Leica 90mm f/1.5 Summilux-M ASPH - Analog Edition

Most recently, I took delivery of my Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH. It should have been a pleasant occasion. Well, not so. I had a scheduling problem. Clearly, I wanted to post a review of the APO 35 right away. But, I had a few photowalks ahead in the queue that needed to be posted first. Of course, I could have gone with the simple solution of jumping the queue with my first impression of the APO 35. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that without creating a problem with the overall look of this dog and pony show. It would be awful if I did.

You see, the seasons all of a sudden changed here. The wet season - which is hot and humid - turned into the dry season - which is cool and dry. That means a change in wardrobe, from hot to cool weather, on the part of my current partner-in-waiting. On top of that, there is also the matter of my partner-in-waiting’s change in hair volume. I mean, I could not have such a visible inconsistency in the progression of this blog’s timeline. Hence, I knew I had no other choice but to step up, roll up my sleeves, and speed up with my blog posting this week.

I have already posted two blog entry over the weekend. And, I have already finished the blog entry for the new APO 35. All that is left to do is this blog entry. What to do? Obviously, there’s only one subject that I could write about. I mean, I did conduct this photowalk with the Leica 90mm f/1.5 Summilux-M ASPH. And, I also shot it on film. With that being the case, it really does not take a rocket scientist to put one and one together. This blog is about the 90 Lux - sharing my views, my analog shooting experience, and my photos showing its rendering.

Kodak Portra 800 @ 90mm Focal Length. This image was taken on the frame before the first frame of the roll. Because of that, the left quarter of the image was blank. What you see on the left quarter is a reconstruction copied and pasted from another image. Also note that the lead eye is not in focus because my camera is back focusing slightly.

In terms of naming conventions, the Leica 90mm f/1.5 Summilux is an unlucky lens. Intended to be the folks at Wetzlar’s premier fast mid-telephoto lens, it was only granted the the rank of a Summilux. I mean, how woeful. To be so close yet so far in being recognized as a full fledged Noctilux. Just off by a smidgen of a measly stop, the 90 Lux is relegated to obscurity. Besides yours truly, I do not know of any blogger who has actually played with the 90 Lux beyond an initial first impression review. And, that includes me - until this cold December day.

Don’t believe me? Just do a Google search and see how little has been written about the 90 Lux. I kid you not. Seriously, no one cares about this lens. It’s not a Noctilux. It has no cachet as an ultra fast M-mount lens, given that it’s regarded in the exact same way as any modest mass manufactured 35 or 50 Lux of the world. What an utter let down. The folks at Wetzlar certainly dropped the ball on the 90 Lux. It could have been a contender. It could have been a somebody. But instead, it is just another run-of-the-mill Summilux that no one worships.

Perhaps the folks at Wetzlar did not want to increase the girth of the 90 Lux any further. But then, would it have mattered if it grew a few more notches along the waistline? It is bulky enough already. Who would know? That said, I suspect the reason why the folks at Wetzlar stopped short of going the full distance with this fast 90mm lens is that it shares the same milled aluminum block as the Leica 75mm f/1.25 Noctilux-M ASPH (which truly is a Noctilux) as a cost cutting measure - I am assuming. I mean, can you think of another plausible explanation?

Moving along, the next point to discuss on this post is the 90 Lux’s suitability for film photography. That means no electronic viewfinder and no focusing aids. In a perfect world, that should not matter. But, the world we live in is far from perfect. Declining eyesight. Atypical refraction of light in the focusing window. Getting tack focus can be a hardship - which it is on the 90 Lux. Without the creature comfort of electronic crutches, the 90 Lux is practically impossible to shoot on film as it is truly meant to be shot - that is at maximum aperture in low light.

To do that, we first must make sure that our M-mount rangefinder is properly calibrated. Unfortunately, my two Leica M6Js have both been sorely abused and neglected. One front focuses while the other back focuses. As for which is which, I do not know. So whenever I shoot them wide open, I just hope for the best. Obviously, that is not the best approach to hit focus consistently. But, there are worse problems. On the 90 Lux, that particular distinction goes to following that pesky rule of reciprocity in preventing camera shake at higher focal lengths.

I mean, at maximum aperture in low light on film, you have to set the shutter speed to at least 1/125s (if you are feeling daring) or 1/250s (if you require a little breathing room). However, in low light and in film, that breathing room comes at too steep a cost of one extra stop - forcing you to hold your breath, click the shutter softly, and hope for the best. And given the laws of average, you should be able to hit focus in one out of every two shots. As such, you should take a few insurance shots when tempting the rule of reciprocity at lower shutter speeds.

