I "test drove" an FLE 40, and then a FLE 50, and settled for the 50 because of size, weight, cost and (for me anyway, perhaps most importantly, FILTER SIZE of the 50 which matched my 80 and 150 etc).
There is no doubt that the 40 is nice and wide (I think it's roughly thought of as a 26 in 35mm format (from memory), and the 50 is maybe a 33 on 35mm format equivalent)
I agree that the SWC is tough to use without a tripod (unless you are in the avant garde movement - no pun intended)- although I must say that the performance was excellent - albeit I only shot two rolls on a test drive.
Overall, though, I am a BIG fan of the 50 FLE.
And when I think about that, I realise that I use my 35mm lens most on my M3 Leica. I guess I like the AOV.
The 50 FLE gives a really nice resolution and contrast. That's my recommendation.
