9 Leica 35MM Lenses Brief Review | Apo, Summicron, Summilux FLE, Summaron and Summarit

[@webersteve1547]

I really like your evaluation of the lenses. I completely agree on your opinion about the Summarit 2.5. I prefer it to the Summicron ASPH, even if I regret the limited focus distance of 0.8 m

[@jeitoots]

The APO35 M is such a great lens. I wondered how it would keep up against the APO35 SL but it holds its own. Stunning. The Summit really is a sleeper in the Leica lineup. I have the 2.4 version and it's got a wonderful rendering.

[@JimmyCheng]

Man I love the summarit. The 50 2.5/2.4 is also fantastic because it’s the shortest 50 from Leica, same length as the 35, can you believe it.

[@justcallmesando]

Yours are some of the very few videos mentioning the Summaron 35mm 2.8 lens. Nice.

[@waratkasitanon5323]

Love the video. I am using the summarit 2.4 asph version. I like the way you describe it here. Its exactly why i got it. Lightweight and peace of mind. I have a baby who runs everywhere so the lens just allow me to run around, not worry much and still get awesome photos. Can’t wait to see a video of the summarit. Have a good day Jimmy.

[@JimmyCheng]

Yeah I'm super looking forward to a comparison review of this "underdog". I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@prestigio1313]

Hi Jimmy, Leica Customer Care can fix the wobbling of the Steel Rim. Only catch, you have to be patient for 6-7 months after sending it in. Regards Luv

[@JimmyCheng]

thats what I did actually 😅

[@webersteve1547]

I completely agree to your appreciation of the Summarit!

[@Narsuitus]

Thanks for the 35mm video review. I know this is a Leica video but I have the 35mm Zeiss f/1.4 Distagon ZM and would not replace it with any of the Leica lenses in your collection.

[@JimmyCheng]

Yeah the ZM Distagon is an amazing lens. In fact it was my first large aperture 35mm lens for M system. But I'm a sucker for size so sold it for the FLE v1. I'd say they perform very close and maybe a touch creamier bokeh for the Zeiss.

[@1219myu]

Nice collection. Hope in future, you will do a review with all these lens shooting in real world ❤

[@richardsimms251]

This is a well done video. Thank you. RS. Canada

[@d30gaijin]

Excellent video. Thank you! Now you need to add a 35mm f/3.5 Summaron and a 35mm f/3.5 Elmar. Both have rather interesting signatures for those who enjoy vintage Leica lenses.

[@lineugeen537]

love this video, with quite clear presentation and information for me to be able to understand the 35 line up of the Leica lens. Appreciate that ! And therefore I am eager to know which one would you pick up for which certain reason or purpose, in terms of such a great deal of amazing selection~

[@JimmyCheng]

I’ll probably pick the 35 cron 4th gen or 3rd gen (will review soon) for 90% of my daily use cases. They’re small, fast enough and just feels right on m bodies. The rest 10% really depends on my mood. Any of these lens would work honestly.

[@lineugeen537]

​@@JimmyCheng thanks for your instant reply, and it really helps my decision making without troubling for such great lens selection. I'll keep following your content! Have a great day!

[@BrunoChalifour]

Great review. Same qualities as the other ones, no non-sense, to the point, condensed, clear and very informative. I agree with your assessment of the the Summicron v. 4 (k of b, very over-rated ;o), it was my first 35 mm lens which I bought from a very good friend when it was released. I have the K version, a lot of vignetting and definitely not sharp in the corners at f 2 and 2.8 (understatement here), eve the TTartisan f 1.4 (at f 1.4) is 300% better (probably because of the spheric lens and coating), not to mention any other current 35 mm lens made in Germany, Japan, or China.I also agree with your assessment of the Summarit, very undervalued lens, and I wish Leica had not stopped the production of the whole line. I have the 50 mm and I love its compactness and sharpness (apparently Josh at reddotforum (Leica Miami) also loves it). All the best to you!

[@FrankDavalos]

Waiting for your summarit review!

[@6armsplay]

Jimmy! First I really enjoying your channel and I have watched a bunch of your videos! Anyhow, recently I got a lot more curious on LLL's 8-element 周八枚, do you have experience with that lens? I currently owned a 35mm v4 cron (7-element), but I have heard so much about the unique rendering of v1 cron. I am interested to hear your thoughts or even do a review on comparing to your 8-element. Thanks!

[@JimmyCheng]

Hey Allen, thank you for your kind words. Unfortunately I’ve not used LLL’s 8-ele so I can’t comment on that. I might do a future review on that lens once I get my hands on one.

