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75 Summilux and 35 Summilux Asph on the M8

D&A

Well-known member
Hi Stuart & Ampguy,

Thanks for your responses regarding the 75 Lux and early vs. later lenses Ampguy, when you mentioned later 75 LUX, at what point consitutues later ones...all those with the built-in sliding hood? Certain serial #'s? Those in earlier RED vs. later White boxes? I'm trying to get a handle on which ones would be considered "later" ones. Thanks!

D&A
 

cam

Active member
Steve,

my ongoing saga after boring boring testing this morning....

35 Lux and Noctilux both back focus consistently across apertures, making me think i had issues with my body.... then i pulled out the 75 Lux and was able to nail focus on a stray grey hair sticking out of my boyfriend's shirt at f/1.4 -- breathtakingly sharp! pulled my old 50 Lux pre-asph (the one lens i can always depend on to nail focus).

so i'm back to thinking it is the lenses and the only reason i'd been happy with my Nocti initially was because my Epson had front focus issues.... sigh.

i want to use the camera tomorrow night at a Laker game, but it now seems the whole lot of it will be going in to service for expert opinion and calibration.

i'm not really miffed because all these lenses are just so gorgeous that it's worth it to me to make everybody play nice with each other. and, i think with the fast lenses, you have to make a compromise -- wide open perfection may mean slight suffering in the mids or calibrating for f/2 might mean a slight front focus wide open in which you learn to compensate there whilst DOF covers it as you stop down.

again, having the speed and signature of these lenses is worth the hassle to me. for those it isn't, there are always the Crons :D
 

stevem8

New member
Cam, sorry to hear that! I have been driving myself nuts with mine as I LOVE it wide open so much I am afraid if I got a new one it will not be as nice wide open!! BUT, after shooting yesterday at F4 and 5.6 I realized I have to send it back.

I found a good buy on a NEW in box 35 Lux, and with the current $400 rebate it will be close to what I paid for the used one. I will have the new one tomorrow and will test them both side by side and see how it goes. I will have a pretty detailed write up on this lens in a couple of weeks at my site with samples from both copies of the lens, on TWO M8 bodies.

Anyway, here are three from yesterday, all wide open of course.







Also, I am on the lookout for a 75 Lux and have a dealer keeping an eye out for one for me as well.
 

cam

Active member
nothing to be sorry about at all!

the beauty of my 35 Lux is that the focus shift is almost exactly the same across the board (and really fairly miniscule if i take my time in focusing), meaning that a slight tweak to either lens or body will make it spot on. the key will be pulling all my other lenses out today to see where the issue truly lies.

and i'm glad you've taken my badgering to heart regarding the 75 :p

i got to be passenger yesterday and was shooting street scenes out the car window with it in Hollywood. setting the shutter speed at 1000 and shooting at either 1250 or 2500, i got some truly fun slices of life. for a lens that is so gorgeous wide open, it also did an astonishing job at f/8 from a moving car.

the only caveat is i need to figure out how to process out some of the banding that occurred at the high ISO's. i think C1 will do this, but haven't tried yet (i shot RAW and b/w JPEG so there is a chance that the RAW files aren't so bad).
 

KurtKamka

Subscriber Member
Steve, I hope the other 35lux works out for you ... when it goes right, it's all one really needs on the M8 to be happy. Unless, of course, you complement it with the wonderful 75lux.
 

cam

Active member
for anyone that has been following this thread, here is the finale of the saga.

my M8 is spot on, no focus shift. my Epson is now back, sans focus shift.

Noctilux was bad and only worked because i used to have focus shift on the R-D1. a trip to Solms is probably in order, unless i can find someone locally in Paris to fix it.

the 75 Lux was spot on, is spot on, and continues to amaze me.

my pre-asph 35 Lux got a huge overhaul and is now working faultlessly after CLA. i used to think people who sent their lenses in where being overly anal. mea culpa. the difference is HUGE. it's almost like receiving a new lens and i am happy to have this back in rotation.

if i had done this first, perhaps i would not have sought out the Asph, but i can't say i regret it one bit. a little TLC and the lens was made for me -- i am in awe of my 35 Asph Lux now! the focus shift is so minimal that i can easily focus at all apertures. it's gentle curve of OOF just thrills me to bits!

this is a lens that worked brilliantly for two people -- actually three, if you count my friend here who tried it on for size. however, infinity was definitely off and i did the right thing in getting it CLA'd.

i am only a year into rangefinder shooting and never really thought before about the RF on cameras getting tired. my Epson, it seems, was exhausted (so much for reselling it :ROTFL: -- not that i'm thinking of it) as was my 35 Lux pre-asph and, seemingly, the 35 Asph i bought.

