaller/lighter than your 90, and more "modern Leica" than your pre-ASPH 90 (a bit sharper at wider apertures, pinker color, and with more contrast and "punch")

- can frame tighter than your 90 or 50 for close-ups and details (its highest magnification is 1/7th life size, vs. 1/11.5 for a 50, and 1/9th for the 90)

- a short tele slightly easier to focus than your 90.

That it has been discontinued doesn't change that equation much - after all, your pre-ASPH 90 was discontinued 22 years ago, yet I presume that is still working well for you.

You certainly could still use all three, picking and choosing which to carry along or use for a specific purpose, on any particular day.

[stephengv]

5 hours ago, adan said:

That depends on what capabilities you would like. Personally, I use a 75 (the APO-Summicron version, but they are pretty similar in many ways) and use no 50 or 90 at all at this point.

The 75 Summarit f/2.4 is worth consideration if you would like:

- a portrait short tele that is substantially smaller/lighter than your 90, and more "modern Leica" than your pre-ASPH 90 (a bit sharper at wider apertures, pinker color, and with more contrast and "punch")

- can frame tighter than your 90 or 50 for close-ups and details (its highest magnification is 1/7th life size, vs. 1/11.5 for a 50, and 1/9th for the 90)

- a short tele slightly easier to focus than your 90.

That it has been discontinued doesn't change that equation much - after all, your pre-ASPH 90 was discontinued 22 years ago, yet I presume that is still working well for you.

You certainly could still use all three, picking and choosing which to carry along or use for a specific purpose, on any particular day.

 
Thank you for the reply. How significant is the Life Size magnification? What does it really mean?

[stephengv]

On 4/22/2020 at 3:53 PM, otto.f said:

Technically, so apart from your eyes, a 75/2.4 falls within the range of what’s possible with the rangefinder base of a Leica M. Only a 75/1.4 and wider, the 90/2.0 and wider and the 135/3.4 are over the edge. 

Hi why do you say its falls within the range?

[otto.f]

2 hours ago, stephengv said:

Hi why do you say its falls within the range?

That’s a technical thing, so just trust that Adan will come later and explain it better than me, also because of my poor technical English. But the idea is that the measuring base of the rangefinder is not broad enough to get a still exact focus with the wider apertures because the out of focus depth is very shallow with 75 at 1.4 and at 90 at 2.0. I don’t know how broad the base is in digital M’s but for the M4 through M6 the 75lux should be stopped down to f1.88 and the 90 to f2.71 to let focus fall in the depth of field given by these apertures (derived from Alfons Scholz: Leica M6, 1988). The M3 has a broader base so with this body these lenses can be focused better, at f1.5 and f2.17 resp., the rangefinder is already precise.

[lct]

Based upon average CoC (circle of confusion) values, a 75mm lens can be focused accurately at f/1.4 on any full frame M digital camera. Those values are not made for  pixel peeping though. 

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[stephengv]

5 hours ago, otto.f said:

That’s a technical thing, so just trust that Adan will come later and explain it better than me, also because of my poor technical English. But the idea is that the measuring base of the rangefinder is not broad enough to get a still exact focus with the wider apertures because the out of focus depth is very shallow with 75 at 1.4 and at 90 at 2.0. I don’t know how broad the base is in digital M’s but for the M4 through M6 the 75lux should be stopped down to f1.88 and the 90 to f2.71 to let focus fall in the depth of field given by these apertures (derived from Alfons Scholz: Leica M6, 1988). The M3 has a broader base so with this body these lenses can be focused better, at f1.5 and f2.17 resp., the rangefinder is already precise.

Thank you for this!