Which Lens Should I Buy for my Leica M8

[kyzer]

HI,

I am planning to buy Leica M8, with viewfinder (is vivewfinder really helpful?)

Can somebody help me select Only Leica lens. My key interests are shootings of:

1. Portraits
2. B&W Landscape
3. Street Photography
4. Low Light Indoor Family Photography

Thanks in advance..

Cheers
Kyzer

 

[rpsawin]

Kyzer,

It may be useful in making your choice if you were to look at the pictures in the gallery. Often the information included in the gallery will reference which lens was used. You can then get a sense of what a specific lens produces or what lenses are tyipically used for specific shots. Each photographer has a unique eye for what looks right.

Best regards,

Bob

 

[dfoo]

Its also a pretty wide of subjects for a single lens. Btw, what are you talking about with respect to the viewfinder?

 

[oldoc]

If you have a budget, a Summicron 35/2.0. If you have 1/2 a budget, a summaron 35/3.5 or Summicron 35/2.8, all used.

 

[SteveRD1]

One lens?

One lens?

35 Summilux ASPH. This will cover just about all of it on an M8.

 

[Huwge]

If you are buying only one lens, the 35mm f1.4 Summilux Asph will cover everything, from low light to portrait, to landscape to street. Let me know if you want any examples of photographs with this lens. Best of luck!

I agree, but if budget no object and you don't mind getting close then the 24 Summilux might be interesting, low light and just short of FF 35mm. For this, especially if you wear glasses, you need a viewfinder BUT after a while it's easy to guess and you can always chimp the results.

The 28 Summicron is a nice walkaround, do a lot lens and probably quick enough if you tend to B&W. You probably don't need an external VF with this one.

Huw

 

[yanidel]

Given your requirements, a 35mm F1.4 or 2 is probably the best lens to start with.

 

[gfspencer]

Another vote for 35mm.

 

[figfoto]

35mm cron for just one lens. I use the 24mm most of the time and just crop.

 

[__--]

Kyzer, if you were getting this one lens to do all these types of photography a 35mm lens would be the one most people would think of first; but with the 1.33 crop factor, a Summicron-28 which gives an effective field of view of 37mm, would, in my view, be more apppropriate for what you want to do — and there is no need for an external viewfinder. Here are a couple of pictures with this lens, which probabl is the best 28mm lens available:





Leica M8.2 | ISO 160 | Summicron-28 | Glen Echo, MD

Leica M8.2 | ISO 160 | Summicron-28 | Potomac, MD

—Mitch/Potomac, MD
Wiang Pa Pao Pictures

 

[Ozkar]

Low light means f1.4 = 35 LUX ASPH

Low light means f1.4 = 35 LUX ASPH

Since low light and portraits are on your list you will need an f1.4 lens. The extra stop with an M8 is a big deal since the improvement in image quality in dropping from ISO 1250 to 640 or from 640 to 320, for example, is significant.

In the world of f1.4 lenses, the 35 LUX ASPH reigns supreme. It is jack of all trades and expert at all. It's sharp wide open with lovely bokeh and is very compact compared to it's peers (in terms of focal length, speed and performance). And rendering in low light is a real treat. While so many lenses just go murky, the 35 LUX ASPH has the uncanny ability to just suck in the light.

The new 24/1.4 may suit, but it is vastly more expensive and it is still a 24mm lens despite being equivalent in focal length to a 32mm on full frame. If you wish to shoot head-shoulder portraits you're forced to get uncomfortably close to your subjects. In addition, you're working with your eyeball pressed hard up against the VF and you will encounter considerable VF obstruction.

Ozkar

 

[Tom Niblick]

If it could only be one lens it would be a 35 Summicron.

If you could spring for 2, make them a 28 Summicron or Elmarit and a 50 Summilux ASPH.

If you could stretch it to 3, go with a 24, 50, 90 and make them the best you can afford.

Tom

 

[RingoHung]

35 Summulix ASPH got my voye!

 

[hef]

Without breaking the bank, the Leica 28mm f2.8 ASPH Elmarit!

 

[greggebhardt]

If I could only have one and wanted to do portraits and landscape, my 28 cron would be the one!

 

[Grober]

Kyzer, welcome to the group!

1st choice: Leica 28/2.0 Summicron. 2nd choice: Leica 28/2.8 Elmarit. 3rd choice: CV 28/1.9 Ultron with appropriately 6-bit coded adapter. (You MUST also get a suitable UV/IR filter with whatever 28mm lens you purchase.)

When you're ready to add to your kit, consider a 50mm lens. The 28/50 combination makes a very useful pair of lenses with the M8. Coding any 50mm is optional but it should be properly filtered.

-g

 

[MartinL]

Without breaking the bank, the Leica 28mm f2.8 ASPH Elmarit!

I just bought this as my first Leica lens. I've had the M8 for 2 years and began with purchase of 4 CV lenses (21, 28, 40, 75) --all for less than price of the Leica. Biggest issue for me was to get to know my shooting preferences with this particular camera, since my goal was to keep a single lens on most of the time.

The CVs-for-starters is an approach, a strategy, I'd recommend. I chose the Elmarit which duplicates the faster (but larger and not quite as competent) CV, and I've got a decent range of other lenses including a very fast 40 (to my surprise, used least, but handy for indoor snaps) a nicely wide 21 (tiny and light for landscapes), and the 75 which I like for portraits.