A funny thing happened on the way to the tax accountant. I stopped at the Leica dealer and saw a mint 35 Summicron ASPH for around $1200. I almost bought it, but thought I'd better hold off until I'd seen how much the tax bite was. Besides, I've already got an 8-element 1969 35 Summicron, and a pre-ASPH 35 Lux. Guilt. How many lenses can you take a picture with at the same time? The same as the number of boats you can water ski behind at the same time. So I postponed the decision to buy. What discipline. But what pictures I might take with that ASPH!

Then on Sunday I saw a special exhibit at the St. Louis Art Museum called "Van Gogh and the Painters of the Petit Boulevard." These fellows didn't have Summicron paintbrushes, or aspherical canvases. Impressionism isn't about sharpness. Nevertheless, their stuff is hanging in the museum and my sharper, higher resolution stuff isn't. So this gave me a philosophical point to ponder. Will taking sharper pictures really improve my photography? But I do projet slides onto a screen at widths up to eight feet, with a twelve foot viewing distance, using a Golden Navitar projection lens. So the ASPH's resolution probably would be visible.

So here's my point: At the apertures of f/4, 5.6, 8, or 11, the apertures which I most typically use for my pictorial scenic "post card" style, will the ASPH Cron's performance show a visible improvement, on the screen, over my eight element cron or seven element Lux? I shoot Velvia or Provia 100F.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), April 16, 2001

Answers

Van Gogh, oh yes, I told my wife I "have" to spend this amount of money for "Leica" coz I can't paint, but taking pictures, supposed to be a lot "easier"- actually excuses could be I need this lens or that body for a better print. She's quite good at painting, that's why she's happy with her little Olympus. Cheers!

-- Fred O. (yo5454@yahoo.com), April 16, 2001.

Buy. It will make you happier, but guilty. It will show a visible difference (not a great one) if you do huge projections. After that you may well convince yourself that the visible difference is a superior difference ;-)

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), April 17, 2001.

Check out Delta International before you buy that used summicron. I believe they are selling new gray market 35 ASPH 'crons for _under_ $1200. The 35 'lux is only about $500 more.

I asked a similar question recently regarding the difference between ASPH and non-ASPH lenses in general. From the answers I got, it seems to depend on the specific lenses in question. The 35 is one case where it does seem to make difference wide open, but I don't know about at the apertures you've asked about. Have wondered the same thing about the 90 Elmarit and Summicron too, but not just about sharpness. What about "pop", 3D effect, color saturation, contrast, etc?

-- Bob (robljones@home.com), April 17, 2001.

$1200 for a Summicron-ASPH is no great deal. Sell your 35/2 and 35/1.4 non-ASPH, then buy a 35/1.4 ASPH. You will get the best of both worlds. I saw them for under $1800 on Delta International's website a short while ago.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 17, 2001.

Bob:

A Van Gogh I am not, and I cannot speak to how the asph's might compare to your pre-asph 'lux... But I can say you will probably only see minor improvements in image quality at f5.6 and above, with improved flare suppression all around. However, at f4 and below is a different story... either asph lens is in another ballpark when compared to the pre-asph 'cron -- the lenses are significantly sharper and have more contrast, and I think you'd definitely see a difference when projected. (The asph 'cron is sharper corner to corner than the asph 'lux, but the 'lux is sharper in the center.) On the other hand, for either asph, you will gain some size/weight over your pre-asph 'cron... Decisions, decisions!

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), April 17, 2001.

I´m in the same idea of Jay, you only need one lens, and the latest ´lux seem to be the one, (hope I learn something).

-- R Watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), April 17, 2001.

Unless you need the extra speed of the 'lux, I'd go with the 'crom. And yes the asph is markedly sharper at wide apertures and does have awesome flare control. With the $$ youi save over the 'lux you can buy a ton of film to shoot, and that will improve your photography!

-- Bot Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), April 17, 2001.

Having recently moved up from the 35/2 ASPH to the 35/1.4 ASPH I have to say there is no performance gain with the slower lens, and f/1.4 is a useful aperture on a 35mm lens. Compared to a 50, the DOF is noticeably greater, and the lens is hand-holdable 1 speed slower, making it usable in light you'd need a Noctilux for at 50mm. The 35/2 ASPH is much bulkier and heavier than its predecessors, and not sufficiently less than the 1.4 ASPH that it makes a difference in practical shooting. The cost differential is substantial but in my opinion, there's real value to be found there, unlike some of the longer superspeed lenses where you're really paying for speed alone, and getting low contrast or vignetting and DOF so shallow you can't get someone's whole face in focus at once from a 3/4 view.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), April 17, 2001.

Bob:

You mentioned you rarely shoot below f4... I don't own one, but have you considered the 3E? Obviously, there are many supporters of that lens in this forum, and the old model 3E is about the same cost as the 35 asph 'cron. It is also an asph design and might be a more versitile option for you to consider... just a thought!

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), April 17, 2001.

Jack: It's not that I don't shoot at full aperture. I do. But most of the shots that wind up full size on my big screen are pictorial ones where I've stopped down to 5.6 or smaller for the DOF. Having read on Erwin Puts' site and elsewhere that the main advantage occurs at the wider apertures, it occurred to me that I might not see much difference in the raange I mentioned.

Everyone: Thanks for all the good input. Chances are I'll get an ASPH, though maybe not the one currently in the local showcase. Since it's not a great bargain, I might wait a bit.

Again, thanks for all the great comments!

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), April 17, 2001.