Which 50... Summicron or Summilux

[a.noctilux]

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As side note to the OP, if you are happy with your now Summicron 35mm, just go with another Summicron 50, while waiting (like many of us)

for Summicron 90 or 75.

Side note 2, Summicron 75 (Apo ! ) would be my second lens choice if already I'm happy with 35mm.

Well the very nice (non apo) Summarit-M (again !) 2.4 or 2.5/75mm can do for very good 75mm, ...my 75mm favorite combo with 35/50 aponymes (homonymes)..

Edited May 18, 2023 by a.noctilux

[a.noctilux]

28 minutes ago, a.noctilux said:

my 75mm favorite combo with 35/50 aponymes (homonymes).

Sorry "same naming" Summarit-M 😜...

[lct]

Different aperture + different size + different weight + different IQ = different lenses. Only you can know if you need f/1.4 and if you prefer Mandler or Karbe lenses. For landscapes, i favor the acutance of the Summicron apo (middle) or the Summilux asph v1 (right) personally but for portraits, i like more the gentleness of the Summicron non-apo (left).

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[Lelmer]

7 hours ago, lct said:

Different aperture + different size + different weight + different IQ = different lenses. Only you can know if you need f/1.4 and if you prefer Mandler or Karbe lenses. For landscapes, i favor the acutance of the Summicron apo (middle) or the Summilux asph v1 (right) personally but for portraits, i like more the gentleness of the Summicron non-apo (left).

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In other words, at the end of the day, we need them all 😊

[Olaf_ZG]

1 hour ago, Lelmer said:

In other words, at the end of the day, we need them all 😊

I am afraid so. 50mm is my thing, have a sonnar, a lux and thinking I still need the planar as well.

 I am lucky to enjoy Zeiss a lot, cause Leica I would not be able to afford in such extend.

[jakontil]

6 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said:

I am afraid so. 50mm is my thing, have a sonnar, a lux and thinking I still need the planar as well.

 I am lucky to enjoy Zeiss a lot, cause Leica I would not be able to afford in such extend.

And dont leave out the noctilux too olaf 

[Almizilero]

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I guess I got the Leica crazies as well now ... After being happy with the 50 Summicron V5 for a while and adding the Light Lens Lab Speed Panchro for fun, I recently found a Summilux (pre ASPH) for a decent price and just got it (I was on a holiday trip and in a good mood) with the idea of selling the Cron or the Lux after I found out which I like better ...

Well, that's harder than I thought. Weight/size doesn't really matter here, the differences don't matter to me. It mostly comes down to image quality (and price a bit, it's crazy that the 50 year old Lux is worth more than the much newer Cron. Wild.)

IQ wise, the Cron is the reasonable choice. it's bang sharp over the whole frame from wide open and beats the Lux in this regard up to at least F/4. The Lux is sharp in the center, but the corners stay soft quite long. But ... the Lux has even more magic than the Cron. The Cron delivers good (great) results all the time, but it's a bit boring. It's a solid performer, always sharp, great, natural colours, with a good amount of 3d-pop wide open. But yeah, a bit boring.
When things are just right for the Lux, it delivers images that just amaze. It can be absolute magic wide open. Not always, but when it is, it blows everything else out of the water. If that doesn't happen, it is still good, but less sharp towards the corners and with a bit on the warm side regarding the colours.

So yeah, I might take some time to decide between the two. On the one hand, it's so strange how expensive the old Lux still is and I'm a bit hesitant because of the age. On the other hand, I love it for the exact same reason. It's amazing how good this older than me lens still works and it feels like shooting with a piece of Leica legacy. Something that I don't get with the Cron. So yeah, it will be a choice between a solid performer in all regards and a kinda flawed (as far as a Leica lens can be “flawed”) but lovely piece. I've already done a side by side comparison with the same shots from both lenses and they're just different, both have their pros and cons. I can't keep both, but this might take some time ...

[a.noctilux]

5 hours ago, Almizilero said:

...I can't keep both, but this might take some time ...

While having the two, enjoy.

When you are ready to sell one, flip a coin.

[Antonio Russell]

In my experience there is no significant difference between the two past f4. The rest is just marketing.

[spydrxx]

So which did the OP settle on?

[bourne]

I appreciate all of the feedback. Sounds like there is no wrong answer. It is all a question of what I am looking for in a lens etc. I need to see how both feel from a size and weight standpoint. I also plan to rent them and see how my images look. 
 

any additional perspectives are welcomed!

