50mm summicron variations
The 35mm f/2 is something like the second or third smallest lens Leica makes (I believe the smallest is the 28mm f/5.6 lens. The Leica M is tiny compared to many of the DSLR’s that are out there now, my D850 looks like a monster next to my Leica bodies. Spoiler alert: the key to successful street photography is often speed.ģ.) One of the reasons some folks switch to Leica is size. *If your first thought was “why would I turn a Leica into a point and shoot?” then I’d suggest you read up on Leica, street photography, or simply use logic and deduce why the distance scale is so prominent on every. With a 35mm lens you can set your aperture to f/8 and be in focus from about 8 feet in front of you to infinity… In essence you can turn your Leica into a point and shoot.* The longer the focal length the harder it is to use zone or hyperfocal distance focusing. Whether you’re shooting architecture or portraits you don’t have to worry as much about keeping your horizon perfectly level and your subjects don’t look like caricatures when shot up close like they would with wider lenses.Ģ.) Hyperfocal distance or zone focusing is ideal at 35mm. Not convinced? Here’s a handful of reasons the 35mm f/2 lens makes the most sense:ġ.) The Leica 35mm keeps distortion to a minimum compared to the 28mm lens. The focal length of 35mm is one of the most versatile focal lengths available. The Leica M 35mm f/2 Summicron lens is the perfect size, has amazing image quality, and is the perfect focal length for just about any type of photography (that one would reasonably do with a Leica). Now, which lens do I feel confident recommending to anyone who asks which Leica lens they should get? Hands down, it’s the Leica M 35mm f/2 Summicron. Besides, incredibly sharp photographs of boring subject matter is still just boring. If you’re able to put interesting subject matter in front of your lens you’ll worry less about the marginal difference between the sharpest Leica and the sharpest Voigtlander (for example) lens. I’m going to level with you here, image quality isn’t everything. Ignore comments like “you shouldn’t use a Leica without a Leica lens” or “what’s the point of buying a Leica camera and using a seemingly lower quality lens”. The best lens to purchase first, in my humble opinion, is the one you can afford (I’ll make an actual suggestion below, bear with me). Another good reason folks ask which lens to get is that Leica has various models of the same focal length with variations in widest aperture, image quality, size, and price… It can be a little intimidating at first. If you’re going to pay a large amount, what it would cost to buy 3 or more lenses with most other manufacturers, you want to make sure you’re getting the right lens because you may only be able to afford one lens at first. One reason this question gets asked so frequently is the high cost of Leica lenses relative to other manufacturers.
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So which lens do you get first? Or better yet, what if you could only have one lens, which would it be? This question always seems to pop up and the answer is always something like “without knowing what you like to shoot we can’t recommend anything”… But, I feel confident I can recommend an answer to this question that will suit 99.9% of Leica shooters out there.įirst, there are probably many reasons this question gets asked by folks who know it’s a difficult question to answer – without knowing them or their shooting style. Leica makes some incredible lenses, everything from wide-angle masterpieces to telephoto nail drivers.