6 x 50mm pixel peeping

[kaspart]

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I did a direct comparison shot with the following 50mm Leica-M lenses:

Summarit 2.5, DR Summicron, Summicron vers. V, APO-Summicron, Summilux V3, Summilux ASPH.

All shot at aperture f2 (Summarit at 2.5), focus on infinity, lens hood, M10-P, jpg out of camera.

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Here’s the whole picture:

[kaspart]

All crop’s are 200% out of Capture One.

Top row left to right: Summarit, DR, V5

Bottom row left to right: APO, Lux V3, Lux ASPH

Center of the frame:

 

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[kaspart]

left midfield:

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[kaspart]

bottom right corner:

 

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[kaspart]

The learnings are not really surprising:

• The APO is a league of its own
• Center: All lenses are very sharp. The sharpest after the APO ist the DR, the weakest by a tiny margin is the V5.
• Midfield: The Summarit is almost as good as the APO. The ASPH and the V5 are quite a bit softer and the DR and Lux V3 are already blurry.
• Corner: The APO is equally sharp in the corners with some vignetting. Second is the ASPH followed by the Summarit (which has as little vignetting as both Lux), then V5, Lux V3 and weakest is the DR.

I suspect that the differences in the pictures shown in forum resolution are not as significant as on my screen.

[evikne]

Thank you very much! I have been looking for such a comparison for a long time!

It's also very nice to see a picture of all lenses lined up for a size comparison.

[Guest]

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7 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Bottom line: for (about) half a stop sacrifice and mucho dinero savings you can pretty reassuringly bypass the APO and get the summarit, which is 80-85% there.
 

I am not seeing Summarit as close to the APO particularly in the midfield crop. Also APO would gain even more when stopped down to equivalent aperture (e.g. try both at 2.8 ...).

IMHO this is a good example of 'one lens to rule them all' - for the purpose of landscape, product, or architecture photography.

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Thank you a difficult comparison. A couple of observations.

1) The scene really doesn't call for f2 (f2.5) looks like and f5.6, f8 scene. My predjudice to use f2 or f2.5 to isolate close subject and blur the background. 

2) I have heard the DR doesn't play nicely with digital Ms, is this just when using near setting? You have obviously gotten some good results.

I would think comparisons at f2.8 as suggested and f5.6 would be very worth while. I do come from a time where you never used the widest aperture, that is obviously changed.

Edited December 2, 2022 by tommonego@gmail.com

[Jeff S]

39 minutes ago, kaspart said:

 

• The APO is a league of its own

But it sucks at f/1.4. 😉

After using both and making prints, the 50 Summilux ASPH remains my choice, even ergonomically and handling-wise, compared to the APO, and not just due to its faster speed, which I seldom use. There are more rendering characteristics than resolution or ‘sharpness,’ even when stopped down a bit from respective max aperture.  

Jeff

[wizard]

vor 45 Minuten schrieb kaspart:

The APO is a league of its own

Well, going by your results, the Summarit is very, very close, so I would not speak of "a league of its own".

 

vor 47 Minuten schrieb kaspart:

Center: All lenses are very sharp. The sharpest after the APO ist the DR, the weakest by a tiny margin is the V5.

Upon close inspection of your results, I do not quite concur. The sharpest after the APO is the Summarit (look at very tiny details, which the Summarit rendes clearly whereas the DR gets a little fuzzy).

What really strikes me is that both the V5 and the Lux Asph are visibly worse (in the center!) than both the Summarit and the DR. Those two lenses (the V5 and the Lux Asph) according to your results actually get better towards the edges, which in my view should ring a bell. It seems to me that both your V5 and your Lux Asph are not adjusted perfectly, otherwise those results cannot be explained.

Your Summarit is a real gem though. Let me know if you would like to sell it 🙂.

[kaspart]

vor 34 Minuten schrieb tommonego@gmail.com:

Thank you a difficult comparison. A couple of observations.

1) The scene really doesn't call for f2 (f2.5) looks like and f5.6, f8 scene. My predjudice to use f2 or f2.5 to isolate close subject and blur the background. 

2) I have heard the DR doesn't play nicely with digital Ms, is this just when using near setting? You have obviously gotten some good results.

I would think comparisons at f2.8 as suggested and f5.6 would be very worth while. I do come from a time where you never used the widest aperture, that is obviously changed.

For a scene like this I would typically use my iPhone... The shot was only made to look for differences in the lenses. As Al mentioned they are best visible at f2

That's how it looks with f5.6:

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To use the DR on my M10-P I had to file the lens helicoid a tiny bit. The instruction I did find somewhere in this forum. Now I can use it on all distances without limitation. 

[lct]

59 minutes ago, kaspart said:

Midfield: The Summarit is almost as good as the APO [...]

At different apertures though... f/2.5 is not f/2... 

[kaspart]

vor 17 Minuten schrieb wizard:

Well, going by your results, the Summarit is very, very close, so I would not speak of "a league of its own".

 

Upon close inspection of your results, I do not quite concur. The sharpest after the APO is the Summarit (look at very tiny details, which the Summarit rendes clearly whereas the DR gets a little fuzzy).

What really strikes me is that both the V5 and the Lux Asph are visibly worse (in the center!) than both the Summarit and the DR. Those two lenses (the V5 and the Lux Asph) according to your results actually get better towards the edges, which in my view should ring a bell. It seems to me that both your V5 and your Lux Asph are not adjusted perfectly, otherwise those results cannot be explained.

Your Summarit is a real gem though. Let me know if you would like to sell it 🙂.

If you look at the MTF charts at f2 the DR/Rigid is better in the center than the V4/5 so I don't think there's a problem with the adjustment. Older lenses were typically very sharp in the center and softer towards the edges while newer lenses are more balanced through the whole picture if I'm not mistaken. 

[evikne]

2 minutes ago, kaspart said:

For a scene like this I would typically use my iPhone... The shot was only made to look for differences in the lenses. As Al mentioned they are best visible at f2

Agree. But I would also love to see a comparison at f/2 of a subject in the foreground (AKA a portrait), to show the rendering of the subject, the transition from sharp to unsharp, and differences in bokeh. 🙏

[kaspart]

vor 8 Minuten schrieb evikne:

Agree. But I would also love to see a comparison at f/2 of a subject in the foreground (AKA a portrait), to show the rendering of the subject, the transition from sharp to unsharp, and differences in bokeh. 🙏

no portrait unfortunately but some background blur:

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[evikne]

I have always had the impression that the Cron v5 was more "crisp" in the center at f/2 than the Lux v3. After seeing these comparisons I'm not so sure anymore, even though I think it would be easier (at least to me) to see the difference in some portraits.

Anyway, I am still very satisfied with my Lux v3, and the grass is probably not greener on the other side.