Ode to the 35mm Summilux — The Only Lens That Almost Never Leaves My M11
The Leica 35mm Summilux has quietly become the lens that never leaves my M11. Not because I decided it should — I just looked back at months of shooting and realized I hadn't taken it off.
Street. Travel. Portraits. One lens, three worlds.
What gives this lens its character is the way it transitions from in-focus to out-of-focus. Wide open, the rendering has structure without turning the background into soup. Stop it down and the whole frame tightens up beautifully. It doesn't have one trick — it adapts.
Is it perfect? The aperture ring is too loose. That's my one honest gripe. One complaint in years of shooting — I'll take those odds.
This lens is for the photographer who wants one lens. Period. I go deeper on all of it in the video above.
