Lengendary Leica Lenses

Hi,

Can anyone tell me which lenses are considered lengendary and unsurpassed in performance in Leica's current M-mount lineup?

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Jack

All the current summicrons, all the current elmarits,the 75mm

summilux and the 135 apo. Up to 11/14, and all things being equal, it

is hard to see any difference in resolution between current leica

lenses of the same focal length. To see a difference, you need a slow

film and a tripod. Since most Leica M users, including me, do not use

a tripod, the difference is irrelevant.

"Legendary" and "current" both together kind of threw me off. There

isn't a lens in the current line that isn't at or near the top of its

class. That would include the 21, 24, 28 f2.0, 35 f1.4 and 2.0, 50mm

f1.0, 1.4, and 2.0, 75 f1.4, 90mm f2.0 and 2.8 , and 135mm f3.4.

Focal length for focal length, I believe that none of the current

Leica lenses is surpassed in price, which is legendary.

Nikon lovers discuss which lenses are "killers" and which

are "dogs". Even Hasselblad lovers bicker over T* vs non-T* and FLE

vs non-FLE, in terms of good and bad. Only Leica lovers discuss

which generation of each lens is more superlative than another.

What are you going to shoot? Sharpness might be one thing that

is "unsurpassed" in the new lenses, but there are intangibles that

don't show up on MTF graphs. My 90mm Elmarit M is simply too sharp

for close-up portraits of the woman in my age group, so would it make

sense to "upgrade" to the optically superior 90mm APO / Asph

Summicron? Superior doesn't always mean better depending on the

intended use.

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Some of the photos submitted on this forum are being produced with

lenses written off as obsolete by the "new is better" crowd, (look at

the terrific shots that Mike Dixon has presented made with very old

50mm and 90mm Summicrons). Everything is subjective about words

like "unsurpassed" and "legendary." All of my lenses were "the best"

20 years ago, and they still keep on giving me great images, so I

think I'll keep them. They may have been surpassed (on-paper), but

they're still legendary.

"Legendary" may not equal "unsurpassed in performance". Legendary

Leica lenses outside the current generation include the 21/3.4

Super-Angulon, the 50/2.0 Dual-Range Summicron, the first 50/2.0 Rigid

Summicron, the fourth version 35/2.0 Summicron (the pre-Asph that

people talk about so much) and the 90/2.8 fat Tele-Elmarit.

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I'd consider the "legendary" lenses from the current generation to

include the 21/2.8, the 24/2.8 the 35/1.4, the 50/1.0 and 50/2.0, the

75/1.4 the 90/2.8 and the 90/2.0AA. To be considered a legend, a lens

has to be not only very good, but also widely used. This latter is th

only thing standing in the way of lenses like the 28/2.0 and the

135/3.4 which are at the pinnacle of 35mm optical excellence, but not

widely used. Of course the 50/1.0 isn't widely used either, but it's

just such an outrageous lens that its status was assured when the

first glass hit the molds.

I consider only 14 of the current M lenses to be unsurpassed, each

within its particular specialty and purpose. Maybe you can figue out

which 14.

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I also consider a number of older lenses unsurpassed, too, for their

ability to render a softer image, when called for. Happily, Leica is

unique in its long heriage of tools to choose from, that are forward

and backward compatible, unsurpassed for individuals according to

his/her own standards.

Hello Jack,

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Sitting here in front of me is the reason I have a Leica Camera and

lens. I was browsing through some books in the public library and

happened across "Eisenstaedt's Guide to Photography." c1978 I found

my copy in a used book store the other day. The minute I saw his

pictures I wanted a Leica.

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Alfred Eisenstaedt is, of course, a legend. In this book are

countless examples of his work taken with the 35mm Leica lens. He

used a Nikon F and other Leica lenses to be sure. Yet the 35 is his

confessed favorite. "I find the 35-mm lens best suited for the

majority of pictures that I take."

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From Jackie O to the Tah Mahal AE defines legendary with this 35mm

Leica lens.

Summicron 50, Summilux 35, 50 Telyt-180 are legendary lenses,

designed by legendary Walter Mandler, who put Leitz into the

forefront of lens

design

Legends are good and bad. In my opinion the greatest legendary lens

was the 50mm Summar. Brand new, unscratched, and un poilished (user

polishing) it will match a Summicron. Front element haze affects the

image in most versions you can find now but it was the lens that

really gave Leica lenses that extra something.

Erwin Puts on the three generations of Leica lens design. Fairly new

article.

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http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/magazine/threegen.html

Elmar 50/3.5, can be the first legendaty lens, is the lens on wich

all leica quality is well founded, also the summicrons 25 years

latter, and the rest of them for particular reasons.

Excerpt from Alfred Breull's Leica Diary:

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The story ...

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Leica didn't have the funds in the 1920's and 1930's to design lenses

which would blow the doors off of Zeiss and Voigtlander products -

they were, after all, the 'new kids' on the block, a small microscope

works which had moved only lately into photography.

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Their lens designer, Max Berek, used a trick to make Leica

lenses 'seem' to perform better than they actually do, by emphasizing

out-of-focus softness. Thus, the in-focus portion of the image pops

out at the viewer, producing the 'Leica glow', as Gianni Rogliatti

calls it.

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This was seen as a cheap trick by the larger houses, but it built a

foundation for the magical effect of Leica lenses. And it also

explains why older designs do not test well, but produce images which

stand out from those of other houses.

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This changed following Berek's death in the early 1950's. Certainly,

Leica lenses produced today test competitively and, in many cases,

blow the competition away. But such was not always the case - and the

Leica 'glow' of 1930 has become the 'bokeh' of today.

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... and additional information

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Actually, the Summar shows a very high resolution (but low contrast)

in high-end tests. And, even in today, it belongs to the small group

of Leitz and Leica lenses with the most beautiful rendition (up to f

4.5).

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Other characteristics: corners are dark at f 2.0, no increase in

performance above f 6.3, low or moderate color saturation, little

shadow details, over-pronounciation of bright parts, hood required in

sun shine pictures. Also, its front element is rather soft - most

Summars show serious marks and signs from cleanings.

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Cheers.

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link: http://members.aol.com/abreull/index.htm

According to the dictionary, a legend is a story which is handed down

and retold, and generally accepted as true, even if it isn't. Like

Paul Bunyan. I wonder which Leica lenses come to mind from this

point of view? Like maybe a belief that the pre-war Elmar is still

better than anything made since. You know, the old they-don't-make-

em-like-they-usta thing. At any rate, I guess the current lenses

haven't been around long enough to become legends. A contradiction

in terms, you might say.

I would equate "legendary" in this case to those well-know photogs

who have used Leica M's and its lenses. They all have their favorite

lenses: Eisenstaedt and D.A. Harvey with the 35mm, and H. Cartier-

Bresson with the 50mm. Which lens version? It doesn't really matter

since they didn't seem to place too much emphasis on that matter

anyways.

Legendary, that is a tough one. I suggest the 50mm 3.5 Elmar, the 50mm

Summicron, the 100 Macro-Elmarit-R, and the 180 f3.4 Apo Telyt-R. All

of these lenses are talked about with reverence. Some of the modern M

and R lenses may well become legends but are probably not yet - the

Summilux-Asph 35mm comes to mind.