piblondin Posted February 1, 2012 Share #1 Â Posted February 1, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) What Leica lens has a look that you think feels the most special on both film and digital and doesn't have any major drawbacks, such as focus shift? Let's exclude the Noctilux because it's out of my league in price and size. From what I've seen, I would say the 35mm Summilux FLE. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 1, 2012 Posted February 1, 2012 Hi piblondin, Take a look here Leica lens with the most special look?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
bill Posted February 1, 2012 Share #2 Â Posted February 1, 2012 60mm Elmarit-R (you didn't specify M... ) Â Regards, Â Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted February 1, 2012 Share #3 Â Posted February 1, 2012 35mm Summicron R (Mandler) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted February 1, 2012 Share #4 Â Posted February 1, 2012 I like the out of focus backgrounds of the summitar. And the name, too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double Negative Posted February 1, 2012 Share #5 Â Posted February 1, 2012 Since you mention the 35 FLE, the Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH is also quite choice. They're relatively similar in look. Â Then there's the Zeiss C Sonnar T* 1,5/50 ZM. Whole lots of unique there! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZDavid Posted February 1, 2012 Share #6 Â Posted February 1, 2012 The good old 50 Summicron maintains that special Leica look on film and digital and isn't tricky to focus with either. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted February 1, 2012 Share #7 Â Posted February 1, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) The good old 50 Summicron maintains that special Leica look on film and digital and isn't tricky to focus with either. +1. Its origins go back to the days of legends. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fWord Posted February 1, 2012 Share #8 Â Posted February 1, 2012 Depends on what you define as being a 'special look' actually, and whether or not that 'special look' is unique to Leica lenses alone. Â Are you interested in something that is 'glowy' and a bit of a 'softy'? Â Or would today's newest lenses be more representative with their 'crispness' with a sense of 'smoothness'? Â Very subjective I think, and I haven't personally used enough Leica lenses to give a solid suggestion. Â Out of the Leica R lenses that I used extensively on a Canon DSLR with an adapter, I'd say the old Summicron 90/2 and the newer Vario-Elmar 35-70/4 are two of my favourites, although I need to give credit to the Summicron R 35/2 for starting it all (this one was medium contrast and hence seemingly a little soft at wide open, absolutely superb at f/2.8 and downwards and colour rendition to die for). All this of course paved the way to get involved in the M system which is a whole different kettle of fish altogether. Â The newer lenses that I've used on the M system remind me a lot of the Vario-Elmar 35-70/4 I used in the past, that is, crisp sharpness from wide open but a smoothness that is difficult to explain. It sounds almost contradictory, but maybe it's something to do with the transition of tones and colours. The only old lens I have on the M system is a 1950s Wollensak Velostigmat 90/4.5. That one is a super glowy lens that flared easily when I tested it without a UV-IR filter on the M8, less so with the filter. Underlying resolution however is very respectable even if the contrast is low. Â All lenses as such, have a 'special look', but I'm having difficulty understanding what some tout as the unique 'Leica look', and doubt if this look is really unique at all amongst Leica lenses. Â BTW, I know I'm not supposed to put up sample photos here unless specifically invited to do so, but if anybody wants to see some samples from any of the lenses I've mentioned above, I'm more than happy to supply sample shots to explain what I'm talking about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted February 1, 2012 Share #9  Posted February 1, 2012 The three 'unbeatable' classics:  90mm f/2 Thambar  73mm f/1.9 Hektor  85mm f/1.5 Summarex.   Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
farnz Posted February 2, 2012 Share #10 Â Posted February 2, 2012 90mm f/2 Thambar. Oops, I meant 90mm f/2.2 Thambar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted February 2, 2012 Share #11 Â Posted February 2, 2012 Hello Everybody, Â I would say a 135mm Tele-Elmar. Really nice. Versatile. A very high quality of image @ all apertures whether it is from a distance, in between, or close up right up to & including 1 : 1. Â F4 might be a little softer than the others on a tripod. I can't see a difference hand held. Beyond that stopping down does not seem to change the quality of the image. Just the depth of field. Â Best Regards, Â Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted February 2, 2012 Share #12 Â Posted February 2, 2012 I don't think any of the modern Leica lenses have much of a look, they are neutral in their perfection. Â If a new 35mm Summilux had a look it would be because it had some technical fault that the designers would be keen to rectify, but to the discerning photographer may add an element to the picture that makes it unique. But that isn't the case with the 35mm Summilux, I would use it if I didn't want any signature made by the lens to appear in the photograph, it has no signature, but it is supremely efficient. Â So I'd say an older M lens, the Summitar was just about the last time it was possible to say a lens had an individual and distinct signature, before they all started to become more uniform in character. Â Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 2, 2012 Share #13 Â Posted February 2, 2012 Super-Angulon 4.0 - 21 mm, Schneider-Design, 1960 described by Leitz as: "A truly special lens with an extremely wide field of vision. ..." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpattison Posted February 2, 2012 Share #14 Â Posted February 2, 2012 Hi, For me, it has to be the MkII 50 Summilux (pre-ASPH) wide open (either E43 or E46 filter thread, they have the same optical set-up, IIRC) Â John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
piblondin Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share #15 Â Posted February 2, 2012 Special, of course, means special to you. Another lens that fits the bill for me--and which I'm almost certain I'll never own is the Konica Hexanon 60mm/1.2. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybob Posted February 2, 2012 Share #16 Â Posted February 2, 2012 I like the out of focus backgrounds of the summitar. And the name, too. Â with the 10 bladed aperture opening, very nice. Mine just found a new home. Â The good old 50 Summicron maintains that special Leica look on film and digital and isn't tricky to focus with either. Â I'm sold on the rigid. I dont need another fifty. Balancing want/need however is not my strong suit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
philipus Posted February 2, 2012 Share #17 Â Posted February 2, 2012 with the 10 bladed aperture opening, very nice. Â That's precisely the one I have, from the very last batch before the 6-blade (well except the exceptions after no 810001 ) I love it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybob Posted February 2, 2012 Share #18 Â Posted February 2, 2012 That's precisely the one I have, from the very last batch before the 6-blade (well except the exceptions after no 810001 ) I love it. Â my Summitar was 764xxx from 1950, a little dusty internally, but still very bright with amazingly smooth outer elements. In use, I always kept her UV filtered and barn door hooded...she just moved to Australia after seeing about 6 months of total inactivity after the Rigid moved in and relegated her to the shelf. Â The Rigid is pretty nice... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zlatkob Posted February 2, 2012 Share #19 Â Posted February 2, 2012 60mm Elmarit-R (you didn't specify M... ) Â I'm curious about this lens. Back when he was shooting 35mm, Salgado apparently chose the 60mm Elmarit-R over any of the 50mm Summicron or Summilux options. I wonder why? It's not as if he did a lot of macro work. So he must have preferred the focal length or the look. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andym911 Posted February 2, 2012 Share #20 Â Posted February 2, 2012 Without doubt from my experience the 28mm summaron f5.6 Â A real unique and challenging lens but what a killer when it works.. Â Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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