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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Leica R Cine Conversion - aprox $8000 high quality 7 lens prime set in Canon EF

I have a very rare Leica R 15mm f2.8 ASPH for sale. It is used but flawless condition and just came back from revision from Leica. If anyone is seriously interested please send me a mail. Won't be able to post pictures until tomorrow ;-).

I'd love to have that lens, but probably far out of reach economically...
 
Does anyone have experience with the 21-35 f3.5-4 ASPH? Recommended?
 
Thanks Tommaso, I thought it looked too good to be true for wide coverage. But since I don't shoot that wide, that often, I may be just fine with a only a 19 and 35 on up...
 
Happy to help Mark and spare you from buying and regretting it...if you look for sharp corners.

It's a good lens, with GREAT color reproduction, just not a WOW one like the 19 V2, 28 V2 and 35 (lux or cron)...

Having said all that, it's probably great for documentaries or for every time you want to pack as many focal lengths possible in the smallest number of lenses!

Pair this with a 35-70 F4 + the 80-200 F4 and you are good to go!
 
Thanks, I'll pass on the 21-35 for now – especially given the other great options.

Speaking of which, another zoom I'm finally considering is the legendary 70-180 2.8. I've found one in great (but not 'mint') condition for $5.2k usd. Can anyone chime in on this price? Hard to find comparative sales, probably because its so rare, and on Ebay its priced all over the map.
 
Thanks again, waiting to hear back from the seller -- fingers crossed...
 
So yesterday was told that my new 35 Lux that wouldn't back focus, despite being sold as 'Like New' 1 month ago, has been repaired and should arrive tomorrow. I've also read/seen many good things about the 35 Cron so ordered one last night. Really looking forward to testing em side-by-side so I can decide which to keep... Am also curious of others' opinions who've used both. Have read and seen examples showing the Lux is stronger up close due to its floating element, and bokeh rendering has more of a bipolar quality.

Have a feeling its gonna be another tough decision... :)

I'd be interested to hear what you decide and why.
 
I'd be interested to hear what you decide and why.

The 35 lux has become a new favorite and the cron should arrive in a couple days. Hope to shoot some side-by-sides and weigh in soon...
 
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The 35 Cron arrived today so can finally test it against the 35 Lux, which I hope to get to this weekend.

And recently acquired a 50 Lux E60 that I'll compare to an E55.
 
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Looking forward to your 35 cron/lux comparison. Would be nice if you could post a grab @ f2 and f2.8.
Thanks
 
Great suggestion, I will.
 
Will also try a 50 lux e55/e60 comparison. Hoping to find time this afternoon for both tests.
 
Ran some quick/simple comparisons early this evening. Unfortunately, the 35 Cron could not capture anything close to uniform sharpness even when stopping way down, which leads me to believe it arrived miss-calibrated.

So I'll begin with the 50 Lux E55/E60 comparison instead.

Levels were slightly adjusted, but otherwise these are straight from Scarlet @ 5k 1/48 ISO 360 shortly before sunset, facing the sun at 50% resolution.
The E55 screens probably had more head movement (1/48), which probably part of the reason he's not as sharp there.

(control click to see these larger in a new window)

F1.4 50 Lux E55:

50lux-e55-f1_4-5k-sidebyside-test1.jpg



F1.4 50 Lux E60:

50lux-e60-f1_4-5k-sidebyside-test1.jpg



F2 50 Lux E55:

50lux-e55-f2-5k-sidebyside-test1.jpg



F2 50 Lux E60:

50lux-e60-f2-5k-sidebyside-test1.jpg



Very different characteristics in the out of focus areas between the two. Also more clarity/micro-contrast and better balanced tones are clearly evident in the E60s to my eyes.

And here are two from the 35 Lux in the same settings/camera position (as the talent grows ever-weary).

f1.4

35lux-f1_4-5k-sidebyside-test1.jpg



f2

35lux-f2-5k-sidebyside-test1.jpg



35 Cron at f2 was unusable (see below). Even stopping down didn't help much which leads me to believe that this copy is a dud (and will be returned pronto!).

35cron-f2-5k-sidebyside-test1.jpg



So a real 35 comparison will have to wait, but hope to replace the Cron with a solid copy soon and repeat... This is worse than my first iPhone! :nonod:

But clearly the Lux 35 is sharp in the center wide open with bokeh that renders similarly to the E55s but is more consistent/not bipolar, like the E55s.

For the 50 comparison, to my eyes the E60 captures more micro-contrast and has smoother more consistent bokeh. Hard to be sure, but E60 seemed to have better DOF wide open.
 
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Mark, thanks!

Bummer fro the 'cron!

Are you sure there wasn't a slight shift of green / magenta in the white balance?

From your pics seems like the 50s have both a ton more green and less magenta.

It seems strange, usually in my experience if the Leica lenses tested are around the same age, they behave similarly color-wise...
 
Happy to help Mark and spare you from buying and regretting it...if you look for sharp corners.

It's a good lens, with GREAT color reproduction, just not a WOW one like the 19 V2, 28 V2 and 35 (lux or cron)...

Having said all that, it's probably great for documentaries or for every time you want to pack as many focal lengths possible in the smallest number of lenses!

Pair this with a 35-70 F4 + the 80-200 F4 and you are good to go!

I have these same 2 zoom lenses for sale, and getting cheap!

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?110064-Leica-R-lenses-zooms-with-Nikon-mount&highlight=
 
Mark, thanks!
Are you sure there wasn't a slight shift of green / magenta in the white balance?

From your pics seems like the 50s have both a ton more green and less magenta.

It seems strange, usually in my experience if the Leica lenses tested are around the same age, they behave similarly color-wise...

Instead of white balancing for each lens, I opted to WB for the E60, which was then used for all (partially to see this differences). Because these were taken near sunset, the light was growing ever warmer and the 35 lux was last, which probably explains some of the color-shift. But to your point, the difference seems rather pronounced so I'll revisit this as well. Don't recall the serial #s off-hand, but believe the 35 lux is only a few years 'newer' than the E55.
 
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