50 Lux is here -- first few pics.

armanius

armanius

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After two years of using CV lenses on my M9, which are great performers by the way, I went nuts and was able to get a new 50 Lux with a trusty Leica dealer (and avoid the price gouging from used Lux's selling for $4500+). I've never owned a Leica lens other than an used 90 Cron (pre-asph) that rarely sees any action, because it's just too heavy and big to use on an every day basis.

I took a few test photos with the 50 Lux around the office as well as some with my trusty Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.5. By looking only on the M9's horrible LCD, at wide open apertures, the Nokton appears to have a slight sharpness edge over the Lux. But the Lux has more contrast, creamier bokeh, and more "pop."

When I got home, I took a couple of photos of my neighbour's flowers as my usual trusty model (the girlfriend soon to be fiancé) is out of town. The Lux really produces a good 3D pop when I'm able to nail the focus. That DOF seems to be razor thin though, relatively thinner than the Nokton, even though the max aperture is nearly the same (1.4 vs. 1.5).

f1.4



f2 ... I think.



f1.4 or maybe it was f2



f1.4



ps: I decided that I better buy all the gear I can right now, before my gear slush fund disappears when I get hitched.
 
Congratulations. I hope it's the aspheric for that price. Remarkable lens. Despite what people always say, I think a fine piece of equipment like that really can make you work even better.
 
Richard G said:
Congratulations. I hope it's the aspheric for that price. Remarkable lens. Despite what people always say, I think a fine piece of equipment like that really can make you work even better.
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Thanks Richard. It is indeed the aspheric!

The construction of the lens is unsurpassed, in my opinion. The only other Leica lens that I've owned is an used 90 Cron pre-asph that I picked up, because the price was right. Other than the 90, I've been using CV's only until recently. I'd always thought the CV's are very well made when compared to the non-M lenses that I am used to, so never quite understood when people say that Zeiss lenses or Leica lenses are nicer (at least from a build standpoint).

Then I bought a few Zeiss' about a month ago, and I thought they were super nice, and even better made than the CV's. Smoother and sturdier.

But on a moment of weakness (and craziness), I returned the Zeiss lenses, and bought one 50 Lux. Crazy me ...
 
Jockos said:
Crazy sharp lens! I'll try to get me one of those the next time I find a job!
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Ironically, I think the CV 50/1.5 is a tad bit sharper! So that's something to consider if sharpness is the most important quality. Less expensive too!
 
tele_player said:
I'm still waiting for mine - 6+ months so far...

-robert
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Hi Robert! Try Ken Hansen (khpny19@aol.com). He doesn't have a website but he's been an authorized Leica dealer for many many years. Great guy. I also recently saw it in stock at KurlandPhoto.com. But it was gone about 12 hours later.
 
armanius said:
Ironically, I think the CV 50/1.5 is a tad bit sharper! So that's something to consider if sharpness is the most important quality. Less expensive too!
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That may be true, but this lens and the pre-ASPH E46 (which is equally horrendously expensive) are the only 50/1.4 which do not focus shift AND focus down to .7m - which was the reason I sold the CV 1.1, even tough it was "sharp enough" :)
 
Jockos said:
That may be true, but this lens and the pre-ASPH E46 (which is equally horrendously expensive) are the only 50/1.4 which do not focus shift AND focus down to .7m - which was the reason I sold the CV 1.1, even tough it was "sharp enough" :)
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Good point about the minimum focus distance. The extra 0.2 meters is actually nice to have at 50mm.
 
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