First M8 Lens

J

Jeff.

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(new to these forums.. if I am an idiot and missing this sort of post elsewhere, let me know =) )

My first Leica, the M8, is in the mail!

Now I have to decide what first lens I should get. My budget can not go over $1300, but I would really like to spend less than $1K.

I really like wide angle (and have to consider the 1.3x of the M8).

As a little background I will be studying abroad next semester in Copenhagen, so I liquidated all my Canon gear to move to Leica.

A 50 just seems too long, however some of the older 50 lux's (f/1.4) are in my budget. I could also get a 50 nokton f/1.1.

A 35 seems really nice, and some older 35crons (f/2) are in my budget. Add the 35 Nokton f/1.2 as a competitor here

A 21/28 elmarit is also in my budget, but f/2.8 just seems really slow.

I am extremely confused and really dont care THAT much about IQ, but I figure if I am dropping the bucks for the M8... might as well get Leica glass. Bad logic? What should I get??

New to the Leica and been out of gear for years so I am pretty lost at this point.

Thanks!

Jeff
 
Can't go wrong with a 35 cron. I love mine. Zeiss makes great 35's too, I'd really check those out. I'm super impressed by my 25 Biogon. It's an amazing lens.
 
You say you like wide-angle. That means 25mm or wider on the M8 in my opinion. Widest frameline of the M8 is also 24mm.

Options under $1300:
Voigtlander Color Skopar 25/4P (less than $400)
Zeiss 25mm Biogon F2.8 ($1000 used on the Bay, $1300 new (early models brought up the wrong framelines on the M8))

The first is cheap, small and a little slow
The second is more expensive, larger and a stop faster.
The are both reported to be good performers.

Good Luck, Nick
 
Exact same boat. My M8 arrives tomorrow. I subscribed to reidreviews.com and it was helpful to me in picking glass. I'm starting with the Zeiss f/2 planar 50mm and the Voigtlander 28mm f/3.5. The reviews of these are stellar. Leica glass is just too expensive and in some cases unwarranted for the price to benefit ratio especially if you are on a budget, which I am too. I wanted to get into the rangefinder world without breaking the bank.
 
You dont have to buy Leica. It doesnt matter.

I´d go for a Voigtlander 35/1.2 if you want speed and subject isolation. Most other Voigtlander lenses are fine too and used prices are always good.
 
Consider the underdog Voight 15mm Heliar as one of your lenses. Most of the time it's attached to my M8 more than the 90mm and 35mm Crons !
 
I love 35 on the m8, it's pretty useful for a shy person like me but i do find it a little restricting at times and in a perfect world i would choose something a little wider.
I really like Zeiss, the 25 Biogon looks great but if you want a bit faster and 35 is ok then a used 35 summicron f2 might be good for you. I like the way it renders b&w.
Good luck
 
The 28 Elmarit is a great lens. After trading some old film gear to buy an M8, I used it for about four months as my only lens. I couldn't have been more pleased. That said, I have since rebuilt my kit, adding an ultra-cheap but very nice J-8, which I highly recommend if you want a 50 for less than 50 bucks. I then picked up a Canon 50/1.4 for around $300. As fast as Summilux and as nearly as nice as Summicron in terms of sharpness, bokeh, rendering, etc. (for comparison, I had a DR 50 Cron for over 25 years). I then added the CV 15 (bought this one new from our head bartender). It has been used more since I've owned than any of my other glass. A great lens. I then added a 35/2 Canon. Again, very Summicron-like for under $400. To round things out, I picked up a 90/4 Elmar for about $90. So, to further the points made by some of the early posters, for around $1350 I picked up five lenses. That's about what I paid (after a Leica rebate or about what you could expect to pay for a current 6-bit one used) for the 28 Elmarit. If you are not married to having Leica glass, you can still find some great quality optics for not too much money if you shop CV, Zeiss, ((vintage LTM) Canon, etc., both new and used. If you can only afford one lens now, think in terms of what focal length is going to be most versatile for you. I have shot the 28/2.8 on dark subway cars at ISO's from 320 to 2500 handheld with nice results wide open. Speed is less of an issue than you might think unless you shoot mostly in concert halls and nightclubs. Of course, if money is no object, get yourself a Summilux at whatever focal length floats your boat (personally, I'd go for the 21 asph lux if I had a rich uncle). I honestly think you could live with the J-8 (assuming you get one in good shape) for a long time while you save your money to the lens of your dreams. I had previously owned a 35 canadian cron (I couldn't tell you what version) for 25 years along with a 90 tele-elmarit. The little cron was great, but to be honest, I like the Canon 35 just as much and it cost an awful lot less.
 
