I have a 35mm Summilux ASPH; what should be my next lens?

[calidre]

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Hey - thank you in advance for any advice!

I own an M-P (240) and I have the 35mm Summilux ASPH 1.4 for a bit now and I wanted to get a secondary lens.  I enjoy street photography and taking portraits as well.  I wanted to add a secondary lens to my kit but not completely sure on which to get. I've thought about the 50 or 75.  Any thoughts on this? thanks!

I also have the LeicaQ which I love.

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[a.noctilux]

😉 Welcome Calidre,

Choosing second lens is as hard/easy ( well a bit less ...) as choosing the first lens.

I can NOT help, as you already have what to use for long.

 

I began with 50mm for my first M, then the rest came naturally as I had enough money.

50mm or 75mm each is good choice anyway, I use some of each (to be honest, I can not choose just only one).

Have a look at different threads for 50mm or 75mm, they are not for same use (or people 🤞).

 

With what you have, I'd have a look at Summarit-M 50mm or 75mm (I love them both, carrying them along with 35mm !)...to complete your nice 1.4/35mm.

[Pyrogallol]

A 90mm would be a classic portrait focal length and there are a great many to choose from, modern or vintage.

[Jeff S]

You might use your frame line preview lever to get a better idea of another focal length that might suit your style.  But there’s nothing like actual experience to determine your direction.
 

We’re all different, and if this thread runs long enough, you’ll receive every imaginable bit of advice.  Best to follow your own path and learn by trying.  If you don’t bond with a particular focal length, move on.

I’ve used M cameras since the 80’s, primarily with 28, 35 and 50mm lenses. That works well for me.  If I decided what to use based on forum surveys, half the folks here would tell me that’s the wrong approach.  Maybe for them.

Jeff

[a.noctilux]

I think of something that can bother new M user ( not me anymore ! ).

👇

The frame lines are showed double in M-P for 50/75.

Then for 'after 35mm', with M-P, I'd choose 75mm (which one, that is the factual question), Apo-Summicron-M 2/75 could well be my choice

as very good combo 35/75.

[didier]

One more vote for the Apo-Summicron 75. 

Still a rather small Lens, very sharp and beautiful bokeh, and makes a nice combo with a 35.

Didier

[wda]

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35 and 75 make for an excellent paring. I have the Smmarit and have never found it wanting.

Welcome to the forum.

[spydrxx]

Asking what your next lens should be is like asking what your next wife/partner/girlfriend should look like ---there are lots of choices depending on your preferences. I'd suggest thinking about what your current lens fails to deliver and then figuring how to fill the gap.

[Narsuitus]

My first lens for my Nikon 35mm SLR was a 35mm. My second was an 85mm.

When I purchased my Leica M6 35mm rangefinder, my first lens was a 35mm f/1.4 (left). My second was a 90mm f/2 Summicron (right).

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[FrozenInTime]

I find the only time 35 + 75mm works for me, is if I'm carrying two cameras.

With a single camera and 35 and 50mm in the bag, there remains a good chance of still getting a good image with the less optimal of the pair attached.

[lct]

For a 2 lens kit with similar IQ: 35/1.4 FLE + 75/2 apo (no experience with 75/1.25)
For a 3 lens kit with similar IQ: 35/1.4 FLE + 50/1.4 asph + 90/2 apo (no experience with 90/1.5)
Matter of tastes anyway.

[ianman]

6 hours ago, Jeff S said:

You might use your frame line preview lever

Is there such a thing on the 240? I thought it was removed from that model.

[wda]

12 minutes ago, ianman said:

Is there such a thing on the 240? I thought it was removed from that model.

Restored in the MP Variant .

[Jeff S]

20 minutes ago, ianman said:

Is there such a thing on the 240? I thought it was removed from that model.

He has the M-P…

https://us.leica-camera.com/Company/Press-Centre/Press-Releases/Photokina-2014/Press-Release-Leica-M-P-The-next-generation-of-the-Leica-rangefinder-camera-for-professional-photographers

Jeff

[JonPB]

The obvious companion for a Summilux 35mm Asph would be a Summilux 35mm pre-asph. 🙂 (I’m 70% serious, 20% making a point, and 10% obliging the prediction of @Jeff S.) Lens selection is a strongly personal topic. I recommend identifying the kind of shooting you most want to achieve that is most restrained by your current kit. Does having a Q mean you love wide views? If so, consider 21mm instead of a longer lens. Do you want flattering, isolated-subject portraits? 90mm might be worth considering. Does “secondary” mean “lower budget?” There are many worthy options up and down the price list. Or maybe “secondary” means “mostly being carried around?” Collapsible lenses are nice, and smaller size of the late Summarit line is easy to overlook. Is it a different aesthetic you want? The pre-asph might indeed be the right choice if you want less contrast; or, longer lenses reduce perspective lines and variation in illuminants, while wider lenses do the opposite.

If you’re not sure how to start narrowing your requirements, perhaps your photography doesn’t need another lens. I had a 21, 35, 50, 90 kit; when my budget took a hit, the 50 and 90 were the ones I sold because my style of photography is better served by wider lenses. I miss them — excellent lenses — but I rarely made the kind of images I want to make when those longer lenses were on my camera. Mostly I bought them to have a full and proper kit, and that was useful as a lesson in the difference between enjoying tools and enjoying what I accomplish with tools.

One way to identify your needs is to look at your images that are almost good but not quite; if they tend to be rigid and formulaic, a wider lens might force you into more creative compositions, or if they tend to feel sparse and small, try cropping to simulate a longer lens. If you feel a persistent, unexplainable need for a specific lens, follow your intuition…I’ve always ended up there anyhow and the scenic route should be taken with your lenses, not to them.

[Stein K S]

My first Leica lens was a 35mm… the second a 50mm. I firmly believe that that would we my choice again if starting over 😉

[a.noctilux]

4 hours ago, JonPB said:

The obvious companion for a Summilux 35mm Asph would be a Summilux 35mm pre-asph. 🙂 (I’m 70% serious, 20% making a point, and 10% obliging the prediction of @Jeff S.) ...

😉

 

[Mute-on]

Honestly, it totally depends what works for YOU. Traditionally a portrait lens is a 90, for head and shoulders, but that might no be the kind of portrait you want, or how you like to work. The shortest focal length for that purpose is probably a 50. 
 

Maybe you prefer environmental portraits, in which case you already have the perfect focal length (your 35). More lenses won’t necessarily give you more opportunities for the photos you actually want to capture. 

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[Danner]

I suggest trading your 35/1.4 for a 35mm Summicron and adding a 50mm Summilux.

[jrp]

“I have a 35mm Summilux ASPH; what should be my next lens?”. Quite a calling card. 
Depends on what you want to shoot.  90 or 21mm if you just want broader coverage. 50mm or 28mm if you’ve found your ideal focal length and want a bit of variety.