Apo Summicron , 4 times better blue correction than Summicron, how images look like?

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Jun 22, 2013

I read Apo Summicron 50 is 4 times better blue corrected than ordinary Summicron. What is the meaning of this ? How images look like ? Velvia ?

Umut

Chris Lange · Jun 22, 2013

.5% less fringing in 1% of your pictures that actually might have fringing.

Real world results: 1% more sharpness (if that, maybe).

I'll keep my summicron dual range, and the extra $7400.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Jun 22, 2013

Chris,

Thank you for your reply.

Umut

Tom1956 · Jun 22, 2013

Pardon me, Leica fans. But NOTHING on this world is that good. The prices of Leica stuff is totally absurd. And I'm the first to say that generally speaking, German-made machinery out-classes anything else made on this 24,000 mile round rock. But nothing is THAT good.

Aron · Jun 23, 2013

You'll only find out how good it is if you try it. When you try it, it has to be your own copy that you use, otherwise some one might catch you cheating. It's only your very own copy of the new AA Summicron 50 you can master, otherwise you might risk: ruining your photos with the borrowed one, just like with any Japanese 50.

On a serious note, I really think you should buy it, with all the sacrifice this comes with.

The rest of us will enjoy the humble normal Summicrons, any generation and grab the LF camera, when the need for another kind of quality comes.

benjiboy · Jun 23, 2013

My lenses are already better lenses than I'm a photographer, most photographers have gear that's capable of better results than the owners are capable of, I doubt owning this super expensive optic would enable me to take photographs that are commensurate with it's price. The improvement you mention in colour rendition are probably due to the fact that apocromatic optics bring all the primary colours into focus at the same point http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apochromat

semi-ambivalent · Jun 23, 2013

Tom1956 said:
Pardon me, Leica fans. But NOTHING on this world is that good. The prices of Leica stuff is totally absurd. And I'm the first to say that generally speaking, German-made machinery out-classes anything else made on this 24,000 mile round rock. But nothing is THAT good.

Tom,

Does a Harley Davidson motorcycle go any faster because it has that fifth coat of clear? Of course not, but people have no problem accepting an additional cost because they're there. People are the problem. Car companies brag about the precision assembly of their robotic assembly lines; a vehicle every ten minutes and not a one touched by a fallible human being. Even as those humans wonder where the hell their job went. Leica does a ton of hand assembly by expensive human labor. Leica pays for their country's expensive social support network. Leica operates in a carefully crafted pinnacle in a niche market. Absolutely part of that is feeding the value of the brand by manipulating the price of joining the club. They're not the only ones to do that. That's very expensive; ask anybody who buys hip fashion crap like D&G sunglasses; summer's hot style passé by July. But Leica doesn't get to extrude new styles of Summicrons in a factory in China, that's Canon's and Nikon's gig these days.

Personally, I think the APO Summi is too expensive, but not by that much. It has reached a point where, if you don't use a tripod and cable release for all your shots you've wasted the performance potential of that lens and with it your money. That refutes the singular core belief of Leica that you can get "a lifetime of great photography" in a small quick handling camera. This is being driven, not by Leica, but by the Asian technology locomotive that's looking for ever more reasons to buy that next bit of disposable electronic future-trash. However they couch it, Leica is in reactive mode to that locomotive, and their answer will always be to do the best they possibly can and, as much as possible, cost-be-damned. I'm OK with that. It's why my M3 doesn't have plastic kit lenses but lenses my grand-children (I have not doubt) will fight over when I'm dead.

But, yeah, seven large might be a bit much.

s-APO-less-a

PS - I'm inclined to believe the value of my greenbacks is totally absurd.

AndreasT · Jun 23, 2013

The price is absurd, but to make a product 5-10% better (what ever that may mean?) the cost go up by lets say 100%.

Mustafa Umut Sarac · Jun 23, 2013

And this is not the whole story , how much they invested to research labs , scientists , their own lens softwares and algorithms , glass research , doctoral theses , how many years they paid top prices to the best minds of the World , how much invested to the best cnc machines and how many years they less use them because of cnc machine out of tolerance aging. 7000 dollar is much but when you are paying 60000 to Toyota , it is very cheap.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 23, 2013

(Deleted....nevermind....sorry)

benjiboy · Jun 23, 2013

AndreasT said:
The price is absurd, but to make a product 5-10% better (what ever that may mean?) the cost go up by lets say 100%.

