Help me to choose a ZM lens.

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want to buy a wide angle ZM lens as 35lux is no longer 35mm on M8, and heard good things about ZM lens with price advantage.

I am trying to choose one from the list below:
1. 18mm F4
2. 21mm F4.5
3. 21mm F2.8
4. 25mm F2.8

Any experience with anyone of them?

I am leaning towards 25mm F2.8 because no extra viewfinders required and it is equivalent to 33mm on M8.

21mm and 18mm are also tempting because they are wider angles, which I never tried before. Heard good things about 21mm F4.5 with very little distortion, and pencake size.

Any suggestions?
 
It depends why you want it> Do you want "wide" lens to complement the 35'lux or do you want a wider view.
the 25ZM would work well as a medium wide on the M8. You will see the barrel in the finder as it sticks out quite a bit. Quality is top notch!
The 21/4,5 is my personal "benchmark" lens for 21's these days. Small and compact and VERY good. Would work as a 28 ish kind of lens. It is slow though.
The 18f4 is quite extraordinary in regards to light fall off and even rendition. It is quite large and you would see a lot of it in the finder! It also requires that you have the mount modified by Zeiss (free service) to make it engage the 24 frame on the M8. I think the later shipments of these lenses are now corrected from the factory. IF you are using IR filters on the 18 - these are 58mm sized!
I would probably go for the 25 ZM and also get the 21/4VC as awider lens. Lack of speed does not seem to be a problem for you.
 
If you like the 35mm feild of view, the 25mm on your M8 will give a close aproximation. I have one and I love everything about it (perticularly when I develop the shots I have made with it).

And as kshapero says: It's usually a good idea to listen to Tom (and also to use his leica accesories/essentials).
 
The ZM 25 resolves incredibly fine detail. I am currently waiting to shoot a couple of rolls of Adox CMS 20 with it. I don't think the M8 sensor will press the ZM 25, it will be the other way around. You may want to try shooting some film with it :)
 
I haven't used the M8 but I do have the 25 Biogon. It really is a superb lens and sometimes quoted as one of the best of the ZM lenses at least on paper. If you are looking for a 35 replacement, it would be the one I would go for. If you go wider, will you not miss the "35" view? I might be tempted to go for the 25 and then think about a CV21. If you like the view, you could then sell it (especially the LTM one) with little loss and upgrade to the ZM if you like it. If it is not quite wide enough, you could still sell it and go for the 18 ZM.

Kim
 
The lens to get first is the 25 Biogon, it is the reference lens for the whole line, the only "weakness" it has is the size which is not terribly compact.
This lens is already darn sharp wide open, and the dof is shallow enough to let you enjoy a meaningful background blur if needed:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1543295541/

At the same time, when stopped down to f8.0 it has enough dof to make some fast street shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1544272671/

It is enough distorsion free for pleasant architectural shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1764550272/

It is so sharp, that I found difficult to believe it initially - this is a handheld shot, made on a not very sharp film and during a fairly humid day,

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59177039@N00/1054376120/

if you enlarge, you will see the birds flying over the city, although I had focused on the hoof like structure on the left. Had you taken this with the M8, you would have been able to see what these birds had for breakfast... ;-).
 
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Just got my ZM 25mm. The build seems very good. Compact, esp. comparing Leica lens . What I did not like about it are:
1. Its focusing ring's nob is a bit hard to use, Leica's is a bit better.
2. Its cap is a bit hard to use. I replaced it with a Leica cap.
3. Its minimum focusing distance is 0.5m, shorter than Leica M bodies can handle, so after it gets closer than 0.7m, I cannot tell where I am focusing.
4. It brings out the 28mm frame on M8, not the 24mm one.
 
I think @nr1 that it will get better after a few days of use. @nr2 - the Zeiss lens caps are THE only mistake they made in the whole Zm and ZF line. @nr3 - this is actually an advantage, I've made some nice shots at the minimum focus distance with film, and you can do it much easier with digital. @nr4 - this is something not easily resolvable - read Reid Reviews for all the relevant solutions. And nr 5 - let us know how you like the photos ;-)
 
The only zm lens I own is the 25mm and it's a terrific lens. I find I use it alot. I use the CV vf with it as the zm vf is overpriced IMHO. I think Tom A's advice is spot on.

Best regards,

Bob
 
mfogiel said:
I think @nr1 that it will get better after a few days of use. @nr2 - the Zeiss lens caps are THE only mistake they made in the whole Zm and ZF line. @nr3 - this is actually an advantage, I've made some nice shots at the minimum focus distance with film, and you can do it much easier with digital. @nr4 - this is something not easily resolvable - read Reid Reviews for all the relevant solutions. And nr 5 - let us know how you like the photos ;-)
Click to expand...

Played with the lens during the weekend and really like it. At f2.8 and close distance, it can do very good portrait also, a pleasant finding for me. :)
 
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