If you were to have only one Leica lens

If you were to have only one Leica lens

  • 50mm 1.4

    Votes: 246 21.1%

  • 50mm 2.0

    Votes: 158 13.6%

  • 35mm 1.4

    Votes: 350 30.0%

  • 35mm 2.0

    Votes: 240 20.6%

  • 90mm 2.0

    Votes: 5 0.4%

  • 90mm 2.8

    Votes: 3 0.3%

  • 21mm 2.8

    Votes: 3 0.3%

  • 21mm 1.4

    Votes: 18 1.5%

  • 50mm noctilux (any one)

    Votes: 78 6.7%

  • Other (precise below)

    Votes: 64 5.5%
  • Total voters
    1,165
Ronald M said:
Last 50 1.4 ie current , is one outstanding lens. The best 50 I ever used. Heavy and expensive. Last version 50 2.8 same quality, but only 2.8.
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Whoa, I've heard the last 50/2.8 compared to the quality of a current 50/2 Cron but never the current 50/1.4 Lux Asph. 😱

I've always wondered why some would say it's more of a collectible than a user since so many here use and like the old collapsible 50/2 Cron. 😕
 
No love for the new line of summarit? given the price I'll get the 35, 50. VC fast 35 and 50 to complement. Size matters to me
 
Id like to know what my real angle of vision is and then have leica knock me up a summilux aspherical that gives me just that.Im sure it wouldnt cost very much.🙂
 
Good heavens!! Why would I only have one Leica lens?! 😱 The thought alone is making me a little misty. But my favorite lens is the 35mm 1.4 and most useful lens is the Tri Elmar M 28-35-50. Both in a chrome/silver finish, of course. 🙂
 
summicron 35 v4.

super-small, fast enough.

I forgot... very important to me, minimum focus distance 70 cm
 
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Can't imagine having to do with only one Leica lens in the long run, easy to pick on a day to day basis as its what I usually do - one camera and one lens - and work with that. And a lot depends on the camera digital M or film M. I could be happy with any Leica lens I have - really. My photography would just adapt.

I'll alway love my 50 Summicron 3rd version '69', sharp with just the right contrast, compact and super well built, just a fun lens to use on a film camera with B&W.

My new 50 Summilux ASPH is the best all all-rounder on my M9.

But than... ? I've been a 35mm kind of guy for a long time. So the one and only? My 35 Summilux aspherical (1st version) Love the look, sharp, fast and great at any aperture, handles great and just 'does it'.
 
My choice would be b/w the 35mm and 50mm Lux's. Its really a toss up. I chose the 35mm only b/c I can use it as a 35mm FOV on my m6 or as a 50mm on my RD1S with the 1.5X crop, therefore making it more versatile from 35mm-50mm instead of 50mm-75mm if I had chosen the 50mm Lux instead.
 
wlewisiii said:
No question for me: 50/2 Summicron. Collapsible, preferably or else a V1 rigid.

William
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Since then, I've come to really appreciate my Summitar. It has a wide open rendering that reminds me of some of the even older Leica lenses - though not quite to the extent of it, the Summitar can remind me of the Summar. Yet stopped down it can rival the early Summicrons. Both those other lenses will, naturally, beat it at their specialized games - that said, sometimes a Jack-Of-All-Trades can be a really handy thing. I can shoot concerts or landscapes - portraits or street - without having to change the lens. Perhaps a bit of the two foot zoom, but that's a different story ... 😉

I'm also more and more convinced that f2 is the perfect speed for me - more than fast enough with modern film and a far more forgiving DOF slice than a 1.4/1.5 lens will have wide open and let's not mention the superfast lenses, hey? 😱

Right now I do only own one Leica lens and it's that 1949 Summitar and I'm quite content with it. There is a part of me that would like, eventually, to get a Summar & Summicron to go with it but that's gilding the lily to one heavy extreme. 🙂

William
 
Really it is all a question of what is your photographic style. I really like 35 mm lens and use them more than 50 mm lens. But when I review my photos over the past several decades [as I am now digitizing them] it seems that my very best were taken with the 50 mm lens. 50 mm is closest to providing the angle of view that our eyes have and just seems to yield very natural looking photos. I travel very light [usually business combined with some extra personal time] and can't carry much photo equipment. In the past this has always meant my M6 with a 50 mm lens. However, just got a X1 [which has a 36mm lens] because of its smaller size and a lack of worry about how much film to pack. If I were loaded, I get an M9 with 35mm & 90mm lens. But I'm not.
 
After having tried out a 35mm 1.4 Summilux, I will change my vote from Summicron 50/2 to Summilux 35/1.4. There is more flexibility with a 35/1.4 than a 50/2 even when both lenses are superb and classy.
 
Frank Petronio said:
If price is the barrier then get a 40/2 Summicron, the best value ever. Does everything a 35/2 does only for 1/3 the cost.

But yeah, the rectangular hoods brought me into the fold too. Shame they are fairly recent and attach only to expensive lenses. For an expensive lens I would just go for the best, the 35 LUX ASPH. It really is so sharp and resolves so much, while still looking harmonious and not harsh, that it is different than other lenses you'll ever have.
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I love the summicron 40, very nice lens, very cheap and very small. Although I now mostly use the CV Nokton 35/1.4 on my M8 because I have the IR cut filter for it. The summicron 40 is mostly mounted on my m6.
 
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