The Leica 50mm Summilux Pre Asph - Review by Milan Swolfs

[Milan_S]

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22 minutes ago, hkgmatt said:

Thank you for this wonderful review with poetic and intimate portraits, a beautiful illustration of what the lens is capable of.

It would be exactly the lens I was looking for, but the review (and announcement) came a week too late - last week I pulled the trigger on a Summilux pre-ASPH V3 and a Noctilux f/1. 

Thank you. Congratulations on these wonderful lenses! The F1 is also one of my all time favorite lenses, but it's bigger and more heavy of course. I would say my preference would be Pre-ASPH for color and F1 more for Monochrom. 

[goldenbear]

4 hours ago, hkgmatt said:

Thank you for this wonderful review with poetic and intimate portraits, a beautiful illustration of what the lens is capable of.

It would be exactly the lens I was looking for, but the review (and announcement) came a week too late - last week I pulled the trigger on a Summilux pre-ASPH V3 and a Noctilux f/1. 

Congrats on both, especially the f/1. I’ve been searching far and wide for one, but haven’t come across any as yet. 

[Loplop]

Absolutely lovely images here, @Milan_S  

I owned the 50 lux v2 for a number of years, and always loved its character. At the time I was almost exclusively a black and white shooter, and I can’t even recall shooting color with the lens. Looks like I missed out. I may have to address that, even though I already own a “character 50” (50/1.0 v1) and an all-around 50 (asph II). This would be a lovely pair with the steel rim, which I also have and love. 

[Danner]

I've enjoyed my Version 2 Summilux, and now this new Pre-Asph version is a very tempting upgrade.

[fabior]

Congratulations Milan for the wonderful review. I have the new Noctilux F1.2 and the Summilux v2. Could you tell me something more about the differences and the different interpretations that you have perceived between the two lenses.  What is your choice . Sometimes I think that the Noctilux f1.2 has too little definition at full aperture but then it is the lens that I mount most often on the M10R BP. (even though I also have the Noctilux F1 E58 and F 0.95)

[brickftl]

thanks very much!

QUESTION:

I've got the Summicron 50/2 rigid. I love its rendering - wide open it's more than acceptably sharp with a nice fall off from the center. It would be perfect for me if it weren't for its 1M min focus distance. I'm debating selling the 50/2 rigid and getting the new 50/1.4 reissue just for its .5M min focus distance (when using live view) or .7M focus distance when using rangefinder. The reissue is about 100g heavier, and I could live with that. So I'm wondering how the rendering of the reissue when shot wide open at 1.4 compares to the rigid shot wide open at 2.

[pedaes]

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26 minutes ago, brickftl said:

.5M min

Not sure about this - the lens will not go beyond .7 stop. Why do you think 0.5m?

The weighting if the aperture stops is the best for any Leica lens I have bought, including 50 APO.

Edited February 25 by pedaes

[brickftl]

1 minute ago, pedaes said:

Actually 0.7m. I have just received mine and it is a thing of beauty. The weighting if the aperture stops is the best for any Leica lens I have bought, including 50 APO.

I've been looking for version 3 but can't find one other than over priced copies on eBay that I don't trust

[pedaes]

27 minutes ago, brickftl said:

.5M min focus distance (when using live view)

Why do you think this?

[brickftl]

I just checked the FM review and am mistaken, seems it's only .7M min distance

[Milan_S]

5 hours ago, Loplop said:

Absolutely lovely images here, @Milan_S  

I owned the 50 lux v2 for a number of years, and always loved its character. At the time I was almost exclusively a black and white shooter, and I can’t even recall shooting color with the lens. Looks like I missed out. I may have to address that, even though I already own a “character 50” (50/1.0 v1) and an all-around 50 (asph II). This would be a lovely pair with the steel rim, which I also have and love. 

You mention some of my all time favorite lenses the 35mm Steel Rim and the F1 v1, all very wonderful also in color. I think the Reissue 50mm Summilux could compliment this because it has a dual character and it has gorgeous colors and bokeh. 

[Milan_S]

1 hour ago, brickftl said:

thanks very much!

QUESTION:

I've got the Summicron 50/2 rigid. I love its rendering - wide open it's more than acceptably sharp with a nice fall off from the center. It would be perfect for me if it weren't for its 1M min focus distance. I'm debating selling the 50/2 rigid and getting the new 50/1.4 reissue just for its .5M min focus distance (when using live view) or .7M focus distance when using rangefinder. The reissue is about 100g heavier, and I could live with that. So I'm wondering how the rendering of the reissue when shot wide open at 1.4 compares to the rigid shot wide open at 2.

