35mm Side by Side: Summilux Pre-ASPH v2 & Summicron v4 (Plus, Special Guest M-Rokkor 40mm)

[evikne]

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Thank you very much for this very useful comparison! I've owned both the Summilux and Summicron (each of them twice) and have had a hard time choosing just one of them. Even though the Summicron is probably the "best" lens in many ways I finally landed on the Summilux. The choice was mostly based on emotions. I think of it as the most "classic" Leica lens, and I like the look of the bigger front element. Maybe the pictures are slightly more "film like" too, probably because of the extra glow.

But I could have lived happily with either of them – or both! 😊

Edited July 2, 2021 by evikne

[horosu]

Congratulations for the test.

 

Could you please provide some info about the year of the lenses/condition? My Summilux pre-asph Titan is very sharp from 1.7 onwards. And I mean very sharp. It was sharper than my FLE, but that one was not adjusted and had some clear focus shift.

It was also CLA'd and adjusted at Will van Manen, so it focuses spot-on.

[lct]

6 hours ago, horosu said:

My Summilux pre-asph Titan is very sharp from 1.7 onwards. And I mean very sharp. It was sharper than my FLE, but that one was not adjusted and had some clear focus shift.

Huge focus shift then . 

[grahamc]

7 hours ago, horosu said:

Congratulations for the test.

 

Could you please provide some info about the year of the lenses/condition? My Summilux pre-asph Titan is very sharp from 1.7 onwards. And I mean very sharp. It was sharper than my FLE, but that one was not adjusted and had some clear focus shift.

It was also CLA'd and adjusted at Will van Manen, so it focuses spot-on.

Thanks Horosu .

The Lux and Cron are both German 90's editions, I don't recall which year.  All 3 lenses are 9/10 cosmetically although none has been CLA'd - at least not by myself.  The Lux is off for a check over and service at the moment so can run a quick side by side when it comes back to see if the (very slight) gap with Cron closes. 

The Summicron is in particularly nice condition and considering it performed sharply I'd take a guess that it's a decent copy.  The Lux really wasn't far behind and the fact that it and the Cron were pretty similar (with regards sharpness) makes me feel the lux is performing as designed but it will be interesting to se if there are any changes after a service. 

Bearing in mind this was pixel peeping all were very acceptable.

The fact that the Minolta was the outlier in performance also makes me think that the Leica's were showing 'expected' performance - eg the 2 Leica's being much more on a par with each other than either was with the Rokkor.   Not sure how much the 'obvious' difference would be due to contrast also since the Rokkor was improved with multi-coating for this version (over the CL). 

Unless these were done side by side in this way either was really good and they all clearly have qualities in many more areas than the sharpness. 

Edited July 3, 2021 by grahamc

[grahamc]

8 hours ago, evikne said:

Thank you very much for this very useful comparison! I've owned both the Summilux and Summicron (each of them twice) and have had a hard time choosing just one of them. Even though the Summicron is probably the "best" lens in many ways I finally landed on the Summilux. The choice was mostly based on emotions. I think of it as the most "classic" Leica lens, and I like the look of the bigger front element. Maybe the pictures are slightly more "film like" too, probably because of the extra glow.

But I could have lived happily with either of them – or both! 😊

I agree !  I was hoping to cut down to just one, and still might, however this made the choice pretty difficult.  Emotionally for sure the Lux, but I'm glad the Cron wasn't made 'redundant' by the Lux being exactly the same in the mid-apertures (at least for my copies).

The lux really does have the romance factor, is unique and will no doubt be beautiful when I get a film M in the future .  I also like the Cron because it's a good grab and go with a screw in protector (I don't use hoods very much ), it was nice to see it also has its own standout qualities. 

Really the conclusion is they are both great 

Edited July 3, 2021 by grahamc

[rcusick]

Thank you! Great contribution.  For me the choice came down to double coated vs single coated.  I use the Summi for black and white and the cron for color.  Both are awesome. 

[lct]

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Also an advantage of the 35/1.4 pre-asph (at least v2) is it sharpens easily in PP and still looks natural contrary to asph lenses. Here v2 at f/1.4.

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[grahamc]

4 hours ago, lct said:

Also an advantage of the 35/1.4 pre-asph (at least v2) is it sharpens easily in PP and still looks natural contrary to asph lenses. Here v2 at f/1.4.

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That's a good point  and you definitely can't add in the glow 

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Not sure if f1.4 on a Summilux V2 ever "sharpens", you can decrease the glow somewhat. I have had mine foir 45 or so years, I traded a 35 Summicron for it. At the time the leica liturature said it was marginally sharper than the Summicron from f5.6 on. After 45 years and the focusing tab breaking I sent the lens in for a CLA. The CLA subdued the glow a little, it is still there. So lens history plays into this.

M8 35 Summilux at f1.4

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Edited July 3, 2021 by tommonego@gmail.com

[lct]

I meant sharpening works fine with this lens in PP but its main interest lies w/o sharpening of course (flower at f/1.4 on A7r2 mod w/o sharpening). Now part of its softness comes from focus shift on rangefinders, at least when the lens is calibrated at f/2.8 like my v2 (child at f/1.4 on M240 w/o sharpening). When properly focused, the lens is not as soft as it may look on RFs (tree at f/1.4 on A7r2 mod w/o sharpening).

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[shinobi2012]

Am 3.7.2021 um 04:06 schrieb grahamc:

I agree !  I was hoping to cut down to just one, and still might, however this made the choice pretty difficult.  Emotionally for sure the Lux, but I'm glad the Cron wasn't made 'redundant' by the Lux being exactly the same in the mid-apertures (at least for my copies).

The lux really does have the romance factor, is unique and will no doubt be beautiful when I get a film M in the future .  I also like the Cron because it's a good grab and go with a screw in protector (I don't use hoods very much ), it was nice to see it also has its own standout qualities. 

Really the conclusion is they are both great 

Keep them both! I did the mistake selling my perfect working Summilux,now I got one German 1990 back for more money.