in my quest to learn and become comfortable with my gear, i've taken far more shots than the average user (thank god for digital!) and my hand was obviously heavy as it went through surgery and rehab.... i will try to be more gentle this year.

i honestly couldn't be more thrilled with the two lenses in the title of this thread and encourage anyone interested to go for it! the images are breathtaking and you will fall in love with the lenses -- and thusly be encouraged to use them often.

i'm over moon and thank everyone for the help and encouragement to see these through.
 

stevem8

New member
Great news cam! Glad to see all is working well now (well, except for the poor Noct) - I am still loving the 35 Lux ASPH and just posted my review of it, using TWO copies of the lens. Like you, mine has such minimal focus shift it does not bother me now. I do believe each and every 35 Lux has focus shift from 2.8 through F5.6 but sometimes you may not even notice it.

Its a great lens!
 
N

nei1

Guest
Can I be lazy and ask if this is a problem that just affects the M8 annd lenses or is it a general digital thing.Shouldnt leica fix all these things for free?I mean to say,Cam,youve almost got me crying into the keyboard,what drama;glad its all ok now..............Neil.
 

cam

Active member
LOL, Neil, i am just a drama queen, i guess :D

my M8 is perfect, but time will tell if the RF gets knocked out. it was the Epson that i nearly killed and, as i have stated, it was not always being used gently. nor were the lenses as i've had issues with proper control of my right arm/hand due to a shattered elbow that has healed somewhat off kilter.

all my lenses (and cameras, for that matter) were bought used so there is no way to tell what would have been if i was the original owner. i do not fault Leica (nor Epson, nor Zeiss) or feel that they are responsible. if this happens to me again in a year, i'll probably feel quite different. i am hoping for the best, however, and will try to be much softer in my touch.. doucement!
 

Riccis

New member
Can I be lazy and ask if this is a problem that just affects the M8 annd lenses or is it a general digital thing.Shouldnt leica fix all these things for free?I mean to say,Cam,youve almost got me crying into the keyboard,what drama;glad its all ok now..............Neil.
I am one of those that has never encountered any of these issues either with digital or film... Noctilux, 35 lux, 75 lux have all been great for me... BTW, I am the original owner of Cam's 35 lux and shot it a lot with amazing results... Maybe the fact that I shoot wide open most of the time has something to do with it.

Cheers,
 

Scargos2

New member
With all your talk. you folks are driving me crazy. I want one, a 35 Lux. But money is tight. Tomorrow hopefully I will get a rental deposit on my warehouse, so I can start looking for a 35 Lux. Being retired and with SS payments , Leica can be tough for me at times. Having owned a M8 for a month. I have the BUG.
Hoping for the best.
 

cam

Active member
I am one of those that has never encountered any of these issues either with digital or film... Noctilux, 35 lux, 75 lux have all been great for me... BTW, I am the original owner of Cam's 35 lux and shot it a lot with amazing results... Maybe the fact that I shoot wide open most of the time has something to do with it.
Riccis -- i know neither you nor the owner after had any issues with the lens, and he packed it cradled like a baby. for *my* body it was off, however, even wide open which is why i had it tweaked. it is now more gorgeous than anything i could ever have dreamed!

i got to play with the new 21 and 24 Lux today and you know what? for what i do, for what i shoot, i wasn't that depressed that i couldn't afford either. are they amazing? yes! would i buy one if i could afford it? another, yes! but what really got me chuffed was the lens i kept on oohing and ahing about was then lens i already owned -- the (yours) 35 Lux Asph.

how great is that?

as for my poor Nocti -- it's from 1975 (pre-production), an E58, and was used by a comet photographer, so you can imagine what it was probably attached to at one time. it worked beautifully on my Epson when it front focused so i imagine it will be cherry when recalibrated by Solms (for which i was lucky enough to get the proper contact). i loved it at all apertures when my body was off and imagine i will be over the moon when i get it to work again with what i have.

eta: Riccis, after initially think the 24 would be the one i'd lust for -- i have to say that the 21 thrilled me more. (as an aside, the new 18 was fantastic!)

With all your talk. you folks are driving me crazy. I want one, a 35 Lux. But money is tight. Tomorrow hopefully I will get a rental deposit on my warehouse, so I can start looking for a 35 Lux. Being retired and with SS payments , Leica can be tough for me at times. Having owned a M8 for a month. I have the BUG.
Hoping for the best.
it is a bug worth having and if the 35 suits you (50mm equivalent) i truly think there's nothing better. i believe one of our Super Moderator's here, Bob. might still have a mint one for sale. it will save you $$$ and there's very few people that i would rather have a lens from.
 
