[m42man]

This discussion has got me looking at some comparative shots I took a while back, and it occurs to me that many of my pictures using M-series lenses were somewhat overexposed.

Now, I've noticed before that this can have a very significant effect on the perception of contrast, colours and sharpness. So, for a fair comparison, it's necessary to correct exposure in PP (or better, to get it right when the shot is taken).

Applying about 1EV of correction, it's apparent to me that the main differences between the vintage lenses and modern lenses are indeed to do with colour saturation and temperature, rather than contrast. My M-series lenses have a distinct coolness, and lower degree of colour saturation, and I think this, plus the tendency for them to over-expose (on my K-m, anyway), is giving me an exaggerated impression of poor contrast.

So, possibly the issue is with exposure accuracy, rather than contrast?

[jolepp]

This discussion has got me looking at some comparative shots I took a while back, and it occurs to me that many of my pictures using M-series lenses were somewhat overexposed.
...

This might be relevant?