Just got my RD-1 now need a lens..

[orenrcohen]

Hi.. My RD-1 is on it's way.. Just broke down and ordered it from KEH LN..
Now I'm in the market for a lens.. I want it to be "Normal" perspective and with the crop factor of the sensor I'm thinking around 35mm. Considering the Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4 and the Voightlander Nokton 35mm f/1.2 Ashpherical.. I figure this will get me close to "Normal" view and also be fast as I do allot of low light night shots.. Can anyone share some thoughts on these and or guidance would be much appreciatd..

O

 

[payasam]

As some 35mm full frame photographers use 50mm as "normal" and others use 35mm, you might also consider a 28mm lens. That would be 42mm in Leica terms. The fast CV offering is said to be excellent, though it is a stop slower than the options you are considering.

 

[maddoc]

When I had my Epson RD-1s (my first RF camera ever) I bought a CV 35/2.5 PII to go with it and since I prefer 50mm on film, that Epson RD-1s/ 35mm combo worked well for me. On the other hand if you plan to add a 50mm lens later, 35mm could be to close and the 28/2.0 Ultron would make sense as a first lens.

Just my 2 cent of course ! 🙂

 

[sevres_babylone]

The 35/2.5 PII was the first lens I used on mine as well. It's a nice lens, and the combination of it and the R-D1 feels great.

So why don't I use mine much anymore?
Blame Sean Reid and some of the posters on this forum who talked about how fine the R-D1 was with older lenses. So I bought an old Canon 35mm 2.8 ltm lens. I use that in a lot of instances when I used to use the CV.

Also, I do a lot of low light shooting, in clubs or at night. I bought the CV 40mm 1.4. At that time, the CV 35 1.4 hadn't come out yet. So I use that in many instances when I would have used the PII.

I think you need to think about whether you need a fast lens. if you do, then the 35 1.4 would be a better choice than the 2.5. On the other hand, you can keep buying more and more lenses like the rest of us.🙂

 

[andreas.pichler]

My first lens was the Jupiter 2.8/35 mm, I have had some experiences with this lens a and a pre-war CONTAX rangefinder, and with the EPSON R-D1, it works great as well.

I then added the Jupiter 1.5/50, the CV 4.0/21, the Elmar 4/90 and the Summicron C 2/40.

My walkaround favourite is the Summicron C 2/40. Brilliant solution and the ideal compromise between 35 and 50 mm. When on the road, I put the CV 21 and the Jupiter 50 in my pockets as well.

I am playing with the idea of a CV Nokton 1.4/40 as well, but they are hard to find in good used condition, and I do not want to pay around EUR 400 for a new lens. And for my taste, the modern CV lenses are producing pictures which are a little bit to clean - I really like the way the Leica lenses are working with colors.

Go for the Summicron C - from time to time there are reasonable lenses to find, I paid around 140 EUR for mine.

Cheers,

Andreas

 

[orenrcohen]

Went lens shopping yesteday.. I fully went into the shop expecting to buy the Nokton 35mm 1.2, in fact pretty much had my mind set on it. But comparing the size between the 35mm 1.2 and the 35mm 1.4 I opted for the Nokton 1.4. The Nokton 1.2 was huge by comparison and the 1.4 seemed more usable/everyday friendly. Wasn't sure I would see enough of a difference in speed between the two to justify the extra size and weight. The 1.2 was a beautiful lens but for day to day street photography seemed not stealthy and entirely too big/heavy. I love the 1.4 will keep you posted. Thanks all for your suggestions.. Now on to shooting 🙂 any suggestions for a second lens down the road-- maybe something really wide??