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I'd go with at least a 28 or 35 as first lens, the 50 becomes a great portrait lens, but is long for just normal use on the M8.
 
Everyone, thank you all for your really great advice. It is so appreciated!

I think I am going to try to pick up the CV 28 f/2 (or f/1.9?) Ultron and the CV 35 f/1.4 Nokton for about $1000 total. Seems to give me good flexibility right off the bat.

(Any bias towards the f/2 or f/1.9??)

(see my WTB here, http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/841424/0?keyword=cv#7840010 )

I am worried about losing the ever elusive 'Leica glow'... if it is not an urban myth and is real, I will just PP to get there =)

If anyone has any other advice please share!! So glad to 'join this club'
 
probably good choices

probably good choices

Hi Jeff,

I think the "Leica glow" is some combination of veiling flare, old glass, and the microcontrast or contrast of older Leica glass that few newer formulas deliver.

Veiling flare, often wide open and slight over exposure can give some CV lenses the "glow" look.

Here is a series taken with an old Leica 35 lux wide open, many of the images showing some "glow" that I haven't seen exactly from other lenses.

Jeff. said:
Everyone, thank you all for your really great advice. It is so appreciated!

I think I am going to try to pick up the CV 28 f/2 (or f/1.9?) Ultron and the CV 35 f/1.4 Nokton for about $1000 total. Seems to give me good flexibility right off the bat.

(Any bias towards the f/2 or f/1.9??)

(see my WTB here, http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/841424/0?keyword=cv#7840010 )

I am worried about losing the ever elusive 'Leica glow'... if it is not an urban myth and is real, I will just PP to get there =)

If anyone has any other advice please share!! So glad to 'join this club'
Click to expand...
 
The interesting thing is that this "glow" would be considered a major flaw if talking about any other brand. It's a combination of spherical aberration and veiling flare due to inferior coatings.

The Ultron 28/2 is very nice on M8, but a tad larger than many other lenses.
 
may be true

may be true

but in my opinion, the over-correction of SA leads to ugly Bokeh, harsh rendering, and larger sizes of lens, and increased distortion.


Makten said:
The interesting thing is that this "glow" would be considered a major flaw if talking about any other brand. It's a combination of spherical aberration and veiling flare due to inferior coatings.

The Ultron 28/2 is very nice on M8, but a tad larger than many other lenses.
Click to expand...
 
Jeff. said:
Everyone, thank you all for your really great advice. It is so appreciated!

I think I am going to try to pick up the CV 28 f/2 (or f/1.9?) Ultron and the CV 35 f/1.4 Nokton for about $1000 total. Seems to give me good flexibility right off the bat.

(Any bias towards the f/2 or f/1.9??)



If anyone has any other advice please share!! So glad to 'join this club'
Click to expand...

Jeff, both the f/2 and f/1.9 version are excellent lenses, with the f/2 having slightly more contrast and sharpness, albeit with some focus shift (but I can guarantee that you'll rarely notice this)

I have to say, it's been a dream to use so far. It's not bitingly sharp like the newer asph lenses but it does seem to be a good compromise between both asph and pre-asph lenses (good bokeh, a teeny bit of that leica glow and good sharpness wide open)
 
Jeff: I only got my M8 yesterday(M6 user for 2 years) so take the following with a pinch of salt and I'm not trying to sway you towards 35mm but but as this gives my preferred(roughly) 50mm focal length on the M8 I'm going to tell you about my 35mm lenses. I have the CV nokton 35/1.2(I've only used this lens on the M8 but I'm happy with the results-I have a couple of large high res pictures on Flickr) and ultron 35/1.7. Both give excellent results. The ultron is not pretty but it's a good size and pretty cheap. The nokton is brilliant but it's very large and heavy. Not so good for carrying around but the trade off is that it's easy to get a good steady grip on it. And it looks very cool. I got these before the nokton 35/1.4 was released but having had a good luck at other folks pictures with this lens I reckon it's not such a good performer. Although not as fast I'd very much like to get my hands on either an m-hexanon 35/2(I have the 50/2 and it's superb) or ZM biogon f2(expensive!).

I'd also like the CV 15mm and 21mm viewfinder but I definitely wouldn't start there if I were you.

You say you have a tendency towards wide angle so you should certainly steer clear of 50mm lenses on this camera.
 
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