Borrowing a 'cron - time to see what the fuss is about Leica glass

[Peter_Jones]

I've managed to have the use of a 50mm summicron 😀 , so I'll get to compare negs and see if Leica glass is worth the money. Don't know which version it is yet, but it'll be on my Bessa this weekend. I've been told it'll be noticable on the negs, and better than anything I've used so far.

Only problem is - if I like it I'll want it then it's save save save 🙄

 

[Keith]

Out of curiosity what lenses do you use now that you'll be comparing it to?

 

[marke]

Stick with your SLR. The Leica glass isn't much better than the Holga.

Darn, I wish someone would have told me this earlier. Could have bought more Holgas.

 

[Peter_Jones]

Out of curiosity what lenses do you use now that you'll be comparing it to?

Directly comparing to FSU glass on the Bessa at the moment (can compare on same film, same conditions etc.) but also a Yashica GTN which gives fantastic negs with that "3D" sort of look, and Olympus OM lenses (final version 50/1.8 being the obvious one to compare - sharper than the 1.4) which are capable of very good results.

 

[calexg]

Stick with your SLR. The Leica glass isn't much better than the Holga.

Make sure you compare the 'Cron to the glass-lens version of the Holga. Why, comparing a glass lens to a plastic one would be crazy!

 

[ferider]

You have no idea what you stepped into ....

I have the same 50 Zuiko ... But compared to Planar, M-Hex or Summicron it's blind, wide open.

🙂

Roland.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

WHoo, boy. Not a lot to share here without getting out the asbestos undies. In Leica 50's I own:

1) Eighties black tabbed 'cron
2) DR Summicron
3) Chrome rigid ('cause I like the DR so much, but it won't do its thing on an M8)

I would say that the magic of these lenses in terms of color rendition and "drawing" (whatever that means) is most obvious from f:2 to f:4 by f:8 it is really hard for me to tell the difference between these lenses and a Nikon or Canon (or other) 50.

These days, my go-to 50/2's are the 80's tabbed 'cron and the Zeiss Planar, which is just really, really good.

Let us know the results of your investigations.

Memphis, great image on the front page of your 'blog.

Sincerely,

Ben Marks

 

[Peter_Jones]

First impressions - Handling: it balances really well with a Bessa R2, stops it looking to the sky when hanging from the strap. The apertures look very angular apart from wide open (obviously) and f/16, which looks quite round. The glass and coatings look perfect (and so they should) and it has a quality feel about it, even the built-in lens hood feels nice and firm to pull out.

It's a Chrome M rigid without tab.

The proof of the pudding will be when I get the negs back - took a few shots today at around f/8 , and tried some night shots wide open tonight just for fun. Not exactly a scientific test, I know, but I'll shoot more film through it Sun/Mon and see if I like the resulting negs. (got a couple of direct comparison 'cron/J8 shots in that first roll)