Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/07/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]What Don said. This is exactly how I would describe my 1980-ish 90 Summicron. It has the same optics as the last pre-Asph (E55) version, but a transitional mount where the built-in lens hood retracts over the aperture ring. If I recall correctly, this one was taken around f/3.5 (and some cropping) on Neopan 1600: http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/musicians/SarahSrRecit01-35.htm And this one was probably at a similar aperture, and better light, on Tri-X: http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/musicians/SarahHaydn1480-04.htm In this stage situation, the 90/2 AA is sharper wide open. Astoundingly sharp, actually. You can't tell much if any difference between the lenses from f/2.8 down (from a practical hand-held shooting standpoint). But the 90/AA has a seemingly narrower depth of field, the focus is a sharp peak--if you graphed sharpness relative to distance, it would be an upside-down "V" rather than a broader upside-down "U" of the older design. Here's what I mean. This one was shot with a borrowed 90/AA, I think wide open or nearly so: http://users.2alpha.com/~pklein/musicians/2-03LonyaMischaWeb.jpg The two violinists are almost in the same plane--the one on the right is maybe a foot behind the one on the left. He's distinctly less sharp. The guy on the left is very sharp. If I'd taken this same shot with the classic design, it's more likely that both would not quite as sharp as the man on the left, but sharper than the man on the right. --Peter At 08:28 AM 7/15/2007 -0700, Don Dory wrote: >The later >Summicrons behaved much like a gen IV 50 Summicron; not tack sharp wide open >but certainly very good images and down even one stop really good. Bokeh on >either is of the old creamy style for the older design.