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Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
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The Best Lenses to Use with the Beloved Leica M6

Chris Gampat
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12/09/2020
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Leica M6 review product images 21-125s400 6

The Leica M6 is by far one of the most popular and revered Leica cameras of all time, and these are the lenses we recommend you pair with it.

Many of you know we’ve always had an affinity for film. It’s important that we don’t forget about this tool in photography. Film is something that helps unite passionate photographers everywhere, but more importantly, it’s also at the heart of the Leica M6. This camera is one of the most popular ever made by the company. Lots of folks love it. Choosing the right lens for it can be a bit tough, so we’re sharing our experiences with some of our favorites.

Leica 75mm f1.25 Noctilux (See in the Dark)

“…you buy a Leica M film camera because you want it. You shoot film because you want to. You go for rare and exotic lenses for their unique look and because you won’t settle for anything less. Those who laugh at you don’t understand. And in the age of the internet, less and less people understand interpersonal experiences despite the massive library of information that’s available at your fingertips. In a way, technology has made us dumber: which is a big theory in the world of communications and journalism. But the Leica 75mm f1.25 Noctilux pulls us back to an era where one really had to work for the shot.”

The Analog Take: This lens was used briefly with Kodak Ektachrome 100 in the Leica M6. And we found it to be incredible for portrait photography. We’re highly recommending it as the only portrait lens you’ll need for the system. It’s got a super shallow depth of field at f1.25, so be careful and line your shots up just right.

Pro Tip: Strive to shoot at a minimum of 1/125th. The reciprocal rule of shutter speeds recommends that for a stable shot. But of course, it’s also a Leica M6, and so there’s no shutter slap.

Sample Images with the Leica M6

Buy Now: $14,095

Leica Summaron-M 28mm f5.6 (Better Street Photography With the Leica M6)

“When the Leica Summaron-M 28mm F5.6 first came in for review, I wasn’t sure what I’d think of it. However, I’ve been making an effort to review more Leica lenses and I have to say this is one of my favorites by far. It’s at a decent price point and for that price point you’re getting a whole lot of adaptability,classic image quality, low profile and some solid build quality. I genuinely like the Leica Summaron-M 28mm F5.6 and one day when it hits the used market, I’ll probably pick one up.”

The Analog Take: The special thing about the Leica Summaron-M 28mm f5.6 is the small size. You want to bring your Leica M6 everywhere with you. And this is the best lens to do that with. It’s affordable, compact, and has a beautiful quality to it. We’ve used it a lot with Kodak Tri-X. A film like that will make photos from this lens incredibly sharp. Alternatively, Kodak T-Max 400 is a favorite of ours too.

Pro Tip: Zone focus with this lens and go shooting in the streets. Focus out to five or six feet away and have fun with it!

Sample Images with the Leica M6

Kodak Tri-X 400

Buy Now: $2,595

Leica 35mm f2 Summicron ASPH (The Everyday Lens)

“I’ll fully admit to this lens being very sharp; and for the type of work that demands critical sharpness you can expect great results from the Leica 35mm f2 ASPH Summicron. Just stop it down, focus and shoot.”

The Analog Take: The Leica 35mm f2 Summicron ASPH was paired with our favorite general film: Fujifilm Superia. The two work together to deliver nostalgic colors that will remind you of the happiest of times. This lens specifically works well with the Leica M6 because of the size. If the 28mm isn’t your cup of tea, this surely will be!

Pro Tip: This is a fantastic general-purpose, everyday lens. Use it to document everyday life. Capture the decisive moment with it.

Sample Images with the Leica M6

Buy Now: $3,295

Editor’s Note: This special feature is presented by Leica.

best lenses film leica Leica 28mm f5.6 leica 35mm f2 leica 75mm f1.75 leica m6 lenses tri-x
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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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