First M lens: 35mm, summicron or summilux?

[Gregm61]

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Am not sure if the size might be a problem on an M?

 

If you think it is, then it is, LOL. Some love it with the body only and others buy the add-on grip.

 

I would like to try it. Maybe will at some point, but I'm pretty happy with the Summicron ASPH.

[otto.f]

Am not sure if the size might be a problem on an M?

If you mean that the lens would block the view too much, you should realize that Zeiss built these ZM lenses for their own ZM bodies. So it won't be unreasonably blocking the view on a Leica more than on a ZM body.

[Bill Livingston]

I originally bought a new Summicron when I got my first digital M (a 240 M-P) and although it was a fantastic lens in terms of size and quality... it was never truly 'special'.

 

A couple of months or so ago I finally bit the bullet and bought a Summilux 35FLE.

 

Now I have everything I originally wanted in terms of results and deeply regret not buying the Lux at the very beginning as I spent ages trying to find my 'look' and ended up with a Lux 50 and an Elmarit 90 to go with the Summicron.

 

Had I bought the 35FLE first, I would probably have been happy to get familiar with Leica M with just that one lens... and wouldn't have lost money in selling my new Summicron a couple of years later... nor have been tempted to buy lenses I rarely use.

 

The Lux would have been by far the cheaper (and more satisfying) option.

 

I wish I had known that then... or had asked the question you are asking at the time I was looking.

 

Of course, you could well be very different in your needs and what makes perfect sense to me may not be 'you' at all. We will all present our own take on this based on our own needs and desires, which is why ultimately the only person who can answer this question definitively is you.

 

But that was my experience. An FLE.

 

Best thing I ever bought...

[adli]

I first bought a used 35 cron v4 many years ago, then the Lux FLE when it came.  I end up using the cron all the time, I like the Mandler look and the size is much better for street shooting. The lux is an excellent lens, though.