25 or 28mm lens for M8?

[steven:s]

Just after some advice please.

I want to get a lens for my M8 that produces the equivalent of a full frame 35mm lens. As I cannot afford Leica glass at the moment, I am looking at either a Zeiss or Voigtlander in either the 25 or 28mm at f2 or slower. Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences with these on the M8. I assume these lenses will need coding to work on the M8?
Thank you

 

[kbg32]

They both are excellent, Voigtlander or the Zeiss. The 25 is equivalent to 32mm, while the 28mm is 35. I like something closer to a 28mm equivalent on the M8, so I go for the 25. Yes, they will need to be coded, unless you just convert to black and white.

 

[swoop]

I say go for the 25 as well. It's a lot sharper too.

 

[maggieo]

28mm, all the way. The Summicron 28 may be Leica's best lens and the CV Ultron and Color Skopar are both excellent performers.

 

[ampguy]

I have some 28s

I have some 28s

that seem to work well on the M8, as well as film Ms, and the RD1.

They're all 2.8, so they come off at night or often indoors. I haven't ever felt I needed slightly wider, especially if getting slower, but I have felt the need for way wider like 21 (~37mm fov equivalent on the M8) or 15 (w/ ext. finder).

I'd like to try 25 sometime, but would want one with a 35 mount, so it would bring up the 24/35 lines on the M8 not requiring an external VF.

You might end up not coding, there is no exact code for a Zeiss or CV in the leica codes, so the adjustments made, and lens info in your image files would at best be adjustments and names of a Leica lens that may nor be equivalent to your Zeiss or CV lens, in adjustment requirements.

You will probably want a UV/IR filter for the lens available.

Just after some advice please.

I want to get a lens for my M8 that produces the equivalent of a full frame 35mm lens. As I cannot afford Leica glass at the moment, I am looking at either a Zeiss or Voigtlander in either the 25 or 28mm at f2 or slower. Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences with these on the M8. I assume these lenses will need coding to work on the M8?
Thank you

 

[Doug]

The "35mm lens" equivalent angle of view - 63 degrees - comes at about 26.3mm on the M8. Of course there is no such lens, so you'll need to choose whether you prefer a bit wider or a bit longer. The 24/25mm lens choice is the widest with dedicated framelines in the camera, and the available modern lenses at that focal length are all outstanding. Luckily for us, there aren't really any bad modern 28mm M lenses either!

One way to keep costs in line is to go with the slower lenses, and in doing that you also get a bonus in that the lenses are physically smaller so aren't so visible in the viewfinder. For instance, the 25mm f/4 and 28mm f/3.5 Voigtlander Scopars are both excellent and affordable. Only the later 25/4 in M mount has RF coupling, however, as the earlier Snapshot Scopar is uncoupled, with scale focusing only. You can hardly make a bad choice! 🙂

 

[tbarker13]

Another vote for 28. If you don't need the speed, it's hard to go wrong with the CV28/3.5

 

[kermaier]

Another vote for 28. If you don't need the speed, it's hard to go wrong with the CV28/3.5

If you can find one! 🙂

 

[lewis44]

I just recently picked up a CV 28mm f1.9 Ultron for my M8.
This image was shot with that lens w/no coding or UV/IR filter.
Processed in C1 with just white and Black points adjusted and a custom profile that is like Chrome film.
No sharpening or any other mods in Photoshop.
I did about 15-20 shots and all were without any issues of not having the filter or coding.
I just got a filter, but I have not tried it to do a side by side, but I'll get around to it some day.
I'm quite happy with it the way it is

 

[maddoc]

My choice would be a Ultron 28/1.9 if I would not be able to get the 28mm Sumicron-M. The M8 is not really a "low-light-king", about 640ISO is max for color so a f/2.0 lens would be helpful if you plan to shoot a lot in dim light. 😉

 

[JSPhoto]

I use a 25mm Zeiss Biogon. It's the sharpest lens that i own, including 35 and 50mm summicron's. I can't really believe how great this lens is at it's price point compared to the Leica's.