Everything old is new again
This was originally published in my Prime Lenses Newsletter. You can sign-up for a weekly update to your inbox here.
Welcome to the newsletter. Today I’ve got another midweek audio treat for you. Milan Swolfs is a previous guest of the show and as you’ll hear, is a collector of vintage lenses. Like many in the Leica family, he enjoys a 50mm field of view so he was the perfect person to speak to about the new, old, Summilux 50 f1.4 that Leica have re-released. You can listen now by clicking the player below.
A theme that’s coming up time and time again on the show is the difference between the images folks I speak with need to create for clients and the images that they like to create for themselves. Rob the MotoGP photographer, previous guest, is a great example of this. When he’s working trackside he’s creating masterpieces with his Canon lenses. Incredibly sharp, detailed images of the fastest racers in the world. When I bumped into him at the London Camera Show the other week? Leica Q2, one for them, and one for me.
Milan is able to combine work and play with his lens choices. He shoots a lot of photography that evokes a particular time and place so he gets to combine his love of the heritage of Leica’s cameras and lenses with the work he’s doing in 2025 and that’s what I think is so exciting about this new 50. Old lenses are fun and all but you just don’t know what you’re getting in a lot of cases. We all dream of the perfect eBay find, the gem hidden at a yard sale that then stays on the front of the camera for weeks because we’re enjoying shooting it so much. The reality for most of us is somewhat different. Scratched, fungus infested glass kills the dream and Leica have once again cannily noticed a trend and brought out their own modern takes on old lenses. In this case with some changes to make things a little more convenient like 6 bit coding on the back and a closer focus distance of 70cm compared to the original.
copyright Milan Swolfs
copyright Milan Swolfs
If you’re in the market for some vintage glass but don’t have Summilux cash laying around this new/ old market is really healthy right now, filled with options from Zeiss and Voigtländer that will give you a nice glowy vintage look for a fraction of the price, not to mention the wealth of new manufacturers whose lenses I’ve never even tried. Got a Nikon? They’ve got you covered with the classic 40 ZF lens. If you’re an M shooter, Leica Lenses for Normal People is a good resource in this regard and there’s plenty of folks like Matt Osborne and Ken Rockwell who have tried EVERYTHING :D
