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Review: The New Leica APO-Summicron-M 35mm F2 ASPH.


jonoslack

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2 hours ago, IkarusJohn said:

I’m too old fashioned to dispense with holding a camera up to my face to take pictures most of the time.

I thought the same too, John, but the Voigtlander 10/5.6 Ultra-wide Heliar changed all that for me.  With the 10 mm I actually prefer using LiveView on my M10's LCD rather than the Visoflex 020.  That might be because the M10 doesn't offer a horizon line (the M10P does) so I find it easier to level up the camera's attitude by eye in relation to the scene to avoid the killer key-stoning distortion of the 10 mm and I'm quite at ease doing it.  (I don't even need to put my baseball cap on backwards or anything. :lol:

It works for me with the 10 mm but I can't say whether or not it would also work for me with the 35 APO at sub-30 cm.

Pete.

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55 minutes ago, farnz said:

I thought the same too, John, but the Voigtlander 10/5.6 Ultra-wide Heliar changed all that for me.  With the 10 mm I actually prefer using LiveView on my M10's LCD rather than the Visoflex 020.  That might be because the M10 doesn't offer a horizon line (the M10P does) so I find it easier to level up the camera's attitude by eye in relation to the scene to avoid the killer key-stoning distortion of the 10 mm and I'm quite at ease doing it.  (I don't even need to put my baseball cap on backwards or anything. :lol:

It works for me with the 10 mm but I can't say whether or not it would also work for me with the 35 APO at sub-30 cm.

Pete.

It's the sub-30 cm that interests me, baseball cap or no.

I'll have a look at the 35 Summilux-TL on my TL2, which goes down to 40 cm, and the 11-23 Vario-Elmar-TL goes down to 20 cm.  The APS-C sensor probably makes a difference, but let's see ...

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Hello, here* is an example without lens change and without baseball cap. (;-)
Also slightly 'moving' focus point search on a small monopod - see-saw movement back and forward. Electronic viewfinder or rear screen depends on personal preference and eyesight.

Am 14.9.2021 um 08:01 schrieb Dao De Leitz:

...

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2/35mm, at  ≈0,33m

 

... on Flickr, original by Dao De Leitz    -   Thorsten

 

 

 

Edited by Dao De Leitz
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11 hours ago, IkarusJohn said:

Yes, I did acknowledge that; and Pete mentioned zone focusing too.

It’s an interesting point - when do you use the LCD and when do you use the EVF?  I don’t have a live view LCD M camera, but I do have the SL and TL2.  I’m sure you recall the scorn heaped on the T when it was released - holding your camera at arms’ length like some selfie taking teenager, etc etc.

I’m too old fashioned to dispense with holding a camera up to my face to take pictures most of the time.  If I can’t hold the camera to look through the eye piece (macro, on a tripod, or remote triggering, long exposures etc), I like to use my phone and WiFi - it’s terribly convenient.  But, also when I’m taking portraits, or group shots, I hate having the camera over my face.  I like to engage with the subjects, and watch what’s going on, and trigger the shutter as I talk to them.  I find I can get more natural images, and my timing is better if I’m not using a viewfinder, so I do use the LCD on the TL2 in those situations.  Not so much the SL, as it’s bigger and heavier..

I don’t have the 35 APO Summicron.  What are the situations where you use the close focus with any frequency?  And in those situations, do you actually use the optical and or the EVF viewfinder?  Or do you actually use the LCD?  Just curious.

I am mindful that Leica has recommended using an EVF with both the 75 Noct and 90 Summilux, but that has litte to do with the 35 APO - I imagine the depth of field at f/2 and 30cm doesn’t make focus so critical.  If you’re focusing that close, getting the focus right is critical, isn’t it?

Best
John

Hi John

Well, actually, the depth of field of the 35 f2 at 30cm isn't that great! The answer to your question though is that if the EVF is on the camera then I'll use it, but if it isn't then I use the LCD, but then I don't often plan what I'm going to shoot. I quite agree about group shots and interaction, but I still tend to use the viewfinder and rely on idiotic behaviour to keep people on message!

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I could have really done with my 35APO yesterday. I am having endless problems with my gas boiler in France and the service engineer keeps trying different bits to see if it will spring to life. Yesterday it was the main connector/sequencer block, which has around 40 colour coded wires going into it. I could not get far enough away with a 35 ASPH on my M10-R to take in focus photos of the various sides of the block, so that when the new connector block was being put it, the service engineer would have a couple of colour prints to ensure the correct wires went into the correct places. If the end we had to use my iPhone - Oh the shame of it 😀. Sadly the new connector block was not the answer, as the manufacturer of the burner unit assured us it would be, still a dead boiler. 

Wilson

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1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

I could not get far enough away with a 35 ASPH on my M10-R to take in focus photos of the various sides of the block, so that when the new connector block was being put it, the service engineer would have a couple of colour prints to ensure the correct wires went into the correct places. If the end we had to use my iPhone - Oh the shame of it 😀. Sadly the new connector block was not the answer, as the manufacturer of the burner unit assured us it would be, still a dead boiler. 

Wilson

99.999999 % of the population would have gone straight to the iphone for such a task.

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11 hours ago, IkarusJohn said:

It's the sub-30 cm that interests me...

