Matching image look with various 35, 50 & 90mm Leica lenses

[F456]

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I have various 35, 50 & 90mm Leica lenses: some Mandler-era, some from the start of the 46mm filter size period i.e. from the pre-M8 decade and very early digital years.

I am interested to read your view on which match up most closely as in a 'certain look' to the image rendering, so here goes:

35mm v4 Summicron 11310, 50mm v4 Summicron 11819 (pre-1994; tab and detachable hood),  50mm v4  Summicron 11826 (post-1994; sliding hood, untabbed & aka 'v5' but not by the factory), 50mm f/2.8 Elmar collapsible modern version 11823/4, 90mm Summicron 11136 and 90mm Elmarit 11807.

Closest consistency / best matches for image look in various noticeable ways? This was prompted by reading on this forum that the image quality of the Summicron 50mm outdoes the 35mm in certain aspects, in  which case you may recommend some mixing and matching between the above and the aspherics below...

35mm Summicron ASPH 11879, 35mm Summilux ASPH 11874, 50mm Summilux ASPH 11891.

Please feel free to match up as many as you can, or point out differences in your experience between various of the above-mentioned.

I am particularly interested in getting a close match for all three focal lengths, and also to know whether maybe the 35/2 ASPH 11879 is a better pairing with 50/1.4 ASPH 11891 than the 35/1.4 ASPH 11874 would be. And I'm intrigued to hear what you think is the strongest match for the long-running v4 50mm Summicrons 11819 & 11826.

(I have given the order numbers in every case because I sense that version numbering is sometimes a cause of misunderstanding esp. with the 50mm Summicrons.)

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2024 by F456
edited for minor errors

[F456]

5 minutes ago, Al Brown said:

Crazy idea: put them on your camera and test yourself? It is super fun, I promise.

I know it is crazy... Don't worry, I have shot them many times (most of them anyway) but am interested to get feedback; I am sure there are many things I miss in my own shooting!  But yes, actual picture taking is the best thing, Currently enjoying the 35-50-90 trilogy of Summicrons on b&w film but can't wait to use my newly acquired 24/3.8 — on SLRs that was a favourite length for me.  All the best to you.

Edited October 6, 2024 by F456

[Sebastian S]

this probably won't help you, but maybe others - i craved for the very certain look of the old masters HCB, Louis Faurer and many others from the golden era of street photography and combined the 35mm preAsph with the summicron 50mm Dual Range and sometimes crying tears of joy over the results 😁 
oddly accompanied on the outer ends by moderner but still not clinical perfect rendering lenses, the elmarit-m 90mm and a voigtländer color skopar 25mm which is a stunning lens for its price. all on film cams only, i should add. 

Edited October 6, 2024 by Sebastian S

[lct]

1 hour ago, F456 said:

35mm v4 Summicron 11310, 50mm v4 Summicron 11819 (pre-1994; tab and detachable hood),  50mm v4  Summicron 11826 (post-1994; sliding hood, untabbed & aka 'v5' but not by the factory), 50mm f/2.8 Elmar collapsible modern version 11823/4, 90mm Summicron 11136 and 90mm Elmarit 11807.

Been my kit for 20+ years, bar the Summicron 11136 that has too much color fringing to my taste, excellent portrait lens though.

[F456]

Sebastian S, I am on your wavelength there, having used that traditional spherical Summilux 35mm for years and finding no fault with it, even enjoying its large aperture effect.  All my Leica shooting like yours is on film though I was happy with the short spell I had with an M8 fifteen years ago (apart from the noisy R-series shutter).

The Elmarit 90 is very fine and though I don't have the Color-Skopar I am a great fan of the 24/25 which I think is extremely versatile.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2024 by F456

[Jean-Michel]

All you need to do is:

Get a large standard colour chart, or a few different ones.

Photograph each chart with every lens you have, at every aperture. Filling the frame with the chart.

 

Do not forget to label each and every shot.

Print every image shot

View different pairs of prints in a proper viewing booth

Make copious notes of the differences, if any

Keep at it

Keep at it, you are not finished

Ignore the call for dinner

Despair to find any meaningful differences

Despair

Drown in despair

Post a plea on the Leica users forum for help

Find no satisfactory answers

Despair

Look back at your test images

Get a scathingly bright idea

Write up the idea and send proposals to national public galleries

Accept the invitation from a famous gallery

Exhibit your work

Title the exhibition: Futility

 

Next: pictures of cats made with different Leica lenses

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2024 by Jean-Michel

[lct]

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Even more simply, take a Leica catalog from the eighties and pickup the lenses you will find there.

[F456]

43 minutes ago, Jean-Michel said:

All you need to do is:

Get a large standard colour chart, or a few different ones.

Photograph each chart with every lens you have, at every aperture. Filling the frame with the chart.

 

Do not forget to label each and every shot.

