So I got the 50 Summicron today...

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animefx

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So I got the 50mm Summicron today and took my trusty M8 to Lake Springfield and got various photos. To my surprise I could get nothing medium to long distances in focus no matter how many shots I took. The only photos that were in focus were photos I took fairly close, and not even all of those. Sometimes I would set my aperture to f/11 and f/16 and set my lens on infinity so that between 25 ft to infinity *should* be acceptable focus but it was not even close. Most were simply awful. Is it possible there is something out of alignment with the lens itself or would it be my M8? I haven't had this kind of problem with the 40mm f/2 Rokkor-M, at least as far as I know.

At the end of this post I'll show you the only photo I got from about an hour of shooting, and I'm really proud of it! Aperture was f/11 or f/16 and I focused in the middle of the children, which were about 25 feet away from me (this is a very slight crop). Notice they would probably appear a little soft if they weren't mostly silhouettes. None the less, I love the way the Summicron renders everything, it's simply beautiful, I think the lens is severaly front focused or back focused though.

Should I return the lens and buy one new? If I sent Leica my M8, 40mm f/2 Rokkor-M, and this 50mm Summicron (latest version) and asked them to calibrate it and clean my sensor while they are at it, how much do you think they would charge me? 50 Summicron was purchased used with no warrant btw... lens looks to be in mint condition.

6030730593_48e31588c1_b_d.jpg
 
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Dont forget the circle of confusion, and how DOF scale on your lens is only accurate for film.

You need to use the DOF scale of the preceding aperture. You would be better off to put infinity at the right hand aperture mark of the aperture one stop wider than what you're currently using.

It's well documented around here and other online Leica forums.
 
My Summicron is razor sharp on my M3. It's a collapsible. It's sharper than some of my new digi lenses, Nex 16mm.
Did you scan the negs or the lab?
 
cnphoto said:
Dont forget the circle of confusion, and how DOF scale on your lens is only accurate for film.

You need to use the DOF scale of the preceding aperture. You would be better off to put infinity at the right hand aperture mark of the aperture one stop wider than what you're currently using.

It's well documented around here and other online Leica forums.
Click to expand...
The OP says it's happening at infinity so DOF has nothing to do with it.

@ animefx - Care to share some of the bad shots?
 
Here is a bad one...

Here is a bad one...

Here is one of the bad ones I was pretty angry it didn't turn out...

Here is the original size if you want to see it much larger (to see the softness everywhere) http://www.flickr.com/photos/animefx/6031764177/sizes/o/in/photostream/

It almost looks like motion blur but I promise you I was as steady as a tripod :)

6031764177_7931b75f18_b_d.jpg


batterytypehah! said:
The OP says it's happening at infinity so DOF has nothing to do with it.

@ animefx - Care to share some of the bad shots?
Click to expand...
 
Weird indeed. Maybe it was optimised for another (film?) body in the past and now will not agree with yours.

I'd send it back if there's no warranty. Sending it to Leica will be from your own wallet and might take some time too...
 
Talk to the seller about the problem and ask for a refund on return. I'm not sure what you paid for it but if you really want to keep it and he'll let you send it to a reputable service person for estimate on repair, maybe he'll split the cost if not terribly high. DAG is one of the very best but he's so backed up it, will take a few months, so I'd try someone else that can do Leica M lens repair and digital M bodies.
 
animefx said:
It almost looks like motion blur ....
Click to expand...

Very much so. Too slow a shutter speed, looking at your larger flickr shot (check out the highlights on the pier and in the background), and the kids moved even faster. EXIF says 1/180 and f16, is this correct ?

Also, don't shoot your Summicron at f16, unless you have to. f5.6 or f8 is more like it.
 
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Make some test shots from a tripod. At full aperture and 1 meter distance the sharpness should be at least like this:

4467873982_2136319fa2_b.jpg


Leica M8, Summicron 50mm f/2 rigid @ f/2.

Erik.
 
I thought at first it was just camera shake but looking at the full size pic something funny going on, shooting at f16 you don't even need a rangefinder, you need to do some test shots like suggested above wide open low ISO. Is the Exif data correct 180 at f16? the small pic does look ok but not what I would expect from the Summicron. The big picture looks like it was shot at a 15 but then I would expect the kids to have more blur.
 
Test shots wide open on a single slat from a long picket fence taken at a 45 degree angle 10 ft away should immediately tell you if your lens has significant front or back focus and by how much based on which slat is in focus if not the intended one. This will give you a starting point to narrow down the cause. If the slat that's best focused is not very sharp, you may also have an optical problem with the lens. Obviously this should be done on a tripod.
 
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I used f/16 to maximize what was in focus because several photos I took before that one were not in focus either. By stopping down to f/16 I figured it would eleminate any possible user error on my part. I've taken fairly sharp photos at f/2 on my 40mm rokkor.

I'll do some more tests tonight... We are having our State Fair parade this evening.

Fraser said:
I thought at first it was just camera shake but looking at the full size pic something funny going on, shooting at f16 you don't even need a rangefinder, you need to do some test shots like suggested above wide open low ISO. Is the Exif data correct 180 at f16? the small pic does look ok but not what I would expect from the Summicron. The big picture looks like it was shot at a 15 but then I would expect the kids to have more blur.
Click to expand...
 
Ok I'll test this out. Worst case scenario I return the lens I suppose.

awilder said:
Test shots on a single slat from a long picket fence taken at a 45 degree angle 10 ft away should immediately tell you if your lens has significant front or back focus and by how much based on which slat is in focus if not the intended one. This will give you a starting point to narrow down the cause. If the slat that's best focused is not very sharp, you may also have an optical problem with the lens. Obviously this should be done on a tripod.
Click to expand...
 
What's the point in testing? If the lens is set to the infinity stop and subjects at infinity (half-mile at least) are not tack-sharp, then the lens is out of spec (unless all your lenses do that on your camera which obviously they don't). Adjustment, if it is possible, will cost you at least $100 from DAG and most likely you won't see the lens for several months (I know this from recent experience). And if 3 months from now he calls and tells you something's very wrong inside the lens and it's either impossible to fix or will cost a bundle, you'll be past the point of being able to return it for a refund. It's not like a 50 Summicron is a rare lens. If it were me I'd get a refund now.
 
Again: look at the large flickr shot, Ben, highlights in the background and front (pier close to water). They moved from left to right to my eyes. Combine this with one shot being sharp and the other one not under similar conditions. Means camera shake, simple as that. Plus, at f16, diffraction is quite significant.
 
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