I’ve had the 50 Lux ASPH, Voigtlander 50 1.2 and 1.0, among a decent number of M lenses in other focal lengths. I now have the Voigtlander 50 APO and can easily say it’s one of the best lenses I’ve ever used, regardless of the price.
Great comparison and review Jimmy. I am still amazed by the fact that the leica APO 50 came out more than a decade ago, and Karbe said he designed it 16 years (give or take) before leica manufacture the lens!
Jimmy, very good, thanks. I thought Steve did a pretty good job but I wanted to see how the Lux 50 would do against these two and you covered it here. I especially liked the size of the images with your comments which made it easy to pause and carefully compare. Thorough and fair to all lenses concerned and would give anyone on the fence lots to think about. That's what a great video comparison is supposed to do. (I personally own both the summilux 35 and 50 for the 1.4 and being native to the M.)
I have both the Summilux 50 ASPH and the Leica APO 50, my Summilux, like yours is the Silver Chrome version, it is so heavy it is not as pleasurable to carry all day. I really like the 50 APO for street photos in Paris, small, light, great walk around lens.
yeah the chrome 50 lux is heavy as hell for its size. But some ppl might dig the dense feel of brass. I believe it is quite a bit more desirable/expansive in the second hand market for the 35 lux asph chrome because of that reason. So we should probably keep it as an investment and get a black one haha.
Very nice video, as always. Nowadays my 'focus' is more on character and how interesting the lens image is, as opposed to overall sharpness. That said, the 50mm APO Summicron is fantastic and small.
Liked, and subscribed. Well-done comparison; thanks! The focal length difference of the Voigtlander APO is really quite noticeable, as is the difference in flare resistance, in your images. I can see these as valid reasons to have both the Voigtlander APO and a Leica 50mm M lens available, for different conditions. Nothing is likely to dethrone my Summilux-M ASPH from being my favorite M-mount lens, but there are occasios when the direction and character of the light, especially sunlight, will cause flare. At times, I like some amount of flare, but, other times, it is not desirable. I had already noticed that my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1,4 ZM lens is more resistant to flare, than my Summilux-M 50MM ASPH. Perhaps, there will eventually be a VM 50mm APO in my future. Again, thanks!
Thank you for your support! I’m glad you found it helpful. Yeah the lux asph is probably one of the best lens when you take into account all aspects of a lens. If you find the voigtlander apo a bit too big for you taste, I would recommend the Zeiss 50 planar which is also sharp and well corrected (less than apo of course but better than lux), and it’s smaller/lighter.
yeah definitely. It's been pumping out great value for money lenses for the average consumers to enjoy Leica rangefinder experience. It's a great company.
@@JimmyCheng Anybody buying a Voigtlander lens is serious about photography. Leica's cameras and lenses are rightfully legendary but Leica fans should be careful not to be over tribal about their choice of kit. The history of photography is first and foremost, about images.
@@sharpfocus5what he meant is the value and starting price point. I think u are a bit too serious. Everyone who is into this hobby and at this stage to research third party lens or so are all somewhat serious folk. Take a step back and chill bro
Hello Jimmy, thanks for this comparison - very interesting! Concerning price and performance, the 50mm Summilux is still kind of a “sweet spot” in the 50mm lineup from Leica - well, at least for me and my kind of photography. But I have to admit that the newer VM lenses are really really good, and if I wouldn’t already own several Leica lenses I would lean towards Voigtlander. Given the prices and the performance, VM is a nobrainer in my opinion.
indeed. The voigtlander with its more modern design and coating is even superior to the Leica in some ways. But we Leica owners sometimes simply find it hard to look over the brand.
i recently started shooting film (leica m3). before i shot film i used the voigtlander 50mm apo for the sony e-mount (a7rii, a7sii) and its my best lens (smc takumar 50mm f1.4 is pretty close) the voigtlander 50mm leica lens stays on the m3 (i also have a collapsible summicron as a backup) at f2, f2.8, and f16 the aperture blades are perfectly circle. the only thing you can say that sucks about the lens is that its bigger than the leica. its still small enough to stay out of the way.... cheers
Video idea: compare the current 50 or 35 summicron with their apo big brothers on film. I know you can see a slight difference on digital, but with the film plane thickness I always wondered how big a difference a high end lens would make.