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KurtKamka

Subscriber Member
Cam, can you let me know a little bit more about the photo fair you mentioned on June 6th and 7th. I'm making my first trip to Paris. It's for business, but have managed to squeeze in a few extra days (including those dates) to walk around lost and aimlessly (probably when I do my best shooting, anyway).

Thanks much.

Kurt
 

cam

Active member
Kurt,

i went to look up the link for you and they postponed the fair for a week because of the European Elections! so sorry -- it was still the on for the 6/7 when i looked before i came to L.A.

i've never been, but my boyfriend said i would think i died and went to heaven....

P.S. sending you an e.
 

cam

Active member
no problem! anyone coming to Paris for the fair or otherwise, drop me a line.

unlike when i'm in the States (where family rules), i might actually get to meet some on you. have some wine or coffee and go trolling together. it's always good fun!
 

scott kirkpatrick

Well-known member
Can I be lazy and ask if this is a problem that just affects the M8 annd lenses or is it a general digital thing.Shouldnt leica fix all these things for free?
I think focus tolerances are not affecting just Leica. Notice that the major DSLRs with autofocus now are starting to offer firmware for correcting for more precise focus on a lens by lens basis. Not for contrast detection AF, which focuses based on the actual image, but for phase detection AF as used in the best, fastest focusing equipment. Phase detection uses what amounts to a rangefinder with the width of the lens aperture as its baseline. And you can buy a nice self-calibrating focus target from Michael Tapes at rawworkflow.com to determine the settings that need to be fed into this firmware.

The thing that is general and digital is that the pixel-peeping needed to be certain of focus issues was beyond most of us until digital came along.

scott
 

woodyspedden

New member
can i be a spoiled brat here? when you were selling that flawless copy, i wanted to buy it. unfortunately, you were having some sort of family emergency and were unreachable.... i was in the states and had the chance to buy the pre-asph i now have. after trying both lenses, i preferred the Asph for various reasons (close focus and the ability to retain details better wide open). i was completed seduced by this article, knew i wanted a Lux -- but you were away for an unknown period.

i did the proper thing and bought a lens i in arms reach, not knowing if your lens would be sold whilst i couldn't reach you. it was well-used and i plan to continue to do so on my R-D1. but that's how long i've wanted one, Woody. your lens was always a touchstone for me and i've frequently wondered what if. and now you tell me it's no more :cry:
Hey Cam

What I have written so far is (apparently) the bad news side of the story. Peter sent the (destroyed) lens back to Solms and they have completely rebuilt it to factory specs. Peter says the lens works as good as it did before the accident! Yea!! LOL

Now that leads back to me. I have now acquired a second copy of a chrome silver version of the lens, along with my old Contax G1 hood and Titanium cover. All looks perfect, acts perfect, and meets my needs for the perfect focal length for the M8! Yea.....Yea!!! LOL Just so no one is confused, it has been documented that the focus shift issues associated with aluminum/black copies of this lens do not exist (or are at least minimized to the max!) with the Chrome Silver. My copy is a brass helicoid silver chromed version and I put the camera on a Gitzo 5541 (their most stable if I understand correctly) and took the same image after focusing with the lens at 1.4 and then successively shooting at 1 stop intervals without varying focus from the original. No sign of focus shift at all! So I am now a really happy camper!!

At the same time I also got a new 28 Cron in Silver. Here the lens focus helicoid is actually the aluminum used for the black chrome editions but apparently Leica have learned to properly coat the aluminum with the Silver Chrome. There are only 500 copies of this lens that were made and I am sure we will start seeing this technology trickling down. In fact I would bet that the Leica UV/IR filters sourced from Hoya must be aluminum/silver chrome! Some one will figure that one out and let us know.

I noticed a bit of focus shift from 1.4 to 16.0 but nothing truly significant. Not as precise as the brass/Silver Chrome but nearly so.

Thankfully Leica seems to have solved an age old problem and all of us are better for it.

I love my M's and don't see anything new in the 35 DSLR domain of interest for me and now I can wait for the S2 to see what that brings to the party.

Thanks for listening.......hopefully there is some worthy information in all of these rants

Woody
 

cam

Active member
Woody,

pleased you got another and are happy!

i still love my 35 Asph but truly wish i had the bucks to buy the first version Aspherical i got to try today. sigh. i only took a few shots (and nothing outstanding, mind you) but it was enough to see that it was what truly what i'd seen in other's photos -- the perfect 35!

the only way i can describe it is if you can imagine the Nocti in 35mm, this is the lens....

it really knocked my socks off, damn! only €4400 :rolleyes:

in the meanwhile, i was shopping 90 Crons. whilst i love the look of older lenses, i have been drawn to the Asph here. tested out two, and i do think the titanium was better (but looked ridiculous on my black M8). i am starting to wonder if there is something to the materials and focus shift as you state above....
 
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