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So How is the Leica 35mm f1.2 on Film?

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 03/16/2026
05/14/2026
3 Mins read
A black Leica camera with a lens and strap rests on a wooden surface.
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A while back, I reviewed the new Leica 35mm f1.2 M-mount lens and really loved what it was capable of producing. But I also knew that I didn’t want to only test it out on digital cameras. A lens like that deserves to be tested on film too. So after buying some Kodak Kodacolor 100 from Blue Moon camera, I made images with it and asked them to develop it for us. So how was it?

The following is text that we’ve added to our full Leica 35mm f1.2 M review.

A misty riverside scene with an industrial structure, bare trees, birds flying, and snow on the ground.

I remember walking along the Long Island City waterfront on the sold, semi-snowy day in NYC when I was reviewing the Leica 35mm f1.2 lens. I also remember loading Kodak Kodacolor 100 into the camera and saying to myself that the images are bound to look really classic. And believe it or not, I was right.

Making photos on film with this new lens isn’t the same as making those same images on digital. With digital, there’s a pop to the images that’s pretty unmistakable. But with film, there’s a vibe and color that doesn’t come with the otherwise sterile digital format.

Where digital is designed to feel like a blank canvas for you to make a painting, film is designed to be an exterior wall with character for you to make a mural. And with that, I’ve got to say that I really, really, majorly enjoyed making those images on film. Pointing the camera through the 7 train window and slowing the shutter speed down while stopping the lens down made me think that yes, I would get blurry images. And yes, they’ll be softened by the window in front of me.

But who cares? It’s all about a look.

Compared to the digital photos I made, I can’t help but really adore the film photographs that much more. And ultimately, this is something that I truly love about the Leica M-series of cameras moreso than I do with the L-series. I can switch between film and digital. That can’t be done as easily anymore except if you’re still using DSLRs. And even then, you’ll lose some sort of support for the lenses after a while.

When I really think about it, I don’t think that I could’ve made these images as easily on digital. To get this look and feel, I’d have to use presets of some sort and even then, I still don’t think that I could get matching tones, the specific colors, etc. Blue Moon Camera did such a wonderful job with the development and scanning of my film.

This is yet another part I love about it: with digital, you have to do your own processing. But with a film lab, you get the images processed for you and you’ve got to live with the look. And 99% of the time, I really do adore that look.

I’m sure there will be some tech-bro with an AI that claims that he can get this same look with digital. But that’s removing the humanity from it. Digital isn’t meant to be used the same way that film is.

Outdoor train platform on a rainy day with a few people and a brick building in the background.
A subway train arrives at an outdoor station as people wait on the platform.
Three people sit on a subway; a boy stretches, a woman looks at him, and a man checks his phone.
Snow-covered railway tracks stretch across an industrial landscape on a foggy day.
Snow-covered railway tracks stretch across a foggy urban landscape with buildings in the background.
Snow-covered train tracks and a train on a foggy day, with industrial buildings in the background.
Elevated spiral ramp in an urban area on a cloudy day, with cars and buildings in the background.
A city street on a rainy day, with cars, pedestrians, and a mural reading “ARTISTS MAKE NEW YORK.”.
Snowy urban landscape with train tracks, leafless trees, and industrial buildings on a cloudy day.
Snow-dusted city park with bare trees, winding paths, and a few people walking on a cold, overcast day.
Snowy railway tracks with industrial buildings and leafless trees in the background on a foggy day.
An orange rail vehicle sits on snowy train tracks in a rail yard near buildings on a cloudy day.
A foggy city street with bare trees, buildings, and a parked police car in the foreground.
A bagel sandwich, juice, and a Black Seed Bagels paper bag on a wooden table.
Snowy park with a metal gantry, bare trees, and seagulls flying, city skyline in foggy background.
Snow-covered riverside park with bare trees and city buildings in the background on a foggy day.
A wooden pier extends into the water with a foggy city skyline in the background.
A seagull perched on a stone wall with city buildings and a foggy skyline in the background.
Seagulls perched on a snowy riverside railing with a foggy city skyline in the background.
Tall modern skyscrapers by a river on a foggy day, with bare trees and some snow on the ground.
A seagull perches on a railing by the water with a foggy city skyline in the background.
A wooden stool stands on a wooden floor in a cozy room with plants, a bed, and a door in the background.
A variegated monstera plant with green and white leaves sits by a window in soft, natural light.
35mm blue moon film kodak leica 35mm f1.2 tones
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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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