jonoslack Posted February 21 Author Share #41 Posted February 21 Advertisement (gone after registration) 2 hours ago, Jon Warwick said: For a distant landscape at f5.6, and maybe Jono can chime in, does the new lens achieve full sharpness at the edges? I recall Jono’s report re the reissued 50mm Noctilux 1.2 saying the corners never really got there even when stopped down, so curious if the reissue Summilux does? Hi There Jon, the corners aren't nasty, but I don't think they achieve full sharpness, even at f8. I guess that if you want the best performance for landscapes you would be better with the 50 APO (no surprise), on the other hand this lens does offer lots of other wonders to play with! Here are some full sized jpgs you can look at - the winter scene is f4.8 (probably actually f5.6) and the lane says it's f9.5, but it's probably f8 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Perhaps this helps? All the best 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Perhaps this helps? All the best ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/419363-jono-slack-review-leica-50mm-summilux-f14/?do=findComment&comment=5761120'>More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 21 Posted February 21 Hi jonoslack, Take a look here Jono Slack Review: Leica 50mm Summilux f1.4. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jonoslack Posted February 21 Author Share #42 Posted February 21 5 minutes ago, Ray Vonn said: I never knew, thanks for that. Was looking at one to buy as well. Hi Ray Don't let me put you off, but I think the fact that Leica had updated the formula with a Mandler design in 1961 (two years after version 1). . . . . but didn't tell anyone for 5 or 6 years probably speaks to the fact that they realised it was a bit crap too! On the other hand, as we all understand, quality and charm are not necessarily the same thing! All the best Jonathan 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Warwick Posted February 21 Share #43 Posted February 21 1 hour ago, jonoslack said: Hi There Jon, the corners aren't nasty, but I don't think they achieve full sharpness, even at f8. I guess that if you want the best performance for landscapes you would be better with the 50 APO (no surprise), on the other hand this lens does offer lots of other wonders to play with! Here are some full sized jpgs you can look at - the winter scene is f4.8 (probably actually f5.6) and the lane says it's f9.5, but it's probably f8 Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Perhaps this helps? All the best Hi Jono, That’s very helpful. Many thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I had assumed the 50 APO makes most sense for edge-to-edge performance for landscapes, and your review shows well how the new Summilux reissue has a charm of its own that’s ideal for other uses. Just wanted to see how “universal” the latter lens might be. It’s aspects like this - ie, one can get a multitude of renderings by using different lenses on the same body - that keeps drawing me back to the M system. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted February 21 Author Share #44 Posted February 21 1 hour ago, Jon Warwick said: Hi Jono, That’s very helpful. Many thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I had assumed the 50 APO makes most sense for edge-to-edge performance for landscapes, and your review shows well how the new Summilux reissue has a charm of its own that’s ideal for other uses. Just wanted to see how “universal” the latter lens might be. It’s aspects like this - ie, one can get a multitude of renderings by using different lenses on the same body - that keeps drawing me back to the M system. Same here Jon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberti Posted February 21 Share #45 Posted February 21 On 2/20/2025 at 5:45 PM, Al Brown said: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Sticking with my Mandler snake eyes. Triple Crown body!! Swedish Army. . I have only gotten so far as a Single Crown on my TDA1541 . . 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted February 21 Share #46 Posted February 21 Thanks for the review, Jono. As always, some great pictures. So much so that after seeing them I let GAS take the better of me and picked up one earlier today. So far so good after a few shots. My only gripe is the hood's inclination to not stay in place and spin around a bit more freely than I'd like. I'll probably replace it with a third-party screw-in anyway, but why Leica can't get their hoods right lately remains a mystery to me. Did you notice the same hood behaviour? 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted February 21 Share #47 Posted February 21 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hadn't seen a price yet, but Leica Store Miami shows it retail at US$3900, which is rather reasonable in the current Leica pricing framework. Hmmm, thinking of trading my version 2 Summilux for this new lens. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenInTime Posted February 21 Share #48 Posted February 21 1 hour ago, Ecar said: Thanks for the review, Jono. As always, some great pictures. So much so that after seeing them I let GAS take the better of me and picked up one earlier today. So far so good after a few shots. My only gripe is the hood's inclination to not stay in place and spin around a bit more freely than I'd like. I'll probably replace it with a third-party screw-in anyway, but why Leica can't get their hoods right lately remains a mystery to me. Did you notice the same hood behaviour? Did you try fitting the hood with a filter screwed onto the lens? also does the hood fit reversed ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf_ZG Posted February 21 Share #49 Posted February 21 6 hours ago, jonoslack said: Hi There Olaf . . . . My impression is that whilst the original is interesting, unlike the lovely steel rim, it wasn't a terribly good lens. I think the only reason for not getting the new one is if you object to the weight - in which case an black aluminium version 3 might be the answer. All the best Jono Thanks Jone, with the original I was actually doubting between the v2 (for its 43mm) or the v3 (for its hood). I always longed for a pre asph 50mm, so I guess the upcoming months might be a good time to buy as there will be (hopefully) plenty of choice. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted February 21 Share #50 Posted February 21 1 hour ago, FrozenInTime said: Did you try fitting the hood with a filter screwed onto the lens? also does the hood fit reversed ? Yes and yes with an E46 Leica filter. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
