LEICA 50 SUMMILUX ASPH VS. 50 SUMMICRON REVIEW 

Thanks so much!

Thanks very much! Appreciate the feedback! Wasn’t easy but I’m glad that it’s appreciated!

Thank you very much! I look forward to making another soon!

Thank you very much! I worked very hard on it, means a lot!

Thanks for the comment and for watching. Yeah haha, there’s a lot to be said and I really wanted to cover as much as possible, glad you enjoyed my photos too! Cheers!

So glad to hear that you find it interesting and useful. It’s a very personal choice at the end of the day, you really can’t go wrong with either.

Howdy, just wanted to share my own experience and a data point readers of these comments might be interested in. A year on from my last comment, I've now had the chance to own and compare the Summicron 50mm v5 and Summilux 50mm ASPH v1. I agree with all the observations in the review, based on my own experiences. The biggest standout difference for me, as mentioned in the review, is how much shallower the depth of field is with the Summilux vs Summicron at f2 and even f2.8. It's very noticeable, as well as the smoother rendering of blurred portions of the image. I'm not sure if I've seen or read another review (besides this one) that calls that out, but having used the two side by side, it's one of the biggest differences I think people should be aware of. The one datapoint I wanted to mention based on my own experiences is how the Summilux vs Summicron performs for full body length portraits, especially group portraits. Essentially my main use case for owning the Summilux was to take these kinds of family photos (4 people in a line) and get a really blurred background similar to a medium format look. What I found is that the dreaded "mid zone dip" really has an impact in this specific use case, at about 5m from subject, where faces may be placed just outside the central 1/3 of the image. Even with the EVF attachment on an M10, focusing on those faces, the Summicron is noticeably sharper at f2 than the Summilux at f2. The Summilux doesn't really catch up in this scenario until about f5.6, which was shocking to me. That central 1/3 on the Summilux is always sharper, but outside that the resolution at this distance noticeably drops compared to the Summicron which has a very linear decrease in resolution across the frame. Is it a big enough difference to matter? That's really subjective, and won't matter at all if someone's style of portrait photography keeps the subject's face within the central third of the frame. The Summilux really excels here and does astonishing things at f1.4. It also won't matter much for landscape photography as you're using the lens at f8 or f11, with the one caveat that if your main use case is landscape photography you're better off with the Summicron because it's cheaper, smaller and lighter. For me though, my reason for buying the lens was for a specific type of composition where it's easy to have the faces of the subjects outside that central area of optimal performance. I now know to play to the Summilux's strengths, I need to reconsider the composition of these shots, maybe take a few steps back and weight the composition more towards the bottom so faces stay within that central third. I think my take away from this is the Summicron is more like a dependable old tool that always does what you want without surprises. Where the Summilux is more of a specialty tool, that does specific things the general purpose tool can't, but needs to be handled in a way to bring out those strengths. In other words, if your intended use cases don't play to the specific strengths of the Summilux, there's really no advantage over the Summicron or maybe in my case a slight disadvantage. Just wanted to share this specific experience and give another data point to potential Summilux buyers in case they have a similar use case to myself :)@@GenericPhotographer

@@stephenhaber very well said and I’m glad that your findings are the same! I’ve learned to live with that slight degradation in IQ from the summilux in the midzone. If you don’t go looking for it, you won’t notice it. That said I tend to stop down to f2 if my subject is close enough and I know that I can sacrifice the dof for the added sharpness and framing possibilities.

Appreciate it! Wasn’t easy

the people have spoken! Thanks James!

Wow, appreciate the kind words and support! Glad you like my work! I'll be posting more soon!

Mind sharing which lens you ended up choosing and why? I’m currently wrestling with this dilema. 50 lux or cron, or a 35 FLE.

Glad to hear others agree! Thanks for watching!

congrats on the new lens! Well said haha

Thanks very much! Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank for the support!

Thanks for the kind words! Glad to hear that you agree!

Thanks for the feedback. Very glad to hear that others share the same experiences, happy to have helped haha

Exactly! And I find that the magic is especially apparent on film! It’s safe to say that I agree with you, it ticks the right boxes. It’s a modern classic.

Yup, lens cap comes off, magic comes.. through? :)

Thanks, and stunning lens! Totally agree, stopping it down allows for more control over that distinct look. It's like a two-for-one; wide open it's dreamy, stopped down its modern and clinical.

