[Leica] Seeking a new 50

[dorysrus at mindspring.com (Don Dory)]

Scott,
The middle Summilux is a widely loved lens for it's sharp center and
beautiful falling off to the edges; the transition to oof is quite
marvelous.

The Dual Range Summicron will give you results to die for as long as do
not shot in situations that will give you heavy veiling glare.  Sharp
images with a transition to oof that is marvelous.

The latest Elmar will give you results similar to the 45, only with more
detail and crisper edges to the edge of the frame.

If you are experimental, the LTM 50 F1.4 Nikkor will give you what you
want, look at many of Bill Clough's images from last years PAW.  Also,
the 50mm Canon LTM 1.4 has a wonderful look if you do not require
ultimate sharpness at 1.4.

My preference is the new 50 ASPH, sharp, virtually flare free, wonderful
transition to oof, virtually unobtainable.

My next choice would be the DR Summicron, then the new 50 Elmar.

One of the things with older Leica glass is that you can still buy and
sell with little loss in the transaction, as long as you don't buy
retail and sell wholesale.

Don
dorysrus@mindspring.com

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf
Of Scott McLoughlin
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 5:55 AM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: [Leica] Seeking a new 50

Subject lines says it all. I currently own the CV 50/2.5 and 50/1.5. I 
had high hopes for the 50 Color Skopar, but use the 50 Nokton most of 
the time.

But neighter really float my boat. The Nokton comes close. Hanging 
around f5.6 or so, I get lovely fine detail. Shot several animal pics at

the zoo which really brought this to my attention.  But bokeh is a 
problem with specular highlights, some wiriness and the like.

But I'm seeking out a different "look."  The closest in my current kit 
is the Nikon 45/2.8P. I find this a lovely lens. Plenty of detail, but 
no harshness. A kind of smoothness mixed in with the detail. Divine shot

at close to medium focus distance.  Bokeh to die for, and yes, bokeh is 
important to me in a 50mm FL lense. I'd say that it has a "refined"
look.

I guess my M-mount candidates are the current Summicron, the pre-ASPH 
Summilux and the Elmar-M.

The Elmar-M is a tessar based design like my Nikon 45P, so wonder if 
that is what I'm looking for. It's a little slow, but then I can always 
shoot HP5 at EI 800, or go out and buy a really fast 35 Lux :-)

The Summicron is the summicron. I read that close-up performance is 
excellent. Is this a "do no wrong" 50mm legendary lens.

And then the Lux. Don't know much about this one. Most discussions talk 
about it's low-light performance, but I do hear mention of a beloved 
"look."  I'd like to learn more about this one.

For background, I shoot B&W pretty much exclusively. Family, friends and

hobbyist documentary and artsy pics. I rarely shoot landscape stuff 
(just vacations). I scan film and print with an MIS ink set outfitted 
Epson printer.

Appreciate any help.

Scott

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