Next Lens Purchase

[schopke]

I have a question for the forum. I covered a loan to a client. The loan was piad

off today and I have some money I can spend on a new lens. I would like your

advice.

 

I currently have:

50mm Summicron f2.0

50mm Noctilux f1.0 and

90mm Summicron f2.0

 

I would like to purchase either:

35mm Summilux f1.4 or

75 Summilux f1.4

 

I tend to like the telephoto lenses better. I wish I would not have purchased

the 90mm and purchased the 75mm instead. The 75mm is what I would like

but the 35mm somehow makes more sense. If you had either lens and money

was not an object which would it be and why?

[sal_ortega]

Sell the 50 and the 90 'crons and get the 35 and 75 'luxes. Why? I don't

know what your subject interests are but IME the 35 and 75 lenses do just

fine. That leaves the 50 and 90 lenses as dispensable. The 90 was too slow

for me and if you don't have have a 50 general purpose lens, you will find that

the 75 does well as a complement for the 35mm. At one time i had the same 3

lenses you currently own and what I'm recommending are what I presently

have. I have considered selling the Noctilux but- it was my 1st Leica lens,

and in some settings nothing else will do.

[james_.1]

Sell the 50 cron and 90 cron, get both the 35 and 75 luxes (then you'll have what will be my arrangement- when I get my Noct in).

[james_.1]

Whoa...I posted exclusive to the post above me! It's in the stars Rob...

[tim_tan1]

What would be your next len if you already have 35 & 77lux??

 

Tks,

[jamie drouin]

Better yet, save your money. Put away one of those 50mm's and learn to use the two focal lengths you already own. The very fact that you're asking US what your next focal length should be shows that you need to spend some time with your current selection. Not to be harsh, but why confuse things further with yet another piece of glass in your camera bag?<br>

<br>

Best, Jamie.<br>

<br>

jamie drouin : photographs<br>

<a href="http://www.jamiedrouin.com">http://www.jamiedrouin.com</a><br>

[hil3]

Now this question is more like it. What the forum is all about! ;0)

 

Just went through same decision. Got a 135/4 Tele Elmar. I borrowed one for a while and fell in love with it. Easy to focus and great results on my .72 Classic.

 

I happen to like this length, although the 50/2 and the 90/2.8 are my most used lenses (70% and 20% respectively). The 35/2 languishes in the bag until I pull it out for occasional indoor use and a rare landscape.

 

(Spelling alright? Punctuation?)

[john_morris1]

You could do something different and buy the Bronica RF645 kit while the $450 rebate is still in effect. The rebate is also pushing down used prices: KEH has the kit (a body and a 65mm f/4 wide-normal lens), rated "like new minus", for $999. That would be be a good daylight kit to go along with your fast Leica glass.

[john_morris1]

Oh, yeah. I forgot about the punctuation police. Notice that I chose (intentionally) to use the European quotation form.

[kelly_flanigan1]

I would never sell a 50mm Summicron

[kristian dowling]

As much as I love the Summicron, it is a little silly to own both the Noct and Summicron 50, as you'll use the Noct less most likely, and if you use the Summicron less, then there is no point keep it.

 

Sell the 90mm and the Summicron 50 and buy the 35/1.4 Asph and the 75/1.4. A super fast combination that you could do just about anything in any kind of light.

 

Well that's what I'd do if I was you....ohhhh....can I be be you? Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee?

 

Good luck Rob

[tim_gee]

Rob,

I would,

 

1.Buy the 35lux,

 

2.Wait long enough to see if like the majority of us the Noctilux is BIG and HEAVY (for an M system)and very limited in use - albeit a fabulous lens within those limitations, then.....

 

3. Sell the Noctilux and buy the lux 75.

 

You will then have lux35, cron50 (a classic), lux75, cron90. - NOT BAD!

 

One man's opinion, Cheers, Tim

[michael_kastner]

If you already have at least one 50, and a 90 along with it, I'd say forget the 75 and get a 35. 75 is pretty close to 50 and 90, but 35 is farther away from 50. I have a 2/50 and a 2/35 and I use both of them more than anything else (21 and 90). I probably use EACH of my 35 and 50 about 45% of the time.

[doug_hagerman]

If you have 50 and 90, and like longer lenses, you should get a 135. The 75 is a compromise to get the bigger aperture while still not completely obscuring the viewfinder.

[al_kaplan1]

I'm just curious, Rob, but what are your main subjects and how often do you use f/stops in the f/2 to f/1 range? Money has nothing to do with it.

[gerry_szarek]

Rob, sell me the Noct, then you can buy 35 1.4 and the 75 1.4 . Ok seriously, you already have a fast 50, you don't have any wide angle lenses, I would opt for either a 35 or a 28. BTW the 50 Summicron is the sharpest lens out there, if you ever do serious landscape work nothing comes close to it. Also the 35 non asph is not a sharp lens compared to the 50 sum, if you need sharp you will need to spend bucks on either the asph 1.4, or the 35 f2.

 

Gerry

[john_r._fulton_jr.]

And the answer is. Oh, nevermind that.

 

Best advice (imho) is from Jamie. Do nothing. Sell nothing. Buy nothing. Just

shoot for a while. You have some great lenses. Put the money in the bank

until YOU can answer your own question. Shoot three hundred rolls of film

and you'll have a better idea of what you should do. (I'm serious.)

[wind.dk]

I too agree with Jamie, do nothing until you can answer this yourself.

 

But as a side note, why does the 35mm make more sense? Just because you don't have a wide angle? Or because you really feel restricted in your photography by the limited angle of view?

 

If you would rather have the 75 than the 90, presumably because the 90 has too small an angle of view for your liking, then I'd say the 75 makes most sense.

[christoph_frick1]

Buy both the 35mm and the 75mm Summilux -- and by the way, the 35mm Summicron ASPH is also great, not to speak about the 90mm Summicron AA, and now I haven't mentioned yet the 24mm Elmarit . . . Buy all those lenses, german economy needs it! And what about a second (third? fourth?) body?

 

Seriously, I would never sell a 50mm Summicron, but that's me. Those lenses of different focal lengths are so different to me that it is hard to give an advice; one lens can not substitute for another. E.g., I can't imagine using the 75mm Summilux as a substitute for my shooting with the 50mm Summicron (as is sometimes recommended), no way. So there is only one good answer: buy all ;-)

[kevin_jones2]

In my humble opinion (IMHO), unless you are obsessed with owning Leica lenses, the 75mm lens sandwiched between the 50mm and 90mm is focal length overkill. The differences in the focal lengths of those three lenses does not warrant owning all three, again IMHO. A 35mm and 75mm combination is practical or a 28mm/35mm, 50mm and 90mm is also practical. I would opt for the 28mm over the 35mm to provide a broader focal length range. I think of the Noctilux as a luxury... a wonderful lens to use in the right situations but very specialized and not a substitute for the 50mm Summicon.

[jay_.]

Rob, you implied that you could afford either the 35 or 75 without selling anything. So I say, buy the 35, then sell the Noctilux and 90 Summicron and buy the 75 and a 135 APO-Telyt. You'll then have a range of the best Leica has to offer, each twice the focal lenth of the other, with an emphasis on the long end. And you'll have the 50 Cron (*never, ever sell a 50 Cron*)for when you want to go with one light lens.

[albert knapp md]

i would purchase the 35mm ASPH f/1.4 and get to learn all youir

lenses before any further housekeeping is done.