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Review Date
March 9, 2008
Overall Rating
 5 of 5
Value Rating
 4 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year
Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes
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Reviewed by
klong
, Intermediate
Price Paid
$1100.00
at eBay
Photography Experience
6-10 years
, Other
Summary
Great lens. Produces outstanding bokeh af f/1.4 and f/2, but is a bit soft until you stop it down to f/2.8, better yet f/4. Colors are very saturated and rich. The lens vignettes quite heavily at f/1.4. Also some CA but not too bad. Check the following for some reviews and samples http://slrlensreview.com/content/view/419/133/ , http://www.overgaard.dk/leica_80_summilux-R_14.html ,
Strengths
Great bokeh, very sharp from f/4. Great and contrast
Weaknesses
Price, soft at f/1.4. Vignetting at f/1.4
Similar Products Used
Leica Summicron 90/2, Zeiss Planar 85/1.4
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Review Date
April 5, 2005
Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
 5 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year
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Reviewed by
leicabuff
, Professional
Price Paid
$1200.00
at Privately
Photography Experience
21+ years
, Fine Art
Summary
This is a lens with some UNIQUE features. It is nice to hold, balances well with the camera and the pictures it delivers are totally STUNNING. I have tried it at night and it is superlative, even wide open. I have tried it in daylight, it is impressive. I compared it with my 50 Summicron R + 2X. 80 Summilux is much much superior. I sold the 50 & the 2X. I just keep two Leica R lenses, the 80 Summilux R and the 250/4. They both create wonders for me. I recommend this lens thoroughly. I tried it against the 75/1.4M lens. The M lens is not quite as good as this one and it is always hard to focus long lenses on Leica M bodies. I wish I knew what the secret is to get the focus right. My advice to anyone with a Leica R body is to have the 80 Summilux R lens, pay the price and be happy for ever.
Strengths
Well Made : Tight Focus : Precise in all functions. Impressive all the way both in feel and performance.
Weaknesses
NONE
Similar Products Used
85/1.4 Nikkor AF : 85/1.4 Contax for RTSIII. Nikkor is pretty good, but the plastic body of the AF/D does not enthuse me at all. Also tried the Summilux M 75/1.4. Not as good as the 80 R.
Customer Service
None Needed.
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Review Date
June 4, 2003
Overall Rating
 4 of 5
Value Rating
4 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year
Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes
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Reviewed by
rodgerchee
, Intermediate
, from Shanghai .China
Price Paid
$1520.00
Photography Experience
6-10 years
, People
Summary
To me, the working aperture of this lens starts from F2.5, which gives me portraits with sufficient sharpness and nice bokeh. Wide open is good for those soft images,which is not my taste. (Other people say you obtain too characters in one lens.) Apart from this, I am totally satisfied with its optical performance, especially when set at infinity. It gives me detailed description of objects that I never learn before.
Strengths
Mechanical,optics
Weaknesses
heavy,tight focus ring and expensive
Similar Products Used
Minolta 85/1.4GD
Customer Service
None
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Review Date
May 14, 2003
Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
Less than 1 month
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Reviewed by
anglelake
, Intermediate
, from hamilton ontario canada
Price Paid
$1250.00
at KenmarCamera
Photography Experience
2-5 years
, Outdoor
Summary
Having a friend that owns a camera store in our city, I have tried every camera and lens in the last few years and my goal was to find the perfect image. Let me tell you this lens is better then 20 20 vision wow" wow" wow"
Strengths
RRRAZZZOR sharp images
Weaknesses
NONE PAY THE PRICE AND BE HAPPY.
Similar Products Used
NONE
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Review Date
September 21, 2001
Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
4 of 5
Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1 votes
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Reviewed by
DesignEdge
, Intermediate
Price Paid
$1200.00
at Second hand shop
Photography Experience
11-20 years
, Outdoor
Summary
If you were to rely on lens test reviews, particularly the one by Chasseur d''Image, you wouldn''t even dream of buying this lens. Many may even put this in the same category as the Leica-M 50mm f/1.0 Noctilux and the Leica-M 75mm f/1.4: wildly extravagant and a "specialist" lens only for those who crave that "bokeh" effect. Some would even say you don''t need a lens of this speed and that a 90mm f/2 would do, or that a 90mm Elmarit-R is lighter and cheaper and just as good. If they were all right, there would be no demand for this lens and Leica would have stopped producing it.
I took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge when I saw this lens in mint condition in a second hand shop. The photos from the first roll of film filled me with awe (I shot with the lens wide open). The photos were sharp and contrasty but it really came into its own with close-ups in low light conditions. Centre sharpness was beyond reproach. The background had a liquid smooth bokeh and the characteristic colour gradation one associates with wide aperture fast lenses at f/1.4 Photos I took of a cat napping on a street corner captured every hair and whisker, and the fabulous striation of colour of its coat. It was sharp without being "sharply etched" - like how a good portrait should be. The lens is also easy to use for street photography - it focuses very quickly, unlike the Leica-M 75mm and the 100mm APO Elmarit-R which has a longer focusing turn.
Strengths
Resolution, contrast but most of all, its bokeh
Weaknesses
None except price (which is a complaint, not a weakness per se!)
Similar Products Used
Leica-M 90mm Elmarit, 75mm f/1.4, Leica 100mm APO Elmarit-R, Nikon AF-D 105mm Macro, Hasselblad CFi 120mm f/4
Customer Service
None needed.
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