As I have said before, I have ALWAYS been more of a standard focal length guy. My favorite focal lengths tend to be 21, 28 and 50. It was a challenge for me to find shots using this 75 as I am not into “sniping” people on the street, and for up close portraits, my 50 always came through for me. So, I am not sure if I even have a use for the 75 focal length with an M8. If I did not have my 50 though it would be a different story and I would probably use it quite a bit.

**UPDATE** - After using the 75 even more I do find myself using it more and more. While I would love a 75 Summicron or Summilux, this little Summarit really has no flaws that I can find.

HOW ABOUT SOME SIDE BY SIDE SHOTS WITH MY 50 SUMMILUX AT 2.5?  GO TO PAGE THREE FOR MORE!

LEICA 75 SUMMARIT REVIEW - PAGE 1 - 2 - 3

As many of you know who read these reviews, I concentrate on fun, easy to read, REAL WORLD write ups. If you buy a lens, why do you need to know if it can sharply render every eyebrow hair on someone's face? I mean, that kind of stuff takes some of the fun out of photography IMO. It causes you to re-think your purchases sometimes. For example...

Let’s say you buy a new lens for your digital SLR. You are excited about it and decide to go online and join some forums which then lead you to reading a review on your lens. You see charts, techo babble writing and sample photographs that show or prove nothing about the lens or its character. Your mind spins and others say the lens must suck if it can’t sharply render every tree leaf on a tree. You then wonder why you bought it, when in reality it is most likely a great lens.

Yea, there are some dud lenses out there but I say if you buy a lens or camera, go out and shoot it. Enjoy it and learn its strengths. Once you do this, you will know how to use that lens artistically and your images will be the better for it. Forget the negativity. If you enjoy your lens, then its a good one! If you like it and someone else says its crap, then ignore that. The same with this review. Maybe you are someone who would never buy a Summarit lens and you may not agree with me on this one. That is OK. It’s all just personal opinion anyway!

I guess what I am trying to say is my reviews are more like real world use write ups. I use the lens or camera for a while and then write my opinions of it and provide the real world sample shots that I took with the camera or lens. I do provide 100% crops as many ask for them. So they are here even though I personally feel some lenses can be too sharp!

So now that I rambled on and on again, lets get back to THIS particular lens. How sharp is this lens wide open? Well, as usual, I will let the samples speak for themselves.

This was shot with the 75 wide open at 2.5. It has the same character as my 50 Summilux if it were shot at 2.5. The 100% crop under the full image shows how sharp this lens is, even when shot at 2.5. This lens is as sharp as any lens i have ever used.

Also, check out this shot I took just to test the sharpness on a really distant subject:

100% CROP  - WHITE DOTS ARE RAIN DROPS! LOOK AT THE CARDINAL!!

The above two shots were taken wide open at 2.5. How does it do stopped down to F8?

Even at F8, it appears to be about as sharp as it is at 2.5 when comparing the above image to the bird image! Leica seems to have done it again, even in one of their most least expensive lenses. Only a half a stop slower than the 75 Summicron at almost 1/3 the price. How about the corners? Yes, this lens is even sharp in the corners:

Don’t get me wrong though. The 75 Summicron is one hell of a lens. It is up there with the 28 Summicron (on my wish list) with the way it renders an image, which is ASTONISHING, MAGICAL, and HEAVENLY. The Summarits seem to share their look with the Summilux ASPH line, again, just slower with a 2.5 max aperture instead of 1.4. Do you need the speed? That is the question.

The Summarit line was designed with the M8 in mind and were built to be solid performers at a lower price point. When Leica introduced this line of lenses, they released the 35, 50, 75 and 90 Summarits. All are built well, and all have a max aperture of 2.5. As I mentioned in my 50 Summilux ASPH review, the names of the lenses are linked to the speed of the lenses. Here is the breakdown:

1. • Elmar - These lenses are considered slow usually with a max aperture of F3.8-F4.
   

2. • Elmarit - These lenses have a max Aperture of 2.8
   

3. • Summarit - Leicas newest line of lenses with a max Aperture of 2.5 (this 75!)
   

4. • Summicron - The very popular line of F2 lenses. These are some of the best.
   

5. • Summilux - The “fast” lenses with a fast 1.4 Aperture.
   

6. • Noctilux - Now F 0.95. Previous Noctilux was f1 and it was/is an amazing lens.
   

Hopefully that will clear it all up for any of you who have been confused by the names Leica gives their lenses.