The Voigtlander looks taller than Summilux mostly because it's not focused at infinity, and partly because of the thicker lens cap. The two lenses have near identical length of 53mm.
Thanks for the video. I was looking for something like it. Your review is quite technical and lacking the lens rendering under different conditions and in portraiture. I have summilux only for that rendering between f1.4-2 otherwise it's not that different from summicron.
Hi Jimmy! I enjoy your videos :) I was wondering what your thoughts are on the 75mm summicron APO? How would it compare to the 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH?
Hi Shane, in fact I used to have the 75 apo, but sold it later on. The reason being it’s so similar to the 50 lux and I hate the 75 frame line so I sold it. They are essentially the same lens with different focal lengths(they look and feel alike too).
@@JimmyCheng Thanks for this insight! I have a chance to get the 75mm for a great price, but I am wondering if the 50mm lux might be a more versatile long term decision even for portrait use. I do like the images from the 75mm but maybe the 50mm is a more logical decision, especially considering my film bodies, M2 and M3 don't have 75mm framelines. Thanks again :)
Modern Leica lenses' flare resistance is such a shame compared to Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses. The ZM 35 F1.4 Distagon has absolutely no flare under any circumstances, while with Leica lenses I have to be very careful when shooting against the sun.
All are great lenses still leica 50 APO(12 years old lens) is unmatched however leica 35 APO is the new king of M lenses if Bokeh is taking out of the equation
Vignetting and chromatic aberrations can be fixed easily in post. Lens flaring cannot. The edge sharpness advantage of the Leica APO is marginal at best. I'd rather have the better flare resistance. The Voigtlaender APO wins hands down. I already bought it. It's a really nice lens and at its prize, it really is a no-brainer. BTW, if Leica slapped the APO name on the Summilux, they started selling it at 8 grands. I am not sure we want that. :)
How accurate is the lens to lens flare comparison using the method Jimmy used here? A slight difference in the position of a leaf could cause a significant change in the amount of light a given lens has to deal with.
Hi, I am not too sure how to answer your question since it's way too broad. Do you want a body that can use Leica lens? do you want a full-frame or aps-c is fine? digital body or film body? without these information, I am afraid I can't give you any constructive suggestions.
Hi Jimmy, thanks for the review. However, the M10-R is not the right platform to compare these lenses! it turns out that in the M11, Leica made the glass plate covering the sensor even thinner (0.85 mm, if I remember right) that comes very close to solving the acute ray angle problem that other cameras have had, especially non-Leica cameras like Sony A7x used with an adapter. What I've heard is that all Leica M lenses perform better on an M11 than any of the prior M cameras. That should further improve the performance of the Leica 50 APO and 50 Lux even better on an M11. Please me know if you can verify that independently. TIA, Roy
@@bjmarchives - I don't know who that was targeted at, but instead of resorting to a personal attack, how about you share some substantial insights, if you have any?
I didn’t see the CA that you indicated- point it out. Also how bad were those bokeh balls on that lux- they seemed to not be round stopped down. Finally it’s silly calling a lux an APO design when it doesn’t have any “abnormal “ lenses. The Leica APO and the VM APO were sharp edge to edge- the lux just fell apart-> the lux is not an APO.
apo only refers to CA control, not edge sharpness. In that sense the lux is better than the vm in some shots. Lux asph is known for bad bokeh stopped down. Which CA are you talking about you need to give me the context.
Many black and white shooters would argue the opposite. You can correct aberrations in color photos to a degree in order to improve sharpness, however on a monochrome sensor, correcting these aberrations is basically impossible. Therefore an APO lens is even more important for black and white shooting.
