Alternatives for Leica glass

Oscar, as the Rubén Blades' song goes, "life will surprise you". When I asked the Canon lens seller about the good, ole fashioned and always trusted "money back" guarantee... he said that given the Paypal and shipping expenses and loss of funds involved, he wouldn't offer any $ back. He claims his lens is beyond doubt in perfect and pristine shape, but I don't question the lens at all, I'd just like to know that I can get my money back in case something goes awry... which can happen since he'd be shipping the lens all the way from (clearing throat) Tokyo, in Japan.

How do you like'em apples? 😀

Oh, well, I guess I'll spend the additional $100, but now I can decide to do it later, shortly before dealing with those Boquería shots.

And thanks a big lot for the article! I don't think you're doing anything wrong. It'd be really bad news if you had said to be the author, at least to me... I'll keep you posted!
 
Waaa, no good. In this case that $100 ARE the price of peace of mind. The kind of peace of mind you get when you know you can have some kind of warranty.

Only one thing, why don't take a look at some reviews for that 35/2.5 Rover said? It's $219 new in cameraquest, add the price for the adapter and you are still below the AS IS canon price.

Decisions are always the most difficult part, hehe.

And no, I don't use to write that kind of things, now if we were talking of El Quijote I could tell you my friend how that guy Cervantes stole the whole idea from me a bunch of years ago... 😛

It would be nice to get the second part of that review though, but I downloaded it just for curiosity before getting my Jupiter-12 and soon forgot it in the pdfs folder.

Edit: I finally found that pdf on the original site. It's the last link of the "subscribe" page.
 
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Oscar, the Skopar looks good, pricewise, but then, I'm after speed in this case, and while the Skopar can be considerate fairly good at f2.5, it certainly cannot beat a f1.7 lens. It's on my short list nonetheless...

Rover, I had that auction in my watch list until I got tired of seeing it... and also when I found out the price this lens goes for in the US I considered myself insulted. One of these days I'll send them a message with information about the prices an Ultron fetches here. In fact, I don't think those prices are correct in Canadian dollars!

Time to keep looking! 🙂
 
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franciso,

don't get too hung up on speed. there are always faster films and one of the obvious beauties of the rangefinder is being able to shoot at slower speeds.
my mamiya lens are very slow, and i consistantly shoot handheld at 1/30th of a sec with good results.

just think of all the film the savings will buy.

joe
 
joe, it's true. I've been a bit surprised when I see how, comparatively, slow those Mamiya lenses are.

I guess I'll shift gears and start looking for the Skopar. I just saw one on eBay. I'll keep you updated! Thanks for the advice!
 
Well, sobarel, any hints as to how the Konica behaves, because I just sent a check for one.

To think I was looking for inexpensive choices... 🙁

But I don't regret it. These lenses are hard to come by, and they're pretty much Leica quality and a great deal in value.
 
Hey, cool beans. A 50 Hex was offered for sale earlier today on Photo.net. I am sure the 35 will be all that you expect it to be.
 
Actually, rover, the 35, together with a 'cron 50/2 came up for sale yesterday at photo.net. The 'cron was gone in a snap, within hours, so after a loooooong difficult night, I chose to snap the Hexanon today.

I'm a new poor man... 🙁 But heck, life is too short to spend it thinking about what could be and would be and can be and all that jazz.
 
Francisco - I don't really have any tips for using the M-Hex just because it's been uniformly great for everything I've tried. I particularly like the smooth bokeh (if I can use that word) which seems to be a common feature with all the Konica lenses. Totally sharp where you need it, and the build quality is easily up to Leica's standards.

In short, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!
 
Francisco, I expect you're going to love that Hexar 35! From what I hear it's at least on a par optically with the pre-ASPH Summicron and the CLE's M-Rokkor 40mm, so this is rarified territory, quality-wise.

While bottom-feeding can be fun, as with Ukrainian/Russian gear, I'm usually willing to bite the bullet on price for a quality item in a tradeoff over quantity. User enjoyment over many satisfying years of outstanding service is its own reward!
 
That's one thing I considered during the long, night hours of pondering whether to go for this lens or an Ultron. I like bokeh, so... why not! Gulp 😱 You should have seen the dip my checkbook balance took... 🙁

But then, as you say, Doug, bottom feeding can be fun... and it is! The dilemma comes at moments like this, when you have to take into account quality and long years of satisfactory service. I guess I did right. Let's see how the first shots turn out...
 
Congrats Francisco ! I really doubt you'll regret that decision. Konica glass seems to be a sure value. Let us know about your new acquisition ok ?!?!

And yes, bottom feeding is fun... but then, after enjoying so much your Kiev 4am you start to realize how much you'll like a more Contax-like Kiev II, BUT then you think that why not getting a 'real' Contax II after all...

You know that 'lo barato sale caro', so, investing a bit more in quality you're getting peace of mind ! 😉
 
Ricoh GR 28mm2.8 has dark corners. not recommend.
Minolta 28mm/2.8 is easy to found small white spots behind the front elements, but does not affect picture quality.
🙂
 
Chrischung, thanks for your endorsement of the Minolta. I placed bids for two... or was it three auctions on eBay, only to lose them all at the very last minute. At the end, I ended up buying a Konica Hexanon from a photo.net forum member, and it should be coming soon.

Thanks for the warning about the Ricoh, though. There were two for sale while I was shopping, but the prices were a bit on the outrageous side...
 
The Konica M 35mm/2 is very smooth w/excellent color and image depth,but seemed not as sharp as Nikkor 35/2.8 ti.
I am re-reading a 4 camera shoot-out, T3,Klasse,TC-1 and Gr1-v in Compact Camera Magazine(From Japan, Nov.2002 issue),with photos taken by the GR1-v which did not show any corner fall out.Also several photos printed on p36-42,p112,113 by GR 28mm/2.8 did not show any fall-out either.So I don't know.
GR 28 is not a cheap lens either.1 US dollars used to buy 200 yen,today,1-29-04, the exchange rate is 106.87 Yen.
One Avenon 28mm/3.5 L or M mount which was mentioned in Stephen Gandy site worth a research.
 
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It is only my experience to use Ricoh GR28mm with dark conners and less sharpness.The lens is expensive in Hong Kong, also and the cost could enough to buy a 2nd hand Elmarit 28mm (3rd version).

I have no experience in using Konica 28mm and Avenob 28mm, I'm waiting for reports from you all.

Infact, I like the CV Skopar 28mm/3.5 more than others.

Chris
 
The big debate right now is centered on the Minolta 40mm and the framelines it triggers on a Leica body.

Meanwhile, my Hexanon was shipped yesterday from CT. I can't wait!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
 
Usually, I use the 35mm and guess the image something smaller when using the Summicron/Elmarit/Rokkor-M 40mm on my M4-P. In most time, I use these lenses on my CLE or CL bodies.
 
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