Which 35mm to choose?

[DodgeThis]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hi All,

 

It will take a few more month until I have my preordered Leica M in my hands (There is a long waiting list in Switzerland), so there is plenty of time to think about lenses.

 

I am currently using the 35mm 1.4 on my Fuji X-Pro 1 which i really like a lot.

I don't use my 7D anymore as I got tired of the weight, and the image quality of the fuji is very good.

 

 

So for my new Leica a 35mm it will be. And here comes my question:

 

What is the difference between the Summilux, Summicron and Summarit lenses aside from speed and price?

I shoot mainly street in B/W and do at least two trips a year to different locations (the usual travel photography, sights and landscape).

 

Which one should I choose?

 

Many thanks for your help

 

 

Greets Barni

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[andyedward]

I own a fantastic 35 lux, although the 35 cron apparently performs as well from f2 onwards. The M will have better high iso than the M9, so the extra stop the lux has may not be needed.

[pragmatist]

If money is not a hurdle i would go with the Summilux, the Bokeh is delicious but having said that i have the 35mm Cron and it's tack sharp, probably a tad sharper than the Lux.

[earleygallery]

You might like to subscribe to Sean Reids website Read Reviews. He carried out a test of many 35's so you can read up and see examples from the Leica lenses and others.

[Tonki-M]

all of the new 35s (lux asph, lux asph FLE, cron, summarit) perform quite close to each other at the same aperture, the difference is quite minor, you really need to peep to notice VERY little difference (anything above f/4, and it's all pretty much the same). You really are paying for the extra stop and its rendering at that aperture. i've tried all of them, and chose the cron at the time. But, as time goes on, i find myself craving for that 1.4 FLE. so choose according to your budget.

[Guest MarcRF]

I've learned to love the summarit. tiny, sharp and certainly better than its reputation. (if you read erwin puts he states that the summarit line performs very close to the summicrons. the 50 equals the summicron and the 35 is just a tiny bit better actually)

 

if you use scale focus you dont need f/1.4 anyway and at 6400 ISO you can even shoot in near dark with the low shutter speed a leica enables you to use.

 

if you dont need the f/1.4 to isolate subjects and want leica performance I'd go with the 35. advantages over the summicron are e.g. that its really hard to make the summarit flare while the cron has some weakness there. image quality wise you have to look quite close to tell it apart

 

I've also found that the rendering of the summarit for black and white (doesnt matter if on film or on the CCD sensor) is lovely

 

you wont go wrong with either choice.

[tobey bilek]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Other than speed, there is little difference. Not an expert, but the 35 FLE version is said to have the focus shift improved over the previous Lux.

 

So now decide on size, weight, speed. Try out your current one on the new camera.

 

Fuji is a 16x 24 mm sensor. M is 24x36 nominally or 50% larger. So a 35 mm lens will be wider on the M. If you want a similar angle of view as you have now, then a 50 mm lens will be the better choice.

 

Again buy on speed, size, and weight. There are no bad Leica lenses.

[lct]

...What is the difference between the Summilux, Summicron and Summarit lenses aside from speed and price?...

Hardly significant in my experience. 3 contrasty and sharp lenses. Bokeh is slightly less contrasty with the Summarit though. If size matters, the latter is deliciously small but better let the hood in the bag then. The Summicron asph is a lens you can use constantly at f/2 if need be. Same for the Summilux asph at f/1.4. The latter is bulkier of course but its hood is so well made that it does not block much the viewfinder. You can't go wrong with either lens anyway, unless you prefer the smoother rendition of earlier lenses but this is another story.

[John McMaster]

Hi All,

 

I am currently using the 35mm 1.4 on my Fuji X-Pro 1 which i really like a lot

 

Greets Barni

 

As the Fuji is an APS-C sensor you would need a 50mm on the M to get a similar view...

 

john

[algrove]

I would say let your budget be your guide. If you decide an FLE 1.4 is for you I have a second one that has never been used in its box.

[Michael Geschlecht]

Hello Barni,

 

Welcome to the Forum.

 

While other people are making a number of very good suggestions, for example: To consider the angle of coverage of a lens on the format you are using to determine which focal length would be EQUIVALENT to what you are using now. Unless you want to change your angle of coverage.

 

I would like to suggest something a little different.

 

Whichever camera/lens combination(s) you decide on it might be useful to have a small, solid, stong, table tripod with soft non-marking slippers on its feet along with a large ball head & a cable release. Don't forget a rigid lens hood more for protection against inadvertant impact & damage than for flare suppression.

 

An easy to carry table tripod, ball head & cable release can sometimes make a difficult or otherwise impossible photo easy. Held against a wall, in a doorway, against a ceiling, tree, rock or even on a table or against a car with the engine off it can provide a solid support which can make a difference.

