michael.mu

Hi LeicaBoss, A few months ago I went through the same decision process. I have a 1960's 50mm Summilux v2 and I wanted to get a modern 50mm. After reading the forum discussions and looking at examples online, I really thought that I would buy the 50mm APO summicron but after testing both lens at the Leica store in Berlin I bought the Noctilux f/0.95. I'm extremely happy with the lens and use it for everything from street, travel, portraits, to low light photography. If possible, test the lenses before buying. Mike

1962 50mm Summilux v2 Iceland

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely interested in the APO Summicron. It sounds like the best lens to complement my Summilux II. I'll follow up on this thread when I get a lens. Mike

John, You might prefer the 35mm Summicron-asph. I bought one last year and love it. At the time my most used lens was a 1962 50mm Summilux; now it's probably the 35mm. I find it helpful to view pictures made with the lens of interest on Flickr. The 35mm Summicron-asph while having a more modern look is a 20 year old design already. It came out in 1996. Here are a couple more examples of the 35mm Summicron-asph taken with an open aperture (maybe f2.0 ?) with the M240 https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/27205619771/in/album-72157653795259460/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/26576556034/in/album-72157653795259460/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/28040242843/in/album-72157653795259460/ Mike

I have a 50mm Summilux pre-asph that I’ve been using for several years on my M240. I’m satisfied with the photos from this lens but there are times when I would like different look in terms of color and/or sharpness. I would like to get a modern 50mm to supplement the pre-asph Summilux. The options I’m considering would be the APO-Summicron, Noctilux 0.95, or even a Summilux-asph. Potentially I might use the lens for everything – travel, street, portrait, etc. I’ve ready many of the forum discussions on the 50mm lenses, and looked at example photos on this forum, Flickr, and Facebook. All of these lenses are good and have their strengths and signature look. Maybe other forum members have gone through a similar lens upgrade or worked with these lenses so I would be interested in your experience and thoughts. I’ll make the final decision later in the year when I go to Germany and go lens shopping. Thanks, Mike

I also use a 90mm f2.5 Summarit and am very happy with it. It's a versatile lens and I've used it for travel, landscapes, portraits. I think examples are always helpful so I'm including links to several examples of the 90mm Summarit with the M240: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/15620450344/in/album-72157641012054554/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/14696697521/in/album-72157641012054554/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/26269640051/in/album-72157641012054554/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/26286448981/in/album-72157641012054554/ And if you want to browse more photos with the 90mm Summarit here's a link to my album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelmu/albums/72157641012054554 Good luck with your decision. Mike

I use a 50mm Summilux version 2 that dates from 1962 on my M240. My father gave me the lens along with his M3. It's a very good lens and I've wondered if I should 'upgrade' to a new 50mm Summilux asph sometime but I'm still undecided. I discussed this in the Leica store in Berlin. Rather than trying to sell me a new lens they looked at my old lens and told me that I should get the lens serviced since the focusing was a bit stiff. I did and the focusing is very smooth. This should last another 50 years. Here is a link to photos taken using the 50mm pre-asph Summilux https://www.flickr.com/photos/81529091@N04/albums/72157656887275878

Siegessäule M240 35mm Summicron-asph

I like it a lot. It is a very versatile lens, easy to focus and small. I have not used another lens since I bought it and I am still traveling on vacation. I may switch back to my 50mm tomorrow as a comparison. For some reason I have lost the lens cap several times but luckily noticed it in time and found it on the street not far behind me. I have not had this happen with other lenses.

Thank you for the discussion and suggestions. I now have a new 35mm Summicron Asph. I did look at and tried out the Summilux and Zeiss Distagon.

I'd like to get 35mm lens, likely the Summicron asph or Summilux FLE for my M240 to fill in a gap in my current lineup. The lenses I currently have are a 50mm Summilux (II) from 1962, 90mm Summarit and 21mm SEM. The lens would be general purpose: travel, landscape, street. Sometimes I need something a bit wider than 50 but not as wide as 21. I feel that 50mm will probably remain my most used lens so even though the 35 Lux is a fantastic lens and I like the look of the images from it, I'm wondering if the Summicron would be the better choice. I've tested these lenses in the past but haven't really shot with a 35mm to know how much I'm going to use it. The Lux would be an expensive choice to sit unused in my camera bag. I've read a lot of good reviews on both the 35mm Cron and Lux. This raises another idea, overall I'm happy with my 50mm Summilux. My father bought it with an M3 in 1962. But if I'm primarily a 50mm photographer should I consider investing in a new 50mm Summilux asph? I prefer the color in the modern 50mm and it's probably sharper, especially at f1.4. My Mandler 50mm Lux has what I would describe as a greenish cast compared to a red/pink cast in the modern 50mm asph. I'd love to hear some other users opinions on this. I'll be going to Berlin soon and hope to do some shopping there! Mike

I had a bad experience using the Pentax gel stick on my M240. It left a sticky orange residue on the sensor in an attempt to remove a dust spot. I took the camera to a local camera store for a wet clean the next day. They couldn't clean it off so I sent the camera to Leica New Jersey. I just got a repair estimate to replace the sensor. This will be an expensive lesson learned not to clean the sensor myself with this tool.

Thank you all for the feedback and advice. I bought the 90mm Summarit. The focal length is a good complement to my 50mm and the images using the 90 have been excellent.

Hi, Does anyone have experience with the 75mm or 90mm Summarit on the M (240)? Some of the recent threads on the 90mm lens and the best lens for dogs got me thinking about getting a telephoto lens for general use (including dog pictures) that would complement a 50mm Summilux. I found favorable reviews for both the 75mm and 90mm. Reviewer preference seems to be in more in favor of the 75mm. However the reviews I found were done on the M8 or M9. Just curious about results from M users. Thanks, Mike

I ran another test comparing Auto WB and Grey Card WB. This time I got a good result with the Grey Card Setting - no green tint. The attached screen capture shows the Auto WB on the left and Grey Card WB on the right. You can see the green tint on the Auto. Settings: ISO 200 f8 1/60 50mm f1.4 v2 (not coded - set manual) Looks like I need to do more testing with Grey Card WB setting to make sure that I'm using it correctly. Mike