I am wondering how some of you 35 2.5 Summarit users feel now that you have been using your lenses for a while, such as:
- Build/sense of quality?
- Handling gremlins?
- Image quality - particularly satisfaction compared to other Leica lenses
Is this one that you feel is a compromise or the best choce you could have made? I am particularly interested in the tonality and image rendering, which from what I saw on Guy Mancuso's threads looked second to none, even when up against the asph cron and V4.
Hi nonturtle,
Seem that you are very interested in summarit 35 according to your past posts
🙂
I got my summarit 35 one year and half ago with my MP and summarit 90. Summarits were just released that time. It was my first purchase of Leica. Although both my summarits had focus shift problem from the very begining (the QC of Leica nowaday....), they perform pretty well after Leica fixed it.
I am still a newbie, so I haven't experienced many lenses. I now own summarit 35 and 90, summilux 35 preA and ZM Sonnar, and used to have a summicron 50 current version. As to build quality, handling and so on, I think summarit 35 is pretty well among the lenses I have experienced. Image quality is the last thing you have to worry about summarit 35, the famous MTF monster Erwin Puts even ranked it higher than ASPH.
I do not have the ability to sense the tiny difference between resolution, sharpness and so on, since most modern 35mm RF lenses have reached high standard in these aspects. What I like about summarit 35 is that it has modern lens performance with smooth, comfortable rendition. I also love the feeling of its warm colors. I know some indicate that it even outperform preA in bokeh, but I do not have a cron preA and I don't do bokeh shots so I personally cannot confirm it. Maybe I should try out more bokeh shots in the future. According to Erwin Puts it's quite flare-resistant among Leica lenses, but it does flare under some circumstances, so a hood is necessary. My personal experience is that Zeiss beats Leica thoroughly on flare-resistance. I am always trying to figure out how to get my Sonnar flare.
To be honest, my favs are summilux 35 preA and sonnar because of their unique signature, especially in B/W. But summarit 35 reaches a better balance between performance and signature. It is my first choice for traveling and general purposes, especially for color works.
I don't think it's a compromise product, the only reason people get this idea is because of Leica's stupid marketing strategy. Among Leica's current 35 lineup, I think it provides the best choice for people who do not need lens that fast.
If I am going to choose between a brand new summarit 35 and a cron preA, maybe I'll get a preA. But if I am going to choose between a second hand summarit 35 (seems to be around 900USD right now) and a preA, I definitely will go for summarit 35. ASPH is just not my taste. I started to wear glasses when I was very small because of reading too much comics (Doraemon I guessed), so I don't have strong eyes. Images that are too sharp and too contrasty make my eyes hurt
😛
There's a group dedicated to summarit 35 on flickr, you can give it a look. I have contributed some photos there, unfortunately, my photos probably may serve more as disincentives
😱
