Technical
Lens Reviews and Recommendations
1. Leica M Range-finder Lens Reviews
Leica Summicron-M 35mm ASPH - an outstanding modern lens
* This lens' super-low distortion, colour tonality, sharpness and resolving power is definitely a leader in 35mm format photography and demonstrates all the attributes of the most modern high quality optics available today.
This was my first Leica M lens and has become my "normal" lens. The Summicron-M ASPH and M7 made my entry into 35mm rangefinder photography a very compelling experience.
Consistent with the Leica M quality and functionality, this is a superb performer - brilliantly engineered, designed and built; probably the very best 35mm focal length lens in the 35mm format.
From an imaging performance perspective the following are what I found to be the main attributes of this superb lens: excellent correction of all aberrations; extremely sharp at all apertures; excellent performance wide open with its best performance at about f4; f2 performance is so good you never feel inclined to close down the aperture as you would with lesser lenses; amazing resolution of super-fine detail all the way to the edges; excellent flat field of view (but some care is needed to avoid inducing edge distortion with the camera angle); colour tone is wonderful and natural; ergonomics and controls are what you'd expect for the significant cost; the build quality (mine is the silver version because I prefer the brass barrel) is fantastic - solid as a rock and so so smooth to focus; fit to the brilliantly engineered M mount is 100% perfect.
It is important to remember the following when using this relatively wide-angle lens: the hood is necessarily small so care is needed to avoid flare in very bright light (unlike SLRs, rangefinder cameras have a disadvantage in that it's hard to predict flare being induced); avoid using filters unnecessarily because the extra layer of air and glass takes the glass significantly forward in the small hood and will induce flare in some bright light situations.
In bright light and when using a B&W polarising filter I use the Cosina / Voigtlander 39mm screw-in hood which ensures reasonable protection from stray light and overcomes the problem that you cannot fit the standard clip-on rectangular Leica hood to the lens when more than one standard filter is fitted to the lens (a very bad oversight by the Leica hood designers)! It works a treat.
While the pre-ASPH version is also an excellent performer, the ASPH version is more comfortable in larger hands. But, the excellent benefits of the new ASPH design come at a small trade-off of the superb out of focus attributes of the pre-ASPH lens for the Asph's enhanced sharpness and resolving power (especially at the edges). But, that should not suggest the ASPH version's bokeh is unattractive because it certainly is not. I think it's accurate to say that there are no real or visible weaknesses in the 'Cron Asph's performance at all.
The Leica 35mm Summicron-M Asph's best features are: super sharp; outstanding resolution of detail at all apertures; superb f2 performance; very consistent / progressive performance from axis to edges.
Examining trannies on a light box with a 5x loupe is a treat!
This is the sort of lens that made me see very quickly why Leica M lenses are regarded so highly - my Canon L series lenses are no match for this example of Leica's lenses. Only my Hasselblad / Zeiss lenses achieve similar optical standards.
Unless you will really benefit from the extra stop of light, it is hard to imagine any need to spend the extra money on the Summilux-M ASPH. In fact some technical reports say that the 'Cron outperforms the 'Lux at f2 to f4 anyway. - but if they exist, those difference may be so small that they escapes our eyes!
Leica Summicron-M 50mm - an all-time classic Leica M lens
* This image taken at f2 demonstrates the remarkable modern edge-to-edge imaging performance of this lens whilst exhibiting superb "classic" attributes.
Although Leica's recently introduced and much lauded Summilux-M 50mm ASPH is said to possess all the best performance attributes of this legendary Summicron-M 50mm lens, it does so a significantly greater cost - money and size / weight.
The Summicron-M 50mm has developed something of a legendary status over the many years since it was introduced and IMHO, all the accolades are well justified.
If I could only own one lens, this would have to be it. There is something sublime and quite beautiful about how this lens draws images - it is not any one thing, but a mix of the lens': tonality, understated sharpness, even progression across the image and pretty bokeh. All of this in one of Leica's most affordable lenses.
Of course the Summicron-M 50mm has all of the other attributes you expect from Leica's best optics - excellent correction of aberrations; superb resolution of the finest details even at the edges; good resistance to flare (although some care is needed when using a filter due to the relatively short hood built into the lens barrel).
This lens' performance is so good that it rekindles a new found appreciation of the 50mm focal length. Since the advent of acceptable quality "normal" zooms, the 50mm has lost a lot of followers. But after shooting with the Summicron-M 50mm that all changes - I can hardly bring myself to go near such zooms or a 35mm SLR camera again.
Wide open at f2 image quality is superb and it gets even better at f2.8 and probably its best at f4 - but it's hard to tell because it starts out so well. In my hands it is very compact and easy to use on the run. The built-in hood is a nice feature; the focus movement is silky smooth and exact; the aperture ring has a positive feel and there is plenty of room for big fingers.
You could spend hours examining trannies made with this lens and marvelling at the images' beautiful attributes - this is a very special lens - an all-time classic.
Leica Elmarit-M 90mm lens - a hidden gem from Leica
* Perfection from edge to edge wide open at f2.8. This lens is perfectly sharp across the whole image at all apertures and has outstanding correction of aberrations and produces superb bokeh at wide apertures.
