Leica 50mm f/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH Aperture Series: Lone Pine Peak and Mt Whitney Sunrise from Alabama Hills (Leica M10-R)
Related: Alabama Hills, apochromatic, Eastern Sierra, Leica, Leica 50mm f/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH, Leica APO-Summicron, Leica APO-Summicron-M, Leica Lenses, Leica M, Leica M lenses, Leica M10-R, Leica Summicron, Leica Summicron-M, Mt Whitney area, peak bagging, rangefinder
This aperture series from f/2 through f/8 examines sharpness across the field and near to far, taking a critical look at field curvature, which is pronounced enough to cause dramatic differences in sharpness across the field, a headache for this type of photography.
I had been having some trouble figuring out the disappointing results with the 50/2 APO in a variety of situations—it performed poorly in the outer zones when focused near the center on everything. It was a puzzler, but this series is a revelation as to what is going on.
Includes images up to full camera resolution from f/2 to f/8, plus crops.
This series is entirely consistent with the examples readers have sent me over the years, which also show disappointing across-the-field sharpness. If you want the best, dispense with the marketing hype and false premises, and look at reality.
You can get far superior performance 3 stops earlier with 50% more pixels for 1/8 the price. And soon, in Leica M mount.
LEICA M10-R + Leica 50mm f/2 APO-Summicron-M ASPH
ENV: Alabama Hills, altitude 6000 ft / 1829 m, 42°F / 5°C
RAW: pull 0.45 stops, +35 Whites, +10 Dehaze, +15 Clarity
[low-res image for bot]
