a Thank You-a lens question for my new/first Leica, a M6:

danielsterno

danielsterno

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All:
First off, a very sincere Thank You for RFF's existence, the generous sharing of your experience, advice and passion here makes this a wonderful place.
i stumbled upon RFF last summer after becoming under a spell and obsessed with making images with my Fuji x100 (still am), looked at the wonderful images in the gallery for hours over many days, started reading the forums and been here almost daily ever since.
i'm primarily a painter/drawing and find photography as a strong influence/complement to my own art making process. Thus RFF has reinvigorated my interest in 35mm film and opened the door for a journey in learning the RF camera. After an unexpected selling of one of my pieces, I decided to buy my first Leica/lens. I went down a path of thinking the M5 was for me (started a thread here as such), until my surprise, I just bought my first RF yesterday-a black classic Leica M6 yesterday (over the phone-being shipped-getting here Tuesday) by a Leica dealer who I have bought other film cameras from before. Again- Thank You I am very excited.
I would of preferred a FOV of 35mm for my style of shooting for my first lens but they didn't have anything under $3k-$4k. They did have a Leica lens 28/2.4 for $999. in great condition which they are shipping with the M6, to try and feel it out for a week-get them both Tuesday. I know I have to educate myself on the world of Leica lens & non Leica lens options but-
Now to my question: What would be the 35mm lens for $1500 and under that are well built & have a decent speed, Leica and non-Leica and whats the different feeling of the lens? If there is a URL out there that I should know of, that would also be great. Again- Thank you in advance- daniel.
 
You should be able to pick up an older model v2 or v3 35mm Summicron for under $1500. Make a list of all the dealers and keep checking. As a matter of fact there is one listed on the auction site for just under $1400.
 
The ZM Biogon 35/2.8 is well thought of, the Leica Summicron (f2) 35mm is great in almost any version, the Cosina Voightlander 35mm f1.2 is doing some great images around here. There are many. There is a good thread here about 35mm summicrons. Congrats on your M6!
 
Agree about the C Biogon 35mm, which is a superb lens for not too much money. I suggest that the only thing that might put you off is that it's not that fast (for 95% of the time it's fast enough for me). The CV Nokton is a great lens but it's also a very large lens and rather heavy. Personally I'd call it a specialist lens and I ended up selling mine and buying the Zeiss because one of the main reasons I use a rangefinder is for compactness.

As also mentioned above, the Summicrons are very nice but usually rather more expensive and personally I haven't found the pre-ASPH models to be very good wide open although some people actually like that look.

Good luck with the M6 and hope you find a nice lens.
 
Lens for first M6

Lens for first M6

Can I ask a naive question: what is the primary difference between v2,v3 or v4? I assume besides the date of mfg. its other considerations?

someone is selling a V4 35mm Summicron, and I do not know the difference... thank you

Steve Bellayr said:
You should be able to pick up an older model v2 or v3 35mm Summicron for under $1500. Make a list of all the dealers and keep checking. As a matter of fact there is one listed on the auction site for just under $1400.
Click to expand...
 
danielsterno said:
Can I ask a naive question: what is the primary difference between v2,v3 or v4? I assume besides the date of mfg. its other considerations?

someone is selling a V4 35mm Summicron, and I do not know the difference... thank you
Click to expand...

Small correction to what JSU wrote:

v1 is 8 elements, v2 and v3 are 6 elements and v4 is 7. V3 has a slightly larger rear than v2 and less vignetting.

They are all good. My personal favorite is the v3 since it very small, very well built and contrasty and flare resistant. They are all good, cann't go wrong with any.

Good luck !

Roland.
 
If you can get by with an f/2.5 max aperture, the CV 35mm Skopar is a great lens. With what you'll save you can buy a dozen or so bricks of your favorite film.

For performance, you can find a used V2 Summilux for under $2000 with some searching. The Summicrons will be a bit cheaper.

The Konica M Hexanons are awesome and much cheaper. Then for sheer love of a lens, the relatively rare but still sometimes available UC-Hexanon is an optic that is superb and defies accurate description. I lament selling mine.

When you get some film run through that camera, make sure to post some images!

Phil Forrest
 
danielsterno said:
.... 35mm lens for $1500 and under that are well built & have a decent speed.....
Click to expand...

Treat yourself and buy a subscription to Sean Reid's Reid reviews, and save money in the process, it's a great place to learn the 'M' platform. Read Sean's excellent '35 mm lenses on the M9', cross reference that with Erwin Puts comparison of the Leica Summarit 35mm, against the Zeiss C-Biogon 35mm :

Oops; I was going to give you the link for the Puts review, but mysteriously I can't access it with my laptop ----- maybe someone else can help?

