Vintage 50 Dilemma: 50 Rigid V2 vs 50 Lux V1 amber coating

[Succisa75]

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Hi everyone,

A bit of backstory:

I've owned a 50 rigid v2 for a couple years now. Fantastic lens and the glass is very clean. I’ve really enjoyed this lens but at times the 1 meter close focusing distance has been an issue   

I’ve been itching for a Lux for sometime as I primarily shoot film with my 50 Rigid, and the extra stop to aid in lower light situations might come in handy at times, plus I’ve always enjoyed how a 50 Lux render subjects.

I came across a mint 50 Lux v1 amber coating with hood. I’ve never tried an V1 and while the close focusing distance is 1 meter as well,  wanted to get some feedback if I should let go of the rigid for the Lux etc.

Thanks I’m advance! 

[sinjun]

You probably know this, but in case not, the version 1 50mm summilux had a different formulation from version 2 and is generally considered to be optically inferior.

[grahamc]

Hard to advise completely as I only have the v3 summilux , not v2.  Although they are the same optical formula I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they render slightly differently due to progressions in coatings etc.  

But my rigid is very different from my Lux. Rigid has more resolution and is sharper (in fact more than all of my 50 crons version 2 to 4).
 

The Lux is plenty sharp enough but more dreamy look of course.  If I picked one then in my case I’d have the Lux - as you mentioned I enjoy the extra stop on film.  Bare in mind the focus throw of the v3 is shorter , light and extremely quick.  To some this may be preferable to v2. 
 

Although the rigid is a fantastic lens of course I find them quite a different signature.  Something else to consider is the rigid with no coating flaws is very desirable lens so something you may not want to move on. 

Edited January 18, 2023 by grahamc

[shirubadanieru]

I’ve had both, will try to comment and provide my own experience. Might be lengthy ahah

First, I have 5 favorite Leica lenses after having tried them all:

• Summicron 35 V1
• Summicron 50 Rigid
• Summilux 50 V2 Chrome
• Summilux 35 Steel Rim
• Elmar 50mm f3.5

I only own the bottom three lens now, and got rid of the crons by the way. Reason being, from f2.8 their performance is very similar, if not the same. The Lux v2 50/35 are almost the same size / weight as the correspondent crons but offer an extra stop of light, and a much more dreamy look wide open, so it’s like having a very different rendering depending on the f stop you use (ie like having 2 lenses in 1), whereas the cron is better behaved, and feels more like an amazing lens, with a nice bokeh / rendering wide open, and quite sharp from f2.8 onwards. 

The summilux v1 VS the rigid though, I would stick with the rigid. The V1 is both larger/heavier than the V2 Lux, is quite soft wide open, but gets quite sharp from f4 onwards. I love it as well, and if you are looking for a very dreamy look wide open, the V1 is an even better option than the V2 Lux. The other benefit of the V1 VS the V2 is that it has zero distortion, whereas the V2 has some (although it has never reached a point where I noticed it or that it bothers me). The Lux (V1 or V2) also flare way less than any summicron, but lose to the summicron when it comes to handling. If you are not looking for a very dreamy look wide open, the V2 offers the perfect balance by being sharper yet dreamy, so I would recommend the V2 over the V1 if that is what you are looking for. The Summicron Rigid offers a much shorter focus throw (to me the ideal focus throw length out of all Leica lenses), and whereas the summicron works with full stops aperture only, the lux works with 1/2 stops (for some this may be good or bad, but I definitely prefer to have full stops as I never care about shooting at f2.4 or f1.8, etc…so it takes longer, and makes it harder to know by feel which F stop I am selecting without looking; with the cron I know by feel that if I move it 4 times to the right I go from F2 to F8..perfect and much faster for street photography). 

To be honest, either the cron set (35/50) or the lux set (35/50) are both amazing, and each has their own advantages, so it really goes down to which handling you prefer, if you want a very dreamy look wide open, etc. I also think the 1m disadvantage is worth it given that both the rigid and the lux v1/2 look so much better than all lenses that followed, and to my eyes, render much better as well. Lastly, in case it’s useful, the reason why I go with a set of either Lux or Cron is because I rather have all my lenses operate in the same way, so that I get used to them…that means that it makes it easier for me if all my lenses have half stop apertures, all go to 1m MFD, and behave similarly. 

Hope you find it useful, and you really can’t go wrong with either, the choice goes down to your kit lenses, and what you want to use your 50 for really. 

Edited January 19, 2023 by shirubadanieru

[Succisa75]

3 hours ago, sinjun said:

You probably know this, but in case not, the version 1 50mm summilux had a different formulation from version 2 and is generally considered to be optically inferior.

Yes I’ve heard this, but some lenses that have “inferior” optical designs also render quite beautifully. 

[Succisa75]

3 minutes ago, shirubadanieru said:

I’ve had both, will try to comment and provide my own experience. Might be lengthy ahah

First, I have 5 favorite Leica lenses after having tried them all:

• Summicron 35 V1
• Summicron 50 Rigid
• Summilux 50 V2 Chrome
• Summilux 35 Steel Rim
• Elmar 50mm f3.5

I only own the bottom three lens now, and got rid of the crons by the way. Reason being, from f2.8 their performance is very similar, if not the same. The Lux v2 50/35 are almost the same size / weight as the correspondent crons but often an extra stop of light, and a much more dreamy look wide open, so it’s like having a very different rendering depending on the f stop you use (ie like having 2 lenses in 1), whereas the cron is better behaved, and feels more like an amazing lens, with a nice bokeh / rendering wide open, and quite sharp from f2.8 onwards. 