If you like a tighter angle of view and a very different look to a 50mm lens, then Leica's 90mm M lenses will not disappoint. But, relatively fast 90mm lenses come at a price - in money and size / weight terms.
This is what lead me to Leica's truly outstanding Elmarit-M 90mm lens - affordable, reasonably fast at f2.8 and wonderfully compact (comparatively so). But, above all its optical qualities are sensational.
And what a gem it has proven to be. The imaging quality is brilliant - sharp as a pin even wide open; fast enough to produce lovely out of focus and subject separation and is capable of resolving super fine details across the whole image.
The Elmarit-M 90mm truly lives up to Leica's stated M lens design criteria - capable of producing its best performance nearer to wide open. Colour tonality is (as always with Leica lenses) outstanding; contrast is strong without being excessive and the lens resists flare very well.
Yes, the correction of optical aberrations is so good that it is hard to see any image improvement when stopped down from f2.8 to f4 or even f5.6. In fact, you'd only shoot at f8 or smaller apertures if unavoidable due to film speed or the need for extra depth of field. What is more, the superb performance on axis is mostly held right out to the edges - it is very hard to see any performance reduction in the field at any aperture. Trannies on a light box under a loupe are a joy.
In my hands I can even shoot at relatively slow shutter speeds in low light and avoid any image softness due to the lens' excellent ergonomics - very well balanced on a Leica M camera body.
This lens represents great value for money and performs so well it is hard to put it down - definitely one of Leica's very best lenses - a hidden gem.
2. Medium Format Lens Reviews
Hasselblad Distagon 60mm lens - everything Zeiss claims it to be
* There are no weaknesses to be found in this lens' imaging. Its performance is superbly even across the whole frame. Its lack of distortion at the edges makes it an outstanding MF wide angle lens.
Here I refer to the CF version of the Distagon 60mm f3.5 lens. The optical formula is exactly the same as in the current CFi version. The only differences are mechanical: new barrel design and different metal used in the lens mount; locking X synch connection; new high-tech metal used in the shutter main spring; new enhanced internal barrel coating.
Zeiss highlights this lens as having very low optical distortion at the edges and especially so for a wide angle 6x6 lens, making it very suitable for shooting people in groups such as at weddings. Zeiss is exactly correct about this.
The Distagon 60mm lens is absolutely superb - a truly outstanding Zeiss lens in every respect and often referred to as one of its very best MF lenses and in the league of the 100mm and 38mm lenses that have developed something of a cult status over the years.
I find this lens' best attributes are: extremely low / undetectable edge distortion; razor sharp from axis right to the edges; superb colour tonality along with strong but not excessive contrast; excellent flare resistance. The incredibly low distortion makes this lens very forgiving in hand-held photography. It also has very high resolving power, resolving the finest details beautifully.
The Distagon 60mm's focal length and attributes make it ideal for architecture, interiors, groups, travel and anything that demands exceptionally low distortion and a flexible range of depth of field while retaining a very natural look / perspective.
Hasselblad Makro-Planar 120mm lens - overlooked for general purpose photography
The characteristics and performance of this lens make it one of Hasselblad / Carl Zeiss' very special lenses. Yet typically, unless photographers have the obvious purposeful need for a lens optimised for closer focusing photography like macro-photography, the Makro-Planar 120mm lens is not often found in photographers' lens kits - very much their loss!
Despite its designation as a macro lens, the 120mm lens does not provide any extra magnification at close distances - it still requires the use of extension tubes to achieve that. In the case of the Makro-Planar the designation macro refers to the lens' optical optimisation when focused at closer distances. Usually lenses' performance are optimised when focused at infinity.
However, the Makro-Planar's performance when focused at closer distances is truly superb - razor sharp with no visible distortion and extremely well corrected optical aberrations. And as is typical of Zeiss' better lenses, examination of images shows superb tonality, outstanding resolution of fine detail from axis to the edges, strong contrast and consistent performance at all apertures. Despite this optimisation at closer distances the Makro-Planar is an excellent performer at all distances including infinity.
Some commentators carelessly comment that the Makro-Planar under-performs at infinity, making it unsuitable for uses like landscape photography. Statements like this are absolutely incorrect and not supported buy the closest examination of transparencies under high magnification. Whatever motivates such negative comments about this lens, the comments are downright wrong - as a matter of objective fact.
The Makro-Planar 120mm's angle of view is similar to a 70mm lens in 135 format photography - making it a wonderful lens for portraiture and landscape photography alike. In the square 6x6 format it is an especially attractive focal length to my eyes - a gentle compression of the scene. It is even a very flexible view - so flexible and attractive that one could even use it all day long and not feel restricted by it.
The mechanical design differs to this lens' non-macro brothers in the Hasselblad system in that it has a relatively low "geared" focus ring - requires more degrees of turn to focus from one distance to another. It is a characteristic made necessary for more easily precise accurate focusing in demanding situations like macro-photography especially when extension tubes are used.
But, regardless of how you use this lens, it is the way in which it draws images that make it special - while its technical characteristics are excellent by any measure; the depth and near 3D characteristic and the milky out of focus that still retains structure in what the lens draws.
It is only when you understand that the Makro-Planar 120mm lens possesses outstanding characteristics in all uses that one will really appreciate how special it is.