Zeiss 50 planar or leica 50 summarit

[CharlesK]

Definitely the ZM 50 Planar. This is an excellent lens in every way, truly in the lineup of zeiss. I have not tried the 50 Summarit, so I cannot make the comparison. Having the 50 Summilux Asph, the ZM 50 Planar is a great compliment. It is light, very easy to focus and has excellent rendering IMO.

Here is a shot very recently with the ZM 50/2 Planar.

 

[horosu]

The 50 Summarit "suffers" from focus shift as shown in Sean Reid's review of the lens. I guess this is the reason your shots are not sharp. (the 50 Planar does not)

 

[kuau]

So let me ge this straight.
Focus shift is when I have the camera focused, but when I change the F stop, this can screw up the focus?
I assume then I need to figure out which f stops are sharp when the range finder shows I am in focus??
Can this "focus shift" be fixed at leica?

 

[mathomas]

So let me ge this straight.
Focus shift is when I have the camera focused, but when I change the F stop, this can screw up the focus?
I assume then I need to figure out which f stops are sharp when the range finder shows I am in focus??
Can this "focus shift" be fixed at leica?

Yeah, that's your standard focus shift. Pretty easy to test with a ruler. This is the first I've heard of the 50mm Summarit having shift (not denying the other poster's claim, or Sean Reid's). Focus shift is pretty bothersome -- I returned a 50mm Nokton f/1.5 for having shift (supposedly very uncommon for this lens), and then, oddly, bought a Sonnar .

My Zeiss Planar has been dead reliable, focus-wise. But I use the Sonnar for its beautiful rendering (it's adjusted for best focus at f/1.5, and I pretty much shoot it either wide open, or really stopped down).

 

[kuau]

I have decided to send my 50 in to be checked out. Is there anywhere else I can send the lens into besides USA leica? What about 3rd repair centers?
Any recommendations?

Steven

 

[Eisemann]

You might want to consider a 50 Elmar 2.8. I am very happy with mine and do not think that you can do much better in a less than 2.0 fifty. They can be obtained in mint-condition for ~$700

 

[mathomas]

You might want to consider a 50 Elmar 2.8. I am very happy with mine and do not think that you can do much better in a less than 2.0 fifty. They can be obtained in mint-condition for ~$700

From the images I've seen, this is very good advice. If you like small, it's hard to get much smaller.

 

[ramosa]

actually, for $1,100 (likely less), you could get a mint cron 50, most recent version. i'd recommend that approach ... but, then again, you'd be without a warranty that way ...

 

[dseelig]

I hated the 50 1.5 nokton lots of purple fringing. It was very muddy Sean Ried might say low contrast I say mud. 3d look was more like 1d look. I had two of them so this is off of two samples.

 

[Photon]

Always this battle between the eye and the wallet...

As for me, I recently decided to go for a new 'nd shiny Zeiss Planar. It's a great allrounder, fast, very affordable, gives great colours, enough depth, surprisingly beautiful bokeh and is sharper than my razor.

This has to do (and actually will do) until I have saved up again for the real thing (O Lux, O My...). :angel:

Warmest,

Ton

www.tonvanmourik.com

 

[turtle]

focus shift will have no impact on landscape type scenes at f5.6 etc. I miiiiight show in closer in shots at f4 or so. If your lens is not very sharp with distant scenes at middle apertures the problem lies elsewhere. FWIW users of the 50 summarit report it is insanely sharp and that the focus shift is rarely visible with 3d subjects in real usage. Certainly not with landscapes focused at sensible distances.

 

[rchisholm]

Recently picked up a 50 planar. For the M9. Tried the 50 cron type 2, 50 hex f2, 50 heliar... The planar is hands down my favorite. It is gentle on skin, yet sharp with fantastic colors. I'll try to add some photos from my flickr account but I'm on my iPad and I'm not sure this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/feros-ferio/5127523061/in/photostream/

 

[Tim Gray]

focus shift will have no impact on landscape type scenes at f5.6 etc. I miiiiight show in closer in shots at f4 or so.

Ditto on this. Focus shift on a 50mm at infinity focusing shouldn't be visible. Even at minimum focus distance, I'd be surprised if focus shift was a problem at f/8.

 

[turtle]

FWIW I had a 75 summarit that went back to leica because it would only focus accurately at min focus and infinity. As you progressed towards mid distance focus the error got so bad it was about 6 feet out of focus at 15 ft. Might be that this 50 summarit has also been put together, erm, shall we say less than optimally!

 

[01af]

Steven, sorry to hear you're unhappy with your Summarit-M 50 mm. However due to the nature and the touchiness of the rangefinder coupling between camera and lens, you can have bad luck with the focus adjustment with any lens, in particular when purchased from second-hand. For example, I got a used Summicron-M 90 mm lens just recently, and the seller told me he had this lens adjusted to his M camera only a few months before. On my camera however it was totally off so it was unusable. It's off to Leica Customer Service right now.

Regarding focus shift—all lenses that have an aperture also have some focus shift. Some more, some less; depends on the lens design. It cannot be fixed. Fast lenses typically suffer more from it than lenses with moderate speeds, and wide-angles more than telephoto lenses. The Leica Summarit-M 50 mm 1:2.5 lens also has some focus shift (as has any lens) but it's so small it's hard to detect and absolutely no issue in real life (as with most lenses).

Generally, the Leica Summarit-M line of lenses is often under-appreciated. They're damn fine lenses at (for Leica) good prices. In particular the Summarit-M 35 mm is a real gem which I prefer over the Summicron-M 35 mm Asph. Also the Summarit-M 50 mm is really good; it's just on par with the Summicron-M 50 mm, at about 1/2 f-stop less speed and at a much nicer price and in a really small package (almost pancake-like). Got mine from eBay for only 650.00. The 50 mm Summarit's particular strength is the incredibly smooth and natural rendition of things just slightly out of focus. In this regard it is better than the Summilux-M 50 mm Asph, so I prefer the Summarit whenever 'lux speed is not required (and it seldom is).

 

[ramosa]

For $1100, you can get a mint most recent version cron 50mm. I always think it's odd when folks spend so much on a body and then "settle" for lower quality lenses. I would strongly recommend a mint cron over a refurb summarit. Pardon my candor.

 

[01af]

I always think it's odd when folks spend so much on a body and then "settle" for lower quality lenses. I would strongly recommend a mint Summicron over a refurb Summarit.

You are badly misguided when you think of a current Summarit-M as a lower-quality lens.

 

[Double Negative]

...Any suggestions??

Just one. Get the Planar.

"The Planar is a no-brainer."

 

[dseelig]

When you put a voigt on a m9 or m8 sooner or later the flaws come out The Zeiss palnar is a great lens on an m8 or m9. Mechanically not up to Leica standards but optically a killer lens.