[Leica] Re: Need Lens advice, please help!

[drodgers@nextlink.net]

Mark

You wrote.

>>If I had to do it again I would not change a thing but make it happen
quicker. I had the 50 alone on my camara today everywhere I went.<<

If I had to do it all over again I think the 50 would be my first purchase, too,
with an edge to 50 Summilux over a Summicron.

The 50 Summilux is not too big. It has enough mass to add to camera steadiness,
but it's not too heavy. It's a great low light lens. I use it wide open with no
complaints. Obviously it's a little softer at f1.4 than at f4, but it's
certainly adquate. It a great lens stopped down in plenty of light. I find it a
very good compromise between a Noct and a Summicron. My craving for a Noct (and
a 35/1.4 Asph) has decreased dramatically since I acquired the 50 Summilux. I
sold my 50/2 Summicron.

I use the 50 Summilux all the time. I've hardly used my 35/2 Summicron M since I
bought the 50 Summilux about a year ago. Sometimes I'll use a new lens a lot,
and then revert back after the novelty wears off. That hasn't happened with the
50/1.4 Summilux.

The 50mm focal length is very versatile. Versus the 35 you gain the ability to
photograph slightly tighter portaits, while you lose a little quickness. After
all, dof is slightly more narrow with 50 vs 35, and a smaller coverage area
makes framing a bit slower. For those reasons I think a 50 may be a little more
difficult to use. But I'd rather carry a 50 alone, than a 35 and 90. Plus, I'm a
big fan of the 28/2.8 Elmarit, when wider coverage is needed. That would be my
second lens. And the 21 my third.

No surprise that combination of M lenses I've settled on is the 50/1.4, 28/2.8
and 21/2.8. When the light is good I use all three about equally. But when the
light is low the 50 is always on the camera.

Dave