Buying a new 35 mm FLE for 4200 Euro, or should I wait for FLE II?

[Fatih]

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Hi. I'm planning to get a Leica M11, and for my first Lens, I was thinking of getting the 35 mm FLE.  However, Leica released a new version that has a builtin hood protector, and, more important a close distant of 0.4m. I’ve already read all the discussions around it on the forum, and it looks like the initial batch had issues and Leica stopped shipping the FLE II. We don’t know when they’ll fix the focus and aperture blade issues.

Meanwhile, I'm living in Turkey, and Leica Turkey just discounted the 35 mm FLE to 4200 Euro. So what do you think? Do you think it's worth waiting for the new FLE II, or should I get the discounted 35 mm FLE? 

This will be my first Leica Lens! I didn’t bought the Leica M11 yet, but I thought I’ll get the lens while it’s discounted. Any help is appreciated and please let me know if this forum is the wrong place, happy to post under a different subforum.

[a.noctilux]

Very simple indeed.

If you need NOW a lens for your M11, just buy the one which is available.

 

After that, when the FLE II is available in future, you will gain many experiences with the first FLE,

then the next problem will be (or not) replacing or not.

[Fatih]

Thank you! This makes a lot of sense. What do you think about the Price? I don't have much historical knowledge. I guess a lot of people are trying to sell existing FLE's to reduce the stock for the new one. 

[a.noctilux]

For the price of FLE, FLE II, I have no idea.

 

Price is just a number (like serial number of goods).

Price things can vary so much that this have nothing to bother with "price".

For me price is acceptable when I can pay.

When I can not pay, the price is not acceptable for me, so I don't buy.

Edited December 5, 2022 by a.noctilux

[01af]

Among the Summilux-M 35 mm Asph lenses, the FLE and FLE II are the same in terms of optical design and hence, character and performance. The differences are purely mechanical—hood and minimal focusing distance. The built-in hood is convenient but ineffective; the reduced MFD is very useful but only with live-view-enabled digital cameras.

If budget is not too restricted then for use with the M11 I'd seriously consider the Apo-Summicron-M 35 mm Asph. Performance, bokeh, and minimal focusing distance are even better than any 35 mm Summilux's ... smaller and lighter, too.

[Fatih]

6 minutes ago, 01af said:

If budget is not too restricted then for use with the M11 I'd seriously consider the Apo-Summicron-M 35 mm Asph. Performance, bokeh, and minimal focusing distance are even better than any 35 mm Summilux's ... smaller and lighter, too.

@01af thanks for the insight.  I was thinking to get the Summilux FLE version because I love to shoot in low-light conditions (think of restaurants, during night), so I thought the F1.4 would come handy. Is that correct? Usually the 35mm FLE costs 6000 euro here in Turkey, it's on discount and they sell it for 4200 Euro. The Summicron is sold for 3800 euro. It's already in my budget. 

[01af]

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vor 26 Minuten schrieb Fatih:

... I love to shoot in low-light conditions (think of restaurants, during night), so I thought the f/1.4 would come handy. Is that correct?

Yes and no. Yes, in low-light conditions it's useful to have a high-speed lens. But then, modern digital cameras are so sensitive that super-high-speed lenses are not as important as they used to be. A couple of years ago, Peter Karbe said, with modern digital cameras a Summicron lens is as fast as anyone would need to take pictures in low-light conditions. Just crank up the ISO setting. And I found he's right. After all, usually you need at least a little depth-of-field, so opening up the aperture beyond reason is not always the best solution. I often shoot my Noctilux at poorly lit events and find myself stopping it down to, say, f/2 or f/2.8 because I desperately need at least some depth-of-field.

.

vor 26 Minuten schrieb Fatih:

The Summicron is sold for 3800 Euro. It's already in my budget. 

I was not talking about the Summicron-M 35 mm Asph.

Edited December 5, 2022 by 01af

[Fatih]

5 minutes ago, 01af said:

I was not talking about the Summicron-M 35 mm Asph.

Sorry, misread your comment. The 35 mm APO is way over my budget. Appreciate the recommendation. 

[jaapv]

You won’t see a difference between the two in the photographs that you take. 

[Jeff S]

I’m fully satisfied with my FLE v.1 and M10-R. I don’t think my pics or prints are diminished without the latest iterations.  Better availability and reliability right now than both the FLE v.2 and M11. 
 

Jeff

Edited December 5, 2022 by Jeff S

[Fatih]

Yeah, so I'm totally ok with getting the FLE v.1. I guess what I'm curious is whether a new FLE v.1 for 4200 is/was a good deal. 

[RMF]

52 minutes ago, Fatih said:

Yeah, so I'm totally ok with getting the FLE v.1. I guess what I'm curious is whether a new FLE v.1 for 4200 is/was a good deal. 

Seems like a great deal for a new FLE (v1) with a Leica warranty. Even if you decide to sell later you won”t lose much if any. Go for it and shot some beautiful photos.

[lct]

New FLE1 can be found for 4,099€ in Germany. Unless you need the 0.4m MFD of FLE2, i would go for this 4,099€ new FLE1 or i would negociate under 4,200€ with my dealer.

Edited December 5, 2022 by lct

[Pixeleater]

2 hours ago, 01af said:

Among the Summilux-M 35 mm Asph lenses, the FLE and FLE II are the same in terms of optical design and hence, character and performance. The differences are purely mechanical—hood and minimal focusing distance. The built-in hood is convenient but ineffective; the reduced MFD is very useful but only with live-view-enabled digital cameras.

If budget is not too restricted then for use with the M11 I'd seriously consider the Apo-Summicron-M 35 mm Asph. Performance, bokeh, and minimal focusing distance are even better than any 35 mm Summilux's ... smaller and lighter, too.

Why is the built-in hood ineffective on the FLE II? 

[Jeff S]

4 minutes ago, Pixeleater said:

Why is the built-in hood ineffective on the FLE II? 

Jeff

[a.noctilux]

5 minutes ago, Pixeleater said:

Why is the built-in hood ineffective on the FLE II? 

Too short ?

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[Pixeleater]

39 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Jeff

Thanks Jeff, this helped.

As noted in the thread you shared, slide-out hoods are a compromise between effectiveness and practicality. I appreciate the practicality of the slide-out hood on my 50 APO and 50 LUX since it preserves the lens size factor, which I value. With my 28 lux, I’m less concerned about practicality since it’s a larger lens, and the screw-on hood is more about effectiveness. 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Pixeleater