One or two focal lengths for leica newbie?

[andyedward]

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My MP will arrive far sooner than my 50 apo summicron, but I dont want to buy the 50/2 zeiss because I would then own two 50mm lenses when the apo arrives. The 35/2 zeiss is therefore my current choice whilst waiting for the apo, but I recall the age old advice that rangefinder newbies benefit more from keeping to one focal length for their first year. My favourite focal length is 50mm, so the apo would be on my MP for the majority of the time. I will order a 35 lux when finances permit.

 

So should I keep to 50mm, or should I add a 35mm? What are the pros and cons of each option?

Edited August 11, 2012 by andyedward

[IWC Doppel]

I'd be tempted by an older 35 perhaps a secondhand 35 Summicron MkIV

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[sanyasi]

Skip the 35mm. You've said 50 is your preferred length. Givevn that 35 and 50 are so close, I don't see how you are improving your kit. If you need a second lens I would try a more radical departure, like a 21 or 90, depending on what you like to shoot.

 

No offense, but I view these lens questions as highly personal. If you have to ask, you probably don't need a new lens. You'll know when you need a different focal length.

 

Good luck

[algrove]

Perhaps find a used 50/2 Leica lens and use it on your MP until such time as the new APO 50 comes along. Then resell it (the used one) probably for around what you paid for it.

 

Interact with your dealer as he might help you out more than you will know.

[Messsucherkamera]

For a two lens kit, a 28mm with a 50mm is a great pair. Many prefer a 35mm over the 28 but my 28/2 has grown on me. I am very happy with the performance of the 28 Summicron.

 

If you shop around you should be able to find a used 28/2.8 for $900-1000USD. This is a very good lens at a great price.

Edited August 12, 2012 by Messsucherkamera

[Jeff S]

Use your 50, your feet and your preview lever. Sooner or later, you'll know if you're missing something...or not.

 

I happen to think that the 35 and 50 are quite different, but that's based on my needs and preferences and should have no bearing on yours.

 

Jeff

[darylgo]

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The Zeiss 35/2 is a superb lens at an excellent price. Your reasoning is spot on, this will give you more versatility and you can sell it when you purchase the Summilux but you might find it difficult to sell, it is that good. Enjoy your new camera/lens.

[lars_bergquist]

I own a 50mm Summilux ASPH (since 2005) and also a 35mm Summilux ASPH (since 1996, but I exchanged it for the current FLE version in 2010).

 

And they are two very different focal lengths, for different purposes. The 35mm is for general indoor use, and in tight places and crowds out of doors. The 50mm is a great lens for general outdoor photography. There are actually occasions where I carry, and even travel with, both these lenses and find congenial uses for them both. They are both superb, in their different ways, with distinct 'personalities'.

 

Often however I choose one of them alone, depending on the uses that I can foresee. For a 21mm and a 90mm lens – or even 135mm – are also very useful companions, and I do strictly limit myself to one body (in addition to my own … ) and three lenses. A small kit, even a one-lens kit, is mostly enough. Don't succumb to the 'it might come in handy some time' syndrome. With a Leica M camera, you mount one lens – and with it, it's 'eyes' so that you see the world and your opportunities within its frame lines. And there are more of these opportunities than you think. Especially if you don't lose time changing lenses, or fiddling with a zoom ring.

 

So my advice is to get that 35mm lens, learn the camera and the focal length, and be ready for the new 'eyes' when you have ponied up your €6000 for the Apo – something I would never do even if I had the money. OK, I have them, but my priorities are different. And when you have the APO, keep the 35mm.

 

The old man from the Age of the Single Lens

[lct]

I prefer 50mm lenses as well but i would miss a 35mm which are totally different lenses for me. I would then buy a 35 but i have no experience with the Zeiss 35/2. To match the Summicron 50/2 apo i would choose a Summicron 35/2 asph personally but it is more expensive than the Zeiss so i would give a try to the latter if i were on a budget.

[250swb]

There are no rules Andy, and you certainly don't learn anything, or make better photographs, by struggling with one focal length when another would have been better. So add lenses whenever it feels right for you and your finances.

 

But the actual choice can be very dependant on the type of picture you like to make and the circumstances. So for the British landscape which can be very intimate one minute, and then ten yards up the road you get a panoramic vista, a selection of lenses is always good, from 28mm to 90mm. The 'use your feet' argument doesn't work for changing the view because you can lose the image in a few steps. But in a crowd of people the one focal length you start out with need be the only focal length you use all day. Move about and get your eye in on the subject you are trying to record and it can be better than a zoom lens. Usually a semi wide lens like a 35mm is ideal for this because it has no distortion. But a 50mm can be ideal if you are on your own, just walking around town with time and space to work. It really is 'horses for courses' and everybody works in a different way.

 

Steve

[IkarusJohn]

21 Super Elmar, or 28 Summicron - perfect combined with your 50, when it arrives.

[bill]

See, this is why this is one of those unanswerable questions. I seldom use anything wider than 35, and never 21. I have the 15 CV that gets used once a year - maybe.

 

For a two lens kit I like 35 and 50. That's why that is the setup I have for my MP. Both of mine are Zeiss - Biogon and Sonnar - because, again, that is my personal preference for rendition.

 

May I suggest this simple test. When using a 50, if you find yourself often walking forward a few paces consider a 90. Back a few, think about a 28. There is no right or wrong, only what works for you.

 

Using the “wrong“ focal length for your vision, on the advice of someone you have never met, is bad Karma, in my book.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Sent from another Galaxy

[IWC Doppel]

If you buy a good used you will lose very little or nothing

 

Do try to keep the 'new' lens in for a while as you will get used to your own and it will feel different. I wish 35 was close to 50 I could reduce my lens kit !

 

Use you frame lines for a check it will give you an idea

[algrove]

I often wish there was a 40 even though the frame lines would be a guess.

[bill]

Don't forget there's the Summicron, and the Minolta equivalent. There is also the CV 40 1.4 in a range of flavours. An unadapted 40 brings up 50mm framelines, which is the way I like it. It is a good travel and street lens.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

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[mongrelnomad]

Buy a used 50 'Cron, Elmar or 'Lux and you'll lose absolutely nothing when you come to sell it in a few months.

[Paul J]

I could easily live with a 35mm and 50mm only

[algrove]

I could easily live with a 35mm and 50mm only

 

Me too, but which 35 and which 50?

[algrove]

Don't forget there's the Summicron, and the Minolta equivalent. There is also the CV 40 1.4 in a range of flavours. An unadapted 40 brings up 50mm framelines, which is the way I like it. It is a good travel and street lens.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Sent from another Galaxy

 

Thanks Bill

I keep looking in the Wiki section above , but always miss the 40 somehow. I knew they made one way back when since a friend has one that came bundled with his SL years and years ago. Seen any data on this lens that I have missed?

Edited August 12, 2012 by algrove

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[IWC Doppel]

The 40mm Summicron has a fair MTF performance but seems to have a reputation for being perhaps a little ordinary, Putts place the performance between the version III and IV of the summicron 35 so it could be very nice.

 

Any more insight would be interesting