Photography enthusiasts must be careful not to let their equipment take over their passion for photography. Even if one identifies as a gearhead, ultimately the goal is to take photos, whether it’s of family, friends, or street scenes. Before using the Leica R35 f/2.8 lens, one must have a good reason for doing so. This reason must be strong enough to justify using the lens, and only then can one truly enjoy playing with equipment.

My reason for using this lens is its close focusing distance of 0.3 meters. It’s incredible, as it’s even closer than the Super Angulon 21mm f/3.4, which has a close focusing distance of 0.4 meters. As Capa said, if your photos aren’t good enough, it’s because you’re not close enough.

When Leica introduced its single-lens reflex camera in 1964, it came with four lenses: 35mm, 50mm, 90mm, and 135mm. The 35mm lens was the R35 f/2.8, which was designed specifically for the Leicaflex. It was also Leica’s first attempt at the single-lens reflex market. The 35mm focal length is one that Leica excels at, but instead of introducing an f/2 Summaron or Summilux, they opted for the f/2.8 Elmarit, showing Leica’s initial caution with the R system.

There are several versions of the R35 f/2.8, with the first version having a S6 mount, the second version with a S7 mount, and the third version with an E55 mount. Each version has undergone some minor changes in design. The version I have is the first generation R35 f/2.8, which is considered the best-made version and produces a rich image quality.

Because of the reflex mirror’s existence, none of the Leica M-mount lenses can be used with the R camera system. Therefore, this R35 lens uses a retrofocus design, which was invented by the Frenchman Angenieux. This design solved the problem of the distance between the film and the lens in movie cameras by inverting the telephoto structure. Many wide-angle lenses for single-lens reflex cameras now use this structure.