50 mm 1.4 or F2

[geoffreyg]

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At the risk of entering troubled waters, my vote has been for the 'cron: smaller, lighter, cheaper... and I can't focus well enough to nail it at f1.4, so prefer the extra margin of f2. Others may be more capable, but I get enough OOF at f2 to keep happy. Yes there are yearnings for the 'lux, but then the price point appears, and that's enough... 

 

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[jaeger]

I use summilux and I notice f/2 is fairly easy to focus in RF.  You will miss a lot at 1.4, but those you nailed the focus, they are pretty cool.

 

 

[pippy]

8 hours ago, Jeff S said:

But the comparison was to the 50 APO M Summicron, a 30 g difference, not a 135g difference.

Jeff

Yes, Jeff, I know you were typing a response to Peter's earlier comment in particular. My post was intended as a very much broader point made mainly for the benefit of the OP.

Philip.

 

[Fedro]

10 hours ago, Jeff S said:

50 APO... 300 g:  47x53 mm (1.85” x 2.09”)

50 f1.4...   330g:   52.5x53.5mm (2.07” x 2.11”)

A blindfolded person could barely distinguish, let alone be pained by a hike.

I sold my 50 APO (black chrome) and kept my 50 Summilux ASPH, which is superb (and infinitely better at f1.4).

Different strokes for different folks. 

Jeff

HI Jeff,

I thought you loved your APO (especially the construction and so on). Mind you if I ask why did you sell it?

I have both but not sure I need both.

Thank you

Fedro

[a.noctilux]

We don't need both, maybe less maybe more ... ( I have some 50mm, from f/1 Noctilux to f/3.5 Elmar and trying many more before selling )

may I suggest trying the two, then decide which one to keep,

or the two, or none 😇.

David (the OP), trying lenses in Leica M mount do take some time,

but as you would see if you continue the track, that there is NO one lens to do what you want.

Why we ( ...I ) use some lenses to DO what we (I) want/need but each lens must be learned.

Edited December 1, 2020 by a.noctilux

[Jeff S]

4 hours ago, Fedro said:

HI Jeff,

I thought you loved your APO (especially the construction and so on). Mind you if I ask why did you sell it?

I have both but not sure I need both.

Thank you

Fedro

I found myself migrating back to the 50 Summilux ASPH, a lens that I’ve happily lived with for a long time. The APO is a fine lens, but sometimes less is more. I decided to trade it on a 35 Summilux (FLE), which is another lens that I want to finally compare to my long term 35 Summicron ASPH. I might similarly keep one or the other.  I guess the pandemic, which has restricted my photo productivity, has bored me into gear comparisons.  Can’t wait to get back to just making pics.

Jeff

[wda]

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9 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

.... I guess the pandemic, which has restricted my photo productivity, has bored me into gear comparisons.  Can’t wait to get back to just making pics.

Jeff

Jeff, a little off-topic, but may I make a suggestion. While constrained, spend half-an-hour every day purging your digital photographs, starting with the oldest. There will be two satisfying benefits. First, you will clear pictures you will never use, yielding storage space; second, you will rediscover long-forgotten gems, lurking in the dark spaces of your hard drives. I have found some family photographs which don't compare technically with what I produce nowadays;  but are priceless in terms of historical family value. In 30 minutes you don't have time to get bored, but over weeks and months, the benefits start to add up. Just a thought. 🙂

[M11 for me]

My opinion on that matter is: When you can afford the lux and you do not mind the weight then buy the lux as it is more versatile. I bought the lux in the beginning as my first lens and then I realised that in most instances it was too heavy and then I bought a 50mm Summarit . . .  and I love it. I do not use the Summilux since.

And here a very bold statement (and sorry if this is disrespectful): When I look at all the photographs here in the forum then I have my doubts if most people here really can make a difference at all. I believe that just a few photographs can see differences (think of the discussion about APO vs not APO that is so ridiculous). Plus most usrers here have only 3 to 4 lenses and when reading here one gets the impression that everybody has at least 10 Leica lenses and is aware of all the different renderings. I do not believe in that.

Sorry for that bold statement.

[arichter]

2 minutes ago, M10 for me said:

My opinion on that matter is: When you can afford the lux and you do not mind the weight then buy the lux as it is more versatile. I bought the lux in the beginning as my first lens and then I realised that in most instances it was too heavy and then I bought a 50mm Summarit . . .  and I love it. I do not use the Summilux since.

This is exactly what happened to me. First I got a 50mm Summilux ASPH and later a 50mm Summarit. Mostly use the Summarit because of the size and the image quality is excellent too.

[Jeff S]

11 minutes ago, wda said:

Jeff, a little off-topic, but may I make a suggestion. While constrained, spend half-an-hour every day purging your digital photographs, starting with the oldest. There will be two satisfying benefits. First, you will clear pictures you will never use, yielding storage space; second, you will rediscover long-forgotten gems, lurking in the dark spaces of your hard drives. I have found some family photographs which don't compare technically with what I produce nowadays;  but are priceless in terms of historical family value. In 30 minutes you don't have time to get bored, but over weeks and months, the benefits start to add up. Just a thought. 🙂

Thanks, but I regularly review my library (and print portfolio) for key learnings, new ideas, as well as to reconsider print renderings. I also shoot sparingly, fairly comparable to my film days (I’ve done the math), so I remember most every picture situation since transitioning to digital in 2009. I’ve done even more of this lately, which is why I’m aching to get back to creating new work.

