LENS REVIEW: LEICA 50mm f/1.4 SUMMILUX-M ASPH

This particular Leica 50mm is a very special lens, with a difficult position in the lineup. There are precisely five (5!) different options currently offered by Leica at this focal length, but one might say that this Summilux is the best all-around option. In terms of price, the lens sits squarely in the middle of the lineup, but it is the second highest-performing lens in terms of maximum aperture (namely f/1.4 vs. f/0.95 of the famous Noctilux).

Another factor to consider is that the 50mm APO shares a maximum aperture of f/2 with its stablemate, the classic 50mm Summicron.

To save you reading a long review, I can safely say that this lens is the way to go if you don't mind the price tag. Roughly speaking, the price points of $2k, $4k, $7k, and $11k are the main lenses that Leica offers in 50mm. I have used all of them and they are all excellent.

LEICA 50mm SUMMILUX-M ASPH (yes, it also comes in black)

LEICA M (typ 240) & LEICA 50mm f/1.4 SUMMILUX-M ASPH

Technical Notes: Product images for this review were taken with the Leica X Vario (any photos of the lens or camera) and the example images were taken using the equipment being reviewed. In this case, the Leica 50mm lens on a Leica M (typ 240) camera. All of my images are processed in Adobe Lightroom from Leica DNG raw files and I have slightly adjusted them to my own personal preferences unless I indicate otherwise in the caption.

My review of the Sony A7R II is here! (Well, a rolling review which I will be constantly updating)

So, the elephant in the room, which every review will address: It has a 42 megapixel sensor. Yes, that is a ton of pixels. Last month I tested out Phase One's newest beast (the IQ3 digital back with the new XF camera body) which has 80 megapixels. And of course Canon now has over 50 megapixels with the 5Ds/R so it's really not that crazy for Sony to go with 42 for their flagship shooter.

I am curious to see how this new A7R II compares with the Sony A7 II and Sony RX1 as well as my Canon 5D Mk III. A friend of mine has a ton of Sony gear so I should be able to test it with a wide variety of lenses to really see which ones are best for it. Honestly, there isn't much similar to this camera in terms of a fair comparison because it's just so unusual. No mirror, full frame, interchangeable lenses (and adapters for almost any other brand of lens you might want to put on it), plus it's weather sealed so you can go outside and play. Oh, and by the way, it shoots 4K video and can record it internally, unlike the A7S.

The 42 megapixel sensor is certainly interesting, though really not a huge difference in terms of image size from the previous generation of 36 megapixel sensors. I think the real key difference will be in dynamic range and low-light performance. That, and the ability to crop with an APS-C factor, which still leaves you with a very usable 18 megapixels.

** OK, so probably the most interesting thing about the new Sony A7R II that I've noticed so far is that, unlike with most other cameras, this one seems to have files that look much better on the computer than they did on the camera LCD screen. Usually, when you go out and take some pictures, you look at them on the camera and they seem great, then maybe just ok once you put them on the computer. Not so with this new Sony. It reminds me of the medium format Hasselblad and Phase One cameras I've used in the past, because on those the picture is barely even worth looking at on the rear LCD (which is why most pros shoot tethered to a laptop when using medium format digital backs like those) but once you see them on the computer the images are mind-blowing and incredibly detailed with outstanding colors and quality.

I will be working on this review and posting more text soon, but in the mean time you can check out some quick sample images below:

Pretty impressed with the little Sony/Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 and I'm looking forward to testing the new Zeiss Batis lenses soon. I'm a long-time Canon L user and the bokeh from the 50mm f/1.2 L glass is a bit smoother, although this Sony/Zeiss lens is far sharper wide open.

The colors from this sensor are phenomenal, with no adjustments needed.

I also tested the APS-C crop mode, which gives you the look of a longer lens (although it is not the same optically). Still, if you are using a fixed focal length and you don't have anything else with you (like me when I happened to see this peacock wandering around) it's nice to make the 55mm into an effective 82.5mm lens with the APS-C mode (multiply your focal length by 1.5x to figure out the conversion, i.e. a 35mm lens becomes a 52.5mm and so on).

Crop of the photo above this one. This was a "Normal" quality JPEG (I didn't remember to switch to RAW+JPEG until right after this, sadly)

And another quick crop test, this one was taken by my friend with his Sony 70-200mm f/4 (through a window, from his apartment on the 15th floor) while we were testing out the gear:

See the rectangle? That's approximately a 100% crop...

And here's the cropped image. I did not make an effort to recover the highlights. The boat is only over exposed due to the darkness of the water around it, which is most of the original image. Anyway, if this is your boat, be sure to say hi in the c… — And here's the cropped image. I did not make an effort to recover the highlights. The boat is only over exposed due to the darkness of the water around it, which is most of the original image. Anyway, if this is your boat, be sure to say hi in the comments :)

Now, for a high-ISO test... this next one is ISO 4000 at f/4.5 and 1/250th

Another shot at ISO 4000 (and keep in mind I set Noise Reduction to Low in camera and also sharpened this to +50 in Lightroom) — Another shot at ISO 4000 (and keep in mind I set Noise Reduction to Low in camera and also sharpened this to *+50* in Lightroom)

This one was shot with the relatively new Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/1.4 mounted on the Sony A7R II

The capabilities of this camera are truly astounding. I'm looking forward to doing much more shooting in the next few days, and of course I will be posting more images as well as my thoughts and impressions of this beast.