Getting an M-P

[leica270]

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Dear Members,

 

I am willing to purchase an M-P , any suggestions for an initial lens purchase?

 

i am either going for the 35 or the 50 - Lux or cron is the question , thank you !

[Bill Livingston]

Hi,

 

I bought a Leica M-P three weeks ago from Leica - Mayfair after months and months of avidly reading this forum, talking to other users and reading pretty much every review I could find. It was almost a full time job for a while there.

 

I went through every conceivable option, and at the end of each week of deliberation, I was CERTAIN I knew what I was going to buy...

 

..and every week I changed my mind back...

 

Eventually, I decided on a Leica M-P in black, Summicron 35 and a used Elmarit 90, along with a standard grip (which I stopped using after a week or two, and an EVF2, which is useful, but not always on the camera.

 

For me, it is the perfect outfit...

 

I very nearly went for a 50 1.4, thought about a 24/50/75 or 90 system, but decided three lenses was unnecessary... 35 for general photography and 90 for portraits and candids while travelling the world. Light, simple and the minimum possible and to still meet my needs.

 

Absolutely not regrets at all... The camera is perfect, I don't feel I was overly extravagant and can justify each decision on the basis of need and sense...

 

Couldn't be happier... And much of it was down to the members on here and their ingesting and insightful comments to other posing a similar question...

 

Good luck with your decision and your purchase... Whatever you decide, you are unlikely to regret it!!!

Edited November 13, 2014 by Livingston

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[Jeff S]

Doesn't matter…pick one you can afford and use it…a lot. You'll figure out the rest. Seriously.

 

Or you could spend the next week reading all the threads already available for search here….and still not have the answer for you.

 

Jeff

[jaapv]

Depends on what you want...l

[DigitalHeMan]

Dear Members,

 

 

 

I am willing to purchase an M-P , any suggestions for an initial lens purchase?

 

 

 

i am either going for the 35 or the 50 - Lux or cron is the question , thank you !

 

 

All four of the lenses are great, and you will be able to make excellent photos with them all. Look at the photos you have made over the last 12 months, and see which percentage were taken at 50mm, and which at 35mm. And then use that information to make your decision.

[leica270]

Thank you all !

 

I think I will go for the 50m Summilux !

 

I appreciate your posts!

[billo101]

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50APO

[Jennifer]

Thank you all !

 

I think I will go for the 50m Summilux !

 

I appreciate your posts!

 

When I bought my M240, 6 months ago, I got a 35 Lux FLE and 90 APO-Cron at the same time. Although the 90 is undoubtedly a great lens it gets used a lot less than my 75 Lux and likewise for WA in good light I'm far more likely to go with my Elmarit 28 than the 35 Lux. The 50 Lux, however, lives on the camera.

[DTM]

Thank you all !

 

I think I will go for the 50m Summilux !

 

I appreciate your posts!

 

Are you in the US? Leica Miami had a QM2 240M-P for a good discount last week. Might still be there.

[bocaburger]

I sold all my late-generation ASPH and APO lenses and now my most-recent lens is the 4th version 28 Elmarit, the rest are Mandler and earlier. Plus a few CV's. If budget is a constraint, know that older lenses are excellent performers and a great value.

[jmr237]

I recently bought an M6 classic. I had planned to get a new MP, but I decided to shift the money toward lenses instead of the camera body.

 

I bought the 35 summicron and 50 summilux, both new. This was my reasoning:

 

• My photography is triggered by events (e.g. day out, vacation, family event, etc). I don't like to carry more than one lens with the camera.
  
• 35 and 50 are too different to choose just one.
  
• Based on what I plan to shoot and the nature of the occasion, I choose either the 35 or the 50. I like how this provides both discipline (when out with the camera I have to work with the lens I brought) and choice (I still can switch between the 35 and 50 to mix things up for different occasions).
  
• I went with summicron for the 35 because I couldn't justify the value of paying another $2,000 for a single stop. I also prefer the cron's compactness.
  
• I went with summilux for the 50 because many reviewers praised the lux as having not just another stop over the cron, but providing a unique and special rendering.
  

I've used this combo for about three months and have been happy with it.

[dugby]

Thank you all !

 

I think I will go for the 50m Summilux !

 

I appreciate your posts!

 

Hi, just wanted to let you know that I also started my M240 journey with the same lens. (As i was thinking about being a 1x lens shooter for a long period)

 

Whilst my 50FLE Lux is a brilliant lens, and can capture brilliant images...... It is also my most difficult to use lens with it's extremely razor sharp/narrow depth of focus.

 

I also have 35FLE (and Zeiss Planar 50mm and Voigtlander Color-Heliar 75mm).

 

The easiest to use of my lenses is the 35FLE. As other's of this forum have stated, and I also agree the 35FLE lens is 'some stops faster' than the 50FLE. Initially I didn't understand those words as both are F/1.4

 

But over time it became more evident to me. At the exact same F-stops, the 35FLE can be used more at slower shutter speeds than the 50FLE.

 

Others have said with the 50FLE all one needs is to practice-practice-practice, and to this day I am still practicing with the 50FLE, but shooting more easily with the 35FLE.

[tobey bilek]

Been taking pics sine 1960 & the 50 `Lux is the best lens I have ever had and there have been dozens.

 

read the experiences on 35 `Lux and Crons. Fields are not flat, but they are probably the best that can be made within size restrictions. I still have my 35 V4 Summicron. Just purchased a 28 2.8 ASPH , small and wonderful. I am waiting for a new 35 2.0 as the current is getting old and not designed for digital, the 28 was.

[01af]

I would advise against the Summicron-M 35 mm Asph, the current Summicron-M 50 mm, and the Noctilux-M 50 mm Asph.

 

The 35 mm and 50 mm Summicrons are small and sharp and all—but they tend to flare in an often unpleasant way. And the Noctilux is a marvel but too big and heavy for an every-day, general-purpose, go-anywhere lens.

 

I would recommend either Summarit-M lenses or Summilux-M Asph lenses, in both the 35 mm and 50 mm focal lengths. The Apo-Summicron-M 50 mm Asph also is wonderful and definitely recommendable but terribly expensive.

[neli]

Take the one that pleases you aesthetically on the camera.

You'll take pictures with whatever lens is on the camera. They are all great performers. A beautiful tool can bring a sense of joy in itself. Let the muse of cameras beauty provide enthusiasm. Once you begin to shoot, the Leica disappears completely from view and you are left with just taking photos.

[giladl]

only 50/1.4