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35mm on M9


Daniel Leung

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hi,

 

I am thinking to get a 35mm on the M9. not sure if I should get F2 or F1.4?

 

Pls let me know yur thoughts

 

DL

 

Get the f/2, which is cheaper and more user-friendly. Only go for the f/1.4 if you absolutely need the extra stop of aperture or absolutely desire the shallower depth of field.

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Assuming this is about cron vs. lux, I asked myself this question recently and decided, based on nothing, that the rumours about a new lux are true and got myself a cron to pass the time. Now that I am using it I find it hard to take it off the camera. The cron is a wonderful compact sharp (and pretty) lens!

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In case you decide for a 35 Summilux remember that certain pre-aspherical are not compatible with the M8 and M9.

 

That needs a bit of clarification - optically, the pre-aspherical 35 f/1.4's work fine with the M8 or M9.

 

Mechanically, there is a rim around the rear element to protect it. On my M9 this rim (1978 35 f/1.4) causes no problem and the lens is fully usable, but I tried a similar (but not the same) lens on an M8, which would not focus all the way to inifinity because the rim hit the inside of the "film" chamber.

 

The M9 chamber is not the same as the M8's - it has been opened up wider by 2-3 mm.

 

But test before buying...

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I have been using a current 35 Summilux ASPH.

It's a very nice glass for smooth transition and colorful expression with a touch of transparency.

 

However, I am planning to add a 'silver' Summicron to my collection of 35mm's for general street and landscape photography.

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The current 35 Summilux is a bit of a lottery. If you get a good one, you would be very happy like me. If you get a poor one like a number of others have had, you would be spitting mad. Another lens to consider is the 35/2 Zeiss Biogon. I have yet to hear a bad report on it. It may be a tiny bit softer at the edges than the Summicron at f2 on some examples but one stop down becomes even sharper than the Summicron. Very high contrast. You don't even need to hand code now with the M9 although it is very easy on this lens. Code or select as pre-asph summicron.

 

Wilson

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Aside from the fact that there are many reports of focusing problems with the Lux 35 asph, it has one of the most beautiful drawings of all Leica lenses IMHO. I was lucky and got one with no focusing issues. It is glued to my M8.2. I went through several 35's before settling on this one. For my personal taste, the Cron asph is too contrasty and clinical, had a silver V4 "bokeh king" and a 8-element version and thought they were a little soft, also had the Lux 35 pre-asph but it tended to flare.

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It has been said (many times) that the front focus issues with the 35 Lux exist mostly on black lenses which use an aluminum barrel. The chrome silver versions use a brass barrel and seem mostly immune from this problem. I have had two chrome silver versions with nary an issue although that does not a statistical sample make! LOL

 

Just food for thought

 

Woody

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FWIW, Leica can adjust any 35mm pre-asph Lux to get it to focus to infinity on a M8. I sent mine in and they replaced the big metal shroud at the back.(which was good since I'd butchered my old shroud with a file when I first tried to DIY the thing).

 

I keep wanting to move away from this Lux for the 0.9 meter focusing constraint and the tendency to flare. But I keep getting pulled back in since it makes pictures that people are drawn towards and comment about. And this is more than the skill of the photographer(me) - it's also the lens.

 

Now with the M9 manual lens selection and no need for a series 7 UV/IR I can't wait to save up for a new body(chrome please) and give it a whirl

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I love the 35 cron, which was the first lens I got for my M7 and which works great on the M8. Its super sharp, small, and a joy to handle. If I were forced to keep only one lens, it would be it.

 

Having said that, I have seen many shots of the 35 lux and I find its drawing very tempting....

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I've got the latest 35mm Summicron as well as the 35mm Summarit (an outstanding little lens) & 35mm Nokton f1.2.

 

IMO go for the 35mm Summarit and spend the change on another lens; Leica Summarit, Zeiss M or Cosina/Voigtlander, to fill in any gaps you may have in your lens collection.

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I've had both Elmarit and Summicron and decided the Elmarit was the best for what I wiuld usually use it for; which was wider shots where I wanted details and sharpness.

 

If you want to use it for effects in say street photography and depend on the DOF and bokeh, the Summicron should be the answer. But else I would look for an Elmarit which should cost very little these days at Meister Camera in Germany and other places.

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I've had both Elmarit and Summicron and decided the Elmarit was the best for what I wiuld usually use it for; which was wider shots where I wanted details and sharpness.

 

If you want to use it for effects in say street photography and depend on the DOF and bokeh, the Summicron should be the answer. But else I would look for an Elmarit which should cost very little these days at Meister Camera in Germany and other places.

 

Overgaard... you are a reknown expert... but tell me when ever an ELMARIT 35 was made ? ;)

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It has been said (many times) that the front focus issues with the 35 Lux exist mostly on black lenses which use an aluminum barrel. The chrome silver versions use a brass barrel and seem mostly immune from this problem. I have had two chrome silver versions with nary an issue although that does not a statistical sample make! LOL

 

Just food for thought

 

Woody

 

Woody,

 

My good one is also chrome. However to be unprejudiced, it should be mentioned that it is appreciably heavier than the alloy bodied black one. I have not heard many complaints recently, so maybe they are getting better with practice, at making the black ones. I have been told that they have sub-contacted out the production of some of their lens barrels, so maybe the sub-contractor has tightened up on their tolerances. The chrome ones have for some inexplicable reason, been out of production since September 2006, which is the date stamped on the outside of my brown cardboard box, so I have one of the sunset ones - serial number 3921878. Like an Egyptian pharaoh, I have decided to be buried with it, so that I can use it in the afterlife on my celestial M.

 

Wilson

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I have had the 35 Lux ASPH with my M8.2 for a while. Picked up the M9 and a 35 Summicron. Shot them both for 1-2 weeks and decided to sell the Lux and keep the cron. The Lux has been sold and I am loving the 35 Summicron. My 35 Lux had focus shift as did 5 others I tried. I wanted to use the 35 FL for landscape on the M9 and the Lux was not cutting it with its shift.

 

Still, the 35 Summilux is beautiful at 1.4.

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Hi Daniel,

 

I asked myself the same question and because of the so called focus shift problem with the lux, I went fror a new cron asph.

The more I used it on the M8 the more I loved it.

Now it is stuck to my M9 and the 75 cron AA replace it only when I do portraits.

 

This is one of the best lens I ever tried. so light and easy to focus. Great sharpness and bokeh.

 

Just my 2 cents

 

All the best,

Jean-Luc

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It has been said (many times) that the front focus issues with the 35 Lux exist mostly on black lenses which use an aluminum barrel. The chrome silver versions use a brass barrel and seem mostly immune from this problem. I have had two chrome silver versions with nary an issue although that does not a statistical sample make! LOL

 

Just food for thought

 

Woody

 

It turned out mine is a black anodized and another black one a friend has is also spot on. Both lenses have earlier serial numbers 36xxxxx like most chrome ones I know. Could it be earlier ones were better calibrated :confused:

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HI There Daniel

Well, I've not owned a 35 'lux, so I can't comment beyond the fact of the focus shift, which may vary from lens to lens, but may also be 'fixed' by leica releasing a new version with a moving element (like the 50 'lux and 75 'cron).

 

I've owned a 35 f2, and it was a lovely lens . . . . . but what I have now is a 35 summarit (f2.5). It's smaller and cheaper than the f2, and to me it has a more relaxed and friendly feel about it. Added to this it's truly small.

 

So, if you don't need the speed, I'd really recommend looking at the humble summarit.

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