In addition, it is advisable to shoot closer up with the 90 Lux - given the precarious nature of focusing a 90mm lens with an optical viewfinder optimized for a 35mm to 50mm lens (on a 0.85x magnification viewfinder) or a 28mm to 35mm lens (on a 0.72x magnification viewfinder typical of most cases). More than a distance of 6’ (or 2m) hitting focus at maximum aperture in low light becomes a distinct challenge. And if your analog M-mount rangefinder is not properly calibrated - as it is in my very sad case - then it becomes an absolute crap shoot.

Unfortunately, when one shoots closer up with the 90 Lux, one cannot get much of the subject in frame. To get the entire subject in frame (from head to toe), one must shoot from at least a full bus length away (give or take) when shooting the camera in landscape orientation. Mind you, one could shoot halfway closer if one were to rotate the camera from the default landscape orientation to portrait orientation. But, one will be sacrificing the width of the frame for more height just to capture the subject from head to toe - and still not be close enough!

Worst still, the 90 Lux is not made for film photography. I mean, you can use it stopped down when the light is sufficient. But, what is the point of shooting it stopped down in good light? I mean, the point of the 90 Lux is to shoot it at maximum aperture in low light. For mere mortals like me, that is just too high a standard to reach. If I have to shoot stopped down with the 90 Lux, I might as well just forget the 90 Lux and settle for something a less grand. For example, there’s the Leica 90mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH or Leica 90mm f/4 Macro-Elmar-M.

So, does this mean I have forsaken the 90 Lux? Will I ever shoot it again on film? Thing is, it’s not my inability to hit tack focus at maximum aperture in low light that’s stopping me. It’s its size. It is just too heavy and bulky for my liking. Like I stated in my first blog entry two years ago, the 90 Lux is a halo product. It was not intended for actual regular use. You have to be out of your mind (or very skilled and lucky with 20/20 vision). That said, I still believe the 90 Lux is worth shooting occasionally on film because the image reproduction is just so distinct.

I know I’m biased. But, I believe the 90 Lux renders more naturally on film than on a digital sensor. It better be, with all my struggles to hit tack focus in the dark. Yet, despite my hit rate dropping to half of what I normally hit at maximum aperture (given eyesight problems and an uncalibrated rangefinder), I find many of my photos on this set to be breathtaking. It could be the change in focal length, it could be the micro-contrast, or it could be dumb luck. In any event, I truly feel the 90 Lux is ideal for film - regardless of all the challenges it presents.

It is not so much that I am insisting that the 90 Lux is better on film than on a digital sensor. I mean, of course it is. I am biased. That said, the writing is on the wall, if I want to shoot the 90 Lux on film. I have to reconcile the fact that the 90 Lux is an extremely high maintenance prima donna on an analog M-mount rangefinder. Yes, it is almost impossible to shoot at maximum aperture in low light without electronic aids. You have no idea what it is like to shoot this lens with no electronic focusing aid and no corrective eyewear. It is no walk in the park.

Kodak Portra 800 @ 90mm Focal Length. A particularly large and visually distracting passersby has been edited out of the image.

Kodak Portra 800 @ 90mm Focal Length. Pushed 2 Stops in Post

Kodak Portra 800 @ 90mm Focal Length. Playing with the new detect subject tool in Lightroom. So fun!

Please remember that the purpose of this blog post is to show how the 90 Lux renders on film. Clearly, it does it very well. In addition, this blog post aims to describe what it’s like to handle this lens on an analog M-mount rangefinder. It is really dreadful unless you stop down - which defeats the point of shooting it in the first place. In any event, I think that this blog post is the only online commentary in which the 90 Lux is shot on film. In my opinion, that must be worth something.

One last point - forget about ever focusing the 90 Lux outside of center at maximum aperture in low light. That is just a recipe for disaster when you shift your camera position outside of center after focusing to recompose. To do that, you will need a digital camera equipped with electronic focusing aids.

Yes, I always take a fun shot when winding the film to the first frame.

Special thanks to Ania for accompanying me on this photowalk.

Disclaimer

Dec 6 Leica 90mm f/1.5 Summilux-M ASPH - Analog Edition

Disclaimer

Dec 6 Leica 90mm f/1.5 Summilux-M ASPH - Analog Edition

Dec 8 Leica APO 35mm f/2 Summicron-M ASPH - First Impressions

Dec 5 Making Sense of Film Photography