Leica CL newbie - need lens advice

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PentHassyKon

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I've been lurking here for a while and reading on the net via the head bartenders site. I'm usually over on Pentaxforums.

As my cheesy user name implies, I've got cameras galore. Except I don't have a Leica RF. I do have RF's, all courtesty of the head bartender again (not from him but because of the site I bought them): XA, blk Canon QL17, Rollei 35's, etc.... So RF's are not new to me. However, an interchangeable lens RF is.

Some of the fixed lens RFs will soon be up for sale to pay for this GAS - I've just purchased a Leitz-Minolta CL.

Alas it comes with no lens. Wish it came with 40mm Minolta/Leitz but nope :bang:

I am looking for an inexpensive lens for it to get started - I've read a little about the Jupiter's but I've seen some posts indicating they are troublesome. My thoughts are I'll use this mainly with a focal lengths up to 50mm. Since my main intent is for available light street photos the CV 40 1.4 and CV 35 Nokton (1.2 or 1.4?) will eventually be choices, but still further down after I sell off some of the Nikon and Pentax gear (not the Hassy though 😀)

So, I'm looking for a small compact lens. I tend to favor the 28/35 focal length figuring that will be good for street, however the collapsible 50's intrigue me. I realize I may not be able to collapse them into the CL - or can I?

To sum it up:
small, compact lens 28-50 focal length.
inexpensive
I can live with f2.8/f3.5 for now

Can you CL and M users help? I'm used to Pentax LBA where I can get good lenses for my k200d <$100 easily

Guess I'll have to figure out another username now that I have a Leica
 
Don't collapse anything into the CL. You risk killing the metering arm. Keep collapsible lenses extended and put some Dymo tape or masking tape on the lens barrel to keep you from collapsing it. In terms of lenses, I would go for the 40 Summicron if you can find one. It really is a gem of a lens and as inexpensive a Leica lens as you'll find. If too rich for your blood, try to find a 50/2.5 C/V Skopar lens or a 35mm Canon LTM lens plus an adapter.

Good luck - CL's are nice cameras.

Ben Marks
 
I've only heard raves for the CV 28/3.5 Color Skopar. I debated about getting one for my CLE but ended up with a 28mm Rokkor instead. The CV is thread mount, but the M mount converter makes that a non-issue. It doesn't seem you can get smaller/more discreet than this tiny lens. Find one in RFF classifieds eventually or CameraQuest for instant gratification.
 
Benjamin Marks said:
........... If too rich for your blood, try to find a 50/2.5 C/V Skopar lens or a 35mm Canon LTM lens plus an adapter.

Good luck - CL's are nice cameras.

Ben Marks
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Ben-

I'll definitely look for a 40mm Summicron. Just that the ones I see are too rich for my blood at the moment. Eventually, once I sell off some gear I should be able to get one, at least someone here can offer a 'user' grade lens to me at a good price 😀
Where can I find more info about Canon LTM lens'. I know where to get info on the C/V, Zeiss, and of course Leica lens' but when it comes to Canon LTM or M mount.

Also, can others pls provide more info on the Jupiter lenses'. Are they available in M or strictly LTM?
 
Jupiters only come in LTM, but LTM to M adapters are quite cheap. I leave one on each of my LTM lenses, effectively making them M mount 😛

I can heartily recommend the Jupiter 8 (50mm f/2), it's very inexpensive and I've had no issues with mine. I also own a J-9 (85mm f/2) that I'm happy with, but it's notoriously difficult to find a good copy.
 
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I had an 40mm Summicron-C but sold it before I got my Leica CL .... :bang: So looking for another lens for that camera I ended up buying the 40mm M-Rokkor CLE version. A match in heaven ! 🙂 Same size as the Summicron-C but cheaper, multi-coated (CLE version) and has RF cam that is trouble-free with other M-mount cameras. 🙂

The CL has only framelines for 40/50 and 90mm. Any 28/35mm lens needs some guess-work or an external VF finder ...
 
maddoc said:
I had an 40mm Summicron-C but sold it before I got my Leica CL .... :bang: So looking for another lens for that camera I ended up buying the 40mm M-Rokkor CLE version. A match in heaven ! 🙂 Same size as the Summicron-C but cheaper, multi-coated (CLE version) and has RF cam that is trouble-free with other M-mount cameras. 🙂

The CL has only framelines for 40/50 and 90mm. Any 28/35mm lens needs some guess-work or an external VF finder ...
Click to expand...

I'll keep an eye out for the 40mm Rokkor also! especially since you say it's cheaper!.

I've read somewhere that one can somewhat use the full viewfinder to approximate 28 (or is it 35mm) coverage - yes/no?
Also, eventually, I'd like to get the CV 40/1.4 or 35/1.4 (or even the 35/1.2 or 50/1.1 😱) - can the CL handle focusing these 2? or do I have to stop these down to f2.0?
 
From my experience guessing needs some practice... I have used a 35mm lens once with the CL and had no problems with framing since I wear eye-glasses and don't see the whole VF easily. If the CLE version has an identical VF (I don't know) using the whole VF should work for 28mm since the CLE has frame lines for 28mm.

