For a long time in the past, I thought photography was about taking pictures of scenery, friends, and family. When I saw Henri Cartier-Bresson’s street photography album in a bookstore, I had to close the book and hide my face to prevent strangers from seeing how excited I was. It turns out that street photography can amplify our sympathy and love and guide us to feel the enlightenment of life.
Since then, I often go out with a camera, sometimes a Leica, sometimes a compact. I don’t deliberately look for opportunities, but take my chances. Especially if someone is running in a hurry, I take a picture immediately. I know there must be a goal behind every person in a hurry. She and I have a common goal – to seize opportunities. It’s just that we express it in different ways, she uses running and I use shutter.
Time is like a wave that washes away all the hand-painted artwork on the beach. It will also wash away the footprints that each of us has left on the streets. And I will use my camera to record those calm and innocent expressions on film. Unbeknownst to the photographed, with the sound of the shutter, they are like falling crystal raindrops dancing on the edge of time.
Watching the flowers bloom so beautifully, it seems that life should be so beautiful too, and all your worries will dissipate. Therefore, whenever I come across a beautiful flower, I stop to take a picture.
Many seasoned photographers don’t take these photos. They think it’s too easy, that anyone can take them, that it’s not worth wasting film. But I don’t think so. The purpose of photography is not to show how good you are at it, but to have fun and keep the original love of nature alive, at least for me. I don’t create exaggerated perspectives or standard compositions, just keep it as it is. My goal is not to take photos that look like wallpaper, but to take photos that I want to take.
During the process of developing my black and white film, sometimes there are water stains left on the negative. It’s like, everyday life is calm as water, but even a small stone can make it ripple. Life is always full of dangers and even a drop of water can be magnified on film. Water stains can often be wiped away, but I’m still lazy. As long as it doesn’t ruin the picture, I don’t bother cleaning it up. Sometimes laziness is an open-mindedness. The water stains left on the film, I just regard as tattoos.
I have shot film with a summmicron 35mm f/2 asph lens and it is very sharp. But I use more of the older Leica lenses on film. About 80% of the film in my photo library was shot with non-ASPH lenses.
leica summilux 35mm f/1.4 pre-asph
For a long time I have been using the Summilux 35 f/1.4 first generation. In fact, it is so sharp from f/4 to f/8 that it is indistinguishable from an asph lens. Since the maximum shutter speed of a Leica film camera is 1/1000s, on a sunny day the aperture has to be contracted to f4 or even less and you have little chance to use the f/1.4 aperture. On a cloudy day or indoors, f/1.4 produces excellent three-dimensional images, although they are less sharp. To be honest, you really don’t need the sharpness of f/1.4 for film photography.
I have also shot film with the Leica Summilux 35mm f/1.4 asph lens and like it very much as well, it is an excellent lens. It is not only sharp but has good color contrast. I used to shoot with ND filters and f1.4 aperture. I mainly use ASPH lenses on Leica m9 digital cameras. Also the Summicron 35 asph, Summicron 28 asph and Elmarit 28 asph are very sharp and have higher contrast than older lenses. However, many of Leica’s non-ASPH lenses are very sharp, such as the Summicron 35mm f/2 v1 and Summicron 50mm f/2 v4, and remain sharp when used on digital cameras.
Interestingly, while we all love sharp lenses, I find that my favorite photos seem to be less sharp, especially with film photography. Maybe that’s why Leica’s classic lenses are still viable.
In the shadow of its mythic sibling, the Summicron-M 50mm Rigid, lies the Summicron-R 50mm f/2 E43—a lens that mirrors its cousin’s soul but dances to a different rhythm. Born in the 1960s, Leica’s first R-system 50mm f/2 dared to adapt Walter Mandler’s M-design wizardry for the single-lens reflex realm. Priced at a modest 450–450–700 (2025 USD), this brass-and-glass enigma offers Mandler-esque magic without the collector’s premium.
Design: Symmetry’s Compromise
Optical Twins, Mechanical Strangers
Glass Kinship: The E43 shares 6 elements with the M-Rigid, missing only its seventh layer—a sacrifice to the SLR’s mirrored altar.
Rear Chamber Depth: The R50’s rear element retreats 2mm farther from the film plane, yielding to the reflex mirror’s mechanical ballet.
Chassis Philosophy
Aperture Wizardry: SLR trickery demands complexity; the E43’s internal linkages swell its waistline, yet its 315g heft feels lighter than a Tang dynasty scroll.
