lens Advice For Leica M8.2

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kyler.

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Hi guys,
My grandfathers brother used to work for Zeiss and he talked to someone and turns out I can get the Zeiss 50 Sonnar 1.5 for UNDER 700.
Excellent! It's perfect for my first lens on the M8! Except for one drawback: It will take 6 weeks for me to receive the lens and I'm going on a big trip to Italy in 3 weeks (keep in mind that I do not have any lenses for my M8 yet). But I still couldn't turn down the offer. So I bought that lens. But I'm going to need something that I could use on my trip to Italy, probably something wide would be nice. I could rent a lens, but that would run me about 250 depending on my lens choice. So I decided that maybe I should buy a wide angle lens that would compliment the 50 nicely on my M8.2 and if I don't like it after my trip I could sell it with less loss then renting a lens.

I think 24mm would be the best to go with the 50 on an m8 (1.3 crop factor). Heres the thing is, I don't have enough money to go with something over 400-500 dollars. To the best of my knowledge, that leaves me with one option: the Voigtlander 25/4P Color Skopar.(If you know of any others that are 24 for a good price let me know). At 379 dollars, this lens seems great for its size. The real question is, how does it perform? Would f4 be slow for street shooting and landscapes? It would definitely be fine for landscapes but I'm not sure about street as I haven't done much.


Basically, I need a wide lens for the m8 thats cheap, preferably small, and performs well. Is the Voigtlander 25/4P Color Skopar my best choice?

Thanks,
Kyle
 
you're going to need a super wide angle lens on some sites or use multiple photos and stitch the photos.

i vote for zeiss 25mm! solid lens and a something you will always keep in your bag.
 
I shot with almost all CV lenses in France: 25, 28, 35, and 40. I can recommend the 25 color Skopar without hesitation. It will give you a 33.25mm equivalent on the M8.2. I would use it with an adapter that will bring up the 24mm framelines. It should be a very good walkaround lens that should match the FOV of the 24mm framelines pretty well at medium to longer distances.
 
what about the CV 21-4 to vive you a real wide angle? I love that lens in NYC and London - any tight place actually
Gives you the 28mm(FF) coverage (My main lens on the M8 is a 28
 
The other lens you could consider is the Voigtlander 28mm F2 - it's physically larger and a bit more expensive than the tiny 25mm and is also a great lens with that useful extra speed. Mine seems to live on my M8 most of the time.

Either the 25mm or 28mm is a good choice - both are high quality lenses. I have both, as well as the Zeiss Sonnar, which is a fabulous lens.
 
Last edited:
spikey said:
what about the CV 21-4 to vive you a real wide angle? I love that lens in NYC and London - any tight place actually
Gives you the 28mm(FF) coverage (My main lens on the M8 is a 28
Click to expand...

It would be a good idea except that the M8/M8.2 has no 21mm framelines. He'd have to use the 28mm external finder. If that is not a problem, then it's a good idea, if 28mm equivalent is not too wide for him as a walkabout lens.
 
I had almost any lens here mentioned. The C-Sonnar is a stellar performer in anyway - when you can get one which is optimized for f1.5, i kept it. The CV 2/28 is also a great performer but has focus shift, i let it go. The CV 4/25 is a good performer in M-Mount, LTM lacks rangefinder coupling, i let it go and bought a CV 3.5/28 also a tiny lens and a better performer than the CV 4/25 to my eyes. On top there are matchin framelines for this angle of view on th M8.
 
Thanks guys,
does anybody know where I could find some reviews of the Voigtlander 25/4?

Spikey- Rob f is right about the viewfinder, 21 is too wide as I would not like an external viewfinder.

Austerby- I really don't want to spend more than this 25/4 costs.

Bavarius- Now, the 4/25 has rangefinder coupling but the 3.5/28 still lacks it. regardless the 3.5/28 is a little over my budget.

Thanks,
Kyle
 
Last edited:
Hi Kyle,

the Voigtlander 3.5/28 IS coupled although having a LTM! I got a used one for 380$ a few weeks ago here in good old germany. Guess its cheaper in the US.

Here two examples from a stroll at the weekend

pauli0.jpg

100%
pauli.jpg
 
I have the 25 f4 p on an m8 and I love it. Brilliant contrast, colour and sharpness (very sharp infact) Its ideal for street. F4 is fine for anything but lowlight indoors and night shots without support

I use it all the time for street and live in the UK where we don't get good light and F4 is plenty

Id definatly recommend this lens. Other options for something faster is 35mm f2.5 (again incredible IQ) or maybe the 28 f2 for a bit more money
 
Thanks guys,
I think I'm going to go with the CV 25/4. Do I need 6 bit coding for a lens this wide?
If so, how do I go about doing it?
 
taken with the cv 25/4, on the rd1...

4547096000_d69eb6d70f_b.jpg


4451571319_e11eb62c87_b.jpg
 
Also,
does anybody know if this lens has a grove like the 28 ultron for m coding by hand?
What is the best coding for this lens?

EDIT: thanks chris. hmmm... Maybe I don't need to code it...
Does anybody els have similar experience?
 
filzstift

filzstift

On my Ultron 28 there were no groves or something similar for hand coding. I did it by the m-coder and a felt-pen. AFAIK no CV lens is prepared for coding due to patent issues.

For best coding: http://www.whimster-photography.com/leica_m_lens_codes/index.html

Coding IS good for any lens shorter than 35mm

kyler. said:
Also,
does anybody know if this lens has a grove like the 28 ultron for m coding by hand?
What is the best coding for this lens?

EDIT: thanks chris. hmmm... Maybe I don't need to code it...
Does anybody els have similar experience?
Click to expand...
 
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