Help! Need to avoid Summilux 50 ASPH

colinh

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I tried to take a picture today in a Sushi bar. My Summicron was too slow :(

Some people have been heard to say the Summilux 50 ASPH is not a bad lens.

Usually, I agonise about this sort of thing overnight and then buy one. This has resulted in a wee bit of overspending.

So this time I WILL NOT :bang: NOT :bang: NOT :bang: BUY a lens.

Please someone explain why my Summicron is actually the superior lens :(



colin
 
Imagine what you could do with one of the softies and a Summilux in low light...

Wait, am I doing this wrong?

edit: if you think f/2 is bad, imagine the fun I had trying to shoot some indoor stuff with my 25/4.
 
Look down to my thread on 50mm summilux asph problems and you might change your mind. It's a fine lens optically but it has mechanical design problems. The lens is very complex mechanically and seems pront to some serious issues such as I am experiencing. As good as it is I would not by another and may sell mine when it gets back from repair. I have the Planar and like the images and mechanics better but do need a fast lens also. I previously owned a Nokton 50 CV and found it to be very good even at 1.5. The asph Summilux has a slight edge over the CV but not that much. Mechanically I feel the CV is better. If mechanics are bad al the fine glass in the world means nothing. Keep your Summicron. Do you really need 1.4 or is it just something you want? The price of 1 stop is extremely high.
 
A Summilux would've given you only one more stop worth of speed. You could've obtained that increase with your Summicron by going with faster film, couldn't you have? Doesn't a Summicron at f/2.0 focus more easily than a Summilux at f/1.4 due to increased depth of field, which means that in spite of increased grain, the Summicron might return consistently sharper images (i.e., more often in focus)?

See, rest easy knowing your Summicron hasn't yet been defeated.
 
J J Kapsberger said:
A Summilux would've given you only one more stop worth of speed. You could've obtained that increase with your Summicron by going with faster film, couldn't you have? Doesn't a Summicron at f/2.0 focus more easily than a Summilux at f/1.4 due to increased depth of field, which means that in spite of increased grain, the Summicron might return consistently sharper images (i.e., more often in focus)?

See, rest easy knowing your Summicron hasn't yet been defeated.

well said by the friendly manitoban:) but i do love my 1980s summilux almost as much as my planar.
 
Thank you guys.

I had a freshly inserted APX 100, so I changed the rating to 200. I have a softy, but I really need to work on my camera holding and shutter release technique :(

It would appear that the Summilux 50 ASPH is a real dog of a lens.

xray said:
Do you really need 1.4 or is it just something you want?

Aren't need and want synonyms? *puzzled*

colin
 
mfogiel said:
colinh,

The right type of lens for a sushi bar is the CV Nokton 35/1.2, a 50mm lens it too long for interior shots anyway, and it makes it more difficult to handhold... And last, but not least, you can probably get 4 Noktons for 1 Summilux... :)

Actually I was taking a photo of my M3 for the Camera and Sushi thread. Ah. Damn, that should be Camera and Coffee, shouldn't it?

OK, problem solved!


Ah. Mi piaccionno le scarpe. Forse il Nokton non è cosi atroce? :)

colin
 
Perhaps the C/V Nokton 40/1.4 would be a good compromise. Small, light, inexpensive, some of the best of 35mm & 50mm rolled into one, did I mention small, light & inexpensive?
 
Lightbulb!

Lightbulb!

Kill two birds with a single stone.

1. Buy one of the myriad, cheap, P&S rangefinders with a 40mm 1.7 lens.

2. Keep it loaded with Fuji Superia 400 or 800, Tri-X, HP5+, BW400CN, XP2 Super, etc.

3. Carry it everywhere.

4. If you like the 40mm/1.7 lens, then you can treat yourself to the 40/1.4 someday. Or just continue to enjoy the P&S.

5. Satisfies immediate GAS and low light photography.
 
I'm a bit worried about trying out non-Leica stuff. Not because it's bad, but because it might be good.

I have managed to avoid looking through the Zeiss Ikon viewfinder and have managed not to buy any non-Leica glass. (The ZM 25 and 35 being exceptions).

I'd feel a bit silly having spent all that money, if it turns out a ZI with a couple of CV lenses was just as good (or actually even better :D ) for taking pictures. Wouldn't I?

;)

colin
 
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