Downsides to Rokkor or old Leica lenses?

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thegman

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Hi all,
I'm looking on KEH for a 28mm and 50mm lens to replace my 35mm Nokton. The "M ROKKOR" 28mm looks like great value, but any downside to this lens, considering it was created for the CLE, not a "real" M? Do they focus OK? Any issues with using it with a ZI?

This lens would become my "landscape/cityscape" lens, so speed not that important, but sharpness and contrast is.

Thoughts?

Thanks

Garry
 
I have both the 28 mm CLE (with infamous white spots) and the 28 Elmarit 4 th version. The CLE is about as good as the Elmarit. It's very small which I like. I sold my CLE so I don't use it much anymore. Buy it, you'll be very happy.
 
Hi Gary

I had a minolta 28mm cle lens a while ago and it was better than the Leica Mk3 28mm M I owned at the same time. Nice lens small contrasty and no focusing issuses.

Cheers Dave
 
Some 28mm Rokkors developed white-spots around the edge of the front element. If the spots are small, it usually doesn't have an effect on the image.
 
The 28 Rokkor is a very sharp lens. Besides possible white spots, the biggest downside is that it will not bring up 28mm framelines on a Leica.

There are other very good non-Leica alternatives: M-Hex 28/2.8, ZM 28/2.8, Ultron 28/1.9, Color Skopar 28/3.5.
 
The M-Rokkor has different frame line activator prongs on the mount than other M mount lenses, so it brings up the wrong frame lines on a Leica M camera. But if the ZI has manual frame line selection it won't matter.

Also note that most M-Rokkor 28mm lenses develop a coating issue (search for "white spots" for more info). In many cases this has no effect on performance, as the spots are usually ouside the optical path. The spots can often be removed, but it can be an expensive repair (about $250 at FocalPoint).

Personally, the M-Rokkor is my favorite 28mm. (I had mine cleaned by FocalPoint.) It's easily the most compact 28mm of f/2.8 aperture, apart from the older Canon 28/2.8 LTM, which isn't in the same league performance-wise (I have both). The M-Rokkor is very sharp, has good contrast (not excessive), great ergonomics, and the dedicated hood is excellent.

In 28/3.5 lenses, I also have the vintage Canon, as well as the CV Skopar. The skopar is a fantastic lens - sharp, contrasty, compact - but it vignettes a bit on the R-D1, and it's a bit slower. The Canon is sharper and contrastier than it's f/2.8 sibling, but still not up to the level of the M-Rokkor and Skopar. (The Canons come into their own in bright sunlight, stopped down, where their lower contrast is an advantage.)

So my advice is buy the M-Rokkor, and if the spots bother you either get it cleaned or return it.

Ari
 
I had one that was professionally modified. Someone had added a piece of brass to the respective flange of the lens mount. Not a trivial DIY job.

For good measure, here is a 28 Rokkor photo:

473471708_qxyjH-XL-1.jpg
 
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Don't know, Ari, I bought it like that. Looked OK. Basically filed a corner in the flange, and soldered in a piece of brass to extend it.
 
Thanks for the info guys, I think the Rokkor is not the lens for me, white spots and bringing up wrong frame lines would be a pain. I'm looking for a nice simple 28mm which won't give me any trouble and nice sharp pictures, I'll look at some other Leica lenses and also the Voigtlander wares.

Thanks

Garry
 
You could also consider the Konica M-Hexanon 28/2.8 and the Zeiss ZM 28/2.8 - both reputed to be stellar lenses at lower-than-leica prices.
Ari
 
I like the 28mm M-Rokkor a lot, both for its optical performance as well as its compact and ergonomic form factor. The Konica and the Zeiss are noticeably larger in comparison. They *can* be found without the white dot disease (mine is pristine). To use on a Leica, a small piece of gaffer's tape keeps the frame selection lever in the right place -- no worries and no lens mount surgery required. The advantage of the gaffer's tape fix is that it can still be used on a CLE if you should get that body, or if you should ever resell the lens.
 
I also use a W-Rokkor 21mm 4.0 with a Minolta-LTM adapter on a Standard Leica. The vintage Rokkor has a non-retro focus design,and it results in very nice looking images. My experience with the M-Rokkow 28mm 2.8 encouraged me to get Rokkor wide angle SLR lenses for the Leica. It could difficult these days to locate a Minolta-LTM adapter.
 
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