Help me find a lens for my M6

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darkrami

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Hello all.

This is my first time posting here but I've been reading the forums a lot since I got my M6 back in July.

I wanted a small lens that would allow me capture family moments but also double as a street photography lens, so I went for the Voigtlander Color Skopar 35mm f2.5. I shoot mostly black and white and develop in house.

I soon learned that in order for me to shoot indoors I would have to use high speed film or push slower film to 1600 just to be able to shoot at f2.5, and I didn't like the results in most cases (too grainy). For street photography it performed fairly well stopped down to f8-f11.

I ended up selling the Voigtlander and now I'm looking for a new lens. I'm a fan of 50mm focal distance but it's tougher to zone focus than a 35mm. So I went to my local Leica store and the nice guys there let me shoot with the latest Summicrons both in 35mm and 50mm. Which ended up leaving me even more confused after I developed the roll and couldn't see any difference in IQ when compared to with my voightlander.

I'm at a loss especially when I compare photos taken with my Nikon fm2n+50mm f1.8 and my Canon AE-1 Program+FD 50mm 1.8. Both of those lenses produce IMHO better, sharper images than anything I've seen from my Leica shots.

Please recommend me a lens max $1200 that will allow me to achieve sharp results at fast apertures for my indoor shots and also perfoms well for my street photography projects...

Thanks a lot!
 
Welcome to RFF!

If you see no difference between Skopar and Cron, why not to get 50 2.5 Skopar for the street (fast focusing by tab) and Nokton 50mm f1.5 for slow and precise focusing in low light. Both will fit in one $1200.

Just in case, have you done the focus test on the focusing chart with tripod and cable release for M6 on close distance and checked RF on infinity?
Usually lenses are not sharp and same in IQ if they are not aligned.
 
Thanks for the welcome! I don't think there's a problem with the rangefinder as the shots seem to be in perfect focus. I was referring to the amount of detail the lenses are able to pull, when compared to say, the Nikon 50mm f1.8 ais. Unless that's also related to rangefinder alignment? Forgive my ignorance, I'm a total noob when it comes to rangefinders.
 
stompyq said:
Check to see if your RF is aligned
Click to expand...

Yup, check that. I shoot with lots of Nikon glass as well as Summicrons etc and there is no way that Nikons are sharper. They all are excellent.
Are you seeing differences in identical shooting conditions? Incorrect exposure may lead to apparent loss of sharpness too.

Fast lenses are essential for low light film shooting. But you have to be realistic with what you can do before introducing artificial lighting.
 
If RF is not aligned as it should, the object might still appears in focus, but fine details will be not revealed.
You could also show us test frames to be able to let you know if something is wrong or Nikon is simply superior.
 
Do you think it would be a good idea if I posted a couple shots and you guys tell me if the focus and sharpness are ok? Because I might be expecting too much, coming from shooting digital only for the past 10 years.
 
darkrami said:
Do you think it would be a good idea if I posted a couple shots and you guys tell me if the focus and sharpness are ok? Because I might be expecting too much, coming from shooting digital only for the past 10 years.
Click to expand...


Are you comparing film results with your Summicron to digital with the Nikon lens?
 
darkrami said:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129516046@N04/29371673570/in/dateposted-public/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129516046@N04/29371673570/in/dateposted-public/

One of them was shot with the Summicron 35mm f2 latest version, the other with the Voightlander. Can you tell which is which? Also please check for sharpness/focus. Thanks!
Click to expand...

In these images, they look like they have been overexposed. Slightly less exposure/holding back the highlights would help.
As far as sharpness is concerned... Voigtlander makes excellent lenses and once a lens is stopped down to f5.6 - f8 it is really really hard to notice any difference between lenses. Where you see the differences, easily, is if they are shot wide open.

I cannot see a difference between these two images at the aperture that was used.
 
darkrami said:
Both shots were Tri-X pushed to 1600, shot on a cloudy, rainy day.
Click to expand...

You are going to lose detail and tonal range when you push the film like this.
But, to be honest, you've done a really good job with this seeing that it is at 1600 ISO. They are just a little overexposed (which can be easily corrected in Lightroom etc)
 
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