I’d heard about this lens before I even owned a Leica camera. I’d heard from older colleagues how great the first-generation Summicron 35mm lens is. It wasn’t until I got my own Leica camera and put it on this legendary lens that I could confirm what my colleagues had said. It’s really excellent.

I often use this lens with black and white film, and it has consistently delivered excellent results. It has high definition, overly natural grayscale, rich shadow sculpting, and the colors are pretty good, too. This lens is pretty solid, whether you’re using it with a digital camera or a film camera.