Anyway .............. After all that; I'd get the Zeiss C-Biogon as that's what I did. It's a superb lens [read the Zeiss ZM Forum thread about it], it's my lens-for-life, it's an artist's lens.

.............. Chris
 
ChrisC said:
Treat yourself and buy a subscription to Sean Reid's Reid reviews, and save money in the process, it's a great place to learn the 'M' platform. Read Sean's excellent '35 mm lenses on the M9', cross reference that with Erwin Puts comparison of the Leica Summarit 35mm, against the Zeiss C-Biogon 35mm :

Oops; I was going to give you the link for the Puts review, but mysteriously I can't access it with my laptop ----- maybe someone else can help?

Anyway .............. After all that; I'd get the Zeiss C-Biogon as that's what I did. It's a superb lens [read the Zeiss ZM Forum thread about it], it's my lens-for-life, it's an artist's lens.

.............. Chris
Click to expand...

Chris: Thank you! It seems that the Zeiss C-Biogen gets good feedback from users. I really dont know what I dont know but it appears that can be on my short list for the infamous, 1 camera-1 lens journey. I will also subscribe to Reid reviews- information is what I am looking for... Thank you
 
The Summicron 35mm v.4 was rated as the "Bokeh' king of lens. The out of focus area is supposedly the best. There are people who say that they can not tell the difference between the v.4 and the v.3. The important difference between Zeiss and Leica is size and weight (and, also, resale value). Since you are a primarily a painter not a photographer a Summicron v.3 would be your best value. Also, the new Summarit 35mm f2.5, which is a half a stop slower than the Summicron received high ratings. Some claim the build is not as high as the regular Leica line but if you are not going to a combat zone it should not matter the least. Both can be had in the used market for around $1500 at reputable dealer. Just keep checking.
 
Steve Bellayr said:
The Summicron 35mm v.4 was rated as the "Bokeh' king of lens. The out of focus area is supposedly the best. There are people who say that they can not tell the difference between the v.4 and the v.3. The important difference between Zeiss and Leica is size and weight (and, also, resale value). Since you are a primarily a painter not a photographer a Summicron v.3 would be your best value. Also, the new Summarit 35mm f2.5, which is a half a stop slower than the Summicron received high ratings. Some claim the build is not as high as the regular Leica line but if you are not going to a combat zone it should not matter the least. Both can be had in the used market for around $1500 at reputable dealer. Just keep checking.
Click to expand...

Thats on the short list as well and thank you.- Question: whats within a reasonable budget for low light. I do mostly low light shooting- both in doors and out- obsessed with shadows and contrast.
 
Within your budget you will stay with an f2.0 lens. If you went to a 50mm lens Zeiss Sonnar f1.5 runs about $1000 maybe a little less on the secondary market. Black and White film under low light condition (which is what I assume you will be shooting) has 2 stop leeway. (This is rangefinder so you should be able to obtain good results at 1/30.) Here is how I work it with the 2 stop leeway under extreme low light situations and NO flash: If no reading at 1/60 I lower the speed two stops checking the meter at each. If I get a reading at 1/15 I know I have leeway and will shoot at 1/60. If you get it at 1/8 then shoot at 1/30. Eventually you will learn. The rule is: An attempt is better than no attempt.
 
I love the size and images of the UC hex, but that 35/1.2 gets more play - it is simply too useful indoors not to have a 35/1.2.
 
Steve Bellayr said:
Within your budget you will stay with an f2.0 lens. If you went to a 50mm lens Zeiss Sonnar f1.5 runs about $1000 maybe a little less on the secondary market. Black and White film under low light condition (which is what I assume you will be shooting) has 2 stop leeway. (This is rangefinder so you should be able to obtain good results at 1/30.) Here is how I work it with the 2 stop leeway under extreme low light situations and NO flash: If no reading at 1/60 I lower the speed two stops checking the meter at each. If I get a reading at 1/15 I know I have leeway and will shoot at 1/60. If you get it at 1/8 then shoot at 1/30. Eventually you will learn. The rule is: An attempt is better than no attempt.
Click to expand...

