First M mount lens

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donaldjohn

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Hello all,
Just got a M4-2, and looking for a lens. I'm basically shooting 90% of the time at 50mm on my other camera, sometimes at 85 or 105.
I'm looking for a lens for the Leica, i hear a lot about the 40mm 1.4, not a focal i'm used to, but maybe it would be interesting to change a bit and stop being stuck at 50.
any hint welcome!
 
The 40mm lens will bring up the 50mm framelines on the M4-2.
The M4-2 has framelines for 35mm lenses- which are plentiful. You can pick up a 35/1.7 Ultron in Leica Thread Mount and get an M-Mount adapter, which is what I've done- if trying to save some money.

Lots of great 50mm lenses available. The new 50/1.5 Nokton just came out, I suspect a number of the current ones will be discounted or put on the market "lightly used".

You have many choices, best to pick a price range, and describe what type of shooting you like to do.
 
I got a 40mm Nokton for my CL, but I'm also using it on my M3. I'm finding it a decent compromise between focal lengths of 35 and 50. If I want 50mm field of view I can take two steps forward. If I want 35mm field of view I take one step back. I use the whole viewfinder window for framing the composition. I'm leaning toward a 50mm for the M3. Just can't decide on which one to get!
 
M4-2 is last best film M with accurate 35mm framelines. After it - crap.
If you are after 50 it is OK as well. 40mm is crap framing on last best film M for 35 mm. Nor it is anything special. It is OK lens for color film.
If you like BW, Ultron 35 1.7 leaves 40 1.4 in total dust. Or Biogon 35 2.5 ZM.
And collapsible Cron or Elmar-M 50 2.8 or Summarit-M 50 2.5 are great lenses for BW and last two are good for color.
Nokton 50 1.5 is also lovely on BW.

If for some reason you need to use 40 1.4, M4-P is better camera for it.
 
I would echo what others have said about the 40mm lens - for your first lens on your first leica, get something that fits your frame lines. You can have fun guessing focal length later when you're properly jaded.

Side note - whats your other camera? Sounds like something with a zoom lens - the additional thing to think about with the rangefinder is what framelines you like looking through on the finder. For eg - I've enjoyed shooting 35mm lenses on my SLR, but i find the 35mm frame on a 0.72 magnification finder (like the M4-2) too large to compose naturally. For that reason I tend towards shooting 50s more.

A few suggestions for lenses: The lens I would most recommend is the new TTArtisan 50mm 1.4 Asph. It's very cheap, but a step above the other Chinese lens manufacturers - it really feels on par with the Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses I've used. Beautifully damped focus and nice clicky aperture stops. Very well controlled from wide open, it becomes very sharp everywhere but the corners when stopped down a little. I'm selling my 50mm 1.1 Nokton because I like this lens so much.

People have mentioned other 50s which seem good - the Zeiss 50mm f2 Planar is a particularly nice lens if you're after something very sharp and contrasty and don't mind spendning more. The Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 Nokton Asph gets good reviews but i've never used one.

For 35s you've got a lot of affordable, great lenses. The 35mm 2.5 color skopar is an excellent lens, great contrast, and extremely compact.

The 35mm 1.4 nokton classic is also lovely, but soft and dreamy when wide open. If the thought of getting a roll back with a few soft or glowy shots on it seems frustrating, grab the color skopar instead. I don't find distortion a problem, but the nokton also has more of that.

The last 35mm you should consider is the 7artisan 35mm f2 sonnar. It's a neat little lens capable of great results and extremely cheap. If you just want to give the 35mm focal length a shot with no regrets, pick one of these up 2nd hand for not much more than $100.
 
GLL said:
I would echo what others have said about the 40mm lens - for your first lens on your first leica, get something that fits your frame lines. You can have fun guessing focal length later when you're properly jaded. ...

The 35mm 1.4 nokton classic is also lovely, but soft and dreamy when wide open. If the thought of getting a roll back with a few soft or glowy shots on it seems frustrating, grab the color skopar instead. I don't find distortion a problem, but the nokton also has more of that.

The last 35mm you should consider is the 7artisan 35mm f2 sonnar. It's a neat little lens capable of great results and extremely cheap. If you just want to give the 35mm focal length a shot with no regrets, pick one of these up 2nd hand for not much more than $100.
Click to expand...
+1 on all counts.

Except, I've never seen a 35mm 7A go for anywhere near $100. At $288 for a brand new one, why fight it? ...
 
