35 v4 - out of focus rendering - is it normal

[shirubadanieru]

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12 minutes ago, Lelmer said:

And there are also some, like me, who love both...😀

Ok…now that is unheard of  hehe

[mechanic53]

Brace yourself - long post incoming.

Short version: seems like my lens is ok or close to ok and I am neurotic.

 

 

I think I am coming to my senses.

So I was using M6 since several years (2 or 3). With this 35 cron and 50 cron, mainly on E6 film (slides). Developing and scanning at home with Nikon 5000ED scanner. It gives really huge output without enlarging or any other tricks. Really good combo. Slide film has small grain, combined with this scanner... I was happy. Actually I still have 100+ rolls of E6 film. Its a shame I use it all on my family snapshots but... maybe it's not... maybe it's as it should be. So anyway back to the topic....

I print some selected frames on A3+ size using P600 Epson on Canson paper. Experimented a bit with other brands and started to stick to this combo. Photorag paper makes you feel like you can reach into the print. Wonderful look, especially with saturated colors from slide.

On M6:

50 cron gives me the feeling - "thats how it should look"

35 cron (v. IV) was a big issue like, is my RF ok, is there something with my development....

Because of this lens I bought Asph 35 and was still a bit unhappy but pushed through.

But as it's getting more and more problematic to have any film above 100ISO, i jumped into M10. It was a dissapointment. In general all ok.... but files were almost exactly the same size as my scans and something was missing. Can't name it. There was no "wow" effect in the output at all. I returned it 1 day after purchase and by luck there was 10-R, also second hand.

M10-R has this kick. Still you have to protect the highlights, but I am used to because of slide film experience. So happy with the "almost new" R. Also the RF is precise as never before.

So now the lenses on 10-R

- 50 pre-asph works as always - superior picture (to me and my experience)

- 35 asph - very good all over. Small problem in the corners and edges when wide open but in general, very printable. Feels like this lens matches much better the sensor than the film.

So I had this idea that I will attach the 35 pre-asph to M6 and leave it there.

But started doing the tests on 10-R. It showed me the horror of what this lens is doing when not stopped down. Coma is the keyword here. 20% of frame is one big coma. But apparently that's how my copy works. Huge coma at f2, becoming more standard at F4., normal lens starts at F5.6.

Apparently also this guy noticed my observations KenR

So I will attach it again to 10-R; take a walk in the sunny day and see what happens. Or I will act on impulse and try to trade it in for some wide angle voigtlander or similar. Dont know yet.

[bdjackson]

I love this lens on my M10r and it is sharp in the centre wide open at close distances. Stopped down to f4 it is plenty sharp all over all distances. Keep testing and be sure it’s not that it needs a service. I think you would miss it eventually and end up buying another (I have been there). 

[bdjackson]

Oh and I agree about the M10r files,  it’s the first digital sensor (outside of the Hasselblad X1D) that I LOVE the files from. I haven’t been shooting nearly as much film since I bought it. I have owned M9, M240 & M10 previously. 

[shirubadanieru]

4 hours ago, bdjackson said:

Oh and I agree about the M10r files,  it’s the first digital sensor (outside of the Hasselblad X1D) that I LOVE the files from. I haven’t been shooting nearly as much film since I bought it. I have owned M9, M240 & M10 previously. 

Interesting, I never got to try the M10R, but the M11 is the first digital since the M9 that I like in terms of output. So far all other digitals never did it for me and I always go back to film to get results I'm happy with. 

[evikne]

When I shoot at longer distances (and especially with older lenses) I use to stop down a little, at least to f/4. There is little to be gained from using a large aperture for such images. I rather open up when the subject is closer and fills more of the frame.

[mechanic53]

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Lens seems to be ok. I will use it for film and have 2 lenses Dreamy/soft at 2 and 2.8; Normal sharp everywhere starting 4; Optimal at 8;

[lct]

50 minutes ago, mechanic53 said:

Lens seems to be ok. I will use it for film and have 2 lenses Dreamy/soft at 2 and 2.8

Then your 35/2 v4 is perhaps not that OK. Mine (i own two) are rather soft at corners and edges but decently sharp at the centre of the frame at f/2 and more so at f/2.8. Not as sharp as asph lenses but soft they are not. Here at f/2 on digital CL sans added sharpening in PP.

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[shirubadanieru]

Indeed..i have yet to see a soft cron in the center. All versions from v1 to V4 are very sharp in the center. V1/V2 glow in the center more than the rest, but they still remain sharp. V4 is sharper than those two and less glow, if any at all.

[Ray Vonn]

1 hour ago, shirubadanieru said:

Indeed..i have yet to see a soft cron in the center. All versions from v1 to V4 are very sharp in the center. V1/V2 glow in the center more than the rest, but they still remain sharp. V4 is sharper than those two and less glow, if any at all.

And V3?

[shirubadanieru]

56 minutes ago, Ray Vonn said:

And V3?

I never used V3, but the formula is the same as V2 with slightly improved corner performance and a bit of distortion, those two are the main differences apparently, there should be no changes in the center. 

[raizans]

Your test photos demonstrate the pre-ASPH's amount of field curvature. I think Puts raved about how the ASPH solved this problem.

[rramesh]

On 2/15/2022 at 2:18 AM, mechanic53 said:

My summicron 35 v4 is working weird. Areas which are out of focus look .... "abnormal". Very distorted. Almost like you would look through a periscope.

It all clear out almost completely at 4 and is fully gone at f8. Keeps very sharp image at f11. Good at 16. But the F2 it really strange. Photos are from M10-R.

Pictures:

• *022 - F2 - creepy areas in corners
• *023 - F2.8 - a bit better
• *080 - F2 again - looks.... weird
• *081 - probably around F4- F5.6

With photos like these, I kind of like the creepy areas in the corners. Shades of the 'Blair Witch Project'.

Edited February 23, 2022 by rramesh

[otto.f]

On 2/14/2022 at 7:34 PM, jaapv said:

Very hard to tell on these rather muddy images.  But if you are unhappy just have it checked out by a qualified technician.

I can't see it either with these subjects. But my experience with this lens is that the 2.0 can be dramatically improved with a CLA at Leica's even when the 2.4 was reasonable. Be prepared for long waiting lists though, at least in Wetzlar.