Leica The battle of ultrafast Fifties: TTartisan 50/0.95 vs Summilux 50 ASPH

mike3996

Legend
Location
Finland
I made some quick shots around the house with the TTArtisan 50/0.95 choked to f/1.4 and the Summilux 50/1.4 wide open.

The results may impress you.

2021-12-19 (Sun) 15-30-20.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
2021-12-19 (Sun) 16-33-07.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


In the bokeh department it is difficult to force the lenses render differently!


In some results not pictured, the TTArtisan lens may suffer from more field curvature, the Summilux keeping up with the paper-cut image closer to the edges.

In the colors, 50 'lux does a colder presentation much to Leica's characteristic.

In ergonomics 50 Summilux wins handily, being lighter, having better focus ring (with a focus tab and short throw, just the way I like it) and having a builtin hood.

In build quality, frankly both are excellent.



More sample comparisons may follow.
 
I'll be interested in the "Bokeh Torture Test", wide-open/close-up of foliage with lots of background.

On the focus throw: I am very happy to hear the TTArtisans has a long-throw. That means the helical has more turns in it, and that is required to keep the optics of such a heavy lens from going off-center when focused. There was a 50/0.95 Chinese made lens some 10 years ago that used a short throw, and it caused problems.
 
Request acknowledged. Spring is 5 months that a-way but naked birches are more torturous anyway. Pine evergreens should be doable. Thanks to Christmas break, will be at least two weeks before I can get more results, but I welcome suggestions and wishes.
 
Breezy -10 C weather (14 F) and a little bit of powder snow falling. Black ice. Supper slippery at places. Didn't want to make a single step before securing my precious cargo in Billingham and fastening the straps.

My own freezeproofing has gone with the age. Or I am just out of practice. Move more, don't expect to feel warm until you're warmed up, so on. And I planned myself a quick stroll so I didn't take hot tea with me. A mistake! I'll remember better, later on.

Specular highlights

Frankly both lenses exhibit bad onion ringing but TTA is way worse.

2021-12-20 (Mon) 16-40-48a.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

2021-12-20 (Mon) 16-40-48.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)





2021-12-20 (Mon) 16-41-22a.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

2021-12-20 (Mon) 16-41-22.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
And another scene shortly after where TTA shows some flare it didn't exhibit before.


2021-12-20 (Mon) 16-48-10.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)



2021-12-20 (Mon) 16-49-46.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)





But like said, the flare doesn't occur very often. Maybe it's just a far corner issue? I haven't shot much but this behavior has been far more common (also shot at f/0.95 and not f/1.4).

2021-12-20 (Mon) 17-11-23.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
I've found that sometimes what looks like flare is an internal reflection in the lens hitting the sensor. Look into the lens with the lens wide-open, and then slightly stop-down. One source of reflections on some lenses is coming off the lens barrel behind the blades. Slightly stopping down reduces this greatly.

Onion ring Bokeh versus Donuts, Aspheric Optics versus all Spherical optics- take your pick. Onion rings are not as drastic, but not as familiar to most people.

We're just more used it spherical aberration.

L1021245.jpg

My 1957 Canon 50/1.2 on the M9, the first F1.2 lens for 35mm full-frame cameras. Wide-Open. All Spherical Optics.
 
New stroll, new battleground, new battles.

This is between TTArtisan 50/0.95 (shot at f/1.4) and Leica Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH (wide open at f/1.4) as before.

Lots of snow that may hide imperfections but light was otherwise perfect for conducting studies. I was able to shoot wide open and it was pretty much a constant f/1.4, 1/500, iso 200 all throughout my walk.

"SOOC" raws with a little straightening done to make photos match better. Focus on the blue sign.

2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-23-13.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-23-32.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)




Closeup crops.

2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-23-13a.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-23-32a.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)





As a bonus, TTArtisan at f/0.95. Given light touch at raw developer. It is frankly not much different from f/1.4 except for light gathering.

TTArtisan 50/.95 is a lens that has been really high tuned towards the wide end. I treated the lens as a general purpose fifty on my Christmas break and I noticed that the vignette in corners get worse the more I close it down. I think the lens doesn't quite cover the full image circle, which would cause this behavior. With wider apertures the falloff is within expectations.

2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-23-02.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Last edited:
Another set of samples. TTa at apertures 0.95 and 1.4, Leica at 1.4. Which is which, I let you decide. Here the extra stop has a little something to show.

2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-42-55.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-43-07.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


2022-01-06 (Thu) 11-43-24.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
 
Try turning lens detection off when using the TTartisans. Make sure that the firmware is not applying some correction that does not match what the lens needs.

Vignetting after stopping down is strange.
 
Try turning lens detection off when using the TTartisans. Make sure that the firmware is not applying some correction that does not match what the lens needs.
Yes with this latest batch of photos I noticed the magenta cast. Funny I didn't before. Maybe it was because they were shot in dark conditions mostly.
 
One final unfair comparison. Leica Summilux wide open at f/1.4 vs TTArtisan wide open at f/0.95.

Heavy crops around the focused object. A little straightening, a LUT to turn things B&W. Nothing else done.

2022-01-06 (Thu) 12-07-06.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


2022-01-06 (Thu) 12-07-58.jpeg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)



Here I think the Karbe design really shows his genius. The Leica lens somehow is able to throw the background more than what the aperture initially suggests. The micro contrast is palpable, the overall fidelity out of this world.

This is something I should've obviously also taken with TTA at f/1.4 but I didn't. I was done comparing things so at this point I was just shooting things and not always taking the same shots with both lenses.

Last year the Summilux 50 ASPH was the heavy guy in my repertoire and now it feels featherweight compared to the TTA brick. :)
 
Last edited:
Back
Top