The point of buying a Leica body is, surely, to use Leica lenses as they were meant to be used?


To me that suggests a 35mm to get the frame lines and any aperture you can afford but don't forget the thing needs Leica made hoods and caps to do the job properly. They can knock an unexpected hole in your budget.


Regards, David
 
David Hughes said:
The point of buying a Leica body is, surely, to use Leica lenses as they were meant to be used?


To me that suggests a 35mm to get the frame lines and any aperture you can afford but don't forget the thing needs Leica made hoods and caps to do the job properly. They can knock an unexpected hole in your budget.
Click to expand...

This does tend to be a view on forums devoted to cameras. Personally I bought a leica to take photos with, and I buy my lenses for the same purpose. Must it, for example, be the most recent APO cron leica lenses to use as intended? Or will an old 35mm lux be appropriate too? And if an old 35 lux is appropriate, why not a 35 nokton classic, which by all accounts is better in almost every way? No disrespect to anyone who likes their leica gear, but I suspect if the OP was one of those he'd have picked up a 35 cron brand new with the body.
 
For the OP- important to set a budget. Have a look at example pictures taken with the lenses you are considering. Here, Flickr, and other sites have a lot of example images.

Buying a new lens makes things easier, but more expensive. Buy used lenses from a reputable store, or from forums like this one where the lens has been used and examples from it are shown. Ebay- make sure the seller accepts returns, or get very good at repairing lenses.

All of the currently available new lenses from Leica, Voigtlander/Cosina, and Zeiss are first rate. New offerings from the Chinese manufacturers can be very good, provisions are made for the owner to calibrate them. This was necessary for my 3 lenses.

You have more choices for lenses than ever before.

Narrow down what you are after, and ask about specific lenses that you are considering. You will find that someone here probably owns that type of lens and can post samples.
 
GLL said:
I would echo what others have said about the 40mm lens - for your first lens on your first leica, get something that fits your frame lines. ......
Click to expand...

My 40mm f1.4 Nokton fits the 35mm frame lines of my Zeiss Ikon exactly at distances beyond 2 meters. Cannot speak for Leica frame lines. But I have never worried that much about perfect matching. I also find the Field of View of 35mm and 40mm lenses to be so close that they are effectively interchangeable.
 
GLL said:
This does tend to be a view on forums devoted to cameras. Personally I bought a leica to take photos with, and I buy my lenses for the same purpose.
Click to expand...

Yup, on Youtube commentary, for instance, you sometimes see people rather aggressively defending the view that only Leica glass should be mounted to Leica bodies. These people maintain that if you buy the latter without the former you are a "phony".

This, of course, is rubbish.

I've yet to see one boring photo that would have been interesting if only shot with Leica glass. However, if having a Leica body makes one shoot more, then that sounds like an advantage to me.

I got the Minolta 40/2 for my first Leica M body.
 
If you like the 50, no reason not to stick with it. I have three of them for Leicas and I am not sure if it is my favorite focal length. I just purchased a LTM 3f and it came with a collapsable 50 Summicron. Depending on the phase of the moon and the location of the planets, it can sometimes be a 35.

However, if you wish to try something different I would suggest a 35 vice a 40 as the M4-2 has 35 FOV frame lines. And I am not sure how different a 35 is from a 40. Trying to estimate the FOV of a 40 is not something I would want to combine with a new camera experience (rangefinders). Of course no rangefinder will be as precise as a SLR.
 
GLL said:
This does tend to be a view on forums devoted to cameras. Personally I bought a leica to take photos with, and I buy my lenses for the same purpose...
Click to expand...


Well, yes and no. The Leica RF's are a niche camera and that niche is very, very tiny; so I guess there must be some other reason to buy the thing when any old SLR will do the trick...


But that's just my 2d worth.


Regards, David




PS And, worse still, I like the 1970's Leica CL which usually comes with a Summicron-C f/2 40mm lens and with one more lens and the proper case makes an excellent outfit that I have been using for decades.
 
jukka said:
Yup, on Youtube commentary, for instance, you sometimes see people rather aggressively defending the view that only Leica glass should be mounted to Leica bodies. These people maintain that if you buy the latter without the former you are a "phony".

This, of course, is rubbish...
Click to expand...


Hmmm, I assumed the OP bought a camera that is 40 - 42 years old for fun, rather than because he/she has just been offered a job as a war correspondent somewhere very active...


I hope that explains my comments.


Regards, David
 
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