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Leica Summilux 50mm/f1.4 Titanium


kim yee

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Just bought a good condition Summilux 50mm/f1.4 Titanium for 1150USD postage included. can't wait to

get my hands on it and put it together with my M6 Classic Titanium.

 

Anyway, would love to see some of you post images taken with a 50mm Summilux. Thanks.

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I love the non-ASPH Summilux 50 and I think that the few NOS examples out there should be snapped up without delay. Tony Rose has a few Chrome versions still new in the box..

 

Thomas Pastorello wrote this about the old non-ASPH 50mm 'Lux:

 

"I believe the (non-ASPH) Summilux-M 50 IS the best

lens Leica (or for that matter anyone) ever made. In

addition to its two main attributes of near absolute

freedom from flare and a signature bokeh of subtle

beauty, it is characterized by an artistic balance of

high resolution and realistic contrast -- even wide

open. It is perfectly balanced on the M body, such

that hand-holding is easy at 1/4 -- which makes it

very fast indeed at f1.4 (more so than the less well

balanced and holdable Noctilux at f1.0).

Will the new Summilux-M 50 ASPH have higher

contrast and resolution than the current? Of course

-- no need to wait for the Puts report! If all I

wanted was the highest possible (and most useless)

resolution and contrast, all I'd have to do is slap an

adapter and a process lens on any camera body. If the

new Summilux-M 50 ASPH has the look and feel of most

other new Leica ASPH lenses, with harsh bokeh and

flare proneness, I will not buy."

 

And Feli on the LUG wrote:

 

"I've had mine for almost a year now and it's really grown on me.

 

Not as sharp as the current Cron, which I also have, but plenty sharp.

By f8 the Lux is very sharp, all the way into the corners. I love the

extra

stop and the ability to focus as close as 70 cm. My biggest complaint is

the collapsible hood, which can't be locked into place. I solved that

problem

with a metal screw-in hood from Contax.

 

But what I really like about this lens is the fingerprint. It's magic

in black

and white. People talk about the Leica glow, and this one has it in

spades.

Buttersmooth tones with the smoothest bokeh and actually quite sharp.

It has a very classic look, hires and medium contrast, which isn't

surprising

given it's lineage, the Xenon, Summarit and first gen. Lux.

 

I've made some 11x14 prints on Agfa FB Classic from APX100 negs

(Rodinal)

and there is something about the look that even laymen notice.

 

The Lux gets knocked a lot because it was in production for about 40

years,

and remained unchanged, but it's much better than people think.

Absolute sharpness

isn't everything. Plenty of people made better shots than any of us

could manage with

the 1.5/50 Sonnar and the Lux blows that lens away. In any case, it's

another brush

in the shooters arsenal."

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Amazing! Nobody's come around yet to brag how their ASPH is so much better :*)

 

I can, because it is.

 

Dream on. This photo has been specially requested by mate Kevin to prove a point to you all.

 

He thinks it's a masterpiece and worth at least 150 US dollers.Taken with the sum of all lenses the 35mm ASPH.<div>00H44e-30797484.jpg.3571b44018b91ad5056701d663e483a9.jpg</div>

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While in some ways the newer ASPH is a 'more improved' lens technically, one cannot ignore the amount of amaazing images that have come from it over the history of the Leica M, and the 'so long' unchanged optical formula has lasted so long due to it's fantastic ability. I'd say it was only updated due to marketing reasons, and not reasons related to a 'need upgrade in quality'. But I certainly appreciate it, John :-)
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Jeff . ,

 

In the distant past there used to be genuine critique on this forum from published pro photographers. Robert Applebury,and Mike Dixon spring to mind.

 

Unfortunatily due to the pompous....don't tell me!....like yourself, who does not understand curves; they were flamed off this forum as far as genuine crit goes.

 

Sad loss.

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