BEST small lens for M8?

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usccharles

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so since my M8 is always around my neck, i wanted a lens small and wide enough for good whenever shots.

so i picked up a 28/2.8

focal length is pretty much perfect. 35mm on my M8. but i'm not really diggin the 2.8.

is there any lens at 35 or wider (35mm equivalent on M8) thats as small as the leica 28/2.8 but faster? or anything similar?

thank you 🙂
 
Charles, to answer your question: NO. Faster lenses = larger lenses. About the best option is the 28 Summicron; smaller than the Voigtlander lens, but more expensive. It is "better" optically, but much more expensive. I don't do digital, but with my M6s I am more than pleased with the rendition of the Summicron.
 
Fast is not such an issue with the M8 - you can always wind up the ISO. If you want small and wide, then the CV 25 F4 is small and gives you a 33 equivalent. The CV 21 F4 is small and gives you a 28. I second the 'cron 35 F2 (not asph) or if you want something special the Hexanon UC 35 F2 as both being small or the CV 35 F2.5 either classic or pancake II - both tiny and very good.
 
Agreed here. Personally, I don't find f/2 to be very fast (it's barely fast enough for true "available darkness" work), &, contra Gid, I would say that the ability to crank up the ISO on the M8 doesn't ncessarily solve your problem since the camera's performance @ ISO 640 & up is not that great, @ least when compared to B&W film like Neopan 1600. The only compact f/1.4 lens I've found is the CV 40/1.4 Nokton (though you would have to modify it to bring up the 35mm frames). The CV Ultron is a great value & isn't heavy, but is bulky as boilerdoc2 indicated.

vol72 said:
Charles, to answer your question: NO. Faster lenses = larger lenses. About the best option is the 28 Summicron; smaller than the Voigtlander lens, but more expensive. It is "better" optically, but much more expensive. I don't do digital, but with my M6s I am more than pleased with the rendition of the Summicron.
Click to expand...
 
usccharles said:
is there any lens at 35 or wider (35mm equivalent on M8) thats as small as the leica 28/2.8 but faster? or anything similar?

thank you 🙂
Click to expand...

As small as the NEW Leica 28mm Elmarit ASPH? Unfortunately, no. If you can give up a stop, the Voigtlander 21mm f4 would be a good choice.
 
I agree with the posters recommending the 35cron. If speed is more of a concern than ultimate sharpness, I just tried an OLD pre-aspherical 35mm summilux made in Canada and it was so tiny that I thought it was a cron. It is really cheap used and the little test snap I took with it was pretty good. I own the 35lux aspherical but I just wanted to play with some old lenses for their feel and bokeh. I was impressed.
 

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What sleepyhead said: the Avenon/Kodalux/PasOptik protrudes a miniscule 18mm from the body when mounted. OK, it's f3.5 but you can't have it both ways. Combined with a 40mm Summicron/Rokkor you would have 2 very compact lenses and one of them fairly fast.
 
Where are they "really cheap" used pray tell?

I don't think I've every seen one under a grand. PM if you'd like to avoid them becoming really expensive used.


BerndReini said:
I agree with the posters recommending the 35cron. If speed is more of a concern than ultimate sharpness, I just tried an OLD pre-aspherical 35mm summilux made in Canada and it was so tiny that I thought it was a cron. It is really cheap used and the little test snap I took with it was pretty good. I own the 35lux aspherical but I just wanted to play with some old lenses for their feel and bokeh. I was impressed.
Click to expand...
 
I didn't mention this earlier because it's hard to find IR cut filters in 40mm size, but if you can deal w/the magenta issue, the Canon 35/2 in LTM is fast, small, & sharp (& still less expensive than a Summicron of the same era).
 
Gid said:
Fast is not such an issue with the M8 - you can always wind up the ISO. If you want small and wide, then the CV 25 F4 is small and gives you a 33 equivalent. The CV 21 F4 is small and gives you a 28. I second the 'cron 35 F2 (not asph) or if you want something special the Hexanon UC 35 F2 as both being small or the CV 35 F2.5 either classic or pancake II - both tiny and very good.
Click to expand...

With a 1.33 crop sensor you must also take into account the increased DOF when shooting at equivalent FOV. You just might be surprised how much DOF an f4 lens has...
 
M7 / M8

M7 / M8

When I am shooting with my M7 the best overall lens for me is the SLux-M35f/1.4 ASPH. On the M8 my favorite is the SCron-M28f/2ASPH. Why go outside of the box, Leica produces the best lenses in that focal length range. Yes, a little weighty but you must be willing to give up a little to get the faster lens.
 
The Summicron 35 (asph or pre-asph) are the only ones that spring to mind that fit your requirements - but you haven't said what your difficulty with the 28/2,8 is. Would that be the ASPH version you have?
 
FYI

i just picked up the voigtlander 15mm Heliar that mr. SCHO recommended on his thread. not the 'fast' lens that i was looking for, but really cool in terms of other things (size, close-focusing, DOF) for just all around point and shoot shots.

🙂
 
leica did make a 35mm f1.4 it was a very small lens and i picked it up at BH Photo. It is hard to come by and at f1.4 its not the sharpest. But it is nice and small.
 
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