@@earvinquero2037 The fact is, on a monochrome sensor, it becomes completely uncorrectable. Therefore, you need to make the decision before you go shooting. Character is subjective, and if I am shooting monochrome for the improved resolution and microcontrast and micro detail, then I want the apochromatic lens.
I have 50 lux black brass and it is ok sharp in the center but once youre in the mid or further frame - its just garbage . and CA are the worst . hate that Lightroom can't fix all purple from images that it produces . I've had few copies they all alike. now decided to buy APO -.though after your video - im appalled that cheap lens does better with CA and flares ! wtf ! @georges_angeles
Is the 50 lux you have the newer asph version? They’re quite sharp to my eyes and CA is not too bad, I don’t see ppl complain about its sharpness wide open often, 🤔
I love the 50 Summilux because it's APO unofficially and also f1.4. Amazing lens!
I’ve had the 50 Lux ASPH, Voigtlander 50 1.2 and 1.0, among a decent number of M lenses in other focal lengths. I now have the Voigtlander 50 APO and can easily say it’s one of the best lenses I’ve ever used, regardless of the price.
Great comparison and review Jimmy. I am still amazed by the fact that the leica APO 50 came out more than a decade ago, and Karbe said he designed it 16 years (give or take) before leica manufacture the lens!
Yeah it’s amazing how well it compares to more modern lenses. But again this lens was designed with no corners cut hence the big price tag.
what a nice review and comparison Mann,, keep it up..
Jimmy, very good, thanks. I thought Steve did a pretty good job but I wanted to see how the Lux 50 would do against these two and you covered it here. I especially liked the size of the images with your comments which made it easy to pause and carefully compare. Thorough and fair to all lenses concerned and would give anyone on the fence lots to think about. That's what a great video comparison is supposed to do. (I personally own both the summilux 35 and 50 for the 1.4 and being native to the M.)
Hi Gerry, thank you so much for your support and I’m glad you found it helpful!
I have both the Summilux 50 ASPH and the Leica APO 50, my Summilux, like yours is the Silver Chrome version, it is so heavy it is not as pleasurable to carry all day. I really like the 50 APO for street photos in Paris, small, light, great walk around lens.
yeah the chrome 50 lux is heavy as hell for its size. But some ppl might dig the dense feel of brass. I believe it is quite a bit more desirable/expansive in the second hand market for the 35 lux asph chrome because of that reason. So we should probably keep it as an investment and get a black one haha.
Very nice video, as always. Nowadays my 'focus' is more on character and how interesting the lens image is, as opposed to overall sharpness. That said, the 50mm APO Summicron is fantastic and small.
Thanks for this! You do the most useful lens comparisons out there. Always enjoy your videos.
thank you Nick! I’m flattered.
Many thanks and looking forward to see the comparison between 35 mm APO Leica vs 35 mm APO Vogitlander as well
I would absolutely choose the voigtlander
Liked, and subscribed. Well-done comparison; thanks! The focal length difference of the Voigtlander APO is really quite noticeable, as is the difference in flare resistance, in your images. I can see these as valid reasons to have both the Voigtlander APO and a Leica 50mm M lens available, for different conditions. Nothing is likely to dethrone my Summilux-M ASPH from being my favorite M-mount lens, but there are occasios when the direction and character of the light, especially sunlight, will cause flare. At times, I like some amount of flare, but, other times, it is not desirable. I had already noticed that my Zeiss Distagon 35mm f/1,4 ZM lens is more resistant to flare, than my Summilux-M 50MM ASPH. Perhaps, there will eventually be a VM 50mm APO in my future.
Again, thanks!
Thank you for your support! I’m glad you found it helpful. Yeah the lux asph is probably one of the best lens when you take into account all aspects of a lens. If you find the voigtlander apo a bit too big for you taste, I would recommend the Zeiss 50 planar which is also sharp and well corrected (less than apo of course but better than lux), and it’s smaller/lighter.
Voigtlander are smashing it at the moment. Amazing stuff…
yeah definitely. It's been pumping out great value for money lenses for the average consumers to enjoy Leica rangefinder experience. It's a great company.