 

Against my chest it gives me +2 stops of stability.

 

We all have handheld shots at F2 at 1 second which are really good. How might that be a different picture at F8 at 16 seconds held solid as a rock against the inside of a doorway or against a wall?

 

The more you think about it & use it the more places you find to use it. I have pretty much put my full sized tripod away for many years now.

 

Think about it & enjoy whichever lens you choose.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

[thighslapper]

35/2 is all you really need ..... plenty about and you could pick an 'as new' fairly easily and at a big saving....

 

plenty people buy lenses and then realise that focal length is not for them.... at least with a used you will be able to re-sell it at minimal loss....

[DodgeThis]

Many thanks for your nice welcome and your answers and advice to all of you.

 

I know that my 35mm 1.4 on the X-Pro1 is like a 50mm view on FF

 

However the Fuji 23mm 1.4 has not been released yet, but I own the FUJINON 18-55mm as well (a terrific lens btw.) and its the 35mm FF angle that I am after.

 

Regarding the money:

 

After announcing my entry into the world of Leica I received quite a dose of bewildered statements from friends and family, mostly due to the involved costs of such a step.

 

It is difficult to explain my motivation to them, but photography is the one thing I love most, the passion that sticked with me since I owned my first camera. I use my camera every day, I never leave my house without it.

 

I owned many cameras in my life, and I still have all of them.

 

So for me this investment is an lifetime investment. I think I will be buying 1 lens a year or so, maybe grab some older leica lenses on the bay from time to time.

 

At the moment I am bidding on the bay for a Leica M6 / Summicron 2.0/50mm combination and I am really looking forward to do some film again to bypass the time until my new M arrives.

 

This is a terrific forum people, glad to be here.

 

Cheers

 

Barni

[philipus]

To me as a film user and given that i often photograph indoors, the f1.4 is of real value. I therefore went with the Summilux 35 (11663) with floating element. I have not noticed any focus shift and i find it quite flare resistant, though as the below shows it is possible to get it to flare.

 

 

For use with a digital body, esp the new M, the extra speed of the Summilux vs the Summarit or the Summicron is not of crucial importance. The only reason imho to go for the Summilux would be to be able to use the widest aperture. There are several threads here and elsewhere about the difference between f1.4 and f2. Some find it veeeery different and consider it important to have the f1.4 for this reason (and soon thereafter buy a Noctilux to get an even stronger bokeh fix )

 

If i were a digital user and had to consider which 35 to buy I'd likely get the Summicron because its performance isn't vastly different to the Summilux and it is much smaller. I was actually surprised at the size and weight of the Summilux.

 

Cheers

[wparsonsgisnet]

I have been using the 35 lux asph since it came out and was delighted to have the flare gone in comparison to the non-asph one I owned before.

 

I was just in my camera store and they have both the 35 and 50 Lux FLE lenses. I am pondering my choices. I am told the 35 is really hard to get.

 

Regards to all, Bill

[Bill W]

Even though I already had a lux, I was offered the FLE version and I jumped on it. I was not disappointed at all and I really like the new metal lenshood. It took less than a week to sell my older lux.

[brunom]

Other than speed, there is little difference. Not an expert, but the 35 FLE version is said to have the focus shift improved over the previous Lux.

 

So now decide on size, weight, speed. Try out your current one on the new camera.

 

Fuji is a 16x 24 mm sensor. M is 24x36 nominally or 50% larger. So a 35 mm lens will be wider on the M. If you want a similar angle of view as you have now, then a 50 mm lens will be the better choice.

 

Again buy on speed, size, and weight. There are no bad Leica lenses.

 

 

Hi I'm just a little confused about the sensor sizes quoted !

 

16x24 = 384 sq mm

24x36 = 864sq mm which is 225% bigger in area not 50% - or have I missed something ?

 

Thanks for hopefully resolving this query for me.

[lct]

The crop factor is based on the diagonal which is 50% longer.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[wparsonsgisnet]

I pulled the trigger yesterday. Nice lens -- didn't expect to be here, tho.

 

5 bucks lighter and one Gorgeous lens later, I b'lieve I'm in business for a while.

 

There are still 2 50 FLE's at my dealer's place. Any interest, give me a poke.

 

Regards to all -- and many thanks Bill W.

[Bill W]

I pulled the trigger yesterday. Nice lens -- didn't expect to be here, tho.

 

5 bucks lighter and one Gorgeous lens later, I b'lieve I'm in business for a while.

 

There are still 2 50 FLE's at my dealer's place. Any interest, give me a poke.

 

Regards to all -- and many thanks Bill W.

Enjoy... Too bad those 50's are not APOs