Thanks for the comment. Glad you agree!

Appreciate the feedback from another experienced user! Really wanted to cover as much as possible, glad it helped! Enjoy the lux!

Happy to help, try before buying the cron is a splendid lens

Haha well said!

Thanks 🙏

Thanks! The channel loves you too!

Appreciate it! Thanks for the support!

Absolutely, that’s what I do too and most of my m lenses have a similar throw and tab placement.

I’d have to agree, enjoy it!

Thank you for the very kind feedback Chaps, you are going to be a very happy person with both of those incredible pieces of glass! happy shooting!

Glad it was helpful!

Happy to have helped! Enjoy the Summicron!

@@GenericPhotographer Thank you so much. I am loving this lens!. I bought the version 5.

Good choice! thanks for watching

Thanks! Great choice and totally agreed. Welcome to the club!

Was it worth it to you? I mean the extra stop. was it a good move?

Thanks for watching, that 28 ultron is really something else, you’ll love it! Haven’t used a c-sonnar in years unfortunately. It’s a fantastic lens but tricky to use, especially for critical focusing and accommodating the focus shift, (some models are calibrated for 1.5 focusing and others f2.8). Otherwise, the size is perfect and the colors, charm and pop are sublime. I’d love to give one another spin eventually. Hope you’re enjoying it!

@@GenericPhotographer Oh I'm enjoying it a lot and I guess this is what led me to your review because still lust for the Summilux LOL. Most of my kit is ZM-- 50/2, 50/1.5, 35/2.8, 25/2.8 but I'm so intrigued by the 50 Lux. The C-Sonnar has it's limitations (well documented) but it has character but I want something that focuses to 0.7m and a bit more predictable in use. I think I'm over the lust for the 50/2 because the Planar is great plus it hardly flares... Thanks for your input, Andrew. I think a lot will benefit from your channel and it's probably just a matter of time before loads of subscribers pour in. Meantime, I hope you always have the passion and bandwidth to keep this channel going.

Agree. I am on the fence line between both.

Are you shooting Film by any chance? I'm still trying to decide.

@@gewglesux I do have an M7, but have not used the 50mm/1.4 extensively on it. 41 M pixels is more than any commercial film, so I would expect to see even less differences between the two on film. The f/1.4 is a lot sharper (more micro-contrast) the the f/2 on the high-res digital sensor.

@@bobsykes Thanks for the reply. I'm still trying to decide on what i am going to do.

@@bobsykes Thanks again. I love shooting at F1.4 it's so much sharper. Especially while shooting B/W

Thanks for the support and for watching. Definitely see your point and I would tend to agree. Happy shooting!

514 represent! Le summicron est un véritable bijou. Merci pour le support!

@@GenericPhotographer OBTW, je suis d'accord: le summicron et B&W film est une tuerie!

Thanks!

Thanks, noo sorry to hear that. Yeah I really can’t see myself parting with the lux. I loved the black chrome. Smooth as heck and it is pretty!

Stunning lens! If you don’t need to, don’t bother, the cron, and especially the titanium coated one, is a solid choice!

My pleasure, the cron is a gem!

Hey Ron, thanks for commenting! Glad to hear that you have gotten to experience Montreal at its best during those f1 weekends, I’m usually out downtown the entire time, it never disappoints! The M cameras can be a bit unforgiving, but with practice there are many ways to overcome the shortcomings of the rangefinder system, especially if your eyesight might feel like it’s not up to the task. Wider lenses have a greater depth of field and are much more forgiving. A 28 f2 for example, can easily be zone focused, even wide open, negating the dependency of using the viewfinder. The Q is a stellar camera, but it isn’t as engaging as an M, though you won’t miss a shot and the viewfinder and lens are fantastic. It took me a while to get used to using and acquiring focus with the M10, now it feels second nature. So much so that my Sony cameras with the same lenses just aren’t as accurate. Feel free to have a look at my M10 entry in my site for some info on the camera and how I went from almost getting a Q and wound up with the M10: andrewbphotography.com/leica-m10

Thanks! Something special about the zeiss colors and pop. Especially the classic ones, it’s why I continue to use my 85 1.4 planar. My M10 does 90% of all my work. Other than the 85, I only use M glass on my mirrorless cameras. You can definitely make the switch depending on your usage.

Solid choice! I loved the planar, if I get my hands on one for a while I’ll definitely make something. The new APO VM is also very compelling