Leica Summicron 35mm ASPH V1 VS CV Ultron f2

[DAERASO]

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Hello,

Just got my first Leica lens, my dream lens, the Summicron 35mm, it is the ASPH v1, looking at photos and comparing it to my CV Ultron F2, it is much softer and has a bit of a glow at F2, I am really surprised. Corners are def much better on the Cron than the corners of the Ultron but centered sharpness is softer. Anybody else has a similar experiencer? Could it be the Cron needs some CLA? Feels, perfect and smooth but I don't know maybe it needs calibration? It's a 420 serial so I know it can't be more than 10 years old, maybe the Ultron is that good in center?

 

I am not a pixel peeper in fact I add tons of grain in my photos but I feel let down in a way, perhaps underwhelmed, for ages I been hearing about leicas optics and the results don't seem to be matching the praise. Or I'm just not giving the ultron enough credit.

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[Tom Johnston]

I have the v.1 also. It has always been an excellent performer, producing results I am always amazed by. I've used it on a number of bodies: M6, M7, M8, M9, and now it is almost always on my M10. I've never noticed any softness. I'm attaching an example, albeit not wide open, but most likely at f/5.6

A lens I hope to never part with.

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Edited January 26, 2023 by Tom Johnston

[Danner]

Been a number of years since I owned the V1 ASPH, but I do remember some projected Velvia 50 slides where the whispy sideburn-like hairs on my daughter's 4-year old cheeks were sharply resolved.  I always thought of it as "razor sharp" all across the field.  Of course, this was all film, back in the day.

[Huss]

Check that your focus is accurate.  You may think it is, but a tiny bit of mis focus may make a lens seem less sharp before you realize that it is not properly focused.

You could use a long ruler or tape measure as a target.

I had a Summicron Asph 35v1 that I thought was softer than my other 35s wide open.  Until I noticed that this lens slightly back focused wide open and once focus was corrected, it was just as sharp.

Edited January 26, 2023 by Huss

[Huss]

wrong lens..

Edited January 26, 2023 by Huss

[DAERASO]

27 minutes ago, Huss said:

Check that your focus is accurate.  You may think it is, but a tiny bit of mis focus may make a lens seem less sharp before you realize that it is not properly focused.

You could use a long ruler or tape measure as a target.

I had a Summicron Asph 35v1 that I thought was softer than my other 35s wide open.  Until I noticed that this lens slightly back focused wide open and once focus was corrected, it was just as sharp.

Yeah I was thinking the same even emailed Don at DAG just to see what the turnaround time and cost for optical adjustment is at the moment just in case that is it. Going to test it tonight with the measuring tape. 

[DAERASO]

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5 hours ago, Huss said:

Check that your focus is accurate.  You may think it is, but a tiny bit of mis focus may make a lens seem less sharp before you realize that it is not properly focused.

You could use a long ruler or tape measure as a target.

I had a Summicron Asph 35v1 that I thought was softer than my other 35s wide open.  Until I noticed that this lens slightly back focused wide open and once focus was corrected, it was just as sharp.

So it seems like it might be the lens after all. 

 

Focused at 3m and it's backfocued well past 10cm difference.

 

https://imgur.com/a/bpJuhf2

 

[eyeheartny]

48 minutes ago, DAERASO said:

So it seems like it might be the lens after all. 

 

Focused at 3m and it's backfocued well past 10cm difference.

 

https://imgur.com/a/bpJuhf2

 

Does your Ultron focus accurately with the same setup? And did you use the self timer to eliminate camera shake? 

Edited January 27, 2023 by eyeheartny

[DAERASO]

6 minutes ago, eyeheartny said:

Does your Ultron focus accurately with the same setup? And did you use the self timer to eliminate camera shake? 

Yeah it does, it's a brand new body and do not have any issues with the ultron or the color skkoppar. I did do timer as well but camera shake will affect up and down in most scenarios like this anyways there is things in focused just not at the right distance.

[lct]

Is your Summicron native 6-bit coded? If not, it could be a lens designed for film so you may wish to have it calibrated for digital.

[lct]

Once properly calibrated, the Summicron 35/2 asph v1 has less vignetting and a smoother OoF rendition than the Ultron 35/2 asph but the latter is a great little lens indeed especially on crop bodies like digital CL where vignetting is not an issue. I prefer the Ultron’s smaller size on the CL too, less so on M cameras, but it is a subjective matter. The Ultron’s 0.58m MFD is also an advantage on both FF and crop cameras. BTW the Ultron shows a bit of barrel distortion as opposed to the pincushion distortion of the Summicron. Both distortion levels are moderate but i prefer applying the profile of the Summicron 35/2 pre-asph (000110) to the Ultron for this reason. FWIW.

[Huss]

14 hours ago, DAERASO said:

So it seems like it might be the lens after all. 

 

Focused at 3m and it's backfocued well past 10cm difference.

 

https://imgur.com/a/bpJuhf2

 

There you go.  Mine wasn't that bad, and I only checked it out because I was impressed by how much sharper my 35mm Distagon was.  Then I noticed that was because my Summicron 35 Asph was missing focus.

Get it fixed, be happy.

[DAERASO]

6 hours ago, Elmarit said:

Probably needs to be calibrated. Once it is and it is focusing perfectly, then you’ll find the Ultron is just as good as the Summicron at a fraction of the price.

You are not lying! I decided to return the cron to it's seller since it was not mentioned it was so aggresively back focused and I wasn't about to spend the much money on a lens to have to ship it to get CLA for weeks, Don at DAG said 3 weeks, let alone Leica. No thanks. Instead decided to try out the new CV Norton 1.5 type 1 save some weight and $

[DAERASO]

5 hours ago, Elmarit said:

If you are into 28mm the Ultron II is basically the best 28mm M-mount lens you can get. There’s no real benefit spending more on a Leica 28, except the Summilux but that’s very expensive, big and heavy. 

The one focal length Leica has Voigtländer beat is 50mm. The summicron still reigns supreme (and fhe Summilux too). But 35 and 28 I would just get the Voigtländer versions. 

Leica 35 Summilux this can be an exception (unless you want an imperfect 35f1.4 more vintage rendering in which case, just get the Voigtländer). 

The 35f1.4 Classic is lovely 

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I owned the MC version before the ultron, def all of character. The new matte black Norton 1.5 arrives Monday, going to give that a try if not I'll apply stick to my ultron.