Apart from it's lovely imaging, another advantage of the 2.0/35 Summicron-R was that it focused down to 30cm which opened up other creative options.  
Semeriously, who cares that it's against the ethos of the M-system using an EVF.   This feature doesn't detract from the use of the rangefinder. but the the 35APO-Sumicron-M close focus increases versatility at the expense of a few grams of Visoflex in the bag.  

Excuse the poorly framed pet photo, but test shot at ~30cm of Remy the beagle puppy...

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Edited by MarkP
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1 hour ago, FrozenInTime said:

99.999999 % of the population would have gone straight to the iPhone for such a task.

Lucky for Leica then, that the 0.000001% is still out there.

Also my iPhone SE has a very feeble flash for using in a dingy boiler room in my cellar. So I had to get the plumber to hold my eyeball frying Olight X7R torch (12,000 lumens) shining on the connector block, while I took photos from every angle, of all the wires. 

Wilson

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29 minutes ago, MarkP said:

Apart from it's lovely imaging, another advantage of the 2.0/35 Summicron-R was that it focused down to 30cm which opened up other creative options.  

All my R lenses, including 35 Summicron R are 900 miles away. I have used this in the past on my M240 with an R to M adapter, as a close up lens. Much easier than fiddling around fitting lenses onto the front of a bellows. I also have the 100 APO Macro-Elmarit-R now which is a wonderful close up lens. The first one I bought also came with the ELPRO even closer up attachment but sadly New Zealand post lost that one. 

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15 minutes ago, marknorton said:

Makes me wonder what Leica are going to do when it's time for Peter Karbe to retire. Feels like he's been involved forever. I am sure there's lots of other talent but maybe a little nervousness too.

Would not all modern lens development be a team effort with a lot of computer time (ray path analysis) as well? I do accept however, that there must be someone driving this forward and having the odd flash of inspiration and presently, that does seem to be Peter Karbe. I don't know if he is also I.C. the cine lens division. I see that Leica has just brought out a whole new range of cine lenses (Elsie) in the new LPL mount. 

Wilson

Edited by wlaidlaw
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2 minutes ago, wlaidlaw said:

Would not all modern lens development be a team effort with a lot of computer time (ray path analysis) as well? I do accept however, that there must be someone driving this forward and having the odd flash of inspiration and presently, that does seem to be Peter Karbe. 

Wilson

 

17 minutes ago, marknorton said:

Makes me wonder what Leica are going to do when it's time for Peter Karbe to retire. Feels like he's been involved forever. I am sure there's lots of other talent but maybe a little nervousness too.

Hi There

Peter Karbe is certainly the figurehead of the lens development department (I can't imagine he's doing a lot of the designing these days), I would have expected that there would be someone in the wings to take over. No idea who, but i have met some inspirational people from the lens division. 

I don't think we need to panic!

All the best

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The ideas for M lens design also come from different sources, often following an iterative process, which further provides ideas for future lenses.  A glimpse into this process was provided in the following video discussion (that I may have already linked).  Note, for instance, the part from about 26:30 to near 33:00.  It’s interesting, for instance, that the close focus capability of the 35 APO M wasn’t even in the initial design spec…


Jeff

Edited by Jeff S
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6 hours ago, marknorton said:

Makes me wonder what Leica are going to do when it's time for Peter Karbe to retire. Feels like he's been involved forever. I am sure there's lots of other talent but maybe a little nervousness too.

Chief lens designers come and go. Walter Mandler was around for 25-35 years or so - his replacement's (Lothar Kölsche, ~ 15 years) team came up with the 35 Aspherical/ASPH (although the name on the patent is Walter Walz), and the 28 Elmarit v.4 and most of the APO-ASPHs of the 1990s. No doubt with some input and work from his employee and eventual (2002) replacement - Peter Karbe.

Although it is more even more complicated than that - Leitz/Leica has always had a substantial "bench" of optical designers under the supervision of this or that Chief Designer.

You'd be surprised by who actually deserves direct credit for Leitz/Leica lenses:

https://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-wiki.en/index.php/Original_designers_of_Leica_products:

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20 hours ago, wlaidlaw said:

Would not all modern lens development be a team effort with a lot of computer time (ray path analysis) as well? I do accept however, that there must be someone driving this forward and having the odd flash of inspiration and presently, that does seem to be Peter Karbe. I don't know if he is also I.C. the cine lens division. I see that Leica has just brought out a whole new range of cine lenses (Elsie) in the new LPL mount. 

Wilson

Cine lens designer is Iain Neil, freelancer.

https://gmpphoto.blogspot.com/2019/09/leica-summilux-c-best-cinematographic.html

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Ahhh, maybe.

If one took a Summarex, sawed it in half, and added 100mm of barrel and 6 additional elements in between the front and back halves. ;)

Sort of a seventh-cousin thrice removed (except in the House of Windsor, where almost everybody up through Princes Harry and William still bears something of a resemblance to Queen Mary of Teck. ;) )

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On 10/1/2021 at 9:39 PM, Jeff S said:

The ideas for M lens design also come from different sources, often following an iterative process, which further provides ideas for future lenses.  A glimpse into this process was provided in the following video discussion (that I may have already linked).  Note, for instance, the part from about 26:30 to near 33:00.  It’s interesting, for instance, that the close focus capability of the 35 APO M wasn’t even in the initial design spec…


Jeff

Thanks for sharing this link...

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