[Knipsknecht]

Although I own a 50 Lux, I have to admit that I rarely use it. The reason is, most of the time I go out shooting I tend to grab a 35mm or 28mm lens because I mostly use the zone focusing method for fast shooting. 
Another reason is, that I own a 50mm f2.4 Summarit, too. It is much smaller and lightweight compared to the Lux but the rendering is very similar. Most of the time I only use the Lux on my analog cameras (M6 and M7) when I go out at night.
Given this, my recommendation would be: Ask yourself how often you would use the f1.4 of the Summilux. Personally I think if you don’t use f1.4 at least for 50% of your photos it makes much more sense to buy a lens with less light intensity.

Another option could be a Voigtlander 50mm Nokton VM II in either single-coated or multi-coated version.

https://www.voigtlaender.de/lenses/vm/50-mm-11-5-nokton-vintage-line-aspharical/?lang=en

With the single-coated version you could get some more “vintage” look while with the multi-coated version it would be a more neutral, modern rendering. If I wouldn’t already own the 50 Lux and the Summarit, I would probably buy this one.

[lct]

47 minutes ago, Knipsknecht said:

Another option could be a Voigtlander 50mm Nokton VM II in either single-coated or multi-coated version.

+1 let alone that the Nokton 50/1.5 is shorter than any Summilux 50 and even Summicron 50 IINW. 

[jrp]

https://phillipreeve.net/blog/review-leica-50mm-1-4-summilux-m-asph/#more-39953

[Kiwimac]

I’ve got the not quite most recent version of the Lux. 
 

I have an inbuilt bias to fast lenses because I grew up shooting film. It still colours my thinking. 
 

However I’m increasingly of the opinion that the APO Crons are better choices nowadays. 

[otto.f]

On 5/17/2023 at 1:11 AM, bourne said:

Willl I find the Lux heavy compared to my summicron?

You will always do with any Summilux, that's why I chose my Summiluxes very meticulously. I only have Summilux 75 at the moment. That is because I do not find a 50 very important, which I discovered when I had the Summilux 50. I stepped over to the Elmar-50 M which I use when I can't make it with either the 35 or the 75, but it is a special lens in itself too. If you really doubt about being a 50 photographer, the Elmar 50 has a very good price/quality relation to find it out.

Edited June 13, 2023 by otto.f

[Almizilero]

I played around with the Cron V5 and the Lux pre-ASPH (V2) a little more. Both are great choices and have their specific pros and cons. Size and weight don't matter that much with these two itterations, so it's mostly the images.

Summicron 50/2 V5:
Pros: Very clean looking images, sharp all over the frame from F/2. Very natural colours. Great 3D-Pop at widest aperture.
Cons: All of the above amounts to little character. Images look always great, but never WOW.

Summilux 50/1.4 pre ASPH V2:
Pros: Wide open, this is the full Leica Magic. Sharp in the center, dreamy towards the edges. Colours a bit warm, great portrait lens.
Cons: the soft edges remain quite long, need to stop down to 5.6 for overall sharpness. Min. focus distance of 1m, that 30cm are A LOT when shooting portraits.

Looking at this, everything speaks for the Cron, which would be the rational decision. But for some reason, the heart is drawn towards the Lux. And since the M-is my “fun” camera and I have a great SL-System for the “real tasks“, I tend towards listening to the heart at the moment. Or I'll just put them both on Ebay and loose the one that is sold first 🤣

[evikne]

10 minutes ago, Almizilero said:

Min. focus distance of 1m, that 30cm are A LOT when shooting portraits.

FYI, the v3 / E46 has 0.7m min. focus distance.

[lct]

50 minutes ago, Almizilero said:

Summicron 50/2 V5:
Pros: Very clean looking images, sharp all over the frame from F/2

Not to contradict you but my 50/2 v5 has rather soft corners at f/2 TBH. Same for 50/2 v4 or 50/1.4 v2 or v3 there. Better pick a 50/2 apo or a 50/1.4 asph for sharper results at corners below f/2.8.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Almizilero]

vor 59 Minuten schrieb evikne:

FYI, the v3 / E46 has 0.7m min. focus distance.

I know. I also like that it has a build in hood, but the price difference is quite high, so I'm not sure if that's worth it (to me). I'm looking at an extra €4-500 with private sellers and around 800 from second hand dealers (which I'd much prefer given the age of the lens).
I'll take them both to a portrait shoot on friday. Then I'll know better if I keep hitting that distance limit with the Lux or if it's not much of a real world problem

vor 17 Minuten schrieb lct:

Not to contradict you but my 50/2 v5 has rather soft corners at f/2 TBH. Same for 50/2 v4 or 50/1.4 v2 or v3 there. Better pick a 50/2 apo or a 50/1.4 asph for sharper results at corners below f/2.8.

I'm quite happy with mine. Maybe not perfect, but a long shot from the Lux V2. The APO and ASPH are out of reach financially. And from what I could see from the few online comparisons I could find, I like the look of the old Lux better than that of the ASPH.