Deeetona Posted February 3 Share #1 Posted February 3 Advertisement (gone after registration) In an era where camera lenses seem to be growing ever larger—bloated mirrorless behemoths with oversized front elements—it’s easy to forget how elegant and compact lenses once were. This is why I find myself returning, time and time again, to Leica’s small E39-thread lenses for the M system, particularly the Summicrons from the 1960s and 1970s (and Summarits from more recent years). There is something almost poetic about their size. These lenses don’t shout for attention; they whisper. Mounted on an M body, they keep the camera balanced and discreet, ready to slip into a pocket rather than demand a dedicated bag. There’s a refinement to their compactness, an almost feminine elegance that today’s oversized glass seems to lack. The 35mm and 50mm Summicrons from this era are perfect examples—sharp, but never clinical, with just the right amount of character. And the Summarits? Even smaller, almost jewel-like, yet still producing images with that unmistakable Leica signature. In a world obsessed with technical perfection, huge apertures, and ever-larger lens elements, these classic E39 lenses remind us of something different: photography as a craft, not just a competition for the biggest and fastest. Small can be beautiful. In fact, it often is. Would love to hear from others who still appreciate these compact masterpieces! What’s your favorite small Leica lens? 14 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 3 Posted February 3 Hi Deeetona, Take a look here The Beauty of Small Leica Lenses – A Love Letter to E39 Glass. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
vinicio Posted February 3 Share #2 Posted February 3 The 35 lux pre ASPH v2 with it's 41 mm is amazing too.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Brown Posted February 3 Share #3 Posted February 3 I prefer E46 small lenses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alberti Posted February 3 Share #4 Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Deeetona said: -- that unmistakable Leica signature. In a world obsessed with technical perfection, huge apertures, and ever-larger lens elements, these classic E39 lenses remind us of something different: photography as a craft, not just a competition for the biggest and fastest. Small can be beautiful. In fact, it often is. In getting better larger and indeed macho size large aperture lenses there are trade-offs we don't understand. Like the type of aberrations. They are not 'perfect'. My Summilux 35mm FLE is sharp, sure, and sharper, sure, than the 39mm filter size lenses (35mm summicron version 1, 4 that I have). But - I thought coma would be less (true - but if it is there, it is worse: a complete flare instead of a blot). Same goes for a type of lateral aberrations where out-of e.g. focus glasses of a person are depicted twice sometimes. You might get ghost branches in the corners... So - that technical perfection that you even can't see beyond F4 should be chosen for composition, not quality. Keep your lenses small. 80% of the time. My next hike has f/2.8, f/2.4 and f/2 in the bag. 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrapbook Posted February 3 Share #5 Posted February 3 (edited) Among the 90mm lenses the Elmar M 90mm Version II (3lenses) is my favourite lens. 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! Edited February 3 by Scrapbook 8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/419029-the-beauty-of-small-leica-lenses-%E2%80%93-a-love-letter-to-e39-glass/?do=findComment&comment=5751136'>More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 3 Share #6 Posted February 3 2 hours ago, Deeetona said: In an era where camera lenses seem to be growing ever larger it’s easy to forget how elegant and compact lenses once were. This is why I find myself returning, time and time again, to Leica’s small E39-thread lenses for the M system... Would love to hear from others who still appreciate these compact masterpieces! What’s your favorite small Leica lens? I'm a great advocate of small lenses. Here are my typical 'Go-To' focal-length picks with notes showing extension from body-flange to front-edge of the filter rim; 21mm f4.0 Super-Angulon : 27mm. 28mm f2.8 Elmarit ASPH (v1) : 29mm. 35mm f2.0 LLL '8 Element' (v1 Summicron Clone) : 28mm. 35mm f1.4 Summilux (v2) : 28mm. 40mm f2.8 Rollei Sonnar : 24mm (and still only 28mm with hood fitted!). 40mm f1.4 Voigtlander Nokton : 29mm. 50mm f2.0 Summicron (v4) : 41mm. All bar the Nokton and Summmilux have a 39mm thread which, as someone who uses filters all the time, is another reason these are my favourites. I have UVa, Circ. Pola and Red for the former and quite a few Series VII for the latter. My plan is to acquire a second 12504 hood as this can be used with the 28mm (which surprised me!), the two 35mm lenses and the 50mm therefore swapping different filters from one lens / body pairing to the other when out snapping would be a matter of just a few seconds. It is notable that only the 50 Summicron is greater than 29mm in length. A Tiny Bunch of Lenses Indeed! Philip. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralf Posted February 3 Share #7 Posted February 3 Advertisement (gone after registration) The APO Summicron M 50mm has a 39mm thread. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecar Posted February 3 Share #8 Posted February 3 28 minutes ago, Ralf said: The APO Summicron M 50mm has a 39mm thread. So does the APO 35. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted February 4 Share #9 Posted February 4 (edited) • Edited February 4 by lct Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted February 4 Share #10 Posted February 4 I thought the OP was referring to LTM lenses, not M lenses with 39mm filters sorry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Harper Posted February 4 Share #11 Posted February 4 (edited) 21 hours ago, Deeetona said: In an era where camera lenses seem to be growing ever larger—bloated mirrorless behemoths with oversized front elements—it’s easy to forget how elegant and compact lenses once were. This is why I find myself returning, time and time again, to Leica’s small E39-thread lenses for the M system, particularly the Summicrons from the 1960s and 1970s (and Summarits from more recent years). There is something almost poetic about their size. These lenses don’t shout for attention; they whisper. Mounted on an M body, they keep the camera balanced and discreet, ready to slip into a pocket rather than demand a dedicated bag. There’s a refinement to their compactness, an almost feminine elegance that today’s oversized glass seems to lack. The 35mm and 50mm Summicrons from this era are perfect examples—sharp, but never clinical, with just the right amount of character. And the Summarits? Even smaller, almost jewel-like, yet still producing images with that unmistakable Leica signature. In a world obsessed with technical perfection, huge apertures, and ever-larger lens elements, these classic E39 lenses remind us of something different: photography as a craft, not just a competition for the biggest and fastest. Small can be beautiful. In fact, it often is. Would love to hear from others who still appreciate these compact masterpieces! What’s your favorite small Leica lens? A real man always says: size doesn’t matter. Edited February 4 by Elliot Harper Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UliWer Posted February 4 Share #12 Posted February 4 vor 23 Stunden schrieb Deeetona: There is something almost poetic about their size. These lenses don’t shout for attention; they whisper. Mounted on an M body, they keep the camera balanced and discreet, ready to slip into a pocket rather than demand a dedicated bag. There’s a refinement to their compactness, an almost feminine elegance that today’s oversized glass seems to lack. Well, this sounds rather poetical - though I fear it's a myth to believe that Leica lenses generally were the smallest. If you look at a 1:2.8/35mm Summaron it seems small. Though if you compare it to a 1:2.8/35mm Biogon for the Contax it becomes a lot bigger. 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! Same with the comparison of a 1:2.8/35mm Rodenstock Heligon, even though 1mm for an LTM-to-M adapter is added: I could go on with comparisons of a Zeiss Ikon 1:1.5/50mm Sonnar to a 1:1.5/5cm Summarit or 1.4 Summilux, a 1:2/85mm Sonnar to a 1:2/90mm Summicron, 1:4/135mm Sonnar to 1:4/135mm Elmar - and the Leica lenses would seem huge. Leitz/Leica certainly will not win the contest "Who has the smallest?". Though smallness isn't always a reasonable aim. With all lenses from other producers I mentioned the front element will turn around when you focus them, not so with most contemporary Leica lenses (the late 90mm Elmar with 3-elements being a rare exception); you need space for the mechanism. And setting the f-stop for a 35mm Contax lens is just awkward: you have to use the tiny filter ring in the front - almost as impractical as the old 35 or 50mm Elmars with the fingernail setting for f-stops You mentioned the late Leica Summarit series as an example for lenses with 39mm filter threads. That's true for 35 and 50mm of the earlier versions with f/2.5 - the 75 and 90mm already had 46mm. The later version with f/2.4 all had 46mm filter threads, which I think was a good idea if you look at many other current Leica-M lenses from 21 to 75mm with 46mm filters. And last but not least: the hoods. The earlier variant of the current 50mm Summicron needed a separate hood, which made the whole lens a lot larger. Now the Summicron has an inbuilt hood: smaller but much less effective. Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Same with the comparison of a 1:2.8/35mm Rodenstock Heligon, even though 1mm for an LTM-to-M adapter is added: I could go on with comparisons of a Zeiss Ikon 1:1.5/50mm Sonnar to a 1:1.5/5cm Summarit or 1.4 Summilux, a 1:2/85mm Sonnar to a 1:2/90mm Summicron, 1:4/135mm Sonnar to 1:4/135mm Elmar - and the Leica lenses would seem huge. Leitz/Leica certainly will not win the contest "Who has the smallest?". Though smallness isn't always a reasonable aim. With all lenses from other producers I mentioned the front element will turn around when you focus them, not so with most contemporary Leica lenses (the late 90mm Elmar with 3-elements being a rare exception); you need space for the mechanism. And setting the f-stop for a 35mm Contax lens is just awkward: you have to use the tiny filter ring in the front - almost as impractical as the old 35 or 50mm Elmars with the fingernail setting for f-stops You mentioned the late Leica Summarit series as an example for lenses with 39mm filter threads. That's true for 35 and 50mm of the earlier versions with f/2.5 - the 75 and 90mm already had 46mm. The later version with f/2.4 all had 46mm filter threads, which I think was a good idea if you look at many other current Leica-M lenses from 21 to 75mm with 46mm filters. And last but not least: the hoods. The earlier variant of the current 50mm Summicron needed a separate hood, which made the whole lens a lot larger. Now the Summicron has an inbuilt hood: smaller but much less effective. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/419029-the-beauty-of-small-leica-lenses-%E2%80%93-a-love-letter-to-e39-glass/?do=findComment&comment=5751633'>More sharing options...
Deeetona Posted February 4 Author Share #13 Posted February 4 I just wanted to write a poetic post haha Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jps1 Posted February 4 Share #14 Posted February 4 (edited) Very happy with my summaron 28mm 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! Edited February 4 by jps1 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/419029-the-beauty-of-small-leica-lenses-%E2%80%93-a-love-letter-to-e39-glass/?do=findComment&comment=5751655'>More sharing options...
costa43 Posted February 4 Share #15 Posted February 4 Most of my glass is E46 by coincidence but I do like the E39. My favourite that I have used would be the 35mm Summaron f2.8. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted February 4 Share #16 Posted February 4 (edited) 10 hours ago, UliWer said: ...Leitz/Leica certainly will not win the contest "Who has the smallest?"... I don't believe that such was their primary goal. 🙂 Anyhow; it gets to the point where miniaturism defeats practicality. Miyazaki et-al take a bow, Philip. Edited February 5 by pippy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Vonn Posted February 5 Share #17 Posted February 5 Have to agree with everything positive mentioned so far and this applies to the fast F1.2/ F1.4 lenses too. Apart from the quality images and prints etc etc - the small factor simply makes for a fun and enjoyable experience which I guess eventually benefits image output. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
evikne Posted February 5 Share #18 Posted February 5 My favorite small Leica lenses (and the only two I have at the moment) are the 35mm Summilux v2 and the 50mm Summilux v3 (admittedly E46, but still small and neat). Lately I've started to miss my 35mm Summicron v4 again (due to shorter MFD) and I'm very curious about the 50mm Summicron v5 (much thanks to many great pictures here on the forum). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roydonian Posted February 5 Share #19 Posted February 5 In Venice last November, and in Athens a year earlier, most of my pics were taken with a 35mm f/2.8 Summaron. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeitblom Posted February 5 Share #20 Posted February 5 Am 4.2.2025 um 02:22 schrieb lct: I thought the OP was referring to LTM lenses, not M lenses with 39mm filters sorry. LTM lenses with 39mm filters were only a few years available, parallel to the same lenses for the then new M-bayonet. Small LTM lenses before only had diameters for the attachable A-36 filters, some like the famous Elmar 3.5-50mm the very small screw-in filter E19. Beginning Leica photography in 1992 with an used M3, I paid attention when buying also used lenses to the uniform filter size E39. It started with: Summicron-M 2.0-35mm and Elmar-M 4.0-90mm. Later were added: Super-Angulon-M 4.0-21mm, Summicron-M 2.0-50mm, and Tele-Elmar-M 4.0-135mm. 50 and 90mm lenses were the space-saving collapsible versions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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