The Leica M10 and 75 Summicron in Rome by Dan Bar

Hi Steve!

Just got back from Rome, What a beautiful city!

As you know I love my 50 APO and use it most of the time but some how I felt I wanted to try the 75 Summicron as well. I usually take photos from 2-3 meters from my objects and in a few cases felt I needed the 75 so I could back up a little.

After reading everything there was on the net about the 75 I decided to try the LUX first. Beautiful lens no doubt but too heavy to carry all day, The focusing wasn’t easy so I immediately felt it wasn’t for me over the tab.

I then tried the 75 APO Cron. Another beautiful lens not too heavy, did not pull the camera down when I was walking, it is still heavier than the Summarit but not as heavy as the LUX.

What I did not like was the focusing ring , I love the tab which makes focusing easier and lets you know where it is right before starting to focus. Still it is very easy to focus.

The lens is flaring more than my previous lenses.

I got mine used in mint condition but have to calibrate it with my M10. As a result some of my photos where not fully focused. (at list not as I liked)

Did i like the 75? Yes I did , I still have to know the lens and get used to it,ย  I also want to try the 90 APO Cron which I hear is a lovely lens.

As always i shoot underexposedย  and this time ( the first time i include some photos of my family ).

Thank you
Danny

21 Comments

  1. a great set as usual Danny!
    My feelings about 75mm lens is why?
    It’s only slightly different and longer than 50mm, which focuses easier and
    is usually accurate. Not so 75mm and 90mm. Sigh!
    Best thing that happened to me when i lost a few lenses in an attack, i was not hurt, was losing my 90mm.
    I could NEVER feel it was worth Leica’s pricing compared to my Nikkor 105mm. I never replaced.
    Look forward to more posts.

  2. If you prefer under exposing all photos and not intending to bring up any details in the shadows, what’s the need for a beautiful lens such as 50 Cron APO (your other article) or 75 Cron APO? The very reason for Dr Peter Karbe to introduce the legendary 50 cron APO or the magic 50 Noct (or the 50 Lux, or even the Zeiss ZM 35/1.4) is their ability to let you capture the details in the shadows, one that when pairing with Leica Monochrom (M or 246) works like magic.
    Unfortunately I can only see just black in the dark. This is NOT to comment on your artistic preference as that’s very subjective. This is simply stating that your way of using the lens does not bring the most out of your beautiful lens. Period.

    • You are right , there is no need for it. Not even for the Leica M cameras and yet I decided to buy them.
      Thank you for looking at my photos

  3. Nice shots. The b&w and the two guys at the trattoria are gorgeous and very Roman. I agree the 75 lux is too heavy and focusing too difficult for street photography. I too under exposure (-0.3-0.7) with my M240 (no M10 yet, alas…). Keep on the nice work for our/your pleasure.

  4. With all respect to Dan’s artistic vision, there is nothing about the photos that gives any sense of place. The people don’t look Roman, the places don’t look like Rome. It could be anywhere. Maybe that’s what he was going for, though.

      • Everyone and everywhere is starting to look the same!
        It is almost impossible to show the character of place without usual landmarks. A nice group though. more comment later!

    • Thank you Robert
      I agree , I do what I do because I love it. I mainly shoot people rather than sights or buildings, I am fascinated of peoples reaction noticing me taking their photos, it is so different from country to country or even from one place to another.
      Yes I can shoot the coliseum ,churches, the Vatican and so on, but than every one does it.

  5. I feel the under exposure is a gimmik to dress up pretty average photos to make them seemingly more mysterious. After looking at them for a while I get a dull overall feeling.

    • Of course it is a gimmick, and yes I want to make my photos look mysterious.
      I love your comment, you looked at the photos and you understood my point

  6. I’m a huge fan of the under-exposed look when it’s appropriate. You end up with a very cinematic mood, and I feel like even if I don’t know the story behind the subject it becomes easy enough to fantasize about it. Awesome gallery.

    • Thank you very much ๐Ÿ™‚
      In fact I receive a lot of private messages from people who ask me how do I actually underexpose. As I already explained I keep the red arrow in the VF on the left side ( no red dot) and play with the exposure compensation usually from -o.3 to -1

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