Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/09/18

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: Re: [Leica] 35mm, 90mm, and now 50 mm?
From: Guy Bennett <guybnt@idt.net>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2000 12:10:50 +0100

>In January I bought a new Leica M6 TTL in chrome together with a 35mm
>asph.-Summicron, which I mainly use for travel photography.
>
>[snip]
>
>Now I think about buying a 50mm lens. But which one?
>
>[snip]
>
>Which one would be your choice, if you had a 35mm-Summicron and a
>90mm-Elmarit?
>
>Bego


bego,

i've got the same set up (though i bought the 50 first), and opted for the
summicron.

my reasoning was pretty much the same as yours - noctilux too expensive,
would love to have the extra stop of the summilux but not willing to pay
$1000 for it, liked the collapsability of the elmar but couldn't live with
the 2.8edness of that lens - in short, the summicron seemed perfect.

i still feel that way about that lens. it is the best 50 i have ever used:
it's beautifully sharp and contrasty wide open (which is how i almost
always use it), has gorgeous bokeh (apologies to the lexical nationalists
among us), and it's inexpensive compared to just about all other leica
lenses.

my one regret: the extensible lens hood, which i'd like to see replaced by
one of the old-style 'saturnian ring' hoods, but that's a relatively minor
point in an otherwise wonderful lens.

guy