Voigtlander 35mm F/2 APO Lanthar ASPH or Leica 35mm F2 Summicron M 11673?

[bherman01545]

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All;

I'm looking for a 35mm lens for my M10-R body. This is my first lens to build out my kit. Is the Leica 35 worth over 3x the price? 

For those of you who own both of these lenses, what is the difference? I know that the CV is not 6-bit coded, but can I enter it's Leica equivalent manually via the menu? 

My other option would be to go for the Leica 35 and pick up a CV 50 APO Lanthar as my second lens.

Thoughts? 

Thanks

-Brad

[kgs]

https://youtu.be/fno5MeY2Z3U

Hi there,
Check the link above.
The difference between the VC 35 Apo Lanthar and the Leica Apo Summicron 35 is the same, if not the VC is even a little better.
You can paint the coding on the lens yourself in a few minutes. Voigtlaender has specially milled a groove in the lens bayonet so that the color is not blurred or removed when the lens is changed. I have the VC 35 Apo and the VC 50 Apo.
Greetings George

Edited September 14, 2021 by kgs

[a.noctilux]

We are different.

I would buy Leitz/Leica as first lens for my Leica.

The magic (for me is there ...in the glasses), if not seen the 'magic', I'd buy cheaper lenses before buying cheaper bodies.

👇

Then later, I can vary pleasure with non Leitz/Leica lenses.

I have done this since start, and I do appreciate (on the long run) Leitz/Leica lenses over all 3rd parties.

I do have/use some of the 3rd parties lense for my Leica M, but if I want Leica magic, I just use Leica lenses,

even cheap lenses like Summarit-M lenses which do keep Leica magic 🙃.

Edited September 14, 2021 by a.noctilux

[kgs]

vor 2 Stunden schrieb a.noctilux:

We are different.

I would buy Leitz/Leica as first lens for my Leica.

The magic (for me is there ...in the glasses), if not seen the 'magic', I'd buy cheaper lenses before buying cheaper bodies....

Sorry,
I owned the Super Elmar 18 asph., the Elmarit 21 asph., the Elmar 24 asph., the Summicron 28 asph., the Lux 35 asph FLE, the Lux 50 asph, the Lux 75 asph. and have largely replaced them with the same or faster lenses from Voigtlaender. The Elmarit 24 asph (silver) has remained, the Summarit 75 and 90 and the Elmar 135.
My pictures have remained equally good or have improved technically. The "Leica Look" is a myth, revered again and again by so-called "Leica disciples".

Greetings George

[MrFriendly]

On 9/13/2021 at 12:44 PM, bherman01545 said:

All;

I'm looking for a 35mm lens for my M10-R body. This is my first lens to build out my kit. Is the Leica 35 worth over 3x the price? 

For those of you who own both of these lenses, what is the difference? I know that the CV is not 6-bit coded, but can I enter it's Leica equivalent manually via the menu? 

My other option would be to go for the Leica 35 and pick up a CV 50 APO Lanthar as my second lens.

Thoughts? 

Thanks

-Brad

Avoid the 35mm Summicron-M (11673) if you can, unless you really like flare.  Even then, avoid it, because it's not worth the $4,000.

Earlier this year I was looking to get my very first 35mm lens because 28mm felt too wide, but I couldn't decide which Leica lens to get.  I wasn't even sure if I would find the 35 focal length appealing, so I decided to try the Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35mm f/2.5 before spending too much money.  Funny enough, I did end up enjoying the Voigtlander, mainly because of its small size and decent quality.  There are some aberrations if you know what to look for, but overall it's decent, specially at that price point.

So, I decided I liked the 35mm focal length enough to buy a brand new 35mm Summicron-M (11673).  By this point, I had the 28mm Summicron (11672), which is an absolutely awesome lens (which at the time I didn't know and ended up selling it, and yes I do regret it 😔).  In my mind, the 35mm Summicron-M (11673) was going to be a similar lens in quality as the 28mm Summicron (11672) except the longer focal length, but boy was I wrong.  One of the first things I noticed immediately with the 35mm Summicron (11673) was the flaring.  I shoot a lot of high-contrast night scenes, and it always produced flares.  Even the smallest source of light in the frame would produce flare.  And the flare was the really ugly kind, the UFO looking flare that's really distracting.  With the Skopar I never got flares, except when shooting directly at the sun, and If there was flare, it was barely noticeable.

I contacted the dealer and asked him TWICE and very directly about the flare issue, and in both cases he dodged the question (in fact he just ignored them, which was a bit weird TBH).  So I decided to contact Leica USA.  After analyzing my DNG files, their camera and lens experts told me that they had never seen such flaring with the 35mm Summicron-M (11673), but they also recommended that I contact Leica Germany, which I did.  Leica Germany told me that the flare is not unusual with the 35mm Summicron-M, and that I do not have a bad copy.  To me that kind of flaring is an unacceptable flaw, specially for a $4,000 lens, so I decided to return it.

As it turns out, the 28mm Summicron-M (11672) is a very modern lens (2015, IIRC), whereas the 35mm Summicron-M (11673) is some twenty years old.

You mentioned that this is going to be your first lens, and since you're open to a 50mm, I would highly recommend 50mm Summilux-M.  That lens is pure magic.

[Photoworks]

Flare is some times there on summicron-m lenses, you can get it at 90apo. 50, 35.. and not a beauty. It was always surprising when it showed up.

I replaced my lenses to Summilux 35 FLE and Summilux 50 APHS , Sold the 90mm, problem solved.

My desert island lens is the Summilux 35. It is sharp and rich in details, I even usi it on the SL2 even if I have the Summicron-SL 35, not sure I will need anything more like the 35 APO.

The Image quality of the VC 35 Apo Lanthar is very close to Leicas apo. I just find the size to be big, blocking more of VF. I wish it had a smaller lens shade solution. I don't really use the lens shade on the 35 Lux, I never had flare problems with it. I know some Leicas lenses really need the lens shade, like the Noctilux , otherwise you loose quite a bit of contrast in your images.

 

 

[Yarosuav]

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OP - do yourself a favor and get a used 35mm Summilux FLE - thank us later. I tried pretty much all the other fast 35mm options on my Leicas over the years, and at the end of the day nothing compares… Between the ease of use, compact size and image quality there’s just not a better option IMO. If you get it used in good condition you’re not going to loose money if you ever have to sell it. 

Edited September 16, 2021 by jarek0423

[Printmaker]

6 hours ago, jarek0423 said:

OP - do yourself a favor and get a used 35mm Summilux FLE - thank us later. I tried pretty much all the other fast 35mm options on my Leicas over the years, and at the end of the day nothing compares… Between the ease of use, compact size and image quality there’s just not a better option IMO. If you get it used in good condition you’re not going to loose money if you ever have to sell it. 

After owning 3 versions of the 35 Summicron, a 35 Summaron, and a CV 35 Color Skopar (all excellent lenses), I'm saving my pennies for a 35 FLE.

I figure the 35 mm focal length is the reason for shooting with a M camera, so it makes sense to use the best lens. And, yes, I'll get a good , slightly used one.