JMPerona wrote:
So much incredible photos here and so much to choose from. my dream is to have a complete Leica setup. Yes, I know its a little bit dumb if there are nearly as good lenses as the Leica's for less, but well, choosing Leica in first place wasn't either a logical choice.
I will play with the Ultron first and save for a Summitron. But I also need to add a 28mm and a portrait lens (Which one?).
If you're really set on Leica, but not finding a Summicron 35 that's priced nicely, you could go for the Summicron 40/2. You don't get frame lines for 40, so you'll either got to frame it as a narrow 35 or a wide 50, but it's got a lot to offer in the way of the classic draw.
For the other two, assuming you're looking for he same "classic Leica" you're looking for in the 35, there's the Elmarit 28/2.8 vIII or the original Summicron 28/2 and either the Summicron 90/2 pre-A or the Summarit 75/2.5 (or 2.4- it's the same lens relabeled). All of those have some undercorrected SA at wide apertures that keeps them from being resolution powerhouses, but they do get there stopped down. If you're willing to look outside the brand, the CV Ultron 28/2 and Ultron 75/1.9 have a lot to offer.
raizans wrote:
The LLL 8-element, Peace Optics Steel Rim, and Nokton 1.4 Classic S.C. are great character lenses.
I completely agree with the first two, owning them and the third I haven't ever used but hear excellent things about its rendering and I believe Fred has compared the Nokton to the Leica 35mm f1.4 pre asph re-issue and noted their differences.
The LLL 8-element is a gem and I found it closely emulates the original Leica 8E which I owned for a time and is one of my all-time favorite lenses. The Peace lens actually compares quite closely to the Leica 35mm f1.4 pre asph re-issue, but wide open has lower contrast and only when the contrast level is increased in post postprocessing, does it become amazingly close to the Leica re-issue. A trio of excellent reasonably priced lenses that perform exceptionally well.
An awful lot of great options for a character 35mm on M.
I'm not shooting native M so my needs are not the same, but in my experience (having used a variety of M or LTM 35mm lenses-
Underdog: Canon 35/2 LTM. These can be had cheap ($150-$200 on the low end) but are often hard to find without haze, fungus, oil on blades or other issues. Character lens for sure, but it's called the Japanese Summicron for a reason. Only REAL downside is the long MFD of LTM.
Almost underdog- Minolta 40/2 M-Rokkor. These aren't as cheap as they used to be, but they're an absolutely lovely little lens. Very pleasing image character.
Modern bargains- Voigt 35/1.4 (used) is loaded with character, sharpens up a lot stopped down. Mandler 35/2 cron V4 clone may catch some hate, but it's awesome; I only sold mine because I don't like fiddling with adapters. Artizlab looks very interesting in this segment also, although I don't have personal experience with it.
The Voigt 35/2 (latest version) looks fantastic, although I personally hate the chrome ring they put on so many of their lenses.
LLL 8 element looks great, but hasn't the price crept up a lot since they were first available? I feel like a lot of the initial reason to consider LLL was the price, but it's become much less so these days. For what this lens pulls, I would just drop a little more and get their new 35/1.4 AA, which looks fantastic IMO.
The Summarit looks like a complete waste of time and money- such an expensive compromise, why buy a modern and relatively slow Leica lens for as much or more than an older Leica lens with more character and faster max aperture?
my opinion, get a good used copy of Summicron 35 APO and shoot primarily at its widest aperture of f2. none of the other lenses cited above will match its beauty and magic.
brick33308 wrote:
my opinion, get a good used copy of Summicron 35 APO and shoot primarily at its widest aperture of f2. none of the other lenses cited above will match its beauty and magic.
But compared to all the other lenses mentioned, the APO-Summicron is still the one with the least character…
I've read your posts on this thread and see your preference with more clarity now: you're less concerned with ultimate resolution and contrast, and more interested in lenses that perform well while giving personality in the rendering. Your initial choices (35/2 Cron or CV 35/2 Ultron) won't give you tha as they are modern, high-performance designs.
