Im gathering a pile of money to buy an M6 and i cant deside between the noct and a summilux-M? What about summicron 50mm. Any comments?

-- tommi pirnes (tommi.pirnes@perkinelmer.com), October 30, 2001

Answers

Personally I would buy a Summicron 50 any day to the Summilux 50 for two reasons: cost and overall better optical performance, except at f1.4 of course. A Noctilux would be nice as a specialist lens to add to your collection later on but I don't think it is a good choice as a first lens.

A good case could be made for making your first lens a 35mm Asph Summicron or 35mm Asph Summilux as well; both of these lenses are optically superb.

-- sam smith (Ruy_Lopez@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

by saying Summicron 50mm optically better than the Summilux 50mm is a little premature, jsut because you can not afford the lux, that does not mean the cron is better.

-- jac Ja (jacocoja@aol.com), October 30, 2001.

I can afford a Summilux, however I would still buy the Summicron (and did) because of it's outstanding optical performance.

-- sam smith (Ruy_Lopez@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

Between the 'Lux and the 'Cron, I also preferred the 'Cron's imaging character. If I could have afforded a Noctilust, I'd have gone for it instead, but unless you're willing to carry a huge hunk o glass that costs a serious bunch, I'd put it as a secondary purchase.

If I'd bought the 'Lux, well, 1 stop aint gonna be worth the huge extra bux. But having bought the 'Cron, heck, 2 stops is worth $2600, right?

Godfrey

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), October 30, 2001.

If you need the speed buy one of the faster lenses. The Noctilux is quite a handful, a Summilux less so. The Summicron is the 50mm reference lens; all other 50's are compared to it. I use a 50 Summicron, and would recommend it highly. The question is does it fit your needs? Only you can determine the answer. I suggest that you borrow or rent these lenses and make a comparison.

-- David (pagedt@attglobal.net), October 30, 2001.

Between the Summilux and the Noctilux, I'd choose the f/1.0 lens. If I didn't want to carry the Noctilux, I'd get a Nokton and put the extra cash towards a 90.

-- John O'Connell (boywonderiloveyou@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

I'd say the best 50 for you to buy as your first lens would be a 2/35 or 1.4/35 (get the 1.4 here only if you don't like fast film). The second lens to buy would be the 2/50 (there are about a dozen postings on this topic). I'd buy a Nocti as my eigth or ninth lens.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 30, 2001.

If you can find a good Summicron Dual Range, try it! It works wery well!

-- Marco Battelli (mbattelli@libero.it), October 30, 2001.

I just bought a new style Summicron. I too considered the 'lux, but in the end decided against it. It is a lot more expensive and is an very much older design, so optically is not as good, and it is a lot larger and heavier. My rationale was that I would see how I get on with the Summicron first - they are comparatively cheap. If I find I really need a faster 50mm then I can decide later between the 'lux and the Noctilux, (or indeed the 75mm 'lux). Many people think the 35mm 'lux is the one to get as this is a new design and optically outstanding. Price is outstanding too (but not as bad at the Noctilux).

-- Robin Smith (smith_robin@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

Robin's answer sounds good. If you're really trying to save money, look at all the price ratios. It's interesting that the 2/50 is the most inexpensive lens of all (after the 2.8/50, of course, which is a different story) so that the 2/50 might be your best financial start. Let's say it'd cost you $X. 2/35 comes (very roughly) to about 1.4X, 1.4/50 to 1.7X, 1.4/35 to 2.2X, and 1/50 to 2.3X. FWIW, think about how much film you could buy instead of those latecomers.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 30, 2001.

As a first lens, I would either purchase the 50mm Summicron or a 35mm Summicron. Optically, the 50mm Summicron is an excellent performer and the price is reasonable, especially if you choose to purchase one second-hand. I have a 35mm Summaron, which was made in the 1950's and I would not trade it for anything. It is asthetically pleasing to me. I would not purchase the higher speed lenses mainly because the Summicron is an excellent performer and the better choice for a first lens.

-- John Alfred Tropiano (jat18@psu.edu), October 30, 2001.

