Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1995/12/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Having moved over (mostly) to Leica just a year ago, I'm still discovering the characteristics of each lens. I've just been looking at 7.5 x 5" factory prints (grain *is* in focus, I looked with an 8x loupe) of some portraits taken with my 50mm Summicron-R (no 3,480,493 German) at f2 and 1/60th in contrasty lighting, on XP2 @ 400 ISO where I would have expected pretty sharp results where the shot was in focus, around the eye of the subject. I know this isn't an ideal test, and something very fine-grained would be much better, using a tripod etc, but I still have a subjective impression that at this aperture, this lens isn't that sharp. I'm comparing the overall effect to that of my old (well battered anyway) 50mm 1.4 AF Nikkor at f1.4 and f2, used under very similar conditions. Do the 50mm R-Summicrons vary, or is it one of the less good performers (I did hear this somewhere, but I daren't mention the individual who stated this. Enough said!). Or could I be getting this impression purely from the higher contrast of the Nikkor? I will get round to getting some big prints made, but meanwhile I'd really like some opinions. Any comments? Joe B. In message <m0tPvll-000xARC@gp.magick.net>, Eric Welch <ewelch@gp.magick.net> writes >** Reply to note from msmall@roanoke.infi.net 12/11/95 08:28am -0500 >> Later redesigns have been to reduce manufacturing costs and not to >> improve performance, and current production lenses simply are not as >> generally satisfactory as those made 25 years ago. > >Your opinion is not in concert with many, including BAS labs in Germany >which is a highly repsected test lab. The latest 35 Summicron is >supposed to be the best they've ever made. But then Leica did slip for >a while and not necessarily make the best they ever did, but there's no >arguing that now they are producing the best they ever have. And from >several friends who've used several versions of the 35 Summicron, the >last is definitely the best. (I have the next to last.) > >i.e. 100 Apo Macro, 280 Apo Telty, 180 Apo Summicron, 70-180 2.8 Apo >Zoom, 35 Summioux Aspheric II.