Which 35mm lens?

[a.noctilux]

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Joy is when you open the cabinet and choose according to your mood.

 

You need one of each.

 

Some years ago, I practiced this thing.

 

I love so much the then new Summicron-M 2/35 asph. after some decades of Summicron 35 pre-asph.,

that I have bought the three colors of them: black, silver and titanium.

As then I had black, chrome, and titanium M bodies, to be sure having matching lens/body .

 

Now this does't amuse me anymore, I have sold all that 35mm Summicron asph. and returned to my old pre-asph. and other 35mm (some very old from 1950's).

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[roelandinho]

Like you, I own the 50mm APO and I love it. The problem with that lens for me is that I don't take very compelling pictures at 50mm. I tend to do better either wider or with a short telephoto. Of course, that varies from one photographer to another. You mentioned that your family was more impressed with the pictures you took with the 50mm than with the 35mm Summarit. I'd recommend asking them why. I suspect it has more to do with you as a photographer than with the capabilities of either lens. Perhaps you simply "see" better at 50mm and are therefore choosing more effective framing. I'd give a little thought to that possibility before deciding to switch 35mm lenses or you may be disappointed in the results.

 

I have never owned the 35mm Summarit, but from what I understand it is an exceptional lens as long as you don't mind the speed. I have owned the 35mm Summicron Asphere in the past and was never very happy with it. I suspect mine needed calibrating, but I never got it done. Most people who own one rave about them, so I'm willing to accept that mine was an aberration. I currently own the current 35mm Summilux (often referred to as the FLE). It's a great lens, and I can recommend it highly. Perfectly usable at f/1.4 for almost any purpose, and in my experience it's less prone to flare than the Summicron. At f/5.6 and f/8 it is very nearly the equal to the 50mm APO in terms of contrast. Field curvature is a little wonky on this lens, which is something you might want to keep in mind depending on the types of subjects you shoot. By wonky, I mean it isn't a simple crescent shape--it seems to go in and out a bit as you move across the frame. Not a huge deal on a 35mm, but you'll occasionally see the effects and it can come across as a little odd since most people expect sharpness to consistently decline as you move away from the subject across the frame.

 

Personally, if you are thinking of switching simply because your pictures don't look quite as good with the Summarit I'd try to spend some more time with the 35mm. It's possible that there is something wrong with your lens, but it's more likely the photographer. That's not intended as an insult--I'm the exact opposite and take better pictures at 35mm than at 50mm and it has nothing at all to do with the equipment. If you simply switch lenses, you'll probably still be disappointed. I know that's not very fun advice since you won't get to try something new if you listen to me, but I don't want you disappointed after spending a bunch of money to switch.

 

Best of luck whatever your decision!

Excellent advice. You need to compose very differently with a 35mm than a 50mm for images to work. If you can't make compelling images with the 35 Summarit, another 35 won't help you. Either practice more or explore other focal lengths. Differences in focal lengths are a hundred times more important and visible than the extremely subtle differences in rendering between modern lenses of the same focal length.

 

 

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