Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/04/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]paul@research.att.com (Paul Krzyzanowski) wrote: >The next bit of advice that I'd appreciate concerns lenses: I'd like >to get a 35mm Summicron lens. There was some discussion a while back >favoring the old 8 element Summicron. Are there any 35mm lenses that >I should strongly prefer over others? Are there any to avoid? >I won't even think about getting the aspheric Summilux, but are other >35 Summilux lenses worth considering (the price range appears to be >almost the same as for Summicrons)? My advice is: go for the 1.4 Summilux Aspheric. OK, I know it's more money. But the whole point of an M-series Leica is that it's a camera for life. So buy the best, and enjoy it. My mk.2 aspheric I would say performs better at f/1.4 than anything I've ever experienced from Contax, Nikon or Canon and is probably at least the equal of the Summicron's performance at f/2.8. At middle apertures - say f/5.6-8 - it is so crisp, contrasty and even in illumination it's untrue. I've just this morning received back a dozen rolls of Sensia shot around Whitby on England's North Yorkshire coast, where I went to view the inspiring photographs of he Victorian Frank Meadow Sutcliffe and to capture the atmosphere of the fishing port in my own way, and the luminosity and colour clarity of the results makes me feel that every penny of the price was well spent.