[@davidkieltyka9]

Good overview! I love the f/2.8 Summaron, so much so that I got a second one (with “glasses”) for my M3. Its color rendering is too cool IMO for use on cloudy days, but in b&w it always excels. I use the regular version on an M10 Monochrom. I also agree the 35 Summarit is a crazy good value. This lens on an M10 is my stripped down travel rig. You are 🎯 about the King Of Bokeh too. Close focus, specifically for portraits, with the aperture at f/5.6 is where the KOB label came from. Asking prices for this lens are insane!

[@JimmyCheng]

I'm glad you enjoyed the overview! I'll release pair wise comparisons of these lenses and more (some voigtlander and zeiss counterparts). About the summarit, I'm actually planning for a trip with this and the 50 summarit. I think they are great pairs to bring along with you on long trips for their size and weight. I loved my KOB, it was my first serious Leica 35mm lens. I shot tons of photos with it and bring it everywhere. It's sad that these lenses are being treated as antiques these days. I wish more people can enjoy shooting with them.

[@emmanueltsI5]

The steel rim QC issues are not that promising. Hope they will improve their tolerance.

[@madspallesen156]

Great video on all these 35mm lenses. Which lens do you prefer between 35mm Summicron v3, v4 or Summilux pre-asph titanium? Especially for shooting on digital M (in my case M10M) and give an organic/filmic look to the images? And how do you like the 35mm Summarit compared to the other lenses, I mention? Best, Mads

[@madspallesen156]

@JimmyCheng , would love to hear your thoughts?

[@lloydso3650]

This is a fantastic video of review and comparison! Do you have similar video for Leica 50mm?

[@JimmyCheng]

@@lloydso3650 I believe so

[@arkphotog]

If you had to pick one 35mm for an M6 which one would it be? I’m purposely leaving out how the lens will be used (ie portrait, b&w, architecture, etc…). The reason being is that I enjoy all kinds of photography and would like a great quality (build and image) lens that I can use whenever/ wherever. I will eventually pass on my camera gear and I figure - that lens should be able to be used by whomever for whatever type of photography they enjoy (assuming film is still around). I also have an M3. I only use a 50mm on it. If you are able, could you provide your choice for a 50mm for it - assuming the same thought I mentioned for the M3? Thanks in advance. I enjoyed this video.

[@JimmyCheng]

Thanks, great question. I've actually never thought about only having one 35 or 50. If it were 35, I would probably go with the 35 summilux asph as it is "reasonably" priced compared to the APO and some vintage glasses and it is the most versitle of the bunch. Being a 1.4, it draws beautifully for portraits and stop down it is as sharp as the apo. 50 summilux ASPH will be my choice of 50 as well, same reasons. The crons are wonderful too, but the result does not stand out from other lenses from other manufacturers and since film is limited when it comes to light gathering capability, 1.4 is always more versitile than 2.0 in dark conditions.

[@arkphotog]

@@JimmyCheng thank you very much for sharing your thoughts regarding this. I tend to keep just one lens on the Leica's, so I'd like to look at getting a single lens for each - and just work with that (I say this in a positive way). I have other cameras (digital) where I have several lenses and I change them out as necessary for the occasion, but I'd like to approach the Leica's in a more minimal way - so as to learn and enjoy shooting either with the M3(50mm) or the M6(35mm) - whichever I happen to have with me. I forgot to mention that I didn't want to take cost into account; not that cost isn't an issue, but that I'd rather consider the quality/character of the lens, and then I'd address cost as needed - versus selecting or limiting the options based on cost. I say this because an expensive lens is not necessarily better - it may just be different. Despite my failure to mention this, you provided an excellent response. I sincerely appreciate you sharing your thoughts and insight, and taking the time to provide a thorough response. Thanks again, and all the best! I look forward to updates from your channel!

[@zimbabwe0]

@@arkphotog for a single 50mm to use above all I agree with Jimmy that you should go with the 50mm Summulux ASPH v1. V2 has closer focusing but on M3 you wouldn't really be able to use that anyway.

[@joseuribe430]

Thanks for this review!

[@mhn889]

Hi Jimmy Just wondering..if the hood for APO 35mm fit 35mm f2 asph v2 ? Thank you!

[@JimmyCheng]

pretty sure they are

[@StuartWeir]

I got an email from Leica that stated the loose aperture ring is “by design, because the original lens also had a loose aperture ring” lol

[@riswanc]

The aperture ring on the steel rim is mimicking the original steel rim wobbly..

[@wilfredshum3703]

My six 35 mm lenses are different from yours - Summilux ASPH and Pre-ASPH in titanium; Summaron 8E; Summicron 8E; Summicron v.4 in black; and APO Summicron SL. Not sure if I want the expensive APO on my M.

[@JimmyCheng]

great lens collection. I also do have the 8E, in fact I’ve got two copies one Canadian and one German. I love that lens. Unfortunately I left it at my parents’ house and haven’t used them in quite a while.