If you want a lens similar to the Rigid but with closer focusing why you don't get the Dual Range Summicron Rigid? One of my all time favorite lenses for the Mono. The Summilux 50mm Pre asph reissue has a closing focusing of 0.7m not 0.5m

[Milan_S]

3 hours ago, fabior said:

Congratulations Milan for the wonderful review. I have the new Noctilux F1.2 and the Summilux v2. Could you tell me something more about the differences and the different interpretations that you have perceived between the two lenses.  What is your choice . Sometimes I think that the Noctilux f1.2 has too little definition at full aperture but then it is the lens that I mount most often on the M10R BP. (even though I also have the Noctilux F1 E58 and F 0.95)

The Noctilux f1.2 (reissue) is different compared to the v2. In my honest opinion the v2 has more pastel colors, the f1.2 is a bit colder and the new one has gorgeous very true to live colors. The new lens pre-asph is a much more controlled compared to the f1.2 but it still has enough character. The bokeh of the v2 and the reissue are quiet similar although I feel the new version has a little bit less swirl. 
 

[brickftl]

35 minutes ago, Milan_S said:

If you want a lens similar to the Rigid but with closer focusing why you don't get the Dual Range Summicron Rigid? One of my all time favorite lenses for the Mono. The Summilux 50mm Pre asph reissue has a closing focusing of 0.7m not 0.5m

thanks for that advice, I never heard of the dual range summicron rigid and will check it out!

FYI, Fred Miranda although he hasn't yet tested the new lens had these thoughts based on Jonah's review and images posted. Because of those comments, I'm thinking maybe version 3 of the pre-asph may suite me better than the reissue, but again I'm going to check out the dual range summicron rigid.

I just read Jonathan Slack's review of the new "Leica Classic 50mm f/1.4 Summilux" and after going through the sample images, the rendering appears to resemble the current 50mm f/1.4 ASPH more than the 50mm f/1.4 Pre-ASPH (v2 and v3). It is interesting that Leica achieved this while seemingly using the same optical design as the Pre-ASPH. 

The review also mentioned that Peter Karbe was involved in this new design, which results in a noticeably different MTF response compared to the vintage lens. At first, I thought the improvements might be limited to resolution and contrast, but based on the review samples, the rendering is completely different as well. This feels like a new lens wrapped in the appearance and aesthetics of the old one!

The rendering falloff has noticeably smoother transitions compared to the Pre-ASPH, and the new lens shows very little outlining, which was a defining characteristic of the earlier version. Some may appreciate the more modern look of the new lens, while others who were hoping for a faithful revival of the classic design might feel differently.

Edited February 25 by brickftl

[brickftl]

26 minutes ago, Milan_S said:

You mention some of my all time favorite lenses the 35mm Steel Rim and the F1 v1, all very wonderful also in color. I think the Reissue 50mm Summilux could compliment this because it has a dual character and it has gorgeous colors and bokeh. 

the 35/1.4 steel rim reissue is probably my favorite lens. I just wish it had closer focus than 1M. I've heard that it can be modified to get to .7M but I don't want to mess around with that.

[jaapv]

please don’t use blue or brown text. These colours are in use by moderators for official posts 

[pedaes]

21 minutes ago, brickftl said:

the rendering appears to resemble the current 50mm f/1.4 ASPH more than the 50mm f/1.4 Pre-ASPH (v2 and v3). It is interesting that Leica achieved this while seemingly using the same optical design as the Pre-ASPH. 

Makes the lens a bit of a bargain at 20% less than ASPH!

[Milan_S]

2 hours ago, pedaes said:

Makes the lens a bit of a bargain at 20% less than ASPH!

an in my opinion a lens with a nicer look and built! 

[derleicaman]

9 hours ago, brickftl said:

thanks for that advice, I never heard of the dual range summicron rigid and will check it out!

FYI, Fred Miranda although he hasn't yet tested the new lens had these thoughts based on Jonah's review and images posted. Because of those comments, I'm thinking maybe version 3 of the pre-asph may suite me better than the reissue, but again I'm going to check out the dual range summicron rigid.

I just read Jonathan Slack's review of the new "Leica Classic 50mm f/1.4 Summilux" and after going through the sample images, the rendering appears to resemble the current 50mm f/1.4 ASPH more than the 50mm f/1.4 Pre-ASPH (v2 and v3). It is interesting that Leica achieved this while seemingly using the same optical design as the Pre-ASPH. 

The review also mentioned that Peter Karbe was involved in this new design, which results in a noticeably different MTF response compared to the vintage lens. At first, I thought the improvements might be limited to resolution and contrast, but based on the review samples, the rendering is completely different as well. This feels like a new lens wrapped in the appearance and aesthetics of the old one!

The rendering falloff has noticeably smoother transitions compared to the Pre-ASPH, and the new lens shows very little outlining, which was a defining characteristic of the earlier version. Some may appreciate the more modern look of the new lens, while others who were hoping for a faithful revival of the classic design might feel differently.

Read Milan’s review of the re-issue. I think he answers many of your questions about comparing the renderings of the new lens and the original versions.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[garygraphy]

Hard to tell without side to side... but the reissue seems to have less character than the originals. 

Guess I will need to do my own sampling to know. I own every version of 50 lux pre-asph, and my fave lens is the v3 (telescopic hood / 0.7m) so I should be still keen on this reissue.