Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/01/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Nathan, Thanks for looking and for your thoughtful comments. You are right, of course. The Summilux Asph is a vastly superior lens. But the Summarit has a charm of its own if used properly. My photos in this comparison are not a proper use of the lens. I think portraiture might be. I think what it shows is what digital manipulation can do to an image that was not possible 45 years ago when this lens was made. I like experimenting with the older Leica lenses just to see how they perform. For my more serious old Leica bw film photos I prefer my type 1 50mm Summicron and 35mm Summaron in any LTM body. Best Regards, Len On Jan 10, 2008, at 12:45 AM, Nathan Wajsman wrote: > Thanks for an interesting comparison, Len. I suppose everyone will > draw their own conclusions. Mine, even though I viewed the images > on a laptop screen (Powerbook G4), is that the Summilux ASPH is so > obviously superior to the Summarit that the only possible reason > for choosing the Summarit would be budget--and even in that case, I > would personally go with one of the modern CV offerings instead. > > Nathan > > On 8-jan-2008, at 20:07, Leonard Taupier wrote: > >> Ever since I purchased my M8 I've been experimenting with it and >> my older LTM Leica lenses. This not only gives me an idea on what >> my film photos taken with the Leica III series bodies will look >> like but it allows me to compare performance to the modern lenses. >> I find the older Summars, Xenons and Summarits are very low >> contrast, flare easily and definitely need a lens hood at all >> times. However that does not mean they are low resolution lenses. >> The next 5 photos will demonstrate what to expect from a 50mm >> Summarit directly from the camera and then 3 easy post processing >> steps ending up with the comparison of the final photo compared to >> a 50mm Summilux Asph. >> >> First I would like to mention that none of the photos have >> sharpening applied during the process. >> >> The first photo is taken directly from the camera and has not been >> altered except to convert it from a raw file to a jpeg. All the >> Summarit photos are from the same M8 digital photo. It has low >> contrast even at f4. >> >> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/LeonardT/Summarit/ >> L1008908.jpg.html> >> >> The 2nd photo is the same as the first except the saturation was >> reduced to zero in the raw converter. >> >> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/LeonardT/Summarit/ >> L1008908_BW.jpg.html> >> >> The third is the original except Auto Levels was used on the >> image. Things are looking better. >> >> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/LeonardT/Summarit/ >> L1008908a.jpg.html> >> >> The fourth photo is the same as the third except contrast was >> increased +20 and green was increased +20 in Color balance. >> >> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/LeonardT/Summarit/ >> L1008908a_Color_Contrast.jpg.html> >> >> or >> >> http://tinyurl.com/373sce >> >> The final picture is a comparison shot to a 50mm Summilux, unaltered. >> >> <http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/LeonardT/Summarit/ >> L1008910_SummiluxAsph.jpg.html> >> >> or >> >> http://tinyurl.com/37tctj >> >> The Summarit lens cost me $275 1 1/2 years ago. The Summilux cost >> me $2350 two years ago. >> >> Regards, >> Len >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> > > Nathan Wajsman > nathan@nathanfoto.com > General photography: > http://www.nathanfoto.com > http://www.greatpix.eu > http://www.frozenlight.eu > Picture-A-Week: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws > Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information