Leica 50mm f/2 APO-Summicron-SL: Veiling Flare, Ghosting Flare, Ray Flare
Another flaring disaster in the APO-Summicron-SL line. The results are beautiful when the front lens element is shaded. Otherwise, they are piss-poor.
Leica 50mm f/2 APO-Summicron-SL Examples: Flare
Includes pairs of images, with and without shading the front lens element (lens hood always attached).
In my opinion, the Leica APO-Summicron-SL line needs to be recalled, with the design fixed to address the piss-poor flare performance. The ray flare with the 50/2 APO-SL looks like an outright obvious design defect, just for starters.