are you a 35mm or a 50mm photographer ?

[JoshuaR]

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1 hour ago, mottykytu said:

How does the rendering of 35mm F 1.4 Steelrim Reissues compare to the LLL 8 element ? both are remake of the original first 35mm Leica M mount, so I really want to know how are they compared.

Others here will be better at describing the differences on a technical level. From my perspective, the New Steel Rim is a better lens, especially because it has more vivid and beautiful color. It also handles flare and strong light better. Perhaps it's the coatings? The pictures it produces look to me to combine "vintage" and "modern," in that certain aspects, like bokeh and field curvature, are old-fashioned, while the general handling of color and contrast feels modern. That's why I like it so much. Of course, there's the whole glow thing at f/1.4. I use that maybe ten times a year, in a deliberate way. Mostly I shoot it at f/2.

The LLL is also excellent. The pictures I got out of it tended, to me, to have more of a genuinely old-fashioned way of handling color and contrast. But that's a feature, not a bug, and I've produced beautiful images with it -- although I do find that it gets washed out in strong light more easily. Back when I owned an M10 Monochrom (now regrettably sold!) I loved to use it with the LLL. Someday I'll get another M10M and the LLL will live on it almost permanently.

If I step back from my lens obsession and just look at the pictures, I'd say: they're both totally awesome vintage-style 35mm lenses and you can't go wrong. When I had the Steel Rim on an M10-R and the LLL on an M10M I was living in my version of 35mm heaven.

New Steel Rim on an M10-R:

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LLL on an M10M:

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[mottykytu]

24 minutes ago, JoshuaR said:

Others here will be better at describing the differences on a technical level. From my perspective, the New Steel Rim is a better lens, especially because it has more vivid and beautiful color. It also handles flare and strong light better. Perhaps it's the coatings? The pictures it produces look to me to combine "vintage" and "modern," in that certain aspects, like bokeh and field curvature, are old-fashioned, while the general handling of color and contrast feels modern. That's why I like it so much. Of course, there's the whole glow thing at f/1.4. I use that maybe ten times a year, in a deliberate way. Mostly I shoot it at f/2.

The LLL is also excellent. The pictures I got out of it tended, to me, to have more of a genuinely old-fashioned way of handling color and contrast. But that's a feature, not a bug, and I've produced beautiful images with it -- although I do find that it gets washed out in strong light more easily. Back when I owned an M10 Monochrom (now regrettably sold!) I loved to use it with the LLL. Someday I'll get another M10M and the LLL will live on it almost permanently.

If I step back from my lens obsession and just look at the pictures, I'd say: they're both totally awesome vintage-style 35mm lenses and you can't go wrong. When I had the Steel Rim on an M10-R and the LLL on an M10M I was living in my version of 35mm heaven.

New Steel Rim on an M10-R:

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!

LLL on an M10M:

Wow, beautiful

Wonder why you use your Steel Rim Reissues so rarely ? because of its size and weight ?

[JoshuaR]

32 minutes ago, mottykytu said:

Wonder why you use your Steel Rim Reissues so rarely ? because of its size and weight ?

Nah, it's a small lens! It's just that I'm more often with 28mm these days.

[Lee S]

35mm, get the right one and it can do everything a 50mm lens can do and more (unless you are a bokeh junkie)

[MAFORLIFE]

35 minutes ago, Lee S said:

35mm, get the right one and it can do everything a 50mm lens can do and more (unless you are a bokeh junkie)

Some 35mm have a more addictive bokeh than some 50s.

[evikne]

Today, I only have two older 35 and 50 mm lenses. If I want some smooth bokeh, I have to go with the 50mm; the 35mm is too busy. But if I had a lens like the 35 APO, I might not need anything else.

But I suspect that I would quite quickly miss the unpredictability and charm of the older lenses.

Edited May 23 by evikne

[mottykytu]

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5 hours ago, Lee S said:

35mm, get the right one and it can do everything a 50mm lens can do and more (unless you are a bokeh junkie)

and by "Right One" you mean ?

[Lee S]

8 hours ago, mottykytu said:

and by "Right One" you mean ?

A very sharp 35mm with minimal focus shift so when you crop in to a 50mm equivalent it’s still sharp. 
 

I’d say 35mm APO Summicron or 35mm Ziess C-Biogon or 35mm APO Lanthar fit the bill.
 

 

Edited May 24 by Lee S

[TheBestSLIsALeicaflex]

When starting with rangefinders in the mid-90's, generally found the 50mm focal length easier to use.  Honestly I just didn't know how to use wide angles lenses.  Only learned how to use them when I went back to SLR's for a decade.  Since returning to a Leica M 7-8 years ago, definitely gravitating more toward the wider angles.  In fact on my last trip I took two film M's and two very different 35mm lenses and really didn't miss a beat.  I could probably very happily live with this just one focal length.  

[Lee S]

17 hours ago, evikne said:

Today, I only have two older 35 and 50 mm lenses. If I want some smooth bokeh, I have to go with the 50mm; the 35mm is too busy. But if I had a lens like the 35 APO, I might not need anything else.

But I suspect that I would quite quickly miss the unpredictability and charm of the older lenses.

I have the 35mm APO but also still love the antithesis of this lens which is my 35mm Nokton Classic. Would never sell either. 

[Abram]

On 5/1/2025 at 10:21 PM, Abram said:

I would say I like 35 and 50 rather equally. At this present time I have just a 35 and a 40, but I'm likely going to be re-adding a 50 back into my kit. I don't like to have too many lenses generally speaking, and I find that I just adapt to whatever I have. 

Historically I have always (and will always) prefer 28/50 as a working pair. But there have been numerous occasions where I have had to simplify to a single lens solution and I almost always will choose a 35mm for that purpose, even if I technically prefer 28 or 50mm. It's just a very versatile lens and so perfectly suited to the M viewfinder. 

As I suspected. I'm back to being a 35 & 50 photographer