mylek
Newbie
Hello,
i'm looking at a 35 lux ASPH V1 but i'll like to know how is it on M9? Is the focus shift so bad? On the web, there is lot of comments but mainly from customers who have problems but i'm sure there is a lot of happysilent users. What is good price?
How does it compare with the 35 Cron IV @f/2? Is the new ASPH FLE worth its price and the wait?
I'm interested in the Lux for its caracter wide open for portraire and street photography...
Regards!
i'm looking at a 35 lux ASPH V1 but i'll like to know how is it on M9? Is the focus shift so bad? On the web, there is lot of comments but mainly from customers who have problems but i'm sure there is a lot of happysilent users. What is good price?
How does it compare with the 35 Cron IV @f/2? Is the new ASPH FLE worth its price and the wait?
I'm interested in the Lux for its caracter wide open for portraire and street photography...
Regards!
Peter Klein
Well-known
Mylek: I use an M8, and I have Version 1 of the Summilux ASPH. It does indeed have focus shift. I never noticed it with film because of film's greater tolerance. I do notice it on my M8 if I look for it. But it's not that hard to get used to it and compensate.
My 35/1.4 v.1 is spot-on at f/1.4 and f/2. At f/2.8 the focus shifts back a couple of inches close-up, so that the sharpest focus is a little behind where the rangefinder says it is. It stays that way until about f/8, when depth of field covers the shift.
Have a look at my pictures from a trip to Israel. I used the Summilux on my M8 most of the time, at all apertures. Can you find any pictures that were ruined because of focus shift?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/sets/72157625331595331/
What the shift means in practice is that if you're taking a photo of a person at f/2.8-5.6, focus on their nose instead of their eyes. At medium distances, focus just in front of what you want the sharpest. And if you're in a hurry, just focus on the closest thing you want in focus, and you'll usually be OK.
There are other techniques to compensate. The easiest is to lean back a little after focusing. Another is to only use the lens at f/1.4, f/2 and f/8.
Another is to have an inexpensive "daylight" 35mm lens (such as the Voigtlander Skopar 35/2.5), and use the Summilux when it gets dark.
How much the shift will bother you will depend on how big you print, how experienced you are, how easily you can adapt to the various methods of compensation. A friend of mine, a very good and experienced photographer, says he just shoots normally, doesn't worry about it , and doesn't have a problem.
Now, if you're a perfectionist who believes that Leica lenses should be immune to the laws of physics, and like to blow your images up to 100% and 200% on the screen and "pixel peep," you may be disappointed. So don't do that.
You might find this article helpful.
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/...asph-which-one-version-i-or-ii-by-ashwin-rao/
The main difference between the ASPH Lux and Summicron is that wide-open the Cron is sharper near the edges of the frame, but the Summilux has a more classic pattern where the sharpness falls off a bit towards the edges. Some people love the 'Cron, some find it overly "clinical." The Lux is still a modern-looking lens, but a little gentler. It's also more versatile.
Here is a picture taken with the Lux ASPH at f/2 (with an M8):
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/friends/Rosa90/L1005795.jpg.html
Hope all this helps!
--Peter
My 35/1.4 v.1 is spot-on at f/1.4 and f/2. At f/2.8 the focus shifts back a couple of inches close-up, so that the sharpest focus is a little behind where the rangefinder says it is. It stays that way until about f/8, when depth of field covers the shift.
Have a look at my pictures from a trip to Israel. I used the Summilux on my M8 most of the time, at all apertures. Can you find any pictures that were ruined because of focus shift?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/sets/72157625331595331/
What the shift means in practice is that if you're taking a photo of a person at f/2.8-5.6, focus on their nose instead of their eyes. At medium distances, focus just in front of what you want the sharpest. And if you're in a hurry, just focus on the closest thing you want in focus, and you'll usually be OK.
There are other techniques to compensate. The easiest is to lean back a little after focusing. Another is to only use the lens at f/1.4, f/2 and f/8.
Another is to have an inexpensive "daylight" 35mm lens (such as the Voigtlander Skopar 35/2.5), and use the Summilux when it gets dark.How much the shift will bother you will depend on how big you print, how experienced you are, how easily you can adapt to the various methods of compensation. A friend of mine, a very good and experienced photographer, says he just shoots normally, doesn't worry about it , and doesn't have a problem.
Now, if you're a perfectionist who believes that Leica lenses should be immune to the laws of physics, and like to blow your images up to 100% and 200% on the screen and "pixel peep," you may be disappointed. So don't do that.
You might find this article helpful.
http://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2010/...asph-which-one-version-i-or-ii-by-ashwin-rao/
The main difference between the ASPH Lux and Summicron is that wide-open the Cron is sharper near the edges of the frame, but the Summilux has a more classic pattern where the sharpness falls off a bit towards the edges. Some people love the 'Cron, some find it overly "clinical." The Lux is still a modern-looking lens, but a little gentler. It's also more versatile.
Here is a picture taken with the Lux ASPH at f/2 (with an M8):
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/pklein/friends/Rosa90/L1005795.jpg.html
Hope all this helps!
--Peter
Pindy
Member
I also have the v1 ASPH. I love it enough to have sent it to Leica to be 6-bit coded last month. I was recently cured of the desire to eliminate the focus shift after attending an exhibition of the Hungarians in London (Kertész, Capa, Brassaï et al) and emerged with a different perspective of what's important.
Then again, I realise I used to really really care about autofocus tracking, too. Enjoy it, it's a real beauty.
Then again, I realise I used to really really care about autofocus tracking, too. Enjoy it, it's a real beauty.
Kevin
Rainbow Bridge
If my ASPH pics are spot on at f/1.4 at distance XX they will be spot on at any other aperture.
JMQ
Well-known
There is a small but certainly noticeable focus shift with my 35 Lux V1 on the M9, and it bothered me. I sent it to DAG who adjusted it, and sent it back within a week. The focus is now spot on.