Selling SUMMILUX 35mm FLE, Should i?

[tmnt88]

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Hi, curently i owned a summilux 35mm fle and summilux 50 asph, the current leica M body i used is the m3 and the m7.

I bought the lux35 fle when i was shooting my digital m and then comes the itch to shoot film.

And in the back of my mind i just think that the lux 35mm fle is too good of a lens to be used on a film camera (if that makes sense).

So, should i just sell the 35mm fle in exchange for the 28mm elmarit and ultron 35mm?

[bayernfan]

I'm likely in the minority here, but I prefer modern lenses on film and vintage lenses on digital.  I use a 35/1.4 Asph (pre-FLE) and 35/2 Summicron Asph on film and I really like the look.  On digital, I like using MS-Optics and vintage Leitz lenses to help tame contrast and give the images a little more character.

[LeicaR10]

Tmnt88,  I can understand your angst on whether to sell or keep you 35 Lux FLE.  I sold mine twice in the last 14 years and both times I regretted the sale and found myself buying the lens again.  It will get down to your genre of photography and what you expect from your photographs.  A lot of folks here will give you all kinds of advice.  But in reality it is up to you to decide not someone else.  I suggest you look at your photographs from the past, perhaps see how many you took with the lens.  It will ultimately be your decision.  I kept mine and won't sell it again. But this is my choice and you might have need needs and expectations.  I hope this helps.  r/ Mark

PS...There is one gentleman on this site that once offered sage advice..."Never sell a Leica lens".  IMO I think his advice is quite sound.

Edited September 19, 2019 by LeicaR10

[jmahto]

27 minutes ago, bayernfan said:

I'm likely in the minority here, but I prefer modern lenses on film and vintage lenses on digital.  I use a 35/1.4 Asph (pre-FLE) and 35/2 Summicron Asph on film and I really like the look.  On digital, I like using MS-Optics and vintage Leitz lenses to help tame contrast and give the images a little more character.

I think I can appreciate modern (clinical) lenses on film comment. I remember someone in this forum explaining why. Something to do with sharper focusing on finite depth film emulsion. I can’t explain more than that but I like the results of my 50lux ASPH in Ektachrome. 

Just like OP, I also have both 50lux and 35FLE and I use 50 way more than 35 (I prefer 28/50) but if I had to take only one lens with film and weight is no concern then I will prefer 35FLE. In contrast, on digital I prefer  my 28cron as one lens since there is flexibility by cropping to 35mm FOV.

The point being each lens has its own usage. 

[01af]

vor 8 Stunden schrieb tmnt88:

... (if that makes sense).

No, it doesn't.

[tmnt88]

After thinking hard and long i think i will keep the summilux 35mm and maybe purchase the cheaper voigtlander when i get the chance. The lighter lenses works great because i mainly shoot street photography. Thanks for the advice ,learning that if i sold the summilux i would’ve regret it.

[Photon42]

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12 hours ago, tmnt88 said:

And in the back of my mind i just think that the lux 35mm fle is too good of a lens to be used on a film camera (if that makes sense).

No, not to me.

12 hours ago, tmnt88 said:

So, should i just sell the 35mm fle in exchange for the 28mm elmarit and ultron 35mm?

Never. I cannot think of ever selling the 35 or 50 Summilux ASPH. Probably not even for a successor, as that would turn out to expensive.

Even if I'd adopt your logic (which I don't) - the digital bug will bite again.

 

[mikeamosau]

I shoot my 35mm Lux FLE on both film and digital - it looks awesome on both. No way I would sell. 

[Mute-on]

7 hours ago, tmnt88 said:

After thinking hard and long i think i will keep the summilux 35mm and maybe purchase the cheaper voigtlander when i get the chance. The lighter lenses works great because i mainly shoot street photography. Thanks for the advice ,learning that if i sold the summilux i would’ve regret it.

Excellent decision!

If you are interested in a wider lens, I use the 28 Elmarit M ASPH on film, and find it exemplary. Its size and weight, or lack thereof, make it fantastic for a lighter street combination. Its rendering is beautifully crisp with a nicely saturated, neutral color profile. Highly recommended!

