The King Of Bokeh? - Leica Summicron V4 (+Sample Photos)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.พ. 2022
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The Leica Summicron v4 King of Bokeh is a lens that I've owned for just over three years and in this episode I go over why this is my main lens for street photography on my Leica m2 as well as share sample photos.
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So, I have a good friend that is, well, let's just say, he is pretty well known and has worked closely with Leica for many years...and he recently told me that the whole "King of Bokeh" moniker was just a joke for marketing to see if it stuck so people would accept that it's really not THAT great at bokeh...and of course it did stick.
Now, personally I fell in love with the 35mm Summarit f/2.4 ASPH. If the v4 Sumi is "The King of Bokeh", then the 'rit is "The Duke of Clinical Character"...haha. But hear me out. I think the 'rit fits right between the v4 and then ASPH Sumi as far as rendering. It's a bit more clinical than the v4, but not as perfect as the ASPH...it still has some great character, especially at f/2.4. By f/5.6 it's more like the ASPH Sumi. And it's a great size, has a great screw on lens hood, and is smooth as butter.
I used to recommend the Summarit to people that are bugged by the dark corners of most Voigts, or don't like the harshness of Zeiss, or just want to use a Leica lens on their M body, but since Leica discontinued it, prices have been going up to around $1800+. You can find the f/2.5 non ASPH version of the Summarit cheaper, and little known fact, it's actually the same damn thing as the f/2.4 version and has an ASPH element in it...Leica thought it would bite into the Summicron market, so they intentionally named it 2.5 and non-asph.
The Summicron ASPH currently is the best bang for buck 35 Summicron for both film and digital if performance, value, and overall rendering are the concern. The KOB can be more expensive than ASPH because of the hype in its name. The APO Summicron 35 is the best of the best but if you are already spending Summicron 35 ASPH money, put in a little more for the Summilux 35 FLE. Just my experience and 2 cents.
I snagged a Leica M2 with a Summilux 35mm Pre-ASPH at a local pawn shop for a whole $750 and I don’t ever want to use another lens.
rocking this lens on my m10. The red dot fell off, the focus tab broke off and I had to replace it- but the lens is a beast and keeps surprising me with its rendering even when I thought I knew it perfectly. It's an enigma of a lens that slips you surprises when you least expect it but I truly think it is the most unique 35 cron ever made.
May I recommend the Leica UVa II filter for your Summicron? The coatings are really that much better at cancelling reflections.
Check the back of your lens, it might be different but my Summarit 2.5 had a loose front too when I got it. I just bought a lens spanner off Amazon and tightened up the rings on the back and it fixed it. It's an awesome lens btw and pretty cheap (comparably). I had the Ultron f2 before and it was a great lens but the Summarit handles so much better and they don't go as heavy handed with overall contrast like Voigtlander does.
Hey where do you get those nice wooden buttons you put on all your cameras?
Just bought an Epson RD1S (first digital interchangeable lens rangefinder) which I could barely afford lol but it came with a Voigt 40 1.4 so I’m excited to use it. I’d love to try Leica glass. Even some LTM glass. I like the look your 35 gives. Happy you got yours at a reasonable price lol
Also to mention the Voigtländer 35mm 1.4 S.C. as a cheaper and good option for the old look. Keep going!✌️
its a great little lens, I still use mine since 1995 (German version). Got it serviced in Wetzlar two years ago, and its like new. Never gonna sell it.
how much did you pay for the service? thinking about sending mine in as well :)
@@philippczampiel6868 not exactly sure but think it was about €450.
What about Voigtlander 35mm F1.2 ?
Was just talking with someone this morning about this lens vs the 50 Lux
Omg the photo are great
OMG... KOB sum micron. I havent tried that glass yet.. thanks for the videos but I love my 50mm rigid!!
Damn the photos you showed using this lens look great! I am trying to get the Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f/2.5 LTM version for my Canon P! Luckily that lens doesnt cost $2000+ lol
Mine has a loose front element too. And one of the aperture blades has had a tiny little piece broken off. But you'd never know from the photos, so I just ignore it :-) I bought mine 5 years ago, they were a whole lot less expensive back then😬
Well, the legendary Leica 35mm Summicron is not the v4 version, 8 elements V1 made in the late 50s and early 60s.
Just got a Minolta dynax 5. My first camera 🎉🎉the packaging looked very old but on the inside everything was brand new. The only color film they have is the c200. The SLR market might be dead in my country.
Nice! I had a color skopar as my first leica M lens. I used it for almost 3 years before getting a 35mm summicron v5 asph. I got a pretty good deal. I spent $1900 witch is pretty good for the silver chrome version I feel like. I honestly wish I had gotten somthing a little more vintage. I use mine on both film and digital and on film its really nice. but on digital it seems to lack character. Maybe Ill trade mine in soon for somthing different.
That was Mike Johnston's phrase back in the 80s, after trying the Lux35 some time later he changed his mind. The V4 had a bad f2 that's why Leica updated it a decade later, the only great thing about the V4 is its size.
Color skopar is too soft on the edges and has some pretty bad vignetting even stopped down, for 35mm affordable lens I would recommend the Canon LTM 35mm, Voightlander nokton 1.4 mc and the Ultron 1.7, although you need to be careful when close focusing with that lens closer than .7m
Is this 35mm f/2 Summicron, which you paid $1800 for, really going to be 4 or 5 times better than the 35mm f/2.5 Color Skopar, which currently sells for $330-450 on Ebay? Is it even going to be twice as good? I mean, if you're happy with your $1800 lens, that's great, but I think that price is bonkers.
Shot at 6:51 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
another great lens is the Rokkor 40mm f2
Second this, and for 1/5th of the price it's amazing
My Industar-10 at 50 bucks for the win!
Funny how I missed this little gem after selling it for luxs, and ends up sell 50lux asph and 35lux pre-fle for their bulky size and price tag, as well as the boring clinical rendering like your description of the 35cron asph. As to the loosing front element, still be careful with the plastic inner lens barrel which may just snap someday. Mine was early Canadian version like yours, got fixed for not much money it was all done in China mainland, yet I may try to consult guys who fix my lens if that’s any useful to u, peace.
Funny enough, I just sell mu luxes and get a German made KOB, just like get back to home, man
Why would anyone want to shoot a 35mm lens for bokeh in the first place?
Magandang umaga
This is the problem with the KOB. Same price as a brand new ASPH and the IQ is almost identical to the new one. So just buy a new one.
Shiba's are great dogs! Gonna have to start with the #shibagang now. By the way, I can highly recommend the Zeiss lenses for Leica mount. I've got both the 35mm & 50mm. The resolution, color and bokeh are great!
Send to Kanto camera they can fix it for sure
Or sell it and get a voightlander Ultron 1.7 👀
There is this ongoing cliche about TH-camrs using Leicas or being drawn into hype. How would a 35mm lens create better bokeh than a 50mm ? the king of bokeh is a misnomer. Image quality can be affected by so many things. Film /digital , type and amount of light and so on. The best 35mm leica lens is possibly the latest Asph version 2 and the FLE version if we’re also considering summilux. If anyone can’t afford that earlier versions of the summicron or options from Zeiss or voightlander. The Asph is not clinical. It’s just a better lens. Not a bokeh monster but a king of bokeh according to you. Lot of snake oil in this video.