Print every image shot

View different pairs of prints in a proper viewing booth

Make copious notes of the differences, if any

Keep at it

Keep at it, you are not finished

Ignore the call for dinner

Despair to find any meaningful differences

Despair

Drown in despair

Post a plea on the Leica users forum for help

Find no satisfactory answers

Despair

Look back at your test images

Get a scathingly bright idea

Write up the idea and send proposals to national public galleries

Accept the invitation from a famous gallery

Exhibit your work

Title the exhibition: Futility

 

Next: pictures of cats made with different Leica lenses

 

 

 

 

 

I could never ignore the call for dinner...

[F456]

2 minutes ago, Quarterpounder said:

Whatever you do: never use the camera and lenses as originally intended. Keep on playing test lab, its more rewarding.

Ha ha — I hate testing, which is why I ask on here! All the lenses are great. I really don't need all but at least I do use them though some more than others.

I don't get on well if I have more than two with me on a photo outing / walk / street task as it's too much choice. Usually I take a 35 with 90 or just the 50.  I used to find the 35 easiest to work with but on ageing and looking at what I've taken my best shots are 50 and 90. So I'm keeping my M3! 

[hansvons]

You are probably immersing yourself too much in something unimportant for still photography (filmmaking is another story; that's why matching prime sets exist). However, I find the 35mm Summicron ASPH V1 and the 50mm Summicron V4 and V5 a good match: similar flaring, similar colour rendering, similar contrast and sharpness, but different FOV.

 

 

 

 

[frame-it]

3 hours ago, F456 said:

I have various 35, 50 & 90mm Leica lenses: some Mandler-era, some from the start of the 46mm filter size period i.e. from the pre-M8 decade and very early digital years.

I am interested to read your view on which match up most closely as in a 'certain look' to the image rendering, so here goes:

35mm v4 Summicron 11310, 50mm v4 Summicron 11819 (pre-1994; tab and detachable hood),  50mm v4  Summicron 11826 (post-1994; sliding hood, untabbed & aka 'v5' but not by the factory), 50mm f/2.8 Elmar collapsible modern version 11823/4, 90mm Summicron 11136 and 90mm Elmarit 11807.

Closest consistency / best matches for image look in various noticeable ways? This was prompted by reading on this forum that the image quality of the Summicron 50mm outdoes the 35mm in certain aspects, in  which case you may recommend some mixing and matching between the above and the aspherics below...

35mm Summicron ASPH 11879, 35mm Summilux ASPH 11874, 50mm Summilux ASPH 11891.

Please feel free to match up as many as you can, or point out differences in your experience between various of the above-mentioned.

I am particularly interested in getting a close match for all three focal lengths, and also to know whether maybe the 35/2 ASPH 11879 is a better pairing with 50/1.4 ASPH 11891 than the 35/1.4 ASPH 11874 would be. And I'm intrigued to hear what you think is the strongest match for the long-running v4 50mm Summicrons 11819 & 11826.

(I have given the order numbers in every case because I sense that version numbering is sometimes a cause of misunderstanding esp. with the 50mm Summicrons.)

 

 

 

A Close match for the look in the rendering?

just keep all the lenses at f8 and infinity or f11 and 10ft

 

[spydrxx]

I couldn't and wouldn't even try to accommodate such a request. I am familiar with my lenses capabilities and faults and use them accordingly. Enough said!

[F456]

7 hours ago, hansvons said:

You are probably immersing yourself too much in something unimportant for still photography (filmmaking is another story; that's why matching prime sets exist). However, I find the 35mm Summicron ASPH V1 and the 50mm Summicron V4 and V5 a good match: similar flaring, similar colour rendering, similar contrast and sharpness, but different FOV.

 

 

 

 

A good first point about film-making and still photography that I hadn't begun to think of. Thank you.

Also an interesting observation you make about the 35/2 ASPH v1 and 50/2 vv4-5: it makes sense as Leica saw fit to upgrade the 35 formula from the last spherical Summicron but didn't do the same for the 50, as though they were trying to bring the 35 closer to the 50 in its performance.

Anyway I think that deals well and very simply with my far too long and involved original post!  In practice I am actually not fussed but am just curious to learn how other Leica users see the qualities of their lenses.

[F456]

5 hours ago, spydrxx said:

I couldn't and wouldn't even try to accommodate such a request. I am familiar with my lenses capabilities and faults and use them accordingly. Enough said!

Quite so! It was really just a theoretical and in hindsight an over-complicated request out of curiosity for others' findings; in practice I am happy with all the lenses. I don't need all of them but like to have a little collection from the years I was shooting before digital came in. I still use them all, entirely with film bodies and Ilford or Kodak Portra film, and use something else for digital.

[F456]

26 minutes ago, Quarterpounder said:

There are still dramatic differences in definition, sharpness, contrast, image quality, rendering, colour spectrum and glitterpony-ing.

There's a new word to me: glitterpony-ing. Does it mean showing off?! I'm going to keep that word handy 🙂