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50+ years - has anything changed

dmabry2010

New member
Hello,

On a whim I took 3 shots with three different lenses:

1. 80mm Summilux-R
2. 90mm Summicron-M (recent APO)
3 90mm Summicron-M (old vintage 1959 silver version)

While this is by no means scientific, I find it interesting how these three lenses do not show significant differences.

Can any of the forum members hazard a guess as to which lens is which.

Thoughts?

-- dmabry2010
 

aDam007

New member
My first reaction is 80 / APO / 1959.. But without strong backlit subjects and higher resolution photos I'm just taking a stab in the dark.. The images are a bit mushy (compression wise), and what sets the 90APO apart from the other two lenses, is it's ability to handle harsher conditions.

Decently valid point though.. For the focal length, not a lot of difference in most shooting conditions. Especially for web viewing, which is what happens to a large majority of images taken with good lenses, these days.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
1. 80Lux (smooth but more definition than No3)
2.Apo (sharper and slightly more red in the color, more snap)
3. older 90 (little bit more funky bokeh)

But I am not sure at all , maybe I am totally wrong.
In this image my fav is..I like them all
 

dmabry2010

New member
You guys are really good!

The order was indeed 80/APO/1959.

Good point about web views.

Thank you,

- dmabry2010
 

GrahamWelland

Subscriber & Workshop Member
I think that it also shows that just because a lens is old, it doesn't mean that it needs to be perfection to be wonderful.

We chase perfection but is it necessary? I would say no ...
 

jlm

Workshop Member
images with certain conditions like flare producing light, bright objects in the frame, sharp edges around perimeters showing chromatic aberration, etc would probably show off the newer coated lenses, for example, and the apochromat
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Regardless of the lens, #2 shows magenta madness (the lady's pants) indicating what is wrong with Leica digital colors.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
Regardless of the lens, #2 shows magenta madness (the lady's pants) indicating what is wrong with Leica digital colors.
Do you mean M ccd colors or M cmos colors or S colors or T colors or X colors? Or are they all wrong? Are you refering to jpg or raw and if raw to adobe raw or c1 raw or aparture raw or dxo raw?
 
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Vivek

Guest
I think it is fair to assume that digital M is the one being discused?

You have to ask the OP which camera was used for these shots.
 

aDam007

New member
Vivek - I think it's a matter of perspective. I feel that the first and third image are a bit to green. And I'm usually one for cooler colors.
 

aDam007

New member
In all fairness, I think that Fuji has done a really good job with their colors as far as emulating film is concern. The older D700 and M9 managed it a bit better then the newer M240 and other makers.. Sony sensors (even IN Nikon cameras) didn't get the memo ever!

I guess, there was a really long transitional period where people wanted to compare digital to film, because film is what they knew... It took a really long time for manufacturers to break people of that habit. I think sensor/camera manufacturers have really just embraced digital recently, and have ignored consumers in an attempt to change mindsets. They have focused their efforts on the technology that lets people shoot in conditions previously not possible. The sacrifice is the root of it all, which is familiar tones & colors. Unfortunately we've all been so conditioned to believe that images should have one color over the other, that we cannot accept change. I know I feel that way. Just think about the ORANGE BLUE hollywood trend over the last 15 years.. I've seen so many movies like that now, that if I watch an arthouse film I cringe at their color grading (which by right is a lot more natural and true to life).

Could camera manufacturers refocus their efforts on familiar colors? Sure, and it wouldn't take switching back to CCD sensors.. But higher ISO and more MP sounds better from a marketing perspective, and truth be told, I do enjoy the M240s ability to shoot 2 CLEAN stops over the S-006. So maybe they will as a nice bonus, but not at the expense of MP and clean ISO.

Just my personal thoughts having used every system currently available..
 

aDam007

New member
OFF TOPIC - Sorry.

Vivek - Yes, briefly. Regret selling it as it's a good low MP camera for my wife to use along with the stellar 55FE and Novoflex M to E adapter.

(I just wrote a very long post about all the gear I've tested/owned/etc.. But it's REALLY off topic and probably pretty boring. Sorry for the short answer, but probably for the best.)
 
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