[Leica] NZ PAW 28 - Now Apo 50mm 'cron Asph

[leica at jayburleson.com (Jay Burleson)]

A little.
My previous experience with Leica lenses (in 50mm) was first an old 
screw mount Elmar 3.5, and then a early version IV 'cron, so I cannot 
compare the 50AA to any others.
But my approach is that digital has its own look, compared to film, and 
I do not want to make digital look like something it is not.
Having observed the technological advances Leica made in lens design 
since I purchased my Canadian-era set, I was excited to see the Apo 
series (75 & 90) make there appearance, and knowing what those lenses 
were capable of showing on a digital body, that made MY justification of 
purchasing the 50AA quite reasonable.
My pocketbook disagreed, but I beat it into submission.

With the 50AA & the MM I can finally achieve what I'd wished for many 
years ago whilst carting a ton of large format gear around - pin-sharp & 
grain free images that can be printed large, taken with gear that can be 
carried in one hand.

It is worth it, imho, to get the best image possible at the start.
As Saint Ansel said, that is your score (the dng); what you do in the 
concert (post processing) is a matter of how you personally interpret 
the score (dng) on that particular day.

Jay


On 7/12/2014 2:23 PM, John McMaster wrote:
> Is any Leica lens worth it ;-)
>
> At f5.6 or f8 the differences are not so great, the 50AA has better 
> sharpness across the frame and in the extreme corners than the other 50 
> asph lenses (the Noctilux asph is actually sharper than the Summilux asph 
> here).
>
> At f2.0 it is sharper and higher contrast than the other two but the 
> Noctilux asph gave better blur, however the 50AA  OoF backgrounds are very 
> neutral and natural. The extreme sharpness is quite disconcerting, I took 
> a shot of distant (at infinity) buildings as a sharpness test and a closer 
> building (about 50m away) is not in focus. That is what I saw in the lens, 
> not the extreme OoF of a Noctilux but a clearly in focus subject and 
> everything else varyingly blurred.
>
> Is it worth it? I use 50mm lenses a lot (and have a few), I knew I would 
> always wonder what this lens is like and can still sell it for more than I 
> paid for it (actually dealer hasn't invoiced me yet ;-)). For most people 
> it is not worth changing from a Summilux asph unless you want the best, I 
> think the 50AA will work well in combination with the Noctilux (asph or 
> spherical) - so we are already in the rather expensive arena!
>
> I have only had it a week and am still learning it, my two must have 
> lenses are the 28mm Summicron and 50mm Summilux asph but that may change 
> as I know the Summilux much better.....
>
> Jay has been using his for a lot longer so may have something to add?
>
> john
>
> -----Original Message-----
>
>
> Distinctive!  Is it worth it?
>
> Marty
>
> On Saturday, 12 July 2014, John McMaster <john at mcmaster.co.nz> wrote:
>
>> A simple week, other than last shot just two cameras and a long
>> awaited 50mm lens....
>>
>> http://johnmcmaster.com/PAW/2014/28/
>>
>> C & C welcome
>>
>> john