Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I agree with you completely....the price and performance do not match. The lens is excellent if stopped down past f/5.6, especially good at f/8 and f/16, but I did not buy a 1.4 lens to use it at f/8. I think for 35mm, the f/2 lens would definitely be a better choice....I mean, f/2 is quite fast already! Yes, I love my 80/1.4 also....I have found it heavy, but as you say, sturdy and reliable. I find it produces the best images at 2.8 and smaller apertures. Focusing at f/1.4 is VERY critical and mistakes (for me anyway) are common. Also, as the manual says, this lens needs to be well stopped down if your subject is less than 1.5 meters away. This is one of the reasons I am considering the 100 APO as a replacement for my 80/1.4. Sure, I'll lose speed, but the things I gain outweigh the losses. I gain APO quality, macro capability, closer focusing, and a lens that is awesome at widest aperture, plus 20mm extra focal length! Francesco At 10:23 PM 1/23/98 +0100, Pascal wrote: >On 22-01-1998 19:58 Five Senses Productions wrote: >(snip) >>Wide open, during daylight conditions, neither lenses are >>stellar performers. The 35 introduced visible corner vignetting >>at 1.4, which was completely gone by 2.8. I suppose one would >>not expect the 1.4 lenses to be excellent at 1.4 during the day. >(snip) >>>If you will never use these lenses in low-light or at night, I believe it >>is not >>worth the money for the 1.4. I have heard the f/2 version of the 35mm is >>excellent wide open, and never vignettes. Can anyone comment? >> >>The 80/1.4 does VERY well during the day at apertures smaller than f/4. >>Focusing with this lens is VERY critical, and if you are not exactly on >>target, >>you will get an unsatisfactory image. It definitely takes practice, and I >>have >>still not mastered the art of focusing this heavy lens. >> >>Does anyone else agree that the 35/1.4 is not that great wider than f/4, or >>is >>this a technical fault of mine? >> >>Francesco >>fls@5senses.com >> > >Well, according to the recent test report that I saw on the Summilux-R >35mm f/1.4 in the French magazine Chasseur d'Images, this lens performs >well at the center of the image where sharpness and contrast are a lot >higher than in the rest of the image, especially corners and borders. >The difference with the Summilux-M 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH is basically this: >the aspheric element enhances the image quality, especially wide-open, >and makes the image more even (less difference between corners and >center). > >I personally wouldn't think of buying the Summilux-R 35mm f/1.4, because >it's price is ridiculous in comparison to its rather uneven performance. >The M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH plays in a completely different league. Price is >almost the same, but here you really get value for money. Of cours, this >doesn't help you if you want a lens for the R8. I would go for the >Summicron-R 35mm f/2.0 if you want a 35mm lens. > >As far as the Summilux-R 80mm f/1.4 is concerned, I am also using this >lens. Results so far are quite satisfying. I especially like the >combination of the R8 + 80mm (in fact, it's my preferred combination). >Heavy, but excellent balance and easy to hold (at least for my large >fingers). >I have used the 80mm for portraits: great results between f/4.0 and >f/8.0. The same can be said for landscapes. I am not yet convinced of its >qualities wide open. The results I have shot so far did not quite >convince me yet. But here, I really should practice some more before >making a definitive judgement. >BTW: Chasseur d'Images gave the same star rating for both the Summilux 35 >and 80 mm (***, which is average, good but no more). > >Pascal > >-------------------------------------------------------- >Sent on a Macintosh PowerBook G3, the fastest laptop on the planet >-------------------------------------------------------- ><<< PGP public key available on request >>> > Francesco Sanfilippo, Five Senses Productions webmaster@5senses.com http://www.5senses.com/