Glow
The lens has a slightly soft focus, suffers from chromatic aberration, and vignettes at its maximum aperture of f/1.4. When shot wide open, it produces a soft, dreamy glow with shallow depth of field, and swirly bokeh, which is why it is nicknamed the ‘Leica glow.’ This type of soft and dreamy bokeh is either loved or hated by people.
Although I have many sharp lenses in my collection, I appreciate the beauty of photography beyond just technical perfection. The special dreamy glow effect cannot be reproduced with software; it can only be achieved in-camera. This lens is excellent for street portraits due to its glowing effect and becomes very sharp when stepping down the aperture, like every other Leica lens.
The three ‘Leica glow’ lenses I have used do not easily achieve the ‘Leica glow’, especially in film photography and low-light environments. The bokeh lacks the smooth and buttery total background obliteration of the Leica Summilux 35mm f/1.4 ASPH and the progressive blur bokeh of the Summicron 35mm f/2 v4 (7-elements), although it is closer to the latter.
It is important to note that this is not a flawless lens. Although the ‘Leica glow’ allows for shooting at f/1.4, it should not be used at this aperture all the time. If you desire a sharp f/1.4 lens, this old lens should not be your choice; instead, you should opt for either the Summilux 11874 or the Summilux 11663. For a legacy lens with both bokeh and sharpness, the Leica Summicron 35mm f/2 v4 is a better option. It is known as the ‘king of bokeh’ and provides both bokeh and sharpness, but it does not produce the ‘Leica glow’.
Not every photo looks good at f/1.4. The ‘Leica glow’ can be reduced by stopping down, resulting in excellent image quality. I observed that the ‘Leica glow’ is nearly on par with the ‘king of bokeh’ (Summicron 35mm f/2 v4)in terms of resolution, colors, and vignetting at every aperture from f/2.8 to f/8.
Balance
Considering the optical superiority of the Summilux 35mm ASPH lenses over this older lens, one may wonder why anyone would still want to use it. However, its current popularity is undoubtedly due to its affordability, rather than its ‘soft glow’.
However, I was seeking swirly bokeh and a dreamy glow when shooting wide open, which is exactly what this lens delivered. Smaller apertures can significantly reduce the softness and vignetting. The lens is well-balanced on a Leica M and its compact size and lightweight design make it a great choice.
Production period: 1961-1995 Code: 11869(black), 11870(black 11871 (with M3 attachment), 1 1860(titanium) Serial#:1,730,001-n/a Total production: n/a Maximum aperture: 1: 1.4 Focal length(nominal): 35mm Angle: 640 Minimum distance: 100cm(M3)65cm(other Weight: 245 grams, later 195 grams, Filter: E41. later VII
