Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/04/14
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>was surprised how 'jangly' the 35 Summicron IV looked in that environment Although it has the "King of Bokeh" reputation, the version IV pre-asph 35 Summicron is highly variable, possibly second to only the f1 Nocti, which can look amazing, jangly, weird swirly and a whole host of other things depending on distance, aperture, subject and distance. The vIV 35 Summicron's out-of-focus rendition both in front and behind the focal plane is incredibly good between f4 and 5.6 on objects between about 2 and 5 metres, but wide open and closer up it is a lot less pleasant, particularly in front of the focal plane. One thing this variability shows is that you can tailor a test to make a lens look better or worse, and that if you want a complete representation of out-of-focus rendition you need to take shots at a variety of apertures and focus distances. I standardly test at close focus, 2m and 5m, wide open, at f2.8, 4 and 5.6 at each distance. It gets tiring, particularly with film. The digital Ms have made doing this a lot easier, but you need to be aware that the 1.3 crop on the M8 changes the characteristics of things considerably and that the results aren't necessarily easily transferred to the M9 or film Ms. The Summarits have very nice out of focus rendition - as you would expect looking at the designs and MTF charts. Marty On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 8:53 AM, Tim Gray <tgray at 125px.com> wrote: > On Apr 15, 2010 at 08:32 AM +0930, Marty Deveney wrote: >> >> The newer asph lenses - the 50 Summilux, 75 Summicron, 21 & 24 >> Summiluxes and the 0.95 Nocti have what Doug Herr refers to aptly as >> neutral bokeh. ?The 35s, the 21 and 24 2.8s and the 90 AA have what I >> would call harsh bokeh. ?The 28 is somewhere in between. ?I don't have >> them all, but I currently have 4 and I've used them all, including >> specific testing for bokeh. > > Interesting to actually hear someone who has used a bunch instead of just > reiterated the stereotype. ?I finally decided to interpret 'ASPH = harsh' > as > the 35 Summilux being a bit harsh. ?That's a popular lens and I figured > people made broad statements based on the experience with that one lens. > > There was a test on getdpi[1] between some Leica Summarits and other > counterparts. 35 Summicron IV, 50 ASPH, etc. ?Not having shot most of the > lenses, I was surprised how 'jangly' the 35 Summicron IV looked in that > environment, and how smooth the 50 ASPH looked. > > I've not used nor have any interest in the old 21 or 24. ?The 90 looks > good, > but I'd have to come across one at a good price for me to pick it up. ?And > I > won't ?be getting the new 21 or 24 anytime soon. > > [1]: <http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120> > > I'm not a huge bokeh freak, but as I said, I find the 50 ASPH to be > remarkably neutral. ?The 28 Summicron is reasonably neutral looking, but > since it's a wide angle, there's only going to be so much anyway. > > Tim > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >