How to stop overthinking this whole lens thing

[brickftl]

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On 2/24/2024 at 8:34 AM, patrickcolpron said:

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Not all my lenses and not all my cameras, to address a few points - they all do something different for me.

This is a photo I had made for Red Dot Forum's show us your kit (shown in part two of this series) I've added two lenses since. The New Steel Rim and an old and perfect Summarit 50 f/1.5 which is great on a Monochrom with it's original yellow filter. I had always regretted selling it an my M3 back in the days, when I saw a mint one I couldn't resist... 

I have 15 Leica M lenses, the only only I very seldom use is the APO 90 which is not a focal length I enjoy. 

To address upgrading from the M10 to the M10-R, I prefer the color rendition of the M10 and only use the M10-R a lot because it is the black paint model, the buffer of the M10-R is the same as the M10 so not that great for 40 megapixels files. I recently started using my M10-P cameras leaving the M10-R on the shelf. 

I have four 35mm and four 50 mil lenses plus two 28, I enjoy some lenses more than others. The Steel Rim is my favourite modern-ish lens for it's form factor and how well it handles and renders when used against the light. I seldom shoot wide open, at f/4 and f/5.6 on a digital M it is terrific.

Of all these lenses my desert island lens is the 35/APO it isn't anything special but is technically perfect with great color rendition. In the 50 mil lenses I am starting to prefer how the new classic reissue of the 50/1.2 handles in my hands and it also feels terrific in my hands. This said the APO 50 is tiny and light, a pleasure to carry all day.

As much as I say the APO 35 is my desert Island lens I do find the 24 Summilux to be way more practical as a one lens one camera only combo.

Even then I'd be hard press to minimise my kit as I like variety, the new Steel Rim with a Leica MP with either Trip-X or Portra 400 is great. When it comes to lenses it really depends what one shoots, analog or digital and what one is after in terms of rendering.

I find it is easier to get good at photography using only one focal length for a long period of time, pick a 28 and only use a 28 for 6 months daily, you'll get really really good with it.

Some lenses are really great on black and white sensor and film stock - some are better with color film stock or don't perform optimally with black and white film stock or for black and white photography. 

Some are really good with either, the 35 APO, the Steel Rim and the 24 Lux are great with either, so is the 35 Cron V4, but the Cron V4 35 is terrible against the light. 

My best advice to you is stick to one lens for one year and at the end of that year you will for sure require less than 5 lenses. I could live with just a 35 mil lens or a 24 mil lens. Plus a 35 and a 50 are a perfect complement and if you can add a 21 mil or a 75, you'd be set for pretty much anything thrown at you with only 3 lenses. 

I prefer the form factor of the M system and also have two other extensive camera kits from other brands with multiple camera bodies and lenses - but for photography give me an M and any lens, except a 90 mil, I really don't like that focal length and I am not warm to the 28 mil focal length either... but can use both in pinch. 

I am privileged to be in a position to have all of these and it is at times too much. 

At the end of the day, it is not what you use but how you use it. It is the final resulting image which matter the most, the photos you make, not the camera or lens used to make them with. When you focus on the end result, the images you make as opposed to the lenses or cameras you use to make them, everything falls into place and that's when you can grow as a photographer. 

GAS is GAS and I love the gear plus geeking out about the gear but nothing beats a conversation over dinner with friends telling stories about the photos we made, showing each other the doozies we captured these pass 46 years or so. 

The only cure to overthinking camera gear is to stop browsing camera forums, review sites and watching the latest camera rumours and YouTube reviews, it is to concentrate on making photos with what you have now in your hands, and sharing these photos with friends and family. 

Hope this makes some sort of sense. 

OMG I'm speechless at your collection. . . .

Regarding M10 vs M10R, I'm a new Leica shooter, last time I shot manual focus was 45 years ago using Tri-X on a Canon AE1. I've got funds to buy literally any camera I want, and after looking at M11, M10R and M10, I decided to go with the M10. Reasons: I'm staying far away from M11 and it's myriad problems (which sadly the Q3 I bought and Leica replaced also suffered from those problems and became a brick after 3 months). And I'm primarily a street shooter, almost never print, and don't need any image with greater resolution than 24mps as my cropping never results in an image that's too large viewed full screen for its remaining resolution. And my night images shot at high ISO clean up nicely with either ACR's built in AI de-noise or DXO RawPrime. 

But back to lenses: for my purposes I only need a 35 and a 75. I bought the cv 35/2 which I've been using in the street, but admit succumbing to GAS yesterday and bought a used mint condition Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH (2022) to replace it (which I've already put up for sale). Also bought a cv 75/1.5 which is fabulous for portraits. So for me it's 2 and done. I'm not really into 50mm, and if I want that look I'll just walk closer to my subject or crop in post. I have a feeling that the Summilux will live on my camera 98% of the time.

BUT . . . I fully understand what it's like to have GAS, so you'll NEVER hear me negate/criticize/judge anyone on their choices of gear, whether you and your fabulous massive Leica collection nor the OP and whatever decisions he finally makes. 

The one thing that does unite us all (I believe) is a love of Leica.

Edited February 26, 2024 by brickftl

[Xavier]

On 2/24/2024 at 2:34 PM, patrickcolpron said:

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!

Not all my lenses and not all my cameras, to address a few points - they all do something different for me.

This is cheating, batteries and SD cards should not count. 😇

More seriously, this is a lot of good ideas, to stick with a lens for a while, etc.

[NigelG]

6 hours ago, patrickcolpron said:

When I purchased the M10, it was so good I decided I was going to buy all variants of the M10 model thinking there was going to be an M10-D and an M10-Monochrom, alas there was 5 different models with the M10-P and M10-R... The plan was just to upgrade the M10 to an M10-P which I did with my initial M10 and have 2 more bodies, now I have them all

Good job you didn't start with an M240 as the dizzying number of special editions might have given you pause... (who'd even end up buying a serial version and then a prototype M Edition 60?? 😉)

But no M10 Zagato?, and then surely an M10-P Safari, M10-P Bold Grey, M10-P Ghost, M10-P Reporter, M10-P SC Asset, M10-P ASC, M10-P White  etc etc. plus the various region-dependent Leica store specials which others can contribute?

I know some of these are maybe "editions" not "variants" but even so...if you have "completist" tendencies 🤔

 

 

 

[JoshuaR]

4 hours ago, brickftl said:

just curious why you're thinking of upgrading to a M10R from your current M10. How do you think the upgrade will improve the type of photography you're currently engaged in?

The truth: there’s no good reason, I’m perfectly happy with my M10!

[KFo]

Big part of reason that I came to Leica was the vast array of lens choice!  

I have had my own similar but different voyage.  5- 28s, 6-35s...  I like multimodal lenses.  That is a lens that exhibits various "defects" wide open or nearly so and more conventional aspects as they are stopped down.  I also look for a more gentle roll off to OOF and lower contrast.  It has taken awhile to find that combination...  

Turns out it is the Canon 28 f/2.8 LTM for me and it's sister the 35 f/2.8 LTM (often called Serenar).  
 

If find no confusion or indecision over all these lenses.  I know what they do and I know how they match my intentions.  I also tend to shot one lens only for my work which makes choices simple; it's the one on the camera.

I have no regrets whatsoever, it has been informative for my work to try these things. It wasn't financially punishing either if it was that would be  a different story.

[Danner]

Other than wanting a 75mm Summarit, I am content with the following kit:

50/2 Summitar (1953) for very vintage rendering

28 Elmarit-M ASPH for blistering sharpness

35 Summicron v4 (KoB) for all-around goodness

50 Summicron v4 for diminutive daily use and all-around goodness

50 Summilux v2 for speed (and tradition)

90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit for a little reach

135/4 Tele-Elmar for more reach (rarely used).

