jonoslack
Active member
I don't think you'll regret it if you leave your Noctilux at home (you certainly won't leave the 50 APO at home!)
all the best
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leica 50mm apo advantages
- Thread starter gooomz
- Start date
all the best
erick.boileau
Member
I am also mainly using 50mm and 135mmI was thinking I might also sell my 35 summarit and get a 35 summicron asph . Rationalisation!
Apart from the Noct, I'm not really very keen on bigger lenses, and I wouldn't usually shoot a 35 at f1.4 anyway.
Madness - it's all Madness:shocked::banghead:
but yes only madness :loco:
I am not saying that I am "safe" from buying a 50APO Summicron one day - but most 50s I have used so far (50 Summicron, 50 Summilux asph, 50 Summarit and 0.95 Noctilux) are so good that I believe that advantages of the 50AA are more a pixel peeping and mental thing.
Thats why I will continue to try to resist.
Thats why I will continue to try to resist.
jonoslack
Active member
Hi Tom. You're completely safe. Unless you try one for a few days. :chug:
All the best
I dare say, Jono, this is a curious dilemma for you. Sell a 35 FLE! I can see selling the 24/1.4 if seldom used, but the 35! You know why they've let you keep that 50APO for so long? They figured you would have sprung for it by now.
On my MM, my favorites are still the 50APO, Noctilux f1.0 and the 40/2.0. I know, strange bedfellows, but that's my take up to now. As another suggested maybe the 21/1.4 is not so good on the MM. Have not tried that combination as yet as I am too enthralled with R glass usage for the moment.
Wonder about the M now as soon as I get the PP figured out to my liking, then the M9 backup will be replaced with what your contemplating or should I say with what you've ordered.
On my MM, my favorites are still the 50APO, Noctilux f1.0 and the 40/2.0. I know, strange bedfellows, but that's my take up to now. As another suggested maybe the 21/1.4 is not so good on the MM. Have not tried that combination as yet as I am too enthralled with R glass usage for the moment.
Wonder about the M now as soon as I get the PP figured out to my liking, then the M9 backup will be replaced with what your contemplating or should I say with what you've ordered.
ashwinrao1
Active member
I need to stay away from these threads LOL...great comments...lots of great lenses being discussed. I have expanded and contracted, and the 50 AA is on my dream list, though like Jono, I'd have to consider giving something substantial up (likely my FLE 35 and 50 lux asph) to get it, and I'm not sure that the exhance is worth it for me.....tough choices.
Why? I own the Summicron, but Puts actually rated the Summarit higher (of course if one doesn't need the extra half stop).
Jeff
douglasf13
New member
I'd imagine that the extra speed would be most shooter's reason for choosing the Summicron. That's why I bought the Summicron over the Summarit and C-Biogon.
It means shooting without filters.
jonoslack
Active member
Hi Jeff
As Douglas says - speed - but maybe you're right - I've always liked the summarit.
At any rate, I don't need a 35 'lux so much, and I do need a 50 Apo so soooo much
scott kirkpatrick
Well-known member
I'm in the process of turning my 35 Summicron into a 35 FLE Summilux. That's not so large and a better lens at all apertures (I hope). and I found a good deal. But the 21/1.4 is starting to feel like a millstone, since I got the 21/3.4 SE. It might pay for something really nice. R lenses? So far just a 60/2.8 macro. Hope I can resist further investment in rarely used super-long lenses. Of course, it would be nice if my M waited just a few months more for my bank balance to recover...
scott
I sometimes feel the siren call of the 50 APO but, if I'm honest with myself, it is not really for photographic reasons. I like nice things and a lens that is Leica's best effort at producing a 50 (and built to a standard and not to a price) seems like a particularly "nice" thing to own and use. However, like Jono and others, I don't feel too comfortable buying it without selling a lens or two and I've bought and sold so many M lenses over the years (e.g. I've owned and sold three 35 Summicrons and I'm on my third 35 Summilux) that I've finally learned it is a very bad idea. Juggling lenses has been educational I suppose but it has rarely done anything much for my photography and has done much harm to my bank balance.
All that said, Jono, I think it is perfectly reasonable to sell a 35mm if you have two and shoot mainly with a 50mm but IMO it will be a serious mistake to sell the 35 FLE. IMO it is the perfect single lens to use on a Leica M. It is so sharp when/where you want it to be but, like all the great Leica lenses, still has loads of "mojo" (field curvature and all the other stuff that keeps Tim Ashley awake at night). I also have the Summarit and agree it's a very fine lens but I wouldn't keep mine ahead of my Summilux (in fact I might sell my Summarit and put it towards something else).
All that said, Jono, I think it is perfectly reasonable to sell a 35mm if you have two and shoot mainly with a 50mm but IMO it will be a serious mistake to sell the 35 FLE. IMO it is the perfect single lens to use on a Leica M. It is so sharp when/where you want it to be but, like all the great Leica lenses, still has loads of "mojo" (field curvature and all the other stuff that keeps Tim Ashley awake at night). I also have the Summarit and agree it's a very fine lens but I wouldn't keep mine ahead of my Summilux (in fact I might sell my Summarit and put it towards something else
).True, tough choices, but at least we have many choices. Why not just give up all 50's and 35's and get the 40/2.0 cron for $500. In this way the M choice might appear! :chug::grin::bugeyes:
Not so crazy an idea. Sometimes less really is more.
jonoslack
Active member
Hi There IanI sometimes feel the siren call of the 50 APO but, if I'm honest with myself, it is not really for photographic reasons. I like nice things and a lens that is Leica's best effort at producing a 50 (and built to a standard and not to a price) seems like a particularly "nice" thing to own and use. However, like Jono and others, I don't feel too comfortable buying it without selling a lens or two and I've bought and sold so many M lenses over the years (e.g. I've owned and sold three 35 Summicrons and I'm on my third 35 Summilux) that I've finally learned it is a very bad idea. Juggling lenses has been educational I suppose but it has rarely done anything much for my photography and has done much harm to my bank balance.
