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35mm Summilux FLE - No Buyers Remorse

weinschela

Subscriber Member
Sometimes after you spend a lot of money on something, you get these pangs of buyer remorse ("gee, should I have spent all that money?").

After selling my last version Summilux ASPH and waiting for 4 months, I was called by my dealer to pick up my 35 Summilux FLE. I really wanted this lens but was not prepared to overpay just to have it, nor was I buying it to resell at a profit. I just wanted to use it. So I just waited patiently and so far, from what I have seen (and this is admittedly subjective) it is astoundingly sharp ("astoundingly" is a well-known scientific term), and no remorse on this one.

If you have it on order, my advice is stay in the queue.
 

ramosa

Member
Allan,

Good to hear you're happy. I'm torn between the new and old 35 Lux asph. Are you happy with the new one's OOF rendering?

R
 

thrice

Active member
Definitely get the old lux asph if you want better bokeh :D *hopes you're in his waiting list*
 

weinschela

Subscriber Member
Allan,

Good to hear you're happy. I'm torn between the new and old 35 Lux asph. Are you happy with the new one's OOF rendering?

R
The bokeh looks fine to me but I'm not a big bokeh freak. I know there are lenses touted as "bokeh king" but to me no Leica lens has really bad bokeh and to me the differences are not important (other than the Noctilux (I don't have one) which seems to be unique).

Since I no longer have the older lens, I'd have to go back to my archives to find some images with the last version asph and then try to make a comparison (which almost by definition could not be apples to apples). Probably better to ask someone who still has both versions (not clear to me why someone would do this, but maybe old lens not sold yet) and do a side by side comparison.
 

ashwinrao1

Active member
Congrats. I would summarize by suggesting that the old lux asph has better bokeh, but the new FLE is a better all arounder.....sharp, more predictable with focus. The old one is magic too though, so don't discount it....at times, I wish I had that one, but I look at my FLE and say, nah...never mind...
 

Peter Klein

New member
I have the old one, and I've learned to work around the slight focus shift. If I had the new one, I'm sure I'd be happy with it, too.

Since I bought mine before Leica lens prices went stratospheric, I'm sticking with what I've got for now. If I were to spend that kind of money, it would probably be on a 50 'Lux Asph, if I go with a full frame M body in the future.
 

CharlesK

New member
Congrats Alan! I previously had the 35 Cron Asph, and needed the 35 Lux FLE for low light shooting, and I have not been disappointed. I cannot compare it to the previous version, but the 35 Lux FLE just works brilliantly. It focuses great, sharp when you need it but great rendering for environmental portraits at f/1.4 - 2.8, and great for landscapes too.
 

ronjh

Member
I've had the 35 FLE twice now and only sold it to finance other purchases. IMHO, it's an outstanding lens in every important way. I just got put on a waiting list again today for it. I'm no rush though because I'm also playing around with the Nokton 35 1.2 version ll as a stop gap measure but I wouldn't be at all be disatisfied keeping it. At 1,300.00 the Nokton you save quite a bit. I think it can more or less hold its own compared to the Leica 35 FLE. And had I never shot with the 35 FLE, I probably wouldn't think that I was missing anything at all. To my way of seeing, the Leica 35 FLE has little bit more of that something special, just like the .95 nocti does. Don't really need the 35 FLE, but have always truly enjoyed shooting with it. That being said, the nokton represents great value overall, and I don't think anyone would regret owning it.
 

JWW

Member
Yes, never had any hint of buyer's remorse on this lens. I sold the older lux asph when I bought this one, when it first came out, and it's the lens I use the most. Besides the focus shift issue, I like the construction of the new hood way better and I haven't noticed any negatives with the bokeh. If I was wanting to shoot good or unique bokeh, i would grab the Nocti or 75 lux instead anyways.
 
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