[Leica] Less you scoff at R lenses compared to 21st Century M lenses.........

[Peter Dzwig]

Not at all nerdy. A really fascinating insight. Thanks for sharing with us.

It would be interesting to see the images though.

Peter

On 04/07/2017 23:07, Frank Filippone wrote:
> #1. if you do not wish to read about techie stuff, quit now.  This is a very
> nerdy test that takes absolutely no interesting pictures.  It is a Lens
> test.  Period.
> 
>  
> 
> For a while I have been trying to cut the weight and bulk of my M kit, at
> the same time, making travel photography less complicated.  
> 
> My preference is towards the least user intervention in the photographic
> process.  Changing lenses is a big distraction.  
> 
> Getting a SL and lenses, is not in my budget, even after they dropped the
> price of the body by almost $1500. 
> 
>  
> 
> Museums and Churches are dark places.  I want one fast lens to do Churches
> and museums.  50mm seems the right lens.
> 
> To that end, I collected a bunch of lenses, and ( thanks to Doug, yet again)
> a Sony A7II body (24MP body).
> 
> Using that body as my test device, I tested out my 50mm lenses for use in
> low light conditions.. Full open Aperture..  For zooms, they were only
> evaluated at 50mm.
> 
> I used a tripod, self timer, manual focusing at max magnification, distance
> of about 12 feet, in bright light, ISO 50.  
> 
> My subject is the cedar fence ( now 45 years old) in my front yard.  Lens
> Hoods were used in all cases.
> 
> I took 3 images for each lens, keeping the best , and evaluated all the
> images through LRCC at 1:1.  
> 
> Only the center of each image is evaluated, at full aperture ( F1.4 or
> whatever)  Because that is how I will use this lens.  Full open aperture.
> 
>  
> 
> For the results..  Best to worst.. This is all about central resolution, and
> ability to get fine detail... 
> 
> 1)    Leica M 50mm F1.4 ASPH.  Wins by a big margin optically.  Fully manual
> operation, as are all M and R lenses.
> 
> 2)    LeicaFLEX Vario Elmar R 28-70 F3.5-4.5 ( 1990 design, Rom version,
> with Novoflex adapter.  Fully manual)  ( Stick that in your .. "old lenses
> suck". pipe and smoke it)
> 
> 3)    Sony 55mm F1.8 ( very close to the Leicaflex lens.  Lightest lens in
> the test and it is AF and auto-aperture)
> 
> 4)    Leica M 50mm F2 ( early 1990's vintage)
> 
> The next bunch are pretty close, but if you leave out 1 lens, the
> differentials are greater. so the lenses do decrease in capability
> 
> 5)    Leica M 28/35/50 Tri Elmar F4
> 
> 6)    Sony 28-70 F4.5-5.6 Zoom (AF)
> 
> 7)    Nikon 50mm F1.4 AF non D lens ( with Fotodiox adapter, no AF as it has
> a mechanical aperture connection to the body)
> 
> 8)    Nikon 50mm F1.4 G lens ( which will AF on the Sony body with the
> Fotodiox adapter)
> 
> Big gap in image quality, but that is not the prime purpose of these lenses
> 
> 9)    7 Artisans 50mm F1.1 Chinese (New, $369, 400grams, delivered in 1
> week!) 
> 
> 10)                       Noctilux 50mm F1.0
> 
>  
> 
> Yes, the best lens of the bunch  was the 21st century marvel.  But you
> probably believed that before you started to read this.
> 
> To me, the surprise was the Leicaflex lens doing so well...  FYI, I believe
> this lens is a Leica design produced by Sigma in Japan
> 
> And to me, the most rewarding part of the test is how well the Sony 55 F1.8
> lens did..since that lens is part of my proposed new kit.  Optically, it IS
> good enough to do what I ask of it..
> 
>  
> 
> Remember, these results are specific to MY lenses and MY needs (wants?).  If
> you were to evaluate your kit, or, even using my images, or making up new
> images using my lenses, may result in a different order.  (YMMV)
> 
>  
> 
> Comments?
> 
>  
> 
> I also tested the Sony 16-35 Zoom lens against the Leica 16/18/21mm Wide
> Angle Tri Elmar.  
> 
> Hands down, the Leica lens is superior at 16mm.  At 18mm, they are much
> closer, but the Leica is still better.  At 21mm, the Sony lens is superior.
> 
> 
> At these focal lengths, manual focusing errors are more prone to happen,  AF
> was used and results were gathered from the AF Sony images.
> 
>  
> 
> BTW, my time to do this came about as I tend to my Wife, as she is now lying
> prone ( last 4 weeks) with back issues. so getting further than the cedar
> fence surrounding the house is an issue..
> 
>  
> 
> Frank Filippone
> 
>  
> 
> Red735i at verizon.net
> 
>  
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
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> .
> 

-- 

===========================================================
Dr Peter Dzwig