[@SeahawkMoments]

I got the VI Summicron F2 and it hasn’t wow’ed me so far….especially for the money I just don’t see it yet and feel your opinion on it is its just “standard.” I don’t mind spending the money but I want to be wow’ed. Granted I haven’t taken more then a 100 photos on it yet so Ill keep trying before my return date is up. The color just seems kind of meh to me. Its decent but for 4K I am not feeling it….I want the FLE II but rumors are August availability and that’s just too long. And no, I’m not going to spend 8k on the APO. I love the size, aesthetic, and hood, just the IQ is nothing special! What else should I try?

[@4kpariswalk443]

Apo35mm和Apo50mm你会建议买哪个？谢谢🙏！

[@JimmyCheng]

这个看个人喜好吧，综合来说35有近距离对焦更好一点

[@嘉宁徐]

吉米 请问福伦达351.4二代和352.5收光圈下那个锐度高😊😊

[@JimmyCheng]

35 1.4 二代

[@嘉宁徐]

@@JimmyCheng 谢谢吉米哥，我想念351.4很久了 😁

[@LeicaMD]

Hi Jimmy, Thanks for the good video with 35mm. For me, 35mm and leica belong together. I would love to hear your opinion on the difference between the APO35 and the new FLE v2 35 f1.4. I bought the APO35 just before the FLE v2 35f1.4 came out. I am VERY happy with my APO. But is there a big difference between FLE v2 35f1.4 at f2 and 35APO at f2 ? Yes, I would like to know how must. Hope your video comes soon

[@JimmyCheng]

Hi Kim, thank you for your comment. I will do a detailed review of the apo, the lux FLE and FLE v2 in the future. I’ve not yet done a comparison test of the v2 yet, but I think the v1 should perform similarly. If that’s the case, then the biggest difference you’ll notice is corner/edge performance and purple fringing. The apo is gonna be noticeably better in these two regards. But if you don’t find yourself shooting above f2.8 when doing landscapes or streets, then you’re not gonna notice it. Because at f4, the two lenses are virtually identical, or when you have an object near the center, you’re gonna blur out the rest anyways.

[@LeicaMD]

@@JimmyCheng Hello, Thanks for the quick reply. That's what I would think too. The advantage over FLE v2 is f1.4. and the price is better. Maybe I would have chosen FLE v2 today if it had come on the market then. But I am now very satisfied with my APO. It has been stuck on my Leica MD and stuck on the f2 since I got it.Tanks

[@JimmyCheng]

@@LeicaMD ah you’ve got an MD, that’s a fantastic camera. I learnt you should never sell these. I sold one before and I regretted so much that I recently bought another. I doubt Leica would come out anything as pure as it in the future (digital wise).

[@LeicaMD]

@@JimmyCheng 😃 I'm very happy about it. I have absolutely no plans to sell it. It is the best camera I have ever had. It's my "film" camera without film.... I'm thinking of buying a "nr 2 M(11P" or SL(2/3) where I can also use close focus on APO35. But I want to borrow one for a while before I buy into SL. I have lived in press photography for 35 years and always with Nikon and Canon. My feelings about Nikon and Canon have never been the same as leica M. Don't know if SL is just a "new" Canon / Nikon. But no doubt that my Canon/ Nikon have been my bread / butter camera for 35 years now.

[@JimmyCheng]

@@LeicaMD that’s great to hear! I’ve just uploaded a 50mm comparison review, should be on air soon. I hope you would enjoy that one as well!

[@robifleming]

My question is… what do you do to afford all these lenses??

[@JimmyCheng]

I treat them as investments 😝

[@xtolr]

My fle v1 still focus shifts. I think the term should be “minimized” rather than “eliminated “. 你可以仔细测试一下。 ：）

[@JimmyCheng]

Oh really? I haven’t noticed that tbh. I’ll test it out 😅

[@xtolr]

@@JimmyCheng yea man.

[@justinlee7974]

刚买了11675半年就出了新版，纠结😢

[@JimmyCheng]

没差啊，也很漂亮

[@justinlee7974]

@@JimmyCheng 没有最近40mm啊😂

[@JimmyCheng]

@@justinlee7974 无所谓啦，给自己一个理由买apo哈哈

[@justinlee7974]

@@JimmyCheng 这。。。说服不了自己🤦‍♂

[@arrangearrange]

You forgot teh zeiss🎉

[@JimmyCheng]

sorry it's exclusively Leica lenses for this episode. I'll do more comparisons with Voigtlander and Ziess in the future.

[@m66096]

I find the v4 colors saturation and more pronounced vignetting extremely well suited for street and environmental portraits! It’s indeed a shame that now is more of a collector item!

[@lawcch]

boring video....talking only

[@JimmyCheng]

Sorry it’s meant to be an introduction to a series of detailed comparison videos.