Tommi, I have tried Nocti., Summilux and Summicron.All are good.Noctilux is heavy,blocks finder but is undeniably an advantage for lowest light. A late model Lux. with removeable hood is beautifully balanced,gives remarkable freedom from coma and flare,excellent contrast wide open,and is extremely close in performance to Cron. from f.4.Much better value than new Lux. Summicron,a great compact all rounder. Any of the above will reward you the more you use them.

-- Sheridan Zantis (albada60@hotmail.com), October 30, 2001.

Get the Summicron 50. If you can get your hands on a Cron from the previous generation without the built in hood then even better! I bought one from a fellow poster and couldn't be happier with my purchase. It's now my most used lens and I just love how the removable shade protects the lens in the bag and allows it to be always ready to shoot... no worries about leaving the lens caps on anymore.

Thanks Jack! Great lens buddy.

-- John Chan (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), October 30, 2001.

I'd go for quality rather than quantity and get a Summicron. Make up the difference with the great new fas films

-- George L. Doolittle (geodoolitt@aol.com), October 30, 2001.

I was a little concerned about your reference to the "current" Summilux, as if you thought it to be a recent design. I'm not so sure that it is. To my knowledge, there has been only one redesign of the 50 Lux, and that was many years ago. So unless someone else can fill us in on any recent redesign, I think you should not program yourself to think the Lux is anything extra special by incorporating the word "current" into your thinking.

-- Bob Fleischman (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), October 30, 2001.

I too would get a penultimate (ie. second last issue) Summicron 2/50, which came out in 1979 (code 11819 in black, 11825 in chrome). These have S/Ns of 2915801 onwards and convex tabs (up to 1982), whereas those of S/N 3098901 and later (1982-1994) had concave tabs. The "current" models came out in 1994. To summarize what has been said above, for me and many others, one of those "penultimates" is the choice for a 2/50. Pen and current models have absolutely equivalent optical properties but different handling features. Pen has a tab and a detachable hood. Detachable here not only means that you can remove it, but that (in comparison with the current's "insertable" shade) it is a better shade against light and offers a more sturdy protection against knocks and things like rain and sand which you can more easily hold off.

If you hate tabs and/or if you hate this type of hood, buy a current 2/50.

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), October 31, 2001.

I use the noctilux for 90% of my photos both day and night. The only drawback is the noctilux is a bigger and heavier. But the real drawback is that it takes longer to focus as you have to turn and turn and turn the focus ring. The focus shift that Puts talks about I dont understand very well and wish he would explain it once in "english". I also have the summicron but everytime I leave the house I get to thinking about "what-ifs" and then decide I want the full meal deal just in case...

-- Russell Brooks (russell@ebrooks.org), October 31, 2001.

I would buy the summicron as an allrounder and a Voigtlander Nokton 50/ 1.5 mm for low light shooting. That's the way I do and I am very happy with that combination :-) Quality at f. 1.5 is really great - no compromises.

Frank

-- Frank Thoma (Thoma2811@aol.com), October 31, 2001.

If this is your first Leica body and lens, I'd suggest getting the 35/2 Summicron first. This is obviously a matter of taste, but I think a 35mm lens on an M body will get you into the RF way of seeing more quickly. I love the 50/2, but as a second lens. The high speed lenses are nice, but you can get more light into the f/2 lenses than you may think, because you can hand-hold the M for slower shutter speeds than for an SLR. A bean-bag to stabilize even slower shots is much cheaper (and lighter?) than the big-glass lenses with an extra stop or two. Also, ultra high speed films produce much higher quality than they used to. Just more things to consider in the balance....

-- Tim Nelson (timothy.nelson@yale.edu), October 31, 2001.

Tommi; if you have the money and decide to go for the 35 way, I recomend to get the 35/1.4 Asph, for what there has been said it is such a NEW Design, and wait for an update design on the 50 ´lux or ´cron, both with 30 and 20 years old design. Good luck; and just imagine that VERRY TOP Performer, getting the littlest photons of another Halloween nigth like tonigth JAJAJAJAJA!

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), October 31, 2001.