25mm or 21mm paired with a 50?

[peter_n]

I certainly bought mine with the lens. I use a Leica 24 but have the CV finder. It is so much better than the Leica 24 finder you wouldn't believe it. When I sold my Kobalux 21/2.8 I kept the Russar 20mm VF I used with it. Why? It's a brilliant VF and I might have another 21 some day. Now I have an R4A so I don't need the Russar VF any more but that was the reason in my case.

 

[back alley]

i bought the zm 25 w/o a finder and used the entire fov of the zeiss ikon camera. it worked well. i was able to buy a used zeiss finder here on rff later.
i also have the cv 25 and r4 cameras and use that combo the most, despite the high quality of the zm lenses. sometimes size wins out.

 

[FrankS]

In this case: lack of size.

In a week, I'll have a CV21 as well as the CV25, and I have a few 50's. 🙂

 

[back alley]

yes, lack of size.
the r4 with cv 25 is compact and light weight, add the cv 50/2.5 and some film and the tiny domke fx3a bag and i have a day kit that covers a lot of territory and takes up no room.

 

[FrankS]

yes, lack of size.
the r4 with cv 25 is compact and light weight, add the cv 50/2.5 and some film and the tiny domke fx3a bag and i have a day kit that covers a lot of territory and takes up no room.

Add the CV 40f1.4 (treat it like a 35) and you have a small and economical wide angle with speed.

 

[back alley]

don't really need speed as i mostly shoot outdoors during the day.

but, after i get the cle working properly, i might go for a 40 and keep it as a small and quick permanent set up, the cv 40 would be perfect for that.

 

[maddoc]

I was wondering what made you select the MP with the 0.85x VF ? Paired with your Summilux 50mm ASPH and a 75mm Summilux / 90mm Summicron it is a nice rig but with WA lenses ... ? Anyway, the 50 'lux ASPH is an outstanding lens and if you are going to travel with a two lens setup I would choose one of the Leica WA ASPH (21mm, 24mm, or 28mm) for having quite similar lens characteristics.

 

[mfogiel]

I have bought the wide angles after having bought the R4A, then I also bought the viewfinders, for the extra flexibility with other bodies, but in reality so far I have used them seldom, this is why I suggest the R4A is a real winner: if you want to do some street shooting from the hip, on the hyperfocal and auto exposure, this camera is hardly noticeable, and you can get stuff like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1544272671/
or you can compose carefully, and get the precise type of thing like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1581205572/
mind you, also the parallax correction and precise focus when shooting wide open from close range is a bonus, like here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1544162482/

 

[horosu]

I chose the 0.85 MP precisely because I only need the 50 mm for 80% of my shots. The wideangles would only be for travel and architecture, so not that often.

Marek, thanks for your links. It seems to me that 25 mm is wide, but not "too wide", whereas the 21 is really ultrawide.

I am sure that the Leica lenses are top notch, however, thery are also more expensive by quite some margin than the Zeisses, so I wouldn't want to invest in them, taking into account that I will use them in any case less than the 50.

 

[Ronald M]

I would pick a 28 first, 25 sec 21 third.

Double your 50mm view height and width and that is what you get with a 25.