Leica Digilux 2 needs pancake lens.

[dee]

Rediscovering my affection for the boxy M-style Dig3/L1 cameras with a pair of lighter and more compact Olympus lenses, I find that I would love a 25mm f2.8 / 50mm equ pancake prime instead of my awkward 35mm F1.8 Rokkor.
What I love about thee unique cameras is that they seem to be more analogue in style and handling-despite the limitations with lens without aperture rings which really demands manual exposure and more deliberate snapshooting.

i have a near 50mm equ 35mm f1.8 for the Sony A35 and a 35mm CV for the M8, so I don't 'need' a pancake prime for the twins.

i reckon that I could sell one of the early black Leica II to afford the lens.

is it odd to wish to extend the capabilities of such outdated digital cameras which I still love using ?

 

[peterm1]

I still have an L1 and like it. They are nice cameras although a little too big and boxy. I use mine with the standard zoom (a very sharp lens) and an Olympus 35mm macro f3.5 designed for its range of 4/3 cameras. I never found it easy to use with legacy lenses and adapters due to its small and dim viewfinder but this may in part be because my eyes are not great. The lens I always craved and still do to some extent is the 25mm Leica D designed f1.4 Summilux created for this camera (before the similar 25mm f1.4 DG which was developed later for micro 4/3 cameras. It is a superb lens and unfortunately continues to attract a pretty strong price even though full (not micro) 4/3 cameras are essentially obsolete.

It is reviewed here http://www.photozone.de/olympus--four-thirds-lens-tests/509-leica25f14

And one for sale at a not too bad $500 which is less than I expected given recent sales I have seen. Still a lot I feel for a four thirds system lens given no one makes these bodies any more.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Panasonic-D-SUMMILUX-25mm-f-1-4-ASPH-L-X025-Four-Thirds-/400839889443

By the way this guy http://www.overgaard.dk/ has a high opinion of this line of cameras (allthough I think he more used the predecessor to this camera which never the less has similar characteristics but with a fixed lens). If you search his site you will find some articles on them. http://www.overgaard.dk/leica_digilux2.html He has since moved to the Leica M system.

 

[Godfrey]

I had two L1s at one time and loved them. They're both gone now, but one went to a friend who still uses it in his freelance photography business ... a wonderful camera for a lot of work.

My favorite traveling lens kit for the L1 included the Olympus ZD 25/2.8 and ZD 35/3.5 macro lenses along with the ZD 11/22mm f/2.8-3.5. I would often take just the 25 and 35 as they were small, light, and performed very nicely for most of my work. They made the L1 very manageable in a small bag for all-day carrying and use.

I tried a lot of different legacy lenses on the L1. They worked "ok" but the optical viewfinder makes critical focus a bit dicey with short focal lengths. The Live View focusing system works well with them in decent light. But I found that the 25 and 35 out-performed the legacy lenses on this camera. They're not f/1.8 or f/2 lenses, but they've never let me down regardless of the light...

G

 

[dee]

Just to say thanks everyone, I guess the sacrifice of an old Leica II is worth it for a pancake lens.

 

[Rob-F]

Totally confused here! I had a Digilux 2. Yes, it is film-like in its handling. And sometimes I miss it. But how could you put a pancake lens on it (or any lens)? It did not have interchangeable lenses!

 

[dotur]

Obviously, Leica Digilux 3 needs pancake lens. 🙂

 

[dee]

Yes < I mean't Digilux 3.

 

[Rob-F]

Obviously, Leica Digilux 3 needs pancake lens. 🙂

Oh, OK. I never had one of those. Maybe one of the mods could touch up the thread title.