Stop me before I purchase again . . . !

Benjamin Marks

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I have a perfectly fine 35 Summicron Asph, a 35/2 Biogon and a very nice 35/1.2 Nockton. But those pre-asph 35 Summicrons have been calling to me . . . someone stop me before I buy again!

I actually owned one of these Canadian lenses in the mid-nineties and always regretted selling it. As a group of world-class photo-enablers, I'm sure there is someone here who can talk me off the ledge.

Only semi-in jest,

Ben Marks
 
So you NEED to buy another 35 eh. Just buy a Jupiter 12 and have some fun comparing them. Quality and price of course :)
 
....
I'm sure there is someone here who can talk me off the ledge.

Only semi-in jest,

Ben Marks

There is no "semi-" involved. If this is not a full-out ha-ha jest, let's just put it this way, "Man, are you ever in the wrong place!" ;)

Of course you neeed another lens! You don't even have a dozen yet!
 
Januaryman: yes, I need a photographic lens 12 step program. I actually had a J-12 in the early 90's too, long before digital was a gleam in my eye. The thing that actually set me off was how compact the 40 Summicron is. It is just such a nice size . . . reminded me of the 35/2 of days gone by. Don't get me wrong, the Asph version of this lens is plenty sharp -- but the old 35 Cron III's and IV's hit some kind of ergonomic golden mean.

Ben
 
Let me show you some of my bad photos of Ver IV, guess this will calm you down to be more rationale

LilyFarm3.jpg


Dancer.jpg


Mom1.jpg


Jump.jpg
 
gcsk76: Oh, NOW, I'm plenty calm. I really like the picture of the dance students. My wife and kids were in Taibei for about 4 months last year, while she was doing research at the Academia Sinica. I visited for about three weeks in the middle of their trip. Great food! and lots of photos. - Ben
 
gcsk76: Oh, NOW, I'm plenty calm. I really like the picture of the dance students. My wife and kids were in Taibei for about 4 months last year, while she was doing research at the Academia Sinica. I visited for about three weeks in the middle of their trip. Great food! and lots of photos. - Ben

Next time you in town, we can arrange for a meet up.

Good luck with your quest for Pre-a ;)
 
You are a sick man and a victim of obsession. Reminds me of girls my age who absolutely have to buy a different designer handbag for absolutely every occasion, or else they will die. Good luck to you.
 
I have a perfectly fine 35 Summicron Asph, a 35/2 Biogon and a very nice 35/1.2 Nockton. But those pre-asph 35 Summicrons have been calling to me . . . someone stop me before I buy again!

Ben, I may sound like the bad guy here, but would you listen (or read) to yourself. You have *three* 35mm lenses. Top-notch ones!

If those are not enough for you, adding another one won't be either.

Instead, come, join me and a few others in the "one M-body, one lens" journey. One rule: You can always upgrade, but not accumulate, which means all the fun, none of the guilt ;)
 
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Filmfan: Just the sort of support I was looking for! Well said. Will, it is a beautiful idea. I forbid you from communicating it to my friends and family. ;)

Ben Marks
 
I have a perfectly fine 35 Summicron Asph, a 35/2 Biogon and a very nice 35/1.2 Nockton. But those pre-asph 35 Summicrons have been calling to me . . . someone stop me before I buy again!

Go ahead and buy the blooming thing if it will make you happy.

It will obviously improve your photos immensely, as well as enabling you to carry out 'lens tests' of photos of your cat in the back yard.


[And you have a Nokton, not a Nockton anyway.]
 
I have a 35 1.2 nokton and the 35mm pre asph. There's no huge difference at f2 other than size. And the 35 asph cron is sharper than a razor blade. There's no need to buy another lens.
 
The term "need" does not apply here! It is all about wanting to have it. I have a large cache of M2's and i still picked up another one recently. The rational was a/ it was cheap ($650), b/ it was a Leica motor ready one with the built in switches and contacts and c/it had been serviced recently!
Now, I do not own a motor (rare and expensive and supremely unreliable - my last one never finished a roll beyond 24 exposures). It is in my bag as we speak - with a 35 on it - as most of my M2's have. A bit "gravelly" advance as the gears in the motor ready M2's were replaced with hardened steel gears to take the extra load.
My advice is simply - buy the lens and enjoy it. Worst comes to worst - you can always resell it for about what you paid for it - or a minor loss. If you dont do it - you will spend sleepless nights tossing and turning wondering why you didn't do it!
 
Are you married? Your wife could probably talk you out of it. If you are not married, talk to a woman who thinks that photography is kind of dumb.
 
I have way too many 50's, but only one 35: Summaron f3.5 LTM. so gues am still allowed to accumulate one Nokton f1.4 :) been lurking for Biogons too but think even used ones go beyond my budget at the moment.
 
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