@@JimmyCheng So if a great photographer makes amazing art with a Voigtlander lens will you refer to them as an 'average consumer'?
@@sharpfocus5 what I meant is that these lenses have a much more approachable price point.
@@JimmyCheng Anybody buying a Voigtlander lens is serious about photography. Leica's cameras and lenses are rightfully legendary but Leica fans should be careful not to be over tribal about their choice of kit. The history of photography is first and foremost, about images.
@@sharpfocus5what he meant is the value and starting price point. I think u are a bit too serious. Everyone who is into this hobby and at this stage to research third party lens or so are all somewhat serious folk. Take a step back and chill bro
Hello Jimmy, thanks for this comparison - very interesting! Concerning price and performance, the 50mm Summilux is still kind of a “sweet spot” in the 50mm lineup from Leica - well, at least for me and my kind of photography. But I have to admit that the newer VM lenses are really really good, and if I wouldn’t already own several Leica lenses I would lean towards Voigtlander. Given the prices and the performance, VM is a nobrainer in my opinion.
indeed. The voigtlander with its more modern design and coating is even superior to the Leica in some ways. But we Leica owners sometimes simply find it hard to look over the brand.
Good morning,
Have you tried Voigtlander's 35mm APO lanthar?
Very very good video. Thank you
i recently started shooting film (leica m3). before i shot film i used the voigtlander 50mm apo for the sony e-mount (a7rii, a7sii) and its my best lens (smc takumar 50mm f1.4 is pretty close)
the voigtlander 50mm leica lens stays on the m3 (i also have a collapsible summicron as a backup)
at f2, f2.8, and f16 the aperture blades are perfectly circle. the only thing you can say that sucks about the lens is that its bigger than the leica. its still small enough to stay out of the way.... cheers
Nice Jimmy,
The Leica Apo wins for me.
The Voigtlander apo is like 95% of the Leica. Great for its price.
Video idea: compare the current 50 or 35 summicron with their apo big brothers on film. I know you can see a slight difference on digital, but with the film plane thickness I always wondered how big a difference a high end lens would make.
Good idea, need more funds though 😛
The Voigtlander looks taller than Summilux mostly because it's not focused at infinity, and partly because of the thicker lens cap. The two lenses have near identical length of 53mm.
This is amazing, thank you!
Great video! Thank you
Thanks for the video. I was looking for something like it. Your review is quite technical and lacking the lens rendering under different conditions and in portraiture. I have summilux only for that rendering between f1.4-2 otherwise it's not that different from summicron.
Great comparison.
Thanks. This was exactly what I wanted to know.
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Hi Jimmy! I enjoy your videos :) I was wondering what your thoughts are on the 75mm summicron APO? How would it compare to the 50mm F1.4 Summilux ASPH?
Hi Shane, in fact I used to have the 75 apo, but sold it later on. The reason being it’s so similar to the 50 lux and I hate the 75 frame line so I sold it. They are essentially the same lens with different focal lengths(they look and feel alike too).
@@JimmyCheng Thanks for this insight! I have a chance to get the 75mm for a great price, but I am wondering if the 50mm lux might be a more versatile long term decision even for portrait use. I do like the images from the 75mm but maybe the 50mm is a more logical decision, especially considering my film bodies, M2 and M3 don't have 75mm framelines. Thanks again :)
Modern Leica lenses' flare resistance is such a shame compared to Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses. The ZM 35 F1.4 Distagon has absolutely no flare under any circumstances, while with Leica lenses I have to be very careful when shooting against the sun.
indeed, considering the huge price tag we were expecting best of the best in all categories.
Re Zeiss, it is theirs lens coating
Mine is coming next week, sony mount. I have 50 GM but it is huge, I will compare it with it....let's see...
Jimmy you are the man!
Thanks! Hope you enjoyed the review.
All are great lenses still leica 50 APO(12 years old lens) is unmatched however leica 35 APO is the new king of M lenses if Bokeh is taking out of the equation
Vignetting and chromatic aberrations can be fixed easily in post. Lens flaring cannot. The edge sharpness advantage of the Leica APO is marginal at best. I'd rather have the better flare resistance. The Voigtlaender APO wins hands down. I already bought it. It's a really nice lens and at its prize, it really is a no-brainer.
