Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/07/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Erwin Puts/imX wrote: > > >The 50/2 Summicron had the highest resolution figures of ANY lens ever > >tested by Modern Photography, so said an old "TOO HOT TO HANDLE" > >column. > > > >Today it is not as popular amongst collectors because it is not as > >aesthetically pleasing as the standard rigid version of the same lens. > >Yet it very very useful. > > > >Stephen Gandy > > Hello Stephen, > Resolution is not all there is in lens performance. Contrast and especially > micro contrast (or in MTF terms: high contrast at high frequency numbers) > are the decisive edge. The newer Summicron has this property in abundance, > where the old one is weak. > Performance of the original one is disappointing (at f/2,0 and f/2,8) > compared with the new ones. So it is not aesthetics that dictate the > popularity. See my leica M lens comparison in www.imx.nl/photosite > Erwin Puts Hello Erwin, Collectors care how a lens LOOKS on their vintage M3/M2/M4. The Rigid Summicrons consistently sell for more than the DR Summicrons in the same condition because of the aesthetics. This was confirmed with a large dealer who complained to me that he had over three dozen of the DR which were just sitting there, but he could not keep the Rigid chrome models in stock. The DR is a sharp lens, even though the current version may be sharper. Stephen Gandy