The summilux v1 VS the rigid though, I would stick with the rigid. The V1 is both larger/heavier than the V2 Lux, is quite soft wide open, but gets quite sharp from f4 onwards. I love it as well, and if you are looking for a very dreamy look wide open, the V1 is an even better option than the V2 Lux. The other benefit of the V1 VS the V2 is that it has zero distortion, whereas the V2 has some (although it has never reached a point where I noticed it or that it bothers me). The Lux (V1 or V2) also flare way less than any summicron, but lose to the summicron when it comes to handling. If you are not looking for a very dreamy look wide open, the V2 offers the perfect balance by being sharper yet dreamy, so I would recommend the V2 over the V1 if that is what you are looking for. The Summicron Rigid offers a much shorter focus throw (to me the ideal focus throw length out of all Leica lenses), and whereas the summicron works with full stops aperture only, the lux works with 1/2 stops (for some this may be good or bad, but I definitely prefer to have full stops as I never care about shooting at f2.4 or f1.8, etc…so it takes longer, and makes it harder to know by feel which F stop I am selecting without looking; with the cron I know by feel that if I move it 4 times to the right I go from F2 to F8..perfect and much faster for street photography). 

To be honest, either the cron set (35/50) or the lux set (35/50) are both amazing, and each has their own advantages, so it really goes down to which handling you prefer, if you want a very dreamy look wide open, etc. I also think the 1m disadvantage is worth it given that both the rigid and the lux v1/2 look so much better than all lenses that followed, and to my eyes, render much better as well. Lastly, in case it’s useful, the reason why I go with a set of either Lux or Cron is because I rather have all my lenses operate in the same way, so that I get used to them…that means that it makes it easier for me if all my lenses have half stop apertures, all go to 1m MFD, and behave similarly. 

Hope you find it useful, and you really can’t go wrong with either, the choice goes down to your kit lenses, and what you want to use your 50 for really. 

Thank you for this! Really appreciate the insight. 
you do put valid points to both which is something I need to consider. I’ll have a chance to try the V1 soon to see how it performs and if it works for me. 
 

the rigid is a fantastic performing lens and it rivals even new lenses in terms of sharpness, quite impressive for its age. It’s a lens I enjoy quite a bit but that Lux desire sometimes creeps in  

Thanks once again 

[shirubadanieru]

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Just now, Succisa75 said:

Thank you for this! Really appreciate the insight. 
you do put valid points to both which is something I need to consider. I’ll have a chance to try the V1 soon to see how it performs and if it works for me. 
 

the rigid is a fantastic performing lens and it rivals even new lenses in terms of sharpness, quite impressive for its age. It’s a lens I enjoy quite a bit but that Lux desire sometimes creeps in  

Thanks once again 

Yeah, I understand (that’s why I tried them all ahah); my advice would be to try it without selling the rigid (as it’s always hard to find good copies), and in the end sell the one you like the least after using the new lens for about a month. It’s also much harder to find a clean V1 than a V2 lux, given they were made in much smaller numbers. You won’t end up losing any money (or almost any) and get to kill the lux urge ahah

The V1, while people say it’s inferior, I wouldn’t use the word inferior, just different rendering. Same as the Steel Rim is more glowy wide open VS the 35 lux pre-asph titanium for example, it’s not inferior / superior, just different, and some people prefer one over the other.  It’s a great lens, and looks especially beautiful in B&W. It’s somewhere between the Summarit f1.5 and Lux V2, being much closer to the V2 than to the Summarit f1.5. I went with the V2, because I do prefer its rendering, smaller size (very slight) and more importantly weight reduction as I hate carrying around heavy lenses. That being said, I took amazing pics with the V1 and loved using it. To me it’s also the most beautiful lens ever (body design wise), but the rigid is a very, very close 2nd. 

[Kwesi]

Keep the v2 Rigid and add the e43 lux ASPH. 

Even if it means waiting a while.
You will end up with two gorgeous superstar lenses that complement each other in look and feel but rendering wise the e43 lux ASPH picks up where the v2 rigid stops. 
 

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[grahamc]

Cool feedbacks here. Also sorry OP, I misread your post and thought you were talking about rigid versus v2 🙄

[Succisa75]

Thanks everyone for your help. 
 

had a chance to see the lens and test it today. The rendering is more like a painting. It’s sharp enough for most usage at f1.4 vs the ASPH that is significantly sharper but the V1 has a bokeh that is really special. How it takes the light and creates a beautiful image from it is really something. 
 

The Rigid is also great and very versatile but this Lux has me thinking. I would love to own both, but financially right now that could pose a challenge so will need to see. 
 

decisions decisions  

[Aryel]

The rigid is the perfect all around lens for me as well. It is the 50 I take most often when traveling… I love its rendering and the ergonomics. Personally, I wouldn’t exchange it for a summilux but we are all different. I think the main questions for you are: 

How often do you need f1.4? When you need f1.4, do you always want it dreamy? Is it worth the extra weight? Do you like the ergonomics ?

If financially you can cope with owning the two for a month or two then this could be the best way. Test it yourself and sell back one of the two…

[Succisa75]

On 1/20/2023 at 11:02 PM, Aryel said:

The rigid is the perfect all around lens for me as well. It is the 50 I take most often when traveling… I love its rendering and the ergonomics. Personally, I wouldn’t exchange it for a summilux but we are all different. I think the main questions for you are: 

How often do you need f1.4? When you need f1.4, do you always want it dreamy? Is it worth the extra weight? Do you like the ergonomics ?

If financially you can cope with owning the two for a month or two then this could be the best way. Test it yourself and sell back one of the two…

Thanks Aryel 

After looking at some sample images and reading the opinion of others, I passed on the Lux for now. The rigid I have is in really good condition and the glass is extremely clean which is rare. On top of that the rendering wasn’t that big of a difference for me to warrant the purchase at this time. 
 

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations and advice, much appreciated