BTW, if Leica slapped the APO name on the Summilux, they started selling it at 8 grands. I am not sure we want that. :)
How accurate is the lens to lens flare comparison using the method Jimmy used here? A slight difference in the position of a leaf could cause a significant change in the amount of light a given lens has to deal with.
the silver is much more heavier than the black version. So please compare the black vision with the Voigtländer
I no longer own the black version.
希望過陣子可看jimmy試nokton 50mm f1.0 asph，哈
肯定可以！
Seems like you are mainly paying to get the APO performance in the smaller E39 size package. 49mm filter thread is quite large by M mount standards.
@@JenHamon there’s a tiny bit of performance difference. But mostly yes.
Hello, I'm looking for non Leica body, what body I should use? Body should not be big and heavy to travel.
Hi, I am not too sure how to answer your question since it's way too broad. Do you want a body that can use Leica lens? do you want a full-frame or aps-c is fine? digital body or film body? without these information, I am afraid I can't give you any constructive suggestions.
Hi Jimmy, thanks for the review. However, the M10-R is not the right platform to compare these lenses! it turns out that in the M11, Leica made the glass plate covering the sensor even thinner (0.85 mm, if I remember right) that comes very close to solving the acute ray angle problem that other cameras have had, especially non-Leica cameras like Sony A7x used with an adapter. What I've heard is that all Leica M lenses perform better on an M11 than any of the prior M cameras. That should further improve the performance of the Leica 50 APO and 50 Lux even better on an M11. Please me know if you can verify that independently. TIA, Roy
Thanks for the input. I’ll testify that.
This sounds like Leica salesman speak. Just saying.
enjoy your leica/voigtlander lenses (or whatever lenses you have on hand), don't need to split hairs like this
@@bjmarchives - I don't know who that was targeted at, but instead of resorting to a personal attack, how about you share some substantial insights, if you have any?
@@zimbabwe0 - The price difference between the two lenses is like USD 8000. You can buy a lot of hair for that much money. Go buy yourself a wig.
I didn’t see the CA that you indicated- point it out. Also how bad were those bokeh balls on that lux- they seemed to not be round stopped down. Finally it’s silly calling a lux an APO design when it doesn’t have any “abnormal “ lenses. The Leica APO and the VM APO were sharp edge to edge- the lux just fell apart-> the lux is not an APO.
apo only refers to CA control, not edge sharpness. In that sense the lux is better than the vm in some shots. Lux asph is known for bad bokeh stopped down. Which CA are you talking about you need to give me the context.
To be compared to the classical summicron....
When you use monochrom sensors apo doesnt matter anymore. Fact!
Well I would say it still makes a difference, to a lesser degree that is. The apo lenses are still sharper/crisper off center.
Many black and white shooters would argue the opposite. You can correct aberrations in color photos to a degree in order to improve sharpness, however on a monochrome sensor, correcting these aberrations is basically impossible. Therefore an APO lens is even more important for black and white shooting.
@@jon4715 it really depends on the subject. Aberration on monochrom becomes character.
@@earvinquero2037 The fact is, on a monochrome sensor, it becomes completely uncorrectable. Therefore, you need to make the decision before you go shooting. Character is subjective, and if I am shooting monochrome for the improved resolution and microcontrast and micro detail, then I want the apochromatic lens.
Shame on Leica
I have 50 lux black brass and it is ok sharp in the center but once youre in the mid or further frame - its just garbage . and CA are the worst . hate that Lightroom can't fix all purple from images that it produces . I've had few copies they all alike. now decided to buy APO -.though after your video - im appalled that cheap lens does better with CA and flares ! wtf ! @georges_angeles
Is the 50 lux you have the newer asph version? They’re quite sharp to my eyes and CA is not too bad, I don’t see ppl complain about its sharpness wide open often, 🤔