"Upgrade" from Summicron to Summilux?

giganova

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Hi all --

I have a Summicron 50/2 "Rigid" on one of my M4, which is in excellent condition. But it is rather soft wide open, which limits the usefulness to f/2.8 and beyond, and the coating doesn't do well with stray light. Plus, the minimum focusing distance of 1 meter, I believe, is a limiting factor for portraits.

Would replacing this lens with a Summilux 50/1.4 (non ASPH) be an "upgrade"? One extra stop is good, but I'm not sure whether the optical performance and minimum distance are better.
 
Summicron 50/2 Rigid is my all-time favorite lens. Never disappoint me. Mine's glass is in near mint condition. I also love my Summilux 50 1.4 pre-asph E46. But if I can only keep one of them, Rigid will always be my first choice.

Leica Leitz Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 "Rigid" made in 1956 Germany by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Sony A7R II + Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 “Rigid”

Leica Leitz Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 "Rigid" Test shoots by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

The following photos are all
taken with Leica M10 + Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 “Rigid”

FIFA World Cup Final. by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

FIFA World Cup Final. by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

FIFA World Cup Final. by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

NYC street photography by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

NYC street photography by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

NYC street photography by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr
 
I agree with Kevin regarding the Rigid Summicron. Mine is in mint condition, and I bought a back-up one.

Rigid Summicron:
original-X3.jpg

FEB%2021-2015-25s-L.jpg

FEB%2021-2015-14-X3.jpg

Dana%20%28color%29-X3.jpg

L1015687-X2.jpg

L1015287crop-M.jpg


Taken with my back-up:

Cron2--8-X3.jpg
 
The Summilux 50mm f/1.4 v1 (serial numbers 16XXXXX-17XXXXX) is very good, better than v2: no barrel distortion. But it goes not closer than 1m and is much bulkier than any 50mm Summicron.

Leica M3, Summilux 50mm f/1.4 v1 (serial number 1702441), 400-2TMY/Adox MCC 110. Full aperture.

Erik.

48015769448_57eac3c405_b.jpg
 
I've "upgraded" both the 35mm & 50mm Summicrons to their equivalent Summilux models. While I appreciated having the extra stop, I missed the smaller size and rendering of the f2.0 lenses so much that I bought them both again.


You might have a tech look into your rigid Summicron before you decide that a new lens is the answer? It wasn't in my case!
 
I had Rigid which was in use for long time on film and digital. It was not shelf queen in appearance, had some play due to worn out, but it was sharp at f2. So, check if it is not RF, before going for larger aperture. It is same optics as DR. It has less focus shift than improved to 0.7 meter V3 and V4. And it is sharper than V3 and V4.
One meter MFD never bothers me on RF. I'm using mobile phone and SLRs for close ups.

To be honest I can't describe old Lux as much bulkier than Rigid. It is not as small as Jupiter-3, which I prefer to Lux, but it is not something I would describe as bulk.
If you like bokeh with swirl, Lux does it. J3 doesn't. One of the reasons I keep J3.
 
Not sure if this would help but I just think having something with a wider aperture helps in certain situations. Just because you have an f1.4 vs an f2, doesn't mean you'll always shoot wider. Of course, I'm not sure of your shooting style but that's just my personal experience. I have many lenses that are fast according to their film format but I tend to like my subjects in focus and have some relevance to being separate from the background. I've learned as well that stopping these older lenses down a stop or so help its sharpness so that's why I always lean towards a faster lens. Sometimes I see a difference in bokeh with a wider lens but that's a subjective taste.

I just think having a lux with an RF is difficult to nail focus. Never had the two lenses but from my understanding, the rigid suits well with BW film!

Hopefully me rambling gave you some insight. 🙂
 
By the way, my Summicron Rigid is spot on with Leica M10. You need to make sure your copy doesn't have focus shift issue.

My Summilux Pre-a had front focus issue. I cannot get sharp images with this lens. After it been adjusted by DAG, it's now a very sharp lens.
 
The Rigid Summicron is a high resolution lens. I have compared many 50mm lenses in past years, and the Rigid Cron was one of the top performers.
I do not have the 50 Lux, but I have the 35 Lux and the 75 Lux.
 
I have a DR. It does really well on m 4/3 cameras. It is a very high resolution lens. It does not mount on the8 or M9 without having it modified.
 
KEVIN-XU 愛 forever;2902533 said:
Summicron 50/2 Rigid is my all-time favorite lens. Never disappoint me. Mine's glass is in near mint condition. I also love my Summilux 50 1.4 pre-asph E46. But if I can only keep one of them, Rigid will always be my first choice.

Leica Leitz Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 "Rigid" made in 1956 Germany by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr


Sony A7R II + Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 “Rigid”

Leica Leitz Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 "Rigid" Test shoots by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

The following photos are all
taken with Leica M10 + Leica Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 “Rigid”

FIFA World Cup Final. by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

FIFA World Cup Final. by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

FIFA World Cup Final. by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

NYC street photography by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

NYC street photography by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr

NYC street photography by Kevin-Xu, on Flickr



I love the shots and their character, Kevin!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I love the shots and their character, Kevin!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, that's the reason why I love my Summicron Rigid so much. It amazed me every time I use it. I like its sharpness and resolution when wide open. I like its rendering, bokeh. And I also like its low contrast, which gives me a lot of room to tune the color.
 
KEVIN-XU 愛 forever;2902615 said:
Yeah, that's the reason why I love my Summicron Rigid so much. It amazed me every time I use it. I like its sharpness and resolution when wide open. I like its rendering, bokeh. And I also like its low contrast, which gives me a lot of room to tune the color.

It is boring lens on bw film, flat and nothing else.
But it is different lens on C-41. The lens with rendering.
 
It is boring lens on bw film, flat and nothing else.
But it is different lens on C-41. The lens with rendering.

not sure if lens variations affected here, but i like the rigid both for color and bw.
agree with you on the color, very much like what seen on old movies.
i sold it eventually just keep my 35mm lens.
may be one day i will buy it back a 50mm lens.

Old man reading newspaper by Trung Nguyen, on Flickr

after school hour by Trung Nguyen, on Flickr
 
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