Do these lenses shine in B&W, Colour, or both ?

[grahamc]

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1 minute ago, me111 said:

My 35mm Summilux v2 is my best lens in terms of color rendition, imo.

 

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[grahamc]

57 minutes ago, lct said:

I'm not the best to answer your question as i shoot mostly color and when i shoot B&W i can do it with any lens. Also the last time i shot film was 10+ years ago. Just my 2 cents about lenses you quoted anyway:
- 35/1.4 v2: B&W & color. Note that the Summilux v2 is a bit less contrasty than later lenses and this may translate into less color saturation. It is not a problem on digital if you shoot raw though. 
- 35/2 v4: B&W & color. Was a modern lens when i got mine in the eighties. Compared to current lenses it has a bit les acutance but it works fine on B&W & color anyway. 
- 50/1.4 E46: You mean v3 i guess as v2 is E43. B&W & color. Same comment as 35/2 v4.
- 50/2 v3: Nor sure. I only used this lens 30+ years ago on film but i shot a lot of Kodachromes then so i would be surprised if it doesn't work well on digital color.
- 50/2 v4: B&W & color. Same comment as 35/2 v4.
- 50/2 v5: B&W & color. Current lens.

Thanks. Always good to know ! 
I have / had this vision of one 35mm finding a home on designated b&w camera and another on colour but very much doubt it’s going to work out that way at all .

 

I also very much doubt now there will be designated cameras either, more likely one a favourite, etc   

Cheers for the info 

Edited September 2, 2021 by grahamc

[Erato]

My 2 cents here.

I have 4x35mm and 4x 50mm lenses(Corn and Lux), two non-Leica lenses included. All of them are great for high-fidelity color photography. 

In the meanwhile, they also perform very well in B/W photography. The only thing that you should worry about is perfectly controlling your gears and acquire perfect exposure to the light.

I enjoy the subtle difference between various scenes and constantly changing available light.

If I have to suggest some versatile lens for limited thoughts in terms of size, weight, color rendition, and B/W tonality, I would then recommend the following:

1950 era -- Summicron-M 35mm F2 V1(Germany version for more contrast and ELC version for better details)

1970 era -- Summicron-M 35mm F2 V4(Elegant color rendition, relatively contrasty while compared with V1)

2000 era -- Summaron-M 35mm F1.4 FLE latest version(no focus shift, and it's perfect for dim light indoor/outdoor also night/twilight scenes)

Sorry for skipping the other modern lenses since I don't have them up until now. If you have to pick one for the latest adoptions(Leica M), APO Summicron-M 50mm F2 is a good choice if the overall quality is your primary concern.

Finally, if the weight, size, and aperture stop is not a concern to you, and you preferred modern lenses, please looking after the Elamrit-M 21mm/24mm/35mm/50mm as well. For some reason, I love Elmarit as well.

One other note is regarding Summilux-M 50mm F1.4 V3, aka. Pre-A version. In most cases, this lens generates an outstanding outcome.  But the size is greater while compared Summicron-M series(with 46mm filter thread). If you are a 50mm-guy, and looking for a best fit both upon color and B/W photography, it would be perfect, but the price you would pay is the curvature and the weight. Other than that, it would be glorious. 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Erato

[grahamc]

5 hours ago, Erato said:

My 2 cents here.

I have 4x35mm and 4x 50mm lenses(Corn and Lux), two non-Leica lenses included. All of them are great for high-fidelity color photography. 

In the meanwhile, they also perform very well in B/W photography. The only thing that you should worry about is perfectly controlling your gears and acquire perfect exposure to the light.

I enjoy the subtle difference between various scenes and constantly changing available light.

If I have to suggest some versatile lens for limited thoughts in terms of size, weight, color rendition, and B/W tonality, I would then recommend the following:

1950 era -- Summicron-M 35mm F2 V1(Germany version for more contrast and ELC version for better details)

1970 era -- Summicron-M 35mm F2 V4(Elegant color rendition, relatively contrasty while compared with V1)

2000 era -- Summaron-M 35mm F1.4 FLE latest version(no focus shift, and it's perfect for dim light indoor/outdoor also night/twilight scenes)

Sorry for skipping the other modern lenses since I don't have them up until now. If you have to pick one for the latest adoptions(Leica M), APO Summicron-M 50mm F2 is a good choice if the overall quality is your primary concern.

Finally, if the weight, size, and aperture stop is not a concern to you, and you preferred modern lenses, please looking after the Elamrit-M 21mm/24mm/35mm/50mm as well. For some reason, I love Elmarit as well.

One other note is regarding Summilux-M 50mm F1.4 V3, aka. Pre-A version. In most cases, this lens generates an outstanding outcome.  But the size is greater while compared Summicron-M series(with 46mm filter thread). If you are a 50mm-guy, and looking for a best fit both upon color and B/W photography, it would be perfect, but the price you would pay is the curvature and the weight. Other than that, it would be glorious. 

 

 

Interesting, thanks for all of this @Erato.  I'm definitely going to keep an eye on the Elmarit lenses to try at some point, they keep seeming to be mentioned with great feedback  - especially for people who enjoy the older style rendering, it seems (despite being modern builds) .. so could be to my taste at some point I'm sure ! 

I'm looking forward to owning the Pre-A lux, although no rush .  As you have pointed out it is actually the size/weight that has stopped me buying it so far, but also the fact that I have several new lenses that are keeping me occupied (and satisfied) at the moment :

35:2 v4

35:1.4 v2 

50:2 v3 

The 50mm Lux pre-ASPh will be nice then I have a cron and lux for 35 and 50 from similar eras (more or less) and working pretty nice together I think.  No rush .  

 

Edited September 2, 2021 by grahamc