And, a pair of M6, one black, one chrome.

Edited February 27, 2024 by Danner

[RexGig0]

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15 hours ago, JoshuaRothman said:

The truth: there’s no good reason, I’m perfectly happy with my M10!

I am, apparently, remaining happy with M10 original-version and M Type 246 Monochrom cameras. 24MP is plenty enough. Of course, I can cheat, by using 46MP Nikon and 50MP Canon DSLRs, , but, I am far more likely to carry a 24MP Leica M camera, for general walking-about, or, a 20MP Nikon D5 DSLR, for fast-moving wildlife and birds. I actually bought an M Type 246 Monochrom after I already had my M10. I had fumbled and dropped my then-still-quite-new M10, which would need extensive repair, so, I quickly bought the pre-owned 246 in order to “get back on the horse that had thrown me.” (A neoprene-padded “camera wrap” had protected the M10 from physical damage, but, it had fallen from my shoulder height, onto brick pavers, so, there was internal damage.)

One significant reason, other than more pixel density, for me to acquire an M10-R would be the true base ISO being 100, but, even then, I can cheat, with a Nikon D850, having a true base ISO of 64.

Moreover, neither of my DSLR/SLR systems has a 50mm lens that is anything like a Summilux-M 50mm ASPH. This lens was the reason I added the Leica M system, in April 2018, and, nearly six years later, it remains my undisputed favorite.

Edited to add: Why two DSLR systems? Well, short version, in 2010, Canon made the best weather-sealed 100mm macro lens in the world, at a time when I had an occupational need for just that lens. So, Canon became my macro system. My wife, however, was, and remains, a dedicated, pro-level Nikon DSLR shooter. We can minimize, weight, bulk, and expense by largely sharing one pool of SLR lenses, batteries, and flash units. We still use the Nikon gear, and, the Canon gear has lost so much value, plus, I sometimes still use that macro performance, so, I keep it.

Edited February 27, 2024 by RexGig0

[Jeff S]

20 hours ago, patrickcolpron said:

Then again, if Jeff's posts and replies weren't so long he could have made twice or three tomes  that number  

Just noticed this comment.  Please show  me one example.  In 15 years, can’t remember any post as long as yours here (#30, etc).  Possibly in response to someone’s request about printer information, or my history, but can’t think of others.  None in this thread I’d consider verbose by forum standards.  
 

Post #2 covers my key thoughts on the original topic; concise, I think, and most liked in the entire thread…as of this post.
 

Jeff

[otto.f]

Oh please…

[yanidel]

GAS is directly correlated to boredom. When out there shooting, I am just happy to do so and don't think about the gear I have or have not. 

Yet a long rainy weekend and I start looking at my archive and stumble on this wonderful picture I took with "Z" lens. "Z" lens or focal length was great, I must own it again and there comes the GAS trap once more. Nevertheless, with time, I got smarter and remember that I probably took hundreds of shitty pictures with that "Z" lens or focal and sold it for a good reason.

Now when I am bored I go on the Leica forum and read about all these addicts to GAS, being proud of myself that I haven't bought a lens for the last 7 years. The fact that I am broke helps obviously.

[costa43]

9 minutes ago, yanidel said:

GAS is directly correlated to boredom. When out there shooting, I am just happy to do so and don't think about the gear I have or have not. 

Yet a long rainy weekend and I start looking at my archive and stumble on this wonderful picture I took with "Z" lens. "Z" lens or focal length was great, I must own it again and there comes the GAS trap once more. Nevertheless, with time, I got smarter and remember that I probably took hundreds of shitty pictures with that "Z" lens or focal and sold it for a good reason.

Now when I am bored I go on the Leica forum and read about all these addicts to GAS, being proud of myself that I haven't bought a lens for the last 7 years. The fact that I am broke helps obviously.

Touché 

[evikne]

The main cause of GAS: too much money. Without this, the problem solves itself. 😄

[Cobram]

10 hours ago, evikne said:

The main cause of GAS: too much money. Without this, the problem solves itself. 😄

Agree. And good connection to internet.

[newtoleica]

On 2/26/2024 at 7:31 PM, brickftl said:

 

 

But back to lenses: for my purposes I only need a 35 and a 75. I bought the cv 35/2 which I've been using in the street, but admit succumbing to GAS yesterday and bought a used mint condition Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH (2022) to replace it (which I've already put up for sale). Also bought a cv 75/1.5 which is fabulous for portraits. So for me it's 2 and done. I'm not really into 50mm, and if I want that look I'll just walk closer to my subject or crop in post. I have a feeling that the Summilux will live on my camera 98% of the time.

 

This is my view exactly and also my use (but I do print). A 24 Summilux for most, the 35 Summilux ASPH v1 to get a change in view and very very occasionally 'something else a bit shorter' - that has been a really hard thing to pin down.... I can get by with just the two lenses but not always... tried 50 Summilux, 50 APO and 75 APO. All lovely lenses but I keep thinking that the cash would be better elsewhere so sell them. Finally settled on a nice used Ultron 75mm f1.9. Its 90% of the APO summicron (which is fine for me) and far enough away from my 75 to not be just 'walk closer'...

[brickftl]

On 2/26/2024 at 6:23 PM, JoshuaRothman said:

The truth: there’s no good reason, I’m perfectly happy with my M10!

and for what it's worth, the M10 is my first rangefinder, and I'm likewise perfectly happy with it. I especially like the smaller file size and the fact that it's more forgiving on my less than perfectly focused images than the M10R would be - although I'm steadily improving my technique 😎

[brickftl]

27 minutes ago, newtoleica said:

This is my view exactly and also my use (but I do print). A 24 Summilux for most, the 35 Summilux ASPH v1 to get a change in view and very very occasionally 'something else a bit shorter' - that has been a really hard thing to pin down.... I can get by with just the two lenses but not always... tried 50 Summilux, 50 APO and 75 APO. All lovely lenses but I keep thinking that the cash would be better elsewhere so sell them. Finally settled on a nice used Ultron 75mm f1.9. Its 90% of the APO summicron (which is fine for me) and far enough away from my 75 to not be just 'walk closer'...

well I no longer have that view, changed my mind. I only got the 75 for portraits, but then decided it's really too long for any of my other purposes. So I sent it back and I just bought a summilux 50 1.4 ASPH v1 which I'll at least use for portraits. And possibly I may enjoy its focal length for street even more than my 35, in which case I'll return the 35 as I'm well within the return window. I really would love an all purpose lens for street and portraits. And then down the road may consider a 21 or 28 for landscape, but I'm not going to rush out on that.

[John Robinson]

There are lenses that are fun to use and might also have a function in encouraging you to go out and take pictures to "see what the lens makes of it".  Different lenses draw differently, some are better on film, some better on digital, some on both.  Nothing wrong with trying out lenses for the fun of it.

Then there are the lenses you go back to time and again when shooting with a specific idea or purpose.  This might be a very small set.  I find the Summilux-M 50 ASPH superb on either film or the M9.  Sometimes the Elmar-M 2.8/50 is an excellent compact choice in good light, but it seems better on the M9 than film (where 1.4 can be an advantage).  For film or adapted to the SL, the Summicron-R 50 and Elmarit-R 90 are both superb.  The Summilux-R 50 (typ 1) I find better on film.  The APO-Summicron-M 90 ASPH is a stunning lens, better on film than digital but quite heavy which makes the Elmar-C 90 quite a useful alternative, excellent on both film and digital.

I don't shoot 35mm much but have a choice of Elmarit-R 35 (typ 2), or TTArtisan M 35/1.4 ASPH (copy of the Summilux-M 35 ASPH at 1/10th the price), each of which is superb on either film or digital.  I have the Summicron 35s but they are not my favourites and then there are some excellent wides (21, 24, 28) that don't see much use but are good in the right circumstances.

With a set of adapters, there can be hours of fun trying out old or obscure lenses on the SL (without the cost of shooting film) but the set I come back to over and over is quite small.  I could fill a table with lenses along the lines of an earlier post but what I can say is that I have visited musicians who have rooms full of instruments or painters who have whole shelves of brushes to choose from even though they mostly have their favourites.  Why would photographers be any different?  There's no shame in it and can add to the fun of it provided you don't find yourself feeling guilty about having kit that spends a lot of time on the shelf.

[brickftl]

22 hours ago, brickftl said:

well I no longer  that view, changed my mind. I only got the 75 for portraits, but then decided it's really too long for any of my other purposes. So I sent it back and I just bought a summilux 50 1.4 ASPH v1 which I'll at least use for portraits. And possibly I may enjoy its focal length for street even more than my 35, in which case I'll return the 35 as I'm well within the return window. I really would love an all purpose lens for street and portraits. And then down the road may consider a 21 or 28 for landscape, but I'm not going to rush out on that.

so "final answer is" . . .

1. I returned the 35/1.4 lux asph, and am on the fence whether to cancel my sale listing of my cv 35/2 ultron which is a fabulous lens. I took it yesterday shooting and really enjoyed it, so do I really need to recoup the original $450ish that I spent for it when I might now and then, but not often, get in a 35mm mood?

2. as I said I have the 50/1.4 lux asph on its way to me. I'll use it for portraits and will give it a try on street - may find that I like it for that purpose.

3. I've got the cv 28/2 ultron on its way that I bought yesterday from Fred Miranda. I always enjoyed my Q series cams at that 28mm length for street work, and I think it may help me get the hang of zone focusing at say f8 or f11 when out in the street.

So to recap, my kit consists of a 50 and 28, and I just might keep my 35. As I mentioned before I'm new to using a rangefinder, so all this back and forth on lenses is what I needed to go through in order to settle in with my M10. I honestly don't anticipate buying any more lenses.

[fil-m]

Back to the op's original post, I've learned to fix (ie limit) the maximum number of lenses that I own.

Some lenses are on the "never sell" list (although some might say "never say never" 😁) and I've settled with them. The others, I am willing to sell/exchange/replace.

With time, this created a tough-to-maintain though rewarding discipline: to get a new lens I must decide which lens to replace (ie sell)... It forces me to think, to challenge myself, to ask myself why I am buying the new lens (ie "what am I trying to achieve or learn?", "how will the new lens/tool improve my photography?") while also determining why I am selling the existing one ("what will I lose by saying goodbye to that lens" and "will I still be able to sleep at night without thinking about it").

So far it is working for me and it tamed my "natural inflationary human instinct" to just add a new lens to the set and expand it.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[ktmrider2]

I have gone thru a lot of lenses for Leica's which I have been using since 1975.  I went from being a professional photographer using Nikon F's to a serious hobbyist using Leicas for family and travel.  I honestly hate owning more than one lens in each focal length but find myself with a couple fast lenses which are large (for a M mount lens) and a set of smaller more modest aperture lenses for travel.

My present travel kit are lenses in 35/50/90 (classic photojournalist trio) with an f2.8 aperture.  I just purchased a 21 and hoping I bond with the focal length more than I have in the past.  If push came to shove, I would be happy traveling with a Leica with either the 35 or 50.  

Again, that is just me.  I have had to make a living with cameras since 1975 when I became a professional pilot.  I have owned a 50f2.8 Elmar M version 2 for a week and it may become my favorite lens because of size and weight.  Someone else commented here that bokeh was unknown in the English language until the 1990's.  Pulitizer photos or those that make the cover of NAT GEO are about lighting and composition.