Your favorite Leica lens?

[RexGig0]

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I will give “favorite” status to the lens that lured me to try, and then buy into, the Leica M system, a pre-owned Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, found in the display case at Houston Camera Exchange, in Texas. I might never have discovered the others, had I not been tempted to try this one. 

[Stealth3kpl]

Previously, my first lens, the 35 summicron mk4 for sentimental reasons.

In use, latterly, the 50 Summicron Mk5 as I've morphed into a 50 kinda guy (a focal length that just never sat right with me when I used to use SLRs).

The 50 Summilux asph in terms of rendering

If I had to choose one, as I do when hiking,  I'd go for the 35/2

Pete

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[Guest]

My 35mm f2.4 summarit.

I love how it renders images and handles,i use it for 90% of my images.

Its a beautiful lens to me.

[TG14]

On 12/7/2017 at 8:44 PM, Milan_S said:

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SL + Noctilux-M f/0.95 ASPH

My favorite lenses:

 

50mm Noctilux-M f/0.95 ASPH on SL

75mm Summilux-M f/1.4 on MM

70mm Summarit-S f/2.5 CS on S

 

 

Nice. The top corners dont have such a bokeh effect. 

Was that intended?

[stephan54]

Most useful while travelling: Elmarit 28asph

My to go lens: Summilux 50asph 

Most fun: Telyt 135

All depends on the subject and occasion.

[ZHNL]

All S glasses

50APO M

50lux ASPH

80LUX R

 

[Daniel C.1975]

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Ha, that's a really hard question. 

 

If you force me to choose by, probably death, penalty, I would certainly go for my 35mm FLE. 

After checking my Lightroom statistics that stays to be very true

1st, by a good margin (double the shots of the 2nd place): SL 35 FLE (most of the time on my camera, preferred FL)

2nd, surprisingly: 28mm Summaron (miracle lens, the more I use it, the more I love it)

3rd, nearly the same amount of photos: Summilux 50 asph (oh, what a lens ... )

4th, half the number of shots of the 50 Summilux: 21mm SEM - but I love that lens so much

5th, with a good distance: Elmarit 90mm (highly underrated lens)

 

So it should be easy: 35 FLE, but never try to separate me from my other lenses - I will go wild 😉

 

Cheers

Daniel

 

Edited November 13, 2019 by Daniel C.1975

[ramosa]

Tough call. After experimenting with lots of Leica lenses over the years, I have two Leica lenses now: Cron 35 v4 and Cron 50 v5. I love both of these lenses, classics that I use on my MM1. I like these two lenses' similar signatures and compactness. I use the 35 more these days, but would be torn to choose a favorite, thanks to Walter Mandler's brilliant design work.

[tobey bilek]

50 2.0  ASPH.

[bags27]

On 11/13/2019 at 4:17 PM, Daniel C.1975 said:

If you force me to choose by, probably death, penalty, I would certainly go for my 35mm FLE. 

That lens has never left my camera. But then again, I've only had it for 3 days. 😀

[smkoush]

I used to say the 28mm Summicron, but these days I’ll add the 35mm Summilux pre-asph, two compact lenses that are complimentary because they are so different. 
 

One on the M-P and one on the MP. 

Edited November 21, 2019 by smkoush

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Id have to say the lens that has stayed with me for 40+ years a 35 Summilux Canada. But now with the CL the 23 Summicron stays on the camera the most, just like the 35 field of view.  Summilux on my CL

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[SunnySixteen]

Based on my favorite photos I would say Summicron 50 v4, with the Summicron 35 v4 a close second. I'm continually blown away how sharp the 50mm is (on film) for an older pre asph lens.

