THE 'CLOSE-FOCUS'35MM SUMMILUX-MF/1.4 ASPH FLE II
I've been shooting with the new Leica 35mm Summilux-M f/1.5 ASPH FLE II since February, but I wasn't aware of the launch date until the day before we came on holiday. So I've been shooting the M11 with the new 35mm Summilux FLE exclusively since we arrived. We've become the best of friends.
We have spent the last couple of weeks in the South West coastof Crete, where the Lefka Ori (the White Mountains) come down to the sea. There is a stretch of coastline between Chora Sfakion in the East and Sougia in the west where there are no made up roads down to the coast and you must either catch a boat or walk. It's wonderful to spend a few weeks without even seeing a car! However, the upshot of this is that quite a lot of this article has been written on an iPhone mini whilst sitting on the beach. At any rate, here are my thoughts on the new lens.
The denizens of Lefka Ori are the goats and the vultures (with the odd taverna in the most unlikely place). I've tried to catch the spirit of it whilst putting the new lens through its paces. I've always meant to shoot a trip with one camera and one lens, but I think this is the first time I've actually done it. Mostly just using the rangefinder - with Live View for the odd close up shot - but sometimes with the EVF, it's a little like shooting a 35mm Q2 on steroids!
Since the early days of 35mm images, photographers have been divided as to whether 35mm or 50mm is the real 'standard lens'. Of course there isn't a proper answer, it depends on what you shoot and your personal preference.
What certainly is the case is that since the arrival of the first Summilux lens in 1959 (the 5cm f/1.4), the Leica Summilux has been the workhorse lens for photographers around the world. The first 35mm Summilux arrived in 1961 (the 'steel rim') and is still a lens prized by collectors and photographers alike.
The first aspherical 35mm arrived in 1991, but less than 4000 copies were made - perhaps due to the difficulty in manufacturing with its two aspherical elements. It was replaced by the 35mm Summilux-M ASPH in 1994 with one aspherical element. This was in production until 2010, a fantastic lens, but rather subject to focus shift.
To solve the focus shift issue, Leica introduced a new 35mm Summilux with a floating element in 2010. Generally known as the 35 FLE, this lens has been the centre of many photographer's arsenal for more than 10 years.
THE LEICA SUMMILUX-M 35MM F/1.4 ASPH FLE II (CLOSE FOCUS) When the FLE was released, the M9 was Leica's flagship camera. There was no Live View or electronic viewfinder, so there was no incentive to improve on the close focusing limit of the Rangefinder (0.7 metres).
By the time the SL2 and the M10 were released, times had changed, and there was a real possibility of making M lenses with closer focusing. The 35mm APO-Summicron-M f/2 ASPH was the first lens to support this newly designed 'double cam' focusing mechanism, and the new close-focus 35mm Summilux allows you to focus down to 0.4 metres. The focusing throw has been almost doubled to 176 degrees and there is a clearly felt resistance at 0.7m beyond which you need an EVF, Live View or Leica Fotos for precise focusing.
Although the screw in lens hood of the FLE was a definite advantage over the clip on (drop off!) offerings of earlier lenses, it still added considerably to the bulk of the lens. The new slide-out lens hood is better still, and seems to be just as successful at reducing flare. The result of these changes is that the new lens as about 1mm shorter than the old one, and about 1mm fatter, not something which will be easily detected.
The original FLE had 9 aperture blades, which helped to produce its great bokeh. The new close-focus FLE has 11 blades, improving the bokeh for all apertures smaller than f/1.4 where the aperture is round for both lenses.
PERFORMANCE I've been using the new lens since February, largely with my M11, but also with the SL2. I've carefully compared the performance with my 35 FLE, and it does seem that the new lens has a slightly more relaxed and gentle bokeh.
Like the original FLE, the new lens is prone to a small amount of Chromatic Aberration with high contrast edges, especially at wide apertures (think tree branches against grey sky). This is easily fixed in Lightroom or the processor of your choice.
CLOSE FOCUSING The new close focus option is lovely to use, and also creates great photo opportunities. I have been using it mostly on the M11 - both with Live View and with the EVF.
I’m writing this from Crete where the high contrast and bright colours make for lots of opportunity to use the close focus. Here the electronic shutter really comes into its own, making it possible to shoot wide open without using Neutral Density filters.
CONCLUSION This lens has three benefits over it's predecessor:
• Close focus opportunities
• Newly designed body with twist out lens hood
• 11 as opposed to 9 aperture blades for better bokeh The optical formula is the same as the original FLE (no bad thing). It comes in black and silver anodised versions which weigh the same.
If you already have the FLE, then the new lens might not be a compelling upgrade, but Leica has made some real incremental improvements to what was already a great lens. If your principal camera is an M11 or an SL2 then the upgrade may seem quite compelling.
Personally, I've found that the combination of the close focus, and the excellent EVF on the M11 together with the improved ergonomics has made the new Leica 35mm Summilux-M ASPH FLE remake a lens to fall in love with.
