ELCAN replica lens posts

[Ed Schwartzreic]

Thank you Raid. In winter here it is difficult to find many interesting subjects, except people, My friend here drove by in his tractor on the way to obtain some tubing for maple sugaring which had belonged to another neighbor. Thankfully it was a bright day. The only way to find people to photograph right now is to walk on our dirt road and see what happens. So when I go for a walk, I usually carry a camera. People here are very friendly and usually stop to talk. Most are used to me with my camera. And the first shot of them is usually the best, before they start to pose.

 

[zleica]

Here are two images taken from my morning walk today with M240.

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

zleica - how are you responding to the out-of-focus areas versus the sharp areas of focus with this lens? You are making what I would term "scenics" with it. Do you like the effect?

 

[zleica]

zleica - how are you responding to the out-of-focus areas versus the sharp areas of focus with this lens? You are making what I would term "scenics" with it. Do you like the effect?

Ed - those were taken at f-stops of either 5.6 or 8 and the focal points were about 10 meters or further so most of out-of-focus areas were covered by the depth of fields. Out of about 100 images that I took this morning, I feel comfortable to use this lens for "scenics" images as long as I step down to f/5.6 or beyond. The sharpness of the focal plane is excellent extend to the outer zone of images, which is consistent with published MFT chart for f/5.6. Here is an image taken with f-stop of 4.0 and the house in the back has a lot of details (although you can see unsharp area in the foreground of the image).

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

Here are two images I did not put in my upcoming Viewfinder article. There I did side-by-side between the ELCAN and the 50 APO Aspheric, both wide open. I also shot the same shots closed down to f/6.8 with both lenses. While these images were not taken at exactly the same hour, they were taken from the same place, more or less.

Even at f/6.8 the loss of definition in the field of the ELCAN seems significant. Now, I have a prototype, not the production lens, but still. ELCAN first:

50 ELCAN f:6.8 copy by woodswoman57, on Flickr

50 APO f:6.8 by woodswoman57, on Flickr

So, I'd be curious for you to post an image, with a focus at about 5 M at f/5.6 to f/8, which allows one to see enough detail in the field to see if the production lens does better.

Ed

 

[Emile de Leon]

APO..you can see ants screwing on a blade of grass..
Elcan..gives better feel to the image..
But you cant see any ants screwing..lol..

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

Love it, Emile!

 

[zleica]

Here is one from the same series of images that I took yesterday. Focus point in on the cannon gun at about 5 meters with f-stop at 5.6.

 

[zleica]

Ed, I uploaded the above image in 2480 pix in width but I don't know if you can see the details. Using Capture One for processing and looking at 100% zoom-in, the tree and house in the back have good details so are the grasses in the foreground. The grasses have a bit less definition compared with center portion of the cannon gun, but I won't say that it's 'significant' loss of definition.

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

So perhaps my prototype is deficient! Sooner or later I will get my hands on a production model and see.

 

[f.hayek]

The new CV 1.0/50 is a month away so at US$1600+ a copy, this not-ready-for-primetime piece, is it really worth bothering?
Images look nice, but, so what? I think I like the output from the smaller CV 2,5/50 better.

 

[zleica]

According to the serial number, my copy should be in an earlier production batch with serial number of 016. But I don't know how LLL separate difference production runs with destinations of "V1LC", "V2LC",...My copy has "V2LC" designation on the front (which I don't know what it stands for).

 

[wolfxeon]

According to the serial number, my copy should be in an earlier production batch with serial number of 016. But I don't know how LLL separate difference production runs with destinations of "V1LC", "V2LC",...My copy has "V2LC" designation on the front (which I don't know what it stands for).

V2 is for international market, nothing different with V1.

 

[raid]

The new CV 1.0/50 is a month away so at US$1600+ a copy, this not-ready-for-primetime piece, is it really worth bothering?
Images look nice, but, so what? I think I like the output from the smaller CV 2,5/50 better.

I don't see it as "better" or "worse" when comparing such lenses. It is simply another tool or toy to play with and enjoy. The 50/1 may open up new possibilities for certain images, and the APO 50/2 may be amazingly good for details, while the old Elmar 5cm 3.5 may provide a different look.

 

[Duofold RF]

According to the serial number, my copy should be in an earlier production batch with serial number of 016. But I don't know how LLL separate difference production runs with destinations of "V1LC", "V2LC",...My copy has "V2LC" designation on the front (which I don't know what it stands for).

V1LC, V2LC, V3LC…..,V1 is around 500 copies ,after that, V2….. around 1000 copies for each V. V1 is considered as IPO from LLL. The serial numbers may not correspond to production date. After so many batches, I am not sure LLL is still using the same lead glass.

 

[Duofold RF]

I don't see it as "better" or "worse" when comparing such lenses. It is simply another tool or toy to play with and enjoy. The 50/1 may open up new possibilities for certain images, and the APO 50/2 may be amazingly good for details, while the old Elmar 5cm 3.5 may provide a different look.

You are not crazy enough to shell out $1400 for a replica Leica, do you?. As to “tool” Pentagon bought hammer for $500 a copy, I guess they should copy your statement to explain to the taxpayers.

 

[raid]

I have decided to get a CV 50/1.

 

[zleica]

V1LC, V2LC, V3LC…..,V1 is around 500 copies ,after that, V2….. around 1000 copies for each V. V1 is considered as IPO from LLL. The serial numbers may not correspond to production date. After so many batches, I am not sure LLL is still using the same lead glass.

Thank you.

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

Has anyone else here yet received a production model of the ELCAN replica? Would love to see more images by the lens.

 

[raid]

There are too many interesting 50mm around, Ed!
I have the CV APO 50/2 and I am about to get a CV 50/1.0.
The ELCAN 50/2 would be an interesting addition, but it may be one 50mm lens too many for me. I don't know.
Thanks for letting me use your lens for some test shots.