Search the Community

Before prices go up on May 1, I would like to buy a new version of the 35mm Summicron or 35mm Summilux ASPH (FLE) lens. The cost and weight differences are factors, but not necessarily determinative for me, and I am trying to decide which to buy. I am buying an M10 camera body plus (I think) a 50mm Summicron (Non-APO), although the 50mm Summilux is a possibility, especially if I decide not to buy the 35mm Summicron. I don't ordinarily take portrait photos; nor do I expect to use the Summilux wide open at f/1.4 very often. Bokeh is not driving my decision. What I am most interested in is the beautiful and subtle color rendition that draws one into the world of the photo, in a moody sort of way. For example, Borge Indergaard has posted, in his review of the 35mm Summilux-M ASPH, his low-resolution photo of a waterway at Freya, Norway. The colors of the reds in boats and buildings, the micro contrast and tones of the clouds, and the overall effects of the photo has led me to use that low resolution version as my desktop wallpaper on my Mac computers. I could try to post that photo here, but I don't know if it's proper to post someone else's photograph. If I thought that the Summicron would have matched those colors, I would buy the Summicron due to cost, weight and size. The best thing would be for me to go to a site like Lensrentals.com and rent the lenses, as well as the M10 body before I buy it. But there is the rental cost plus the May 1 Leica price increase to consider. My current cameras are a Nikon D800, a Nikon D500, a small Sony RX100 and also the RX100v, and I have prime Nikkor lenses at 28mm, 40mm, 50mm, and 85mm, plus a Zeiss Distagon 21mm and numerous zooms (mostly Nikkor and including the 70-200 f/2.8). This will be my first rangefinder since I spent 25 years with a Kodak Signet before putting it aside around 1978--but I still have it). As is apparent from this post, I am not a professional. Most of my photos these days are of family, boating, and travel. Every once in a while I will simply look for attractive photo effects, such as a walk recently where I captured beautiful flowers with a 50mm f1.8 prime lens. In all my photography, if there were one overriding factor, I love colors--moody and magical drawing the viewer into the world of the photo. I welcome all opinions on the 35mm Summicron vs 35mm Summilux as to color rendition especially.