All that said, Jono, I think it is perfectly reasonable to sell a 35mm if you have two and shoot mainly with a 50mm but IMO it will be a serious mistake to sell the 35 FLE. IMO it is the perfect single lens to use on a Leica M. It is so sharp when/where you want it to be but, like all the great Leica lenses, still has loads of "mojo" (field curvature and all the other stuff that keeps Tim Ashley awake at night). I also have the Summarit and agree it's a very fine lens but I wouldn't keep mine ahead of my Summilux (in fact I might sell my Summarit and put it towards something else
Thank you - sensible - I'm sure I'd regret selling the 35 FLE - the 24 less (it's too big).
I've sold lenses in the past and almost always regretted it . . .
I sold a MATE as I didn't like the focal lengths on the M8, then bought it again when the M9 came out - that time I didn't like the image quality!
Other than that it's always been a mistake.
Anyway, I've got the borrowed 50 apo for the China trip, so I shouldn't complain. hmmmm maybe I'll sell my 28-90 R lens :bugeyes:
:shocked:Yes it is nice to be able to use a product that's epitomizes the cumulative knowledge of a companies expertise in optics for so many decades, developed without constraints of a price point (assuming one has the funds for such a product). I realize some other lenses might come close but that's why we pay so much more to for that last 10-15% in performance. With that said, the current Zeiss ZM 50mm f2.0 does give the new 50mm AA a run for it's money at a fraction of it's cost.I sometimes feel the siren call of the 50 APO but, if I'm honest with myself, it is not really for photographic reasons. I like nice things and a lens that is Leica's best effort at producing a 50 (and built to a standard and not to a price) seems like a particularly "nice" thing to own and use. However, like Jono and others, I don't feel too comfortable buying it without selling a lens or two and I've bought and sold so many M lenses over the years (e.g. I've owned and sold three 35 Summicrons and I'm on my third 35 Summilux) that I've finally learned it is a very bad idea. Juggling lenses has been educational I suppose but it has rarely done anything much for my photography and has done much harm to my bank balance.
All that said, Jono, I think it is perfectly reasonable to sell a 35mm if you have two and shoot mainly with a 50mm but IMO it will be a serious mistake to sell the 35 FLE. IMO it is the perfect single lens to use on a Leica M. It is so sharp when/where you want it to be but, like all the great Leica lenses, still has loads of "mojo" (field curvature and all the other stuff that keeps Tim Ashley awake at night). I also have the Summarit and agree it's a very fine lens but I wouldn't keep mine ahead of my Summilux (in fact I might sell my Summarit and put it towards something else
As for the 35mm Lux FLE, few will argue it's optical performance is exceptional and in absolute terms of sharpness across the frame under all settings, is superior to it"s predecessor, yet some like myself feel it lost a little something in character and the way it draws, including OOF presentation of a variety of subjects/backgrounds, especially when secular highlights are involved.
I know more than a few that eventually sold it in favor of other alternatives. As for curvature, the Lux asph pre FLE has it in spades, compared to the FLE...so the ideal one lens only Leica M digital with a focal length of 35mm, is always up for debate as to which 35mm?
Like always, even as sensors improve and they put demands on our optics, the choice often comes down to either optical "near" perfection or accept lens aberrations, that often add character to an image. Sometimes a lens has just the right amount of both, and then is considered an optical gem. Trouble is, those are the lenses that for better or worse often break the bank
Dave (D&A)
douglasf13
New member
Yeah, I struggled a bit on finding a 35mm lens that I like. The ZM 35/2 is nice, but a bit large. The ZM 35/2.8 is a great size, but slow. I liked the 35/1.2 Nokton II, but it was relatively huge. The 35/2 IV was a perfect size and weight, but not exactly what I wanted, optically. The 35/1.4 FLE looks great, but it's also pretty large in comparison to the 35/2 IV, and it is pretty expensive. The 35/2.5 looks great, but a little slow for me...etc...etc.
I ended up with the 35/2 ASPH as a compromise of all factors, and I've been happy with it, so far. If the size was out of the equation, I'd likely go 35/1.4 FLE, but the 35/2 ASPH is already pushing it in size for my everyday lens.
Back to the topic of the 50mm AA, I'd certainly love that lens, but I can't quite get there on the price, as perfect as it looks.
I ended up with the 35/2 ASPH as a compromise of all factors, and I've been happy with it, so far. If the size was out of the equation, I'd likely go 35/1.4 FLE, but the 35/2 ASPH is already pushing it in size for my everyday lens.
Back to the topic of the 50mm AA, I'd certainly love that lens, but I can't quite get there on the price, as perfect as it looks.
innerimager
Member
I have a 50 lux asph, V4 pre asph and an F1 Nocti. I'm thinking I'll sell the 2 luxes and get the AA and have a killer modern 50 and a "look" 50 F1.