Apo-Summicron vs regular Summicron 50?

[lct]

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1 hour ago, BjarniM said:

Nope. I looked in the catalogue on Leica's website, saw the description, and decided to take it to real life, what Leica claimed. I rented it for two days, looked through the pictures for some days and I was sold,  and ended up buying the lens.

No, I never have regretted buying the lens. Never.

OK but what are you criticizing exactly? People who don't rent lenses? Just curious as i did not get your rant above sorry.

Edited August 15, 2020 by lct

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[carbon_dragon]

Leica has some preferences in designing its lenses -- flare resistance, sharpness wide open, corner sharpness wide open, apochromatic performance, and so on. I have the pre-APO version of the 50/2 and have used it for years, but not the APO (because $6K right?). But I'd expect you'd get much more resistance to flare, better sharpness in the corners wide open, and fewer "flaws" of any kind. In fact the 50 APO has a reputation of a lens the designer did a while back and never thought he'd talk Leica into letting him put in production. It's the poster child in the "money is no object" design strategy.

And maybe if you have a 40MP M (like the M10R or the M10M) that is worth it. If I buy another 50, it's more likely to be the 50/1.4 Summilux asph (just because it's an even better lens but not totally crazy in price). I really like my pre-APO Summicron though. 

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, carbon_dragon said:

better lens

The only way the Summilux, although excellent, is 'better' (has an advantage over) is in maximum aperture .On all measured optical performance the APO-Summicron is superior, as it should be given the design intent and cost. It is interesting to read Peter Karbes thoughts in this article https://www.overgaard.dk/leica-50mm-APO-Summicron-M-ASPH-f-20.html

 

Edited August 15, 2020 by pedaes

[carbon_dragon]

57 minutes ago, pedaes said:

The only way the Summilux, although excellent, is 'better' (has an advantage over) is in maximum aperture .On all measured optical performance the APO-Summicron is superior, as it should be given the design intent and cost. It is interesting to read Peter Karbes thoughts in this article https://www.overgaard.dk/leica-50mm-APO-Summicron-M-ASPH-f-20.html

 

Better than MY Summicron (50/2 pre-APO version) ... presumably and cheaper than $6000 for the APO. Probably not upgrading anytime soon.

[jrp]

Always worth recalling this test: https://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2014/06/comparing-rangefinder-and-slr-50mm-lenses-version-0-7/