p.1 #1 · The ultimate 35mm one-and-done lens in M mount
I was noodling about this - if you could only have one (1) Leica M-mount lens (to use on your film or digital M, SL, whatever platform you use) many of us often land on a 35mm as a happy compromise. Not too wide, not too much compression.
So if you could only own and use a single 35mm M-mount lens, which would it be? Think not only about center-sharpness, mechanical quality and operations, bokeh, but also character, value, etc?
I tried to make the list above longer, but it didn't work for some reason so I couldn't fit Thypoch, Zeiss and many other options, so I just grouped those under Option 5: Other
p.1 #5 · The ultimate 35mm one-and-done lens in M mount
LLL AA since it’s got the smoother bokeh of the pre-FLE but no focus shift, with a modern look that has a bit of character wide open for a beautiful optical signature. The aperture blades make regular polygons from f/1.4 to f/3.5, which isn’t ideal but ok for me, and an improvement over some other options. Very low distortion. Great ergonomics and build quality, and I like the big 90s style hood.
p.1 #6 · The ultimate 35mm one-and-done lens in M mount
The 35mm 1.2 Noctilux is mine. It's a cliché but its a 2 in one, do anything lens...just the right amount of ethereal character wide open and pin sharp stopped down. There's just not many of them out there at the moment to build a reputation I think, plus it's expensive which limits the audience.
p.1 #9 · The ultimate 35mm one-and-done lens in M mount
brvhrt wrote:
The 35mm 1.2 Noctilux is mine. It's a cliché but its a 2 in one, do anything lens...just the right amount of ethereal character wide open and pin sharp stopped down. There's just not many of them out there at the moment to build a reputation I think, plus it's expensive which limits the audience.
I think this would be my top choice, but I cannot justify the spend :-)
p.1 #14 · The ultimate 35mm one-and-done lens in M mount
While the stratospherically priced f/1.2 Noct would be the dream, your list misses the two that I would choose, if I were being more realistic:
35/2 APO Cron - stellar sharpness and renders with arguably more character than the FLE. I particularly liked this lens when shooting BW on the M9
35/1.4 Lux pre-ASPH: character galore and beautiful overall rendering. I probably wouldn’t shoot landscapes with it, but everything else. The ZM Distagon is probably the more practical choice
p.1 #18 · The ultimate 35mm one-and-done lens in M mount
Grenache wrote:
While the stratospherically priced f/1.2 Noct would be the dream, your list misses the two that I would choose, if I were being more realistic:
35/2 APO Cron - stellar sharpness and renders with arguably more character than the FLE. I particularly liked this lens when shooting BW on the M9
…
Jim
This is my choice too. I think the most character of the 35mm APO is that falloff is so immediate, and that you can position objects to the edge - and renders in such a timeless way on the overall image. This one and the 50mm APO are alternatively/permanently on my M9. I have the LLL and it deserves a seat at the table.
p.1 #19 · The ultimate 35mm one-and-done lens in M mount
I find 35mm FL to be jack of all trades / master of none. Would go 28mm or 40mm instead.
Goals: short length to comfortably fit into a jacket pocket while mounted, fast and intuitive ergonomics for street, modern coating and good contrast in harsh lighting.
Non-goals: fast aperture, sharpness, colour rendition, APO level correction.
Current favourites: TTA 28mm f/5.6, late Elmar-M 50mm f/2.8.
In 35mm VM f/3.5 Color Skopar could be the top candidate. Not sure if they render similar, but I've got the similar looking 40mm f/2.8 and it is a gem, both handling and optics.