If you want to stick with f/2, I would recommend the Leica 35/2 "8-Element", or, if you're on a budget, the excellent Light Lens Lab 35/2 8-Element, which is a faithful replica of the Leica. If you prefer a faster lens, the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton is great, but for a bit of extra glow wide open, the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux "Pre-asph" is hard to beat.
That said, if I could keep only one 35mm lens, it would be the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Lux FLE.
ISO1600 wrote:
The Summarit looks like a complete waste of time and money- such an expensive compromise, why buy a modern and relatively slow Leica lens for as much or more than an older Leica lens with more character and faster max aperture?
Of course what is preferred is in the end all subjective - but I wouldn't label the 35/2.4 as "waste of time and money". It is actually one of my most used M lenses - and I own quite a few! - and I prefer it over the Leica 35/2.0 Vers. IV lens which I also have. Both lenses exhibit a very different rendering. The one of the 35/2.4 is very smooth combined with excellent sharpness and contrast wide open without much of any corner vignetting wide open (the 35/2.0 Vers. IV has stronger vignetting in the corners wide open). Regarding exposure stops, I don't see much (if any) of a difference in shutter speed between both lenses either - IMO the 0.4 stops are nearly negligible.
Leica M-E 240, Leica 35/2.4 Summarit-M lens at f/2.4
brick33308 wrote:
my opinion, get a good used copy of Summicron 35 APO and shoot primarily at its widest aperture of f2. none of the other lenses cited above will match its beauty and magic.
Yeah, I was gonna say a clean copy the the FLE. The 35 APO absolutely has "character" insofar as you can look at an image made with that lens and pretty well know that the APO captured it.
I adore my 50 APO, but sometimes I wish it were faster... In any case, clean used copies of the FLE are cheap enough that it's worth buying, and that lens makes stunning images.
Fred Miranda wrote:
I've read your posts on this thread and see your preference with more clarity now: you're less concerned with ultimate resolution and contrast, and more interested in lenses that perform well while giving personality in the rendering. Your initial choices (35/2 Cron or CV 35/2 Ultron) won't give you tha as they are modern, high-performance designs.
If you want to stick with f/2, I would recommend the Leica 35/2 "8-Element", or, if you're on a budget, the excellent Light Lens Lab 35/2 8-Element, which is a faithful replica of the Leica. If you prefer a faster lens, the Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton is great, but for a bit of extra glow wide open, the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux "Pre-asph" is hard to beat.
That said, if I could keep only one 35mm lens, it would be the Leica 35mm f/1.4 Lux FLE....Show more →
Well, I think I will try the Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f2 for now, and save for maybe a Voigtlander 35mm f1.4, the LLL lens or maybe my first summilux lens. I would also like to get a 28mm and a (maybe) 75mm or 90mm for portraits.
Any suggestions about the 28mm and the "portrait " lens?
JMPerona wrote:
Well, I think I will try the Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f2 for now, and save for maybe a Voigtlander 35mm f1.4, the LLL lens or maybe my first summilux lens. I would also like to get a 28mm and a (maybe) 75mm or 90mm for portraits.
Any suggestions about the 28mm and the "portrait " lens?
Since you're just getting started, I would suggest a solid 50mm instead of a dedicated "portrait" focal length. 50mm provides enough field compression for portraits and comes with a "natural" FOV that makes it versatile. The 11891 is quite affordable on the used market and can be considered a modern classic.
28mm? I got nothing... 28mm is what I consider a "junk" length, but that's just me. Lots of people like the Elmarit ASPH.
The Zeiss 35 2.8 is wicked sharp but I wouldn’t say it’s a character lens. Still a killer lens for an M240. Ditto to the above that noted the VC 40 1.4 SC. Fun little lens and character.
I have now been trying the Voigtlander Ultron f2 and I like it, but it still doenst scratch that itch and I contune wondering about that summilux or summilux alternative that I could have instead.
The summilux 35mm f1.4 FLE is in my radar, but man it's expensive. I'm not even sure if paying for a leica lens nowadays is even worth it, having all the voigtlander, etc. so close in quality to them for a fraction of the price. On the other side, maybe, if I don't take the step for the summilux, I will continue buying cheaper alternative until, in the end, buy the real deal, more expensive that if I just have bought it in the beginning.