didier Posted February 21 Share #51 Posted February 21 Thanks Jono for the great review, as always ! What about Focus Shift : can you tell us more about how the lens handles it ? thanks Didier 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenInTime Posted February 21 Share #52 Posted February 21 30 minutes ago, Ecar said: Yes and yes with an E46 Leica filter. Superb great to hear it all works and the hood design oversights of the BC Summilux 50 ASPH and steel-rim 35 have been taken onboard. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom0511 Posted February 22 Share #53 Posted February 22 thank you Jono for the review! I like that Leica is offering such "character" lenses. Today many lenses are tweaked towards optical perfection, which might be great for landscape, but not working so great for people and portraits. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted February 22 Author Share #54 Posted February 22 15 hours ago, didier said: Thanks Jono for the great review, as always ! What about Focus Shift : can you tell us more about how the lens handles it ? thanks Didier Hi There Didier That's my little job for today! Best Jono 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmars Posted February 22 Share #55 Posted February 22 I'm curious to see what Jono comes up with. I have noticed focus shift in my tests, but the result is unproblematic. The Sharpness never runs out of the focus point. Here is what I wrote in my review: Older lenses, especially non-aspherical lenses, tend to focus shift. This means that the point of optimum sharpness moves slightly forwards or backwards when the lens is stopped down. The image can become unsharp if the focal point moves outside the depth of field plane. The new Summilux also has focus shift; the focus moves slightly backwards. However, this does not result in unsharpness, but only in a reduction of the depth of field towards the front, while it expands towards the back. The full review is here: 4 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
algrove Posted February 22 Share #56 Posted February 22 Jono, Thanks for the article. Calling around in the US, I am truly surprised at how few of these lens have reached even Leica owned stores in the US on day one unlike other releases like the SR 35/1.4 for example. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted February 22 Author Share #57 Posted February 22 20 hours ago, didier said: Thanks Jono for the great review, as always ! What about Focus Shift : can you tell us more about how the lens handles it ? thanks Didier 2 hours ago, elmars said: I'm curious to see what Jono comes up with. I have noticed focus shift in my tests, but the result is unproblematic. The Sharpness never runs out of the focus point. Here is what I wrote in my review: Older lenses, especially non-aspherical lenses, tend to focus shift. This means that the point of optimum sharpness moves slightly forwards or backwards when the lens is stopped down. The image can become unsharp if the focal point moves outside the depth of field plane. The new Summilux also has focus shift; the focus moves slightly backwards. However, this does not result in unsharpness, but only in a reduction of the depth of field towards the front, while it expands towards the back. Hi There This is a bit complicated in that really one should do it at different distances - I did this at 1.5 metres (ie portrait distance) and focused at 24.5 on the scale at f1.4, I then stopped down to f8 successively and took images - I've cropped the same section in each image. I did this using the visoflex, I didn't use the rangefinder to check where perfect exposure was, but it's usually done at f2.8 (where I would say perfect focus is at about 22.5 , and if that's the case, then @elmars would be correct in saying that the focal point never moves outside the depth of field plane. He is also right in suggesting that it moves backwards as you stop down. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/419363-jono-slack-review-leica-50mm-summilux-f14/?do=findComment&comment=5761890'>More sharing options...
Cronilux Posted February 22 Share #58 Posted February 22 Am 21.2.2025 um 13:37 schrieb jonoslack: Hi There Olaf . . . . My impression is that whilst the original is interesting, unlike the lovely steel rim, it wasn't a terribly good lens. I think the only reason for not getting the new one is if you object to the weight - in which case an black aluminium version 3 might be the answer. All the best Jono Or if you don’t like the super long focus throw of the reissue Summilux. Also the original V3 is an amazing lens. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emlokto Posted February 22 Share #59 Posted February 22 I have a 1973 Summilux and I do find the focus throw a bit annoyingly long. I guess the question is, is it shorter or longer? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted February 22 Share #60 Posted February 22 45 minutes ago, emlokto said: I have a 1973 Summilux and I do find the focus throw a bit annoyingly long. I guess the question is, is it shorter or longer? Curious about this as well? I have a V2 Summilux, and find the focus throw a bit long say, compared to my Summicron. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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