Jeff

[Fedro]

4 hours ago, Jeff S said:

I found myself migrating back to the 50 Summilux ASPH, a lens that I’ve happily lived with for a long time. The APO is a fine lens, but sometimes less is more. I decided to trade it on a 35 Summilux (FLE), which is another lens that I want to finally compare to my long term 35 Summicron ASPH. I might similarly keep one or the other.  I guess the pandemic, which has restricted my photo productivity, has bored me into gear comparisons.  Can’t wait to get back to just making pics.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff - it makes sense. 

The 35 FLE is another fine lens, I am sure you will love it.

I think that I could easily live on "just" 28 Cron, 35 FLE and 50 Lux  

[Jeff S]

1 minute ago, Fedro said:

I think that I could easily live on "just" 28 Cron, 35 FLE and 50 Lux  

I pretty much have done this for more than a dozen years, except with the 28 and 35 Summicron ASPHs and the 50 Summilux ASPH.  I did however recently add a bargain 35 Summaron f2.8 to try on my M Monochrom.  
 

I don’t really know any bad Leica lenses (and many good choices from other companies); good work (or bad work) can be produced with any. But I’m just an enthusiast, not a working pro.  I occasionally get just as enthused over a new printing paper, or a software upgrade, as a new lens. Every new link in the chain requires a learning curve, and the results aren’t always for the better.

Jeff

[M11 for me]

vor einer Stunde schrieb Fedro:

Thanks Jeff - it makes sense. 

The 35 FLE is another fine lens, I am sure you will love it.

I think that I could easily live on "just" 28 Cron, 35 FLE and 50 Lux  

Wouldn't that be the situation where a Q2 would be great? As a matter of fact I use in almost all situations one of these 3 lenses. That is why I like to go out with the Q2 instead of the M10. 

[Jeff S]

5 minutes ago, M10 for me said:

Wouldn't that be the situation where a Q2 would be great? As a matter of fact I use in almost all situations one of these 3 lenses. That is why I like to go out with the Q2 instead of the M10. 

You need to change your forum name.  😳

The Q2 wouldn’t in any way replace the M/RF experience for me.  
 

Jeff

[Fedro]

9 minutes ago, M10 for me said:

Wouldn't that be the situation where a Q2 would be great? As a matter of fact I use in almost all situations one of these 3 lenses. That is why I like to go out with the Q2 instead of the M10. 

I had the Q2 but sold it. I prefer the manual focus of the RF - as long as my eyes support it. I loved the macro, near focus of the Q2 but since I used it as a point and shoot, aka pictures of my young kids, could not stand having to deal with the 80MP files. Also my version had dust specs (3!) come into the VF in the space of a few months, the paint started chipping off from day one etc .. lovely camera, but I prefer to use Ms for everyday, or the SL2 or X1D for more serious stuff. That works for me, though I have to say that the Q2M had me drooling ..

[Fedro]

1 hour ago, Jeff S said:

I pretty much have done this for more than a dozen years, except with the 28 and 35 Summicron ASPHs and the 50 Summilux ASPH.  I did however recently add a bargain 35 Summaron f2.8 to try on my M Monochrom.  
 

I don’t really know any bad Leica lenses (and many good choices from other companies); good work (or bad work) can be produced with any. But I’m just an enthusiast, not a working pro.  I occasionally get just as enthused over a new printing paper, or a software upgrade, as a new lens. Every new link in the chain requires a learning curve, and the results aren’t always for the better.

Jeff

I am happy with the FLE for 35, it is not one of my most used FoVs. I love 28s though and also have the Lux which I mostly use for portraits.

You are right that it is hard to find a bad Leica lens, they are all good and gorgeous, hard to sell them - at least for me

[jakontil]

I have both the lux and apo, easily torn between the two, despite using m10 with iso capability i still prefer lux when indoor but everything else is the apo..

i have my cron non apo too but rarely used and yeah i still have the FLE, very fine lens 

[Rick in CO]

On 11/30/2020 at 2:58 PM, David_miller70 said:

I always went for the fastest lens variant irrespective of size / weight.

I’m taking a different tact with Leica, especially at the wider end and I’ve started with the 35 F2 and plan on getting the 21 F3.4

However, I’m struggling to decide on the 50 mm, is it still the f 2 I should go for or is the f 1.4 brighter enough weigh better enough bokeh to be worth it.

If you want the fastest lens, then the 50 Summilux can't be beat.  Not much difference between the 35 and 50 focal lengths, a 75 would be better spaced.

For a secondary 50mm lens consider the Zeiss ZM Planar which many consider as good as the Summicron for a fraction of the price.  

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Jeff S]

5 minutes ago, Rick in CO said:

Not much difference between the 35 and 50 focal lengths, a 75 would be better spaced.

 

Percentage-wise, the difference between 35 and 50 (43%) is much more than 35 compared to 28 (25%), and closer to 35 vs 24 (46%).  Of course percentages don’t necessarily account for perceived differences, user styles or preferences.

For me, there is a big difference between my use of 35 vs 50.  And while I like the 75mm focal length, I strongly dislike the 75mm M frame lines.

As usual, personal taste.

Jeff

[M11 for me]

vor 23 Stunden schrieb Jeff S:

You need to change your forum name.  😳

The Q2 wouldn’t in any way replace the M/RF experience for me.  
 

Jeff

Oh, you misunderstood or I was probably unclear: I like the Q2 (that is true) after some starting problems but I would never get rid of my M. No way.