Ah, nice. you are right on with all- B&W,hand held,no flash and i live to always reach beyond my grasp on everything, a 50 someday but will live with a 35 for now thus looks like 2.0 will be the best I will get. thanks and a good formula
 
Again sincere congrats.
You have a 28mm coming.Try it out and see how it feels.
Many here see world thru 35mm Frame as it's the most easy to view on most Leica-M of modern build.i think outside the frame.
i'd like to see some of your art pieces before giving more advice!
Stop worrying about different versions of a lens. Use and see.
The 28mm for me, is a very strong geometric view and one can make great use of shapes. The slower aperture is not important. In a short time with practice, you will be able to shoot at 1/8 and 1/15th sec. Some will blur, but there will be sharp images also.i think a 28mm better than the 35mm.
A very good 35mm is the Summaron at f2.8. i prefer it to my 35mm-Summicron first version.
Going with 28mm you can double focal length to 50mm. The standard focal length, the best use of frames, plenty space around, large aperture 'f2.0' all for the least money!
See the series with "M9 and Mumbai". A great photographer. The 50mm so looked down these days gives the best cohesive images. So easy to use that field of view.
Again, welcome to the club.
 
leicapixie said:
Again sincere congrats.
You have a 28mm coming.Try it out and see how it feels.
Many here see world thru 35mm Frame as it's the most easy to view on most Leica-M of modern build.i think outside the frame.
i'd like to see some of your art pieces before giving more advice!
Stop worrying about different versions of a lens. Use and see.
The 28mm for me, is a very strong geometric view and one can make great use of shapes. The slower aperture is not important. In a short time with practice, you will be able to shoot at 1/8 and 1/15th sec. Some will blur, but there will be sharp images also.i think a 28mm better than the 35mm.
A very good 35mm is the Summaron at f2.8. i prefer it to my 35mm-Summicron first version.
Going with 28mm you can double focal length to 50mm. The standard focal length, the best use of frames, plenty space around, large aperture 'f2.0' all for the least money!
See the series with "M9 and Mumbai". A great photographer. The 50mm so looked down these days gives the best cohesive images. So easy to use that field of view.
Again, welcome to the club.
Click to expand...

Thank you, my work on the site is not updated with a few recent pieces & will not show correlation to what I shoot being my work is abstract/mostly danielstern.info
So I have the Elmarit 28/2.4 since yesterday morning, while the 28 may eventually grow on me, my knee jerk is that for one primary lens, this is not it for me, i need a little more distance and a little less of the content, thus will get a 35 and return this to the shop. Ill look at the "M9 and Mumbai" work.-... daniel
 
danielsterno said:
Thank you, my work on the site is not updated with a few recent pieces & will not show correlation to what I shoot being my work is abstract/mostly danielstern.info
So I have the Elmarit 28/2.4 since yesterday morning, while the 28 may eventually grow on me, my knee jerk is that for one primary lens, this is not it for me, i need a little more distance and a little less of the content, thus will get a 35 and return this to the shop. Ill look at the "M9 and Mumbai" work.-... daniel
Click to expand...

28mm is a little wide for me too. I prefer 35-40-50 mm most of the time.

Super fast lenses are cool, but I'm happy with the medium speed lenses most of the time. What I use most on the M4-2 is the Color Skopar 35/2.5 .. Stunning quality for not a lot of money. For faster, I have both the M-Rokkor 40/2 and Nokton 40/1.4; both give excellent quality results. My Nokton 50/1.5 (ltm) is my standard pick for the M9: a super performer.

I had both 'cron 35 ASPH and 50 mm f/2 lenses in the past, they're kind of the gold standard, but on today's market the lenses I have now are more than just good enough so that I have little real motivation to spend the extra money again for the Leica added advantage.

G
 
Low light may rule out the ZM 35C Biogon, unless you are okay with the grain from faster films. I had one on my M6 TTL and it was (as others have said) very, very sharp, right into the corners. Compact, ergonomically excellent with 1/3-stop clicks on the aperture ring, and well under $1k. However... I found it a bit too contrasty for my liking, though it worked great in very flat lighting, as I was used to the "look" I got shooting B&W with my Minolta SLR. The only technical knock against it (IMO) was the quite amazing light falloff which was very noticeable. Combined with the high contrast, I found it often had a "film-noir-crime-scene" look to it that I just couldn't get used to. I read somewhere that this is (or was) the highest-contrast lens in the ZM range.

The ZM 35/2 might suit your needs better and it's still well within the price range you mentioned.
 
Canon made many nice lenses in Leica thread mount (LTM) - including a 35/2 that is said to be very close in quality to the older Summicrons. And it is much cheaper if you can wait for the right deal. In fact, you could probably get both a Canon 35/2 and a Canon 50/1.4 for the price of a 35/2 Summicron... You need LTM-M adapters but those are abundant and convenient. Another possibility, at least.

BTW, there is no 28mm f/2.4 Elmarit. So, did you mean 28mm f/2.8 or 24mm f/2.8?
 
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