Optical Scripture: Mandler’s Echo
Aspect
Summicron-R 50mm f/2 E43
Summicron-M 50mm f/2 Rigid
Sharpness
Bamboo stalk at dawn—supple yet unyielding
Samurai sword edge—cold perfection
Bokeh
Wang Wei’s mountain mist
Li Bai’s moonlit wine
Focus
0.5m intimacy (SLR’s whispered secret)
0.7m street tango (rangefinder’s waltz)
Soul
Unpolished jade
Imperial porcelain
The SLR Reformation
Wide-Angle Conundrum
Symmetry sacrificed: To dodge the SLR mirror, Leica engineers reforged Mandler’s design like blacksmiths hammering iron—R-system 35mm lenses ballooned to 9-10 elements, compensating with glass alchemy.
E43 vs E55: Evolution or Devolution?
E43 (1964): 6 elements—Mandler’s frugal haiku.
E55 (1977): Sharper but colder, like digital ink beside hand-ground calligraphy.
Practical Zen: Why This Lens Sings
Price-to-Grace Ratio: At 450–450–700 (2025 USD), it’s the cost of three Michelin-starred meals for optical banquets daily.
Focus Sorcery: 0.5m minimum distance—capture a lover’s eyelash or a teacup’s steam spiral.
Film Pairing: Ilford HP5+ @1600—grain dances with the E43’s gentle glow.
Who Should Buy This?
✓ SLR Minimalists: Seeking Mandler’s soul in reflex form ✓ Budget Alchemists: Turning leaden prices to golden imagery ✓ Macro Curious: 0.5m focus unlocks intimate worlds
Avoid If: You demand autofocus or f/1.4’s bokeh delirium.
Final Verdict: The Underdog’s Triumph
The Summicron-R 50mm E43 is photographic wabi-sabi—a $700 lesson in imperfect perfection. For the price of a weekend in Suzhou, you gain:
“A lens that whispers: ‘The overlooked gem often outshines the crown jewel.’”
Pro Tips:
Adapt It: Mount on mirrorless cameras—watch analog flaws become digital virtues.
Hack the Hood: Use a 12585H—flare paints Impressionist halos.
Epilogue: The Forgotten Classic While collectors chase M-Rigids priced like Ming vases, the E43 lingers in the shadows—a lens that scoffs at mythmaking. Yet herein lies its charm: true artistry needs no temple. As the Song dynasty poets wrote, “The moon’s beauty lies not in its fame, but in its silent glow.” The E43 glows on, patient as a sage, waiting for those who see beyond the hype.
Gear is a means, not an end—a truth the Leica Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 (1964–1996) embodies with quiet defiance. Designed for Leica’s inaugural SLR system, the Leicaflex, this 320g aluminum relic rebukes modern pixel-peeping obsessions. At 300–300–600 (used), it’s a $500 lesson in humility: “Your best lens is the one that gets out of the way.”
Design: Mechanical Haiku
Close-Focus Sorcery
Minimum Focus: 0.3m (11.8″)—closer than Super-Angulon 21mm’s 0.4m
Build: Brass helicoid, aluminum barrel—dense as a haiku, rugged as a tank
Ergonomic Nuance
Focus Throw: 270°—precision over speed
Aperture Ring: Clickless for cine-smooth transitions (later versions detented)
Optical Scripture
Sharpness Philosophy
Center: Cuts Kodak Tri-X like a scalpel @ f/2.8
Edges: Soft as 1960s Kodachrome nostalgia—flaws as features
Bokeh Ballet
f/2.8 Rendering: Backgrounds dissolve into pointillist abstraction
Close-Up Magic: 0.3m focus transforms weeds into Weston-esque studies
Generational Wars
Aspect
Version 1 (S6 Mount)
Version 2 (S7 Mount)
Version 3 (E55 Mount)
Build
Brass internals
Aluminum lightweight
Plastic hybrid
Coating
Single-layer vintage
Multi-coated pragmatism
Modern flare control
Character
Mandler’s microcontrast
Clinical precision
Digital readiness
Price (2024)
500–500–600
300–300–400
200–200–300
The Leicaflex Legacy
Leica’s SLR gamble birthed quirks:
Why f/2.8?: Corporate caution—testing waters before Summilux plunges
Capa’s Ghost: “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough”—this lens listens
R-System Irony: Outlived its SLR bodies—now thrives on mirrorless adapters
Who Should Embrace This Relic?
✓ Film Purists: Breathing life into forgotten Leicaflex bricks ✓ Street Minimalists: Who see 0.3m as intimate, not invasive ✓ Budget Connoisseurs: Craving Mandler-era rendering without M-tax
Avoid If: You need autofocus or f/1.4 bokeh bragging rights.
Final Verdict: The Humble Teacher
The Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 is optical wabi-sabi—a $500 lesson in photographic Zen. For the price of a premium filter, you gain:
We chase f/1.4 dreams yet find truth at f/2.8. The Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8—overlooked, underrated—whispers Robert Capa’s forgotten corollary: “The best camera is the one that fits your budget… and your hands.” In its scratched glass and stiff focus ring, we rediscover photography’s first commandment: Thou shalt create, not covet.
