[I received this message from Lucy today and thought it was worth publishing her questions and my responses. Please feel free to contribute an opinion, if you have something constructive to say…]
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Hello Peter.
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I enjoy your blog very much. Capturing precious moments with the camera is why I enjoy photography and so I do appreciate the photos you take. I feel guilty to ask about gear, I know this should not matter but you use lenses I am interested in and my decisions at the moment are about selling my M9 and investing in film and a scanner (and a lot of learning time) or going with another Leica lens and staying digital._
I have spent and lost a bit of money with leica lenses and my next choice is hopefully going to be a better one than others I have made._
I just sold my Summilux 50 asph and have now just have the M9 and 50 pre asph. It is ok but the focus is very stiff and I want to sell it and When I have sold it I can afford another lens, a 35mm will be be the most useful fov and it will have to be my only lens. I found the 50 asph a little boring and I wonder how do you compare the 35 Lux fle with the 50 asph?..I think if the 35 if more interesting in it’s rendering I may just settle with the M9/35 combo and forget about setting up in film..My film camera choice is a Rolleiflex TLR, also of course a scanner and the learning curve of all that ..which could prove to be wonderful.Sorry to prattle on, I admire your work and would value your opinion on the lens very much.
Many thanks
Lucy
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Hello Lucy,
Thank you so much for your message and for your kind words – I’m so glad you identify with the “precious” moments depicted in my work, as it’s what I strive to capture and convey.
So many questions you’ve asked! I’ll do my best to answer them, but I also invite any readers of this site to offer you an opinion too, as it’s always more fruitful to harness the knowledge of a community vs. a lone voice.
My chief piece of advice would be to “follow your heart”. Seriously.
Anything else I write is just my personal view and it does not necessarily mean it will mesh with your current development or growth as an artist and photographer. Intuitively, you probably already know what the answer is for you, but you also seem to be in need of a little direction because you’re contemplating very different paths.
Whether to opt for film or not is a very personal choice. If you’re a methodical photographer who appreciates the “craft” of working with, processing, and scanning film, then by all means, go for the medium format Rolleiflex. With that sort of a set-up you should be able to produce stunning results. Weighed against this is the mounting difficulty in procuring and working with film… it really does seem to be disappearing from the public spotlight as a photographic medium, although I believe it will always be around in some form or other.
If you choose to stay with your M9, I’m not sure the stiff focus on your pre-asph 50 Summilux is reason enough to sell it, because that can be repaired. But, further down in your message, you mention you’d rather go with a 35 FOV in which case selling the pre-asph 50 makes sense.
Finally, as for the rendering of the 35 Summilux ASPH FLE vs. the 50 Summilux ASPH, I too have gone on record as stating the 50 Summilux ASPH is an almost too “perfect” and extremely boring lens. I can write forever about this, but you seem to have reached the same conclusion so I won’t “preach to the choir”, so to speak. I will write that I’m currently using one and trying to like it. Occasionally, it astounds me with what it produces, so it’s not like I’m incapable of appreciating it.
The 35 Summilux FLE is probably the best lens – technically speaking – I’ve ever used. It produces what I would call “hyper real” results (incredible sharpness, micro-contrast, etc.) and is not as sterile in its rendering as compared to the 50 ‘lux ASPH. In a way, the 35 FLE also is too “perfect” but somehow it manages to retain more character than it’s 50 ASPH sibling.
Although you didn’t ask, the lens that I think combines the best combination of technical excellence and interesting rendering is the discontinued 75 Summilux… but the 75mm focal length is not as versatile as a 35 or 50.
I hope this helps, Lucy, and I thank you once again very much for your kind words!
—Peter | Prosophos.
Prosophos 
Following Peter’s kind invitation I will offer a few thoughts, which I hope will be of some value. Peter, if this isn’t useful then please moderate away! For information, I use an M9 and also a couple of 35mm film rangefinders and occasionally either a Mamiya 7 or Rolleicord.
As Peter says, your own heart should really guide you in this and if you have a real hankering for film then this will remain until you have at least tried it. However, some thoghts:
– Film is a wonderful medium and gives you a real physical record. This is valuable to me and I enjoy the physical aspects of process and craft.
– Film is also harder and more time consuming than digital. You need to know how you will develop film and need to have a facility to scan. Mono is best and simply developed at home, but colour rally needs to go out.
– You are also adding questions of focal length, format and the nature of the viewfinder. Looking down at the square ground glass of a Rollei is very different from the experience looking through the clear glass of a Leica with the framelines hanging in space. This will impact how you observe the scene and how you compose. You’ve also raised questions about focal length and rendering. I find 35 and 50 lenses are further apart than might seem to be the case and enjoy both. My 50 is a Zeiss C-Sonnar with very ‘characterful’ rendering and my 35 a Zeiss Biogon, which is a pretty perfect lens. Accepting that the 35 Summilux is an amazing optic, I find the character 50 and perfect 35 work well for me. You might want to think about the different aspects in your decision.
– One option might be to try a cheaper camera than a Rolleiflex to see if you like film/TLRs. There are quite a few available. However, I find that I need to commit to a medium for at least a while to make anything I value with it, and so if you did that you might well leave your M9 at home for 3 months or so. This applies even to trying to shoot the M9 alongside the MP or trying to shoot black and white film alongside colour (or a 35 alongside a 50 lens!).
I hope these thoughts are helpful. Doing this because you love it means that you can afford to try new things and give them time, which is a great priviledge. I trust that you will enjoy the path you take.
Mike
Mike thank you for your valuable, thoughtful, and eloquent response. I published it as you wrote it.
Hello Peter.
Thankyou very much for your great reply which gives me more food for thought and clarity.
In an ideal world I would keep my M9 and use film too, the choice isn’t easy. But I adore the look of film, especially medium format and I think you are right that intuitively i know which choice to make, it just is so hard to let the M9 go. My thinking is that digital technology is evolving and I can come back to it at a later date.
Actually my choice would probably be different if my daughter was young and still at home, I photograph her so much and digital comes into it’s own there.
Your description of the rendering of the 35 Lux fits with how it looks to me, what a tempting lens..I also very much like the look of your pictures taken with the 60mm Hexanon..I bid on one once in a German auction but lost it, aarr!
Many thanks again Peter, this has helped me focus on what I really want to do.
Lucy
Mike, Thankyou, I just saw your response after I posted mine..
The points you make are eloquent as Peter says and they are spot on and very relevant.
In the end I think I do have time now to concentrate on making photos using film as well as I can do, it is the right time. Maybe it is a good thing to be forced to concentrate simply on analogue through my lack of funds..
Thanks very much indeed,
Lucy