That's true it's the law of diminishing returns.

semi-ambivalent · Jun 25, 2013

benjiboy said:
That's true it's the law of diminishing returns.

True, but it's a return none-the-less, so any business that considers itself an upscale vendor must chase it. The only other path is the race to the bottom, a la Walmart and The Dollar Store business plan. (I once broke a pair of dykes with my bare hand. They came from the $0.99 cent bin at my local Rexall Drug store.)

Tom1956 · Jun 25, 2013

semi-ambivalent said:
True, but it's a return none-the-less, so any business that considers itself an upscale vendor must chase it. The only other path is the race to the bottom, a la Walmart and The Dollar Store business plan. (I once broke a pair of dykes with my bare hand. They came from the $0.99 cent bin at my local Rexall Drug store.)

You broke a pair of WHAT?!

removed account4 · Jun 25, 2013

Mustafa Umut Sarac said:
I read Apo Summicron 50 is 4 times better blue corrected than ordinary Summicron. What is the meaning of this ? How images look like ? Velvia ?

Umut

hi umut

like most new leica stuff, i bet it makes beautiful images.
color rendition and local/general contrast are probably perfect. ...
and worth every penny they charge for it.

the thing about leica equipment is that the people who complain about it the most
( being expensive, boutique, not worth the $$, not as high quality as people say &c )
can't afford the equipment or don't want it anyways ...

have you gone to RFF to see what the people there say about it ?
i'm guessing different things than apug community, IMNSHO
80% of the people here are bottom feeders and think 200$ for a 1800$ camera is too much
its obvious they think 7000$ for a 200$ lens is too much too, isn't it

YMMV of course !

Clovis Blevins · Jun 25, 2013

Tom1956 said:
You broke a pair of WHAT?!

He must be from up north. The first time I heard a pair of diagonal cutters referred to by that vernacular was by inlaws from Rochester.

Tom1956 · Jun 25, 2013

Worry not. The last thing anybody would ever accuse me of being, is one of the PC Police.

benjiboy · Jun 26, 2013

"I once broke a couple of dykes with my bare hands", really, the only dykes I know are lesbians :confused:

clayne · Jun 26, 2013

C'mon guys, wire cutters.

AndreasT · Jun 26, 2013

clayne said:
C'mon guys, wire cutters.

I had to search it too in the www.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 26, 2013

clayne said:
C'mon guys, wire cutters.

Yeah, but are they APO wire cutters? HUGE difference.

benjiboy · Jun 26, 2013

I firmly believe that providing a lens is of reasonable quality made by one major marque manufacturers, the most important thing is what the photographer points it at, and if photographers are going to agonise about anything it should be if their pictures actually mean anything.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 26, 2013

benjiboy said:
I firmly believe that providing a lens is of reasonable quality made by one major marque manufacturers, the most important thing is what the photographer points it at, and if photographers are going to agonise about anything it should be if their pictures actually mean anything.

I 100% agree with that.

Richard S. (rich815) · Jun 26, 2013

Thomas Bertilsson said:
I 100% agree with that.

Darn right. If 10% of the time spent discussing nuances of sharpness and contrast were used instead on actually shooting, practicing technique and gaining more experience we'd have way more better photographers in the world. It's amazing how the revered saints of photography from the 30's and 40's ever actually produced good photographs without today's computer-aided designed lenses and their ultra-modern multi-coatings. Then again we all enjoy a good circle-jerk, eh?

removed account4 · Jun 26, 2013

idon'tknow rich,
plenty of people back in those days ranted on about
materials, and equipment &c. it started in the 1840s ...

to be honest i think it would be better if it was edited
and appeared in a bi monthly publication, too many people
these days who haven't a clue hide behind a web-persona
acting as if they are deities and demigods ...

you're right tho, too much chat, not enough art

clayne · Jun 26, 2013

Thomas Bertilsson said:
Yeah, but are they APO wire cutters? HUGE difference.

Haha. This, I love.

Apo Summicron , 4 times better blue correction than Summicron, how images look like?

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