Would you buy two bodies or better lenses?

[FrozenInTime]

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7 hours ago, Kiwimac said:

Well, I’ve taken at least a partial step and confirmed my Safari 11-P order this morning. 
 

To answer (hopeful I remember all the questions!🤣) the points above:

 

I mostly do travel and documentary style work. I’m beginning what I expect to be a long term social documentary project here in NZ. Not for pay (alas!) but I know that there’s a shortage of images recording daily life so it seemed to me that I could be useful and build a body of work to be left to the National Museum or something when I fall off my perch. 
 

My wife and I don’t seem to travel overseas as much as we did a few years ago - the cost of getting anywhere from NZ has climbed steadily year on year - but we still will travel because we have family spread around the world. 
 

My usual focal lengths are 28,35 and 50. I found the 35 Apo a great lens. I continue to wonder to myself whether 50 and 35 Apo summicrons might be too close though. It sort of feels like 50 Apo with 28 Lux with perhaps something like the 35 Steelrim or the 8 element for a bit of character (there’s a pretty tidy German made 8 element 35 available locally but I’ve never used one myself). I could live with 28/50 until the universe sends me a 35 though, I think  

Looking at images taken with the 35 Apo Cron, I commonly ended up cropping to exclude a border of stuff that added little to the image  so either I wasn’t quite close enough or 50 would suit me better.

 

 Like many of you, I don’t really mess about changing lenses all day; I might carry two and change if I desire but I’d be most likely to do that when I’ve stopped for coffee, lunch etc. 

If you are aiming to present a body of work, a consistent look would likely help. Switching between optically perfect APO lenses, modern ASPH Summiluxes, classic character lenses, colour and monochrome could distract from the message. Even switch between APO/Summicron lenses and the ASPH/Summilux lenses will change the look.

In social situations, there is potential for you to loose the subject attention if you are changing lenses too often, so two bodies for speed, dust reduction and redundancy.

I would aim for two identical cameras and a 28/35 and 50mm set.

[Kiwimac]

1 hour ago, costa43 said:

Another shout out for Voigtlander if you are after a modern lens with the best performance. They are due to release a 28mm APO this year which they state is the highest performing wide lens they have ever made. A bold and exciting claim. Along with the 50mm APO which is pretty much faultless, you could buy both your bodies and have two of the highest performing lenses available in M mount, you just won’t get the Leica badge. I’m a big fan of vintage Leica glass but when I’m chasing pure performance, I cannot justify the crazy difference in price when 3rd party lenses are just as good and in some instances better. 

Bold indeed; it will be interesting to see how it compares to the 28 Lux which is accorded the status of myth almost!

 

[thrid]

I vote for two bodies.

My main issue with having only one M11 body is that I find myself constantly switching between the 35 and 50, which is just an invitation for dirt on the sensor...

I'm not a big fan of traveling without a backup body.

Also, if I ever had to send my M11 in for repair I can kiss it goodbye for a few weeks or months. That's a long time to be without a camera.

I don't have the latest glass, but shooting hand held nullifies a lot of their technical advantages  So, for the moment I'm satisfied with my glass, but the lack of a second body is a real problem.

 

Edited May 10 by thrid

[costa43]

On 5/9/2025 at 9:31 AM, Kiwimac said:

Bold indeed; it will be interesting to see how it compares to the 28 Lux which is accorded the status of myth almost!

 

I would think the VM 28mm APO will outperform the Summilux at every aperture on pretty much every measurable metric. That’s not to say it will be the better lens for everyone but it will definitely be the better corrected one. The 28mm Nokton f1.5 performs very similarly to the Summilux and is significantly smaller and lighter. Fred Miranda has done an excellent comparison comparing not only what is measurable but also the rendering. It’s remarkably similar. 

Edited May 10 by costa43

[Stef63]

3 hours ago, thrid said:

I vote for two bodies.

My main issue with having only one M11 body is that I find myself constantly switching between the 35 and 50, which is just an invitation for dirt on the sensor...

At first, the OP’s dilemma was choosing between two bodies (M11 and M11M) with only one lens, or an M11 with &nbsptwo lenses. So I think the real debate at the start of the topic isn’t about having a backup body versus more lenses, but rather about choosing between a color and a monochrom, or more lenses. But of course, I could be wrong at the moment — maybe his thinking has already changed based on the input in this thread.

Anyway, two bodies and only one lens seems odd to me. 

[Kiwimac]

At the moment it’s one body and two lenses ahead by a furlong. 

[rocheung]

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Lens value last longer!

[kiwidad]

M11 and m10m here

m6 and a roll of color and b&w for comfort 🙂

usually e lens on each digital  - 50 summilux asph and  a summarit 35 or 75.

i feel your pain

[jakontil]

On 5/11/2025 at 4:04 PM, Kiwimac said:

At the moment it’s one body and two lenses ahead by a furlong. 

 

On 5/12/2025 at 10:29 PM, kiwidad said:

M11 and m10m here

m6 and a roll of color and b&w for comfort 🙂

usually e lens on each digital  - 50 summilux asph and  a summarit 35 or 75.

i feel your pain

You guys related? Dang.. thought i was dreaming 😂

anyway, personally i dont like swapping lenses too.. always have more than a body for easy access

[plasticmoz]

while I don’t like swapping either, also having a monochrome and regular M — I like the flexibility of being able to take more shots with either depending on what catches my eye. My APO 50 lives on the mono and using either the 35 or 28 on the regular M gives a ton of flexibility where I’m not thinking about having to swap or just compromising

[Kiwimac]

Now have the two lenses on my desk. 
 

50 Apo (model 11811) and 28 Lux. 

Safari body should turn up this week. 

[ldhrads]

I've had the monochrom versions of the M9 and M10 and when I jumped up to the M11 line I dropped the monochrom and only got a M11-P.  It was a dilemma because I did enjoy shooting the B/W only but I bought a 35 APO instead and I'm very happy.  I will likely jump back in to a monochrom again one day. My lens stable is pretty full now.

[Kiwimac]

7 hours ago, ldhrads said:

I've had the monochrom versions of the M9 and M10 and when I jumped up to the M11 line I dropped the monochrom and only got a M11-P.  It was a dilemma because I did enjoy shooting the B/W only but I bought a 35 APO instead and I'm very happy.  I will likely jump back in to a monochrom again one day. My lens stable is pretty full now.

I seriously considered it. However a stroke of luck managed to get me the Safari and I  decided to opt for that and look for a used Mono in a while. Or possibly a Q43 monochrom if they ever make one.