[Leica] SUMMILUX 50/1,4 Asph

[sethrosner at direcway.com (Seth Rosner)]

Slobodan, should have come to the LHSA meeting in W'burg. Christian Erhardt 
had a ton of loaner equipment, including several 50/1,4 ASPH's. See you in 
New Orleans (Mar '05) and San Francisco (Oct '05)

Seth         LaK 9

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Slobodan Dimitrov" <s.dimitrov@charter.net>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 13, 2004 11:48 AM
Subject: Re: [Leica] SUMMILUX 50/1,4 Asph


> See, this' what I hate about a rational and sensible post. Now I'm trying 
> to
> figure out how to squeeze that lens into a non-existent film camera 
> budget.
> Digital no problem, but for film, old eagle eyes on this end will spot it 
> in
> a second as she does the monthly paperwork.
> I wouldn't mind taking one out for a quick roll. Might try that when they
> have another Leica festival travelling through town.
> S. Dimitrov
>
>> From: TTAbrahams@aol.com
>> Reply-To: Leica Users Group <lug@leica-users.org>
>> Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 12:29:13 EST
>> To: lug@leica-users.org
>> Subject: [Leica] SUMMILUX 50/1,4 Asph
>>
>> When this lens was announced I scoffed at the idea - a $2500 standard
>> 50/1,4! I thought it was a joke, but I was sufficiently intrigued to ask 
>> Leica
>> for a
>> loaner at photokina. Big mistake! I have now used it since late September 
>> and
>> I have put 60-70 rolls of film through it (Tri-X) and a couple of 100 
>> images
>> in my loaner RD-1. Not only is it a major improvement over the old 
>> Summilux (I
>> have 2 of those), it beats the 50/2 hands down. The floating rear element
>> makes a big difference in close shooting (a weak spot with the old 
>> version)
>> and
>> its smaller size, compared to the older one, makes it comfortable to hold 
>> and
>> carry.
>> Leica also managed to remove some of the unpleasant "Asph" jagged look 
>> that
>> the 21/24/35's suffered from. Contrast is higher than the old version 
>> (easy to
>> do - they tended to be a bit "flat") but it is not so elevated as to make 
>> it
>> difficult to print. The extra stop over the 50/2 is a bonus, but even 
>> without
>> that I would still use it as my preferred 50. It might sound like 
>> heresy - but
>> it is that good. The pull out/locking hood is an improvement - I have 
>> been
>> bugging Leica since the infamous 90/2 of 1980 to come up with that lock 
>> (all
>> my
>> "collapsible" hood lenses have holes drilled and tapped in them that 
>> locks
>> them in a fully extended position. Oh, you can use gaffer tape too, but 
>> the
>> glue
>> residue is tacky (pun intended).
>> What is the result of this test - at LHSA in Williamsburg I asked Stefan
>> Daniel to send me a bill for the lens - I am buying it! Stefan smiled and 
>> said
>> "I
>> knew you would".
>> Any negatives? Well, nit-picking I would say that the lock for the hood 
>> is a
>> bit too short - it only turns about 1/8's of a turn and occasionally I 
>> have
>> found it in my bag with the hood collapsed. A good ? turn would have been
>> better. I am not getting rid of my old DR Summicrons or the nice chrome
>> standard
>> Summicrons - they are the lenses that I have used for 40+ years and 
>> sometimes
>> one gets nostalgic and want that "look" - but for regular shooting it is
>> 50/1,4
>> Asph!
>> I use the 50 about 30% of the time - wider lenses (21/24/28) about 20% of
>> the time and the 35's for the balance. The last month I have been trying 
>> to
>> get
>> by with only a 50/35 combo - 35/2 or VC 35/2,5 on a M2 and the 50/1,4 
>> Asph on
>> the MP. Nice "walk-about" package.
>> All the best,
>> Tom A
>> --------------
>> Tom Abrahamsson
>> Vancouver, BC
>> Canada
>> www.rapidwinder.com
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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