[james.liam]

Day-to-day:

50 APO.....it is a lens that constantly surprises; colors are true-to-life, resolution and contrast at the point of focus is more a slice of memory than a manipulated image. A sublime and profound design statement by Herr Karbe, just as the 75 Summilux was for Dr Mandler 

21 SEM.....ditto above, I marvel at its images

For versatility and flexibility for travel:

MATE........self explanatory, again a marvel of engineering and aesthetics, despite some of the unavoidable design compromises

[AndreasG]

No. 1 Elmarit 2.8/28 ASPH - fits anytime, everywhere

No. 2 Summilux 1.4/35 pre ASPH - the Mandler glow!

No. 3 APO Summicron 2/50 - no need to comment...

 

[Milan_S]

1. 50 Summicron-M f2 APO

2. 35mm Summilux f1.4 ASPH FLE

3. 75mm Summilux f1.4

[Musotographer]

1) Summicron 50 Rigid - built like a very agile small tank and a huge pleasure to use

2) Summilux 35 pre-asph

- both of these particularly wonderful in B&W

3) Summilux-M 75/Summilux-R 80

 - magic wands for portraits, with exquisite colour.  Every time I download the files from these siblings I am blown away.

[adan]

I can give you mine in descending order. Note a bias to Mandler 1980s lenses - they just reproduce color and draw in a way I have missed ever since my 1970s Canon FD lenses (and are smaller and lighter and usually even better). Based also on which ones I've sold least and/or gone back to soonest.

1. 21 f/2.8 Elmarit-M - my main "money lens." Never thought of selling it since I got it as my first M lens 18 years ago. First lens I sent for 6-bit coding in 2006. I could go through life with nothing else if I had to.

3. 135 f/4 Tele-Elmar - shame it's an f/4, but such is rangefinder life. In the right light (and even more so since getting ISO 10000 with the M10) I vastly prefer it to a 90 of any speed.

4. 75 f/1.4 Summilux - came late to this, mostly because of price and unpredictability on film. Once I got an M9, it became invaluable, since it gives me three lenses in one: fast short tele for dim light, beautful portrait lens in any light, close-focusing studio still-life lens. Thus combining a 50 f/1.4, 90 f/2, and 90 Macro (or some other 75 with 0.7m focusing) in one purchase. Sometimes the weight is an issue, most of the time not. When weight is an issue, I go to...

5. 50 Zeiss ZM Planar. In my experience slightly sharper than the current Summicron, at least in the center at f/2, and cheap. A new Leica focal length for me (excepting the M8 years) - haven't used a 50 regularly since about 1978.

2. Out of position because I don't actually have one at the moment - 35 Summicron v.4 (sold once too often; now they are expensive and difficult to find with 6-bit coding - would you believe I found one in medium condition for $695 back in 2001?). A 35 Voigtlander Nokton f/1.4 is filling in until I find a 'cron ready to roll.

(6 - in the warm-up box. If I run across a pristine 90mm f/2.8 Tele-Elmarit-M ("thin") it will be tempting. The last one I tried was a lemon - far more pincushion-distortion and corner smearing than in some other copies I've had - must have been a bad day in Midland (ELCAN). Most of the time if I carry one of these with the 135, I always prefer the 135 shots. But if I'm absolutely sure I won't need the 135 "perspective"/reach or 75 speed/close-focus, an insanely small lens for the specs, and a better third-wheel with the 21/35 combo than the 50, for my purposes.)

[mike3996]

I've only owned and shot 3 Leica lenses so far (11 months into M ownership so perhaps you'll forgive).

Between the 35 Summicron ASPH and the 50 Summilux ASPH it's clear to me that I prefer the 35 cron.

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[evikne]

To me, it must be a 50mm Summilux, because that’s the most versatile and average lens I can think of.

But I am really torn between the ASPH and pre-ASPH. I prefer the sharpness from the ASPH and the unsharpness from the pre-ASPH. And to make the confusion complete, I am now also torn between the ordinary ASPH and the Black Chrome version. I prefer the focusing and handling of the Black Chrome, but I don’t like the big, separate sunshade, and that I cannot just put on a lens cap directly on the lens. So the choice between the two is driving me nuts.

But the one lens I for sure will never get rid of, is the pre-ASPH E46, so this is probably my number one lens.