The base-length of the CL is to short to focus anything faster than f/2.0 precisely. That's why they made a 40/2.0 Summicron-C and 90/4.0 Elmar-C. Anything faster is hit and miss and also the handling of the camera gets awkward. Just for fun I have mounted my Noctilux on the CL once and tested ... Out of 10 frames one was considerably well focused at f/1.0 and only for a distance of ~ 5m ...

PentHassyKon said:
I'll keep an eye out for the 40mm Rokkor also! especially since you say it's cheaper!.

I've read somewhere that one can somewhat use the full viewfinder to approximate 28 (or is it 35mm) coverage - yes/no?
Also, eventually, I'd like to get the CV 40/1.4 or 35/1.4 (or even the 35/1.2 or 50/1.1 😱) - can the CL handle focusing these 2? or do I have to stop these down to f2.0?
Click to expand...
 
As someone mentioned before, the M-Rokkor 40mm is a great lens. Optically the same as the Summicron-C, with the only difference being the filter size and Japanese construction. The coatings also differ as well, depending on which Rokkor you're looking at. The earlier, single-coated Rokkor (labeled Rokkor-QF) was sold with the Leitz Minolta CL and the later, multi-coated version was sold with the Minolta CLE.

They tend to go for cheaper than the Summicron-C; I picked up the earlier M-Rokkor 40mm for $300 and it was in great condition. I recall similar ones going for cheaper as well. Best of luck.
 
If you're looking for a budet lens to tide you over, you can't really do better than the Jupiter 8; they can give terrific results.

But I can't see any point in getting a cheaper 35mm lens to tide you over until you get the 40mm Summicron or Rokkor; the Jupiter 12 won't fit, and a Canon 28 or 35mm will get pretty near to the $300-350 of the Leica or Rokkor lens.

Once you get that 40mm, you will be in heaven. I've owned an M4, still own an M3, and my CL and 40mm is still my favourite go-everywhere camera.
 
the lens hood on the CV 35 1.4 is way too obtrusive in the finder, and might, if memory serves, block the rangefinder window.

focusing at 1.4 is tough. not impossible, but tough. stopping down to f2 or f2.8 is a better idea.

the 50mm 2.5 CV lens mentioned above is a great choice. It is just about the smallest lens you can get, it is cheap (i got mine in like new condition for around 200 bucks, if i recall) and is a great match for the CL.

get any of the 40's if you can afford them. The Rokkor, as mentioned, can be had for a good price, and the CV 40 is 100 bucks less than the 35 1.4 brand new. For a Leica lens, the 40 summicron is a steal.

If you want to go wide, you will need an external viewfinder, so why not consider going absurdly wide?

I have never seen a noctilux or a 35 1.2 CV lens on a CL, but I would think either one would block a LOT of the finder.
 
Merkin said:
..............
If you want to go wide, you will need an external viewfinder, so why not consider going absurdly wide?
Click to expand...

Absurdly wide is part of the road map, yes. I love the 16 on my 16-45 Pentax DA. But, I'd like to get an inexpensive "normal" 1st

Wish there was an adapter for my Pentax K lenses. I'd love to use my pentax-A 50/1.2 or Cosina 55/1.2 even though I know I may not be able to use them wide open.
 
Paul T. said:
If you're looking for a budet lens to tide you over, you can't really do better than the Jupiter 8; they can give terrific results.

But I can't see any point in getting a cheaper 35mm lens to tide you over until you get the 40mm Summicron or Rokkor; the Jupiter 12 won't fit, and a Canon 28 or 35mm will get pretty near to the $300-350 of the Leica or Rokkor lens.
.............
Click to expand...

CL has arrived! Where is a good reliable place to get one of these J-8's?
I also went ahead and ordered a CV 28 3.5 Skopar from here - not quite "inexpensive" compared to J-8's but I wanted to make sure I had lens to at least take the CL for test shots. I also want to try out the 28mm focal length anyways.

Soon as a reasonable 40mm Summi or Rokkor comes up either here or on eBay I'll definitely get it - I just haven't seen them in the 300-350 range mentioned here; unless of course a fellow RFF'er offers one to me 😀
 
vrgard said:
The Leica 40 (Rokker or Sumicron) is a great match for the CL. But if you want a smaller & wider lens, the Canon 28/3.5 works very well and makes the CL an amazingly small package.
Click to expand...

Is the CV 28/3.5 Skopar a good equivalent to the Canon 28/3.5?
I went ahead an purchased one from cfritze here. I haven't seen what a Canon 28/3.5 looks like yet - but the CV was available so I pulled the trigger. I'll have to sell some of my other Pentax SLR lens stuff to cover it though
 
I suspect the Skopar will be superior to the older Canon 28.

For a 50mm lens: also look for a Nikkor 5cm F2 in LTM. I keep one on my Leica CL, a good combo.

The Jupiter-8 can be quite good. It is built to the FSU standard, which is a bit different from the Leica Standard. It might require a change in the Shim for optimal up-close and wide-open performance. I've seen it about 50/50 with J-8's requiring some adjustment. It is not hard.
 
New eyes for the CL

New eyes for the CL

Well got the CL and the CV 28/3.5 Skopar: I was wondering how compact this combo would be. Quick shot in the bookcase along with my other compact RFs.

Hopefully I can get a 40 soon for it.......
 

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