Edited September 20, 2019 by Mute-on

[otto.f]

21 hours ago, tmnt88 said:

too good of a lens to be used on a film camera (if that makes sense).

Well that’s exactly the opposite of my sense. I use the FLE and the latest Summicron 28 also on film precisely because they are a bit too sharp for me on digital. I’m going to Sorrento next week and I only take my M4 with the FLE to further confirm this theory. I’ll use the Cinestill 50 then. 

[philipus]

I'm afraid that I don''t think the highlight below makes sense at all. I had one and used it happily with film for several years. There's no contradiction between shooting a perceived "old" medium like film with modern lenses. Quite the contrary, current films are the best film will ever be, and modern lenses work just great with them. Actually today is the very best time in the history of film photography to shoot film.

That having been said, I sold my 35 FLE simply because I don't like the focal length. It is too close to my 50mm lenses (one of which is the Asph, so similar to the situation you are in) and not wide enough. I will replace it with a 28mm soon, likely the Asph because it handles amazingly, is small and has a similar look to the 50 Asph, which is my favourite lens.

Good luck

Philip

On 9/19/2019 at 6:32 AM, tmnt88 said:

Hi, curently i owned a summilux 35mm fle and summilux 50 asph, the current leica M body i used is the m3 and the m7.

I bought the lux35 fle when i was shooting my digital m and then comes the itch to shoot film.

And in the back of my mind i just think that the lux 35mm fle is too good of a lens to be used on a film camera (if that makes sense).

So, should i just sell the 35mm fle in exchange for the 28mm elmarit and ultron 35mm?

[A miller]

Modern lenses are great on film.  So are vintage lenses.  Totally depends what you want in your images.  I have LUF friends such as @benqui and @Ernest who use their 50mm APO cron on film and love every minute of it.  You heard that right, the mega-buck APO 50mm.  Sound bassackwards to you?  It really isn't.  

If I were a reportage photographer for a major news media outlet I would much prefer a modern lens as the detail in the OOF areas is much greater than in the vintage lenses. On the other hand, for family vacation photos where creamy background is desired I would prefer to use a vintage lens.  And so on...

Having said all of this, I have a 35 FLE and I regret buying it and would love to sell but not b/c I shoot only film but rather than I don't desire that FL really...ever....

[gabrielaszalos]

Super old post but FWIW the 1.4 extra stop on film does a lot more for your available light photography than it does on digital where a Summicron is just as good while bumping up the ISO one stop. I had similar feelings to you until I realised this. Furthermore, the compact size of the FLE is quite nice. 

[colint544]

I've had a 35 Summilux M ASPH FLE for ten years now. It's quite a big lens for a Leica, but optically I find it superb. I think shooting it on film is where it's at. 

Here's an image I took with the 35 Summilux FLE, attached to a Leica M5. It was shot at full aperture, in fading January light, on Ilford HP5, pushed one stop to 800 ISO.

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[gabrielaszalos]

Very nice shot! Unfortunately I wouldn’t know about size since all I own is 35 and 50 lux, both of which I guess aren’t small by Leica standard. 

[colint544]

2 hours ago, gabrielaszalos said:

Very nice shot! Unfortunately I wouldn’t know about size since all I own is 35 and 50 lux, both of which I guess aren’t small by Leica standard. 

Cheers. To be fair, I mostly was aiming that response at the person who started the thread.

[colint544]

Although, looking further into matters, I realise that the thread is ancient. So please disregard.

[Mr.Prime]

they say you can’t take your money with you, but I never saw any limitations mandated for Leica lenses 👍

[otto.f]

On 9/19/2019 at 7:08 AM, bayernfan said:

I'm likely in the minority here, but I prefer modern lenses on film and vintage lenses on digital

I don’t know the majority here, but I totally agree with you. Even more so for the Summilux 50 asph and the Summicron 28 asph ii at the most. 

Edited January 18, 2021 by otto.f

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[newtoleica]

I've just returned to Leica with a Q2 M10P and M7. I used the 35 Lux ASPH nonFLE extensively from 2009-16, and only sold it with all my gear in 2016. I much prefer the look of the non FLE lens and have had a real job finding a 6-bit version of the non FLE. Have had to go with a rather more cosmetically work version than I would like, but there you go. Don't ever sell a lens you like....