el.mediocre wrote:
But what I'm reading into these responses is that I shouldn't bother with the LLL 8e because the price only makes sense if I specifically wanted a v1 Summicron at some time in the past. Does that seem accurate? Is there no other reason to consider getting one?
Well, the LLL is still cheaper than any Leica Cron options on the used market while having the vintage Cron wide open look. I just don't feel it has that much more unique character than other options. Beyond wide open, there are better modern 35mm lenses in M mount from Voigtlander for less money. Because stopped down, the LLL looks like pretty much any other 35mm, though at least with my copy there is wavy field curvature and focus shift to contend with, which means it's not actually as easy to use as a more behaved modern lens. However, it is good at more than just wide open character and can be a nice, compact, daily driver kind of lens. I mentioned the Canon 35/2 LTM because it has similar wonky flare behavior, busy-ish wide open bokeh and IMO pleasing wide open off-axis sharpness falloff. But like the LLL, stopped down a couple stops, it looks pretty normal but the LLL seems to have a bit better color quality (saturation/richness). While I haven't used the VM 35/1.4, I have its sibling, the 40/1.4 and it's certainly also a wide open character lens with energetic bokeh and SA glow.
Jul 03, 2024 at 11:23 PM
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