Lens for 28/35mm field of view on M8

[Scheelings]

I second that - It's my favourite street lens on the M8. It's easy to use, it has fantastic warm colours - its simply superb - and it's smaller than the more famous 25mm Biogon. It has very nice Bokeh.

Highly recommend.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Zeiss Biogon 28/2.8. Super sharp, contrasty, great colours. Loved it on my M8. It's "only" 2.8, so if you want to go faster, you'll need to resort to the Voigtländer Ultron (2.0 or 1.9). Also from Voigtländer is the 25/4, which is small but slow, and brand new the 21/1.8 (yes, f/1.8!), which is fast but huge.

Coincidentally, my Biogon is up for sale here in the classifieds ;-)

EDIT: Just noticed JSU beat me to the Ultron.

 

[Doug]

I used a 21mm Biogon on my M8 and loved the results. Unfortunately it gave me a serious red edge on my M9 so I sold this lens. Now, with the new firmware in place, I'm thinking or reacquiring both the 21 and another M8 as both a backup for my M9 and as a B&W/IR shooter. Yes, the CV 21 is smaller and half the price but the 21 Biogon is outstanding.

Perhaps someone who owned both could give their opinion.

Yours would have been the Biogon 21mm f/4.5? the Biogon 21mm f/2.8 is free of the red edges, from what I've heard. The f/4.5 lens is very nice on the M8 (impossible on M9), and I use an external viewfinder intended for 28mm, giving me a nice view of the surroundings. A good viewfinder is worth the money...

I like the 25mm Biogon a lot on both M8 and M9, extremely fine lens, and on the M8 it's handy to have internal framelines for it. I'd say 25 would be a good companion for a 35...

 

[maggieo]

The latest firmware update makes the CV 21/4 perfectly usable on the M9, Doug. I've had nary a problem with it.

Example:


NSOC Fall Fling, November 11, 2012 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr


NSOC Fall Fling, November 11, 2012 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

 

[Doug]

Thank you Maggie, good to hear, but that's a different lens... 🙂

 

[maggieo]

DOH! Sorry, long day and brain is fried! Utterly crispy.

 

[Rob-F]

This is what you want- a CV 21 and a CV 28 VF:


Leica M8 with LTM Voigtländer 21mm color skopar f/4.0 by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

I made most of these photos with that rig:

21mm Voigtländer Color Skopar f/4

Yes, the combination of a 21mm lens with 28mm finder, whether CV or otherwise, is one of my favorite setups on my M8.2. A 24mm or 25mm results in a 33mm equivalent f.l., which would seem to fill your need (28/35 suggest that somewhere in between those limits is wanted). If so, and if you can see the 24mm framelines (I can't), then that's good. But I need to use the accessory finder with a 24mm; a 35mm finder will do, but I prefer the 21mm with the 28mm finder. It's a pretty accurate setup at most shooting distances.

 

[jenxi]

Yes, the combination of a 21mm lens with 28mm finder, whether CV or otherwise, is one of my favorite setups on my M8.2. A 24mm or 25mm results in a 33mm equivalent f.l., which would seem to fill your need (28/35 suggest that somewhere in between those limits is wanted). If so, and if you can see the 24mm framelines (I can't), then that's good. But I need to use the accessory finder with a 24mm; a 35mm finder will do, but I prefer the 21mm with the 28mm finder. It's a pretty accurate setup at most shooting distances.

I would prefer to have either 28 or 35 and get used to the particular focal length. I'm not too sure how big of a change it would be should I ever need to readjust from a 33mm to a 35mm.

Going for 21 on the M8 would mean I really need to be more confident and go real close to my subjects.

 

[maitani]

from lenses i tested on the m8, the following in this focal lenght are my favourites in order of budget: performance on all is about the same. the leica being the best by a small margin wide-open. the ricoh is tiny about half the size of the other 2 in length, superbly built, heavy chrome and dense too. the hexanon is the king of smooth aperture-clicks, beautiful.

M-elmarit 28 2.8 pre-asph v4 (approx. 1400.-)
ricoh 28mm 2.8 ltm to M (approx 1200.-)
konica m-hexanon 28 (approx 750.-)

all are very sharp, all with superb results

 

[Rob-F]

I would prefer to have either 28 or 35 and get used to the particular focal length. I'm not too sure how big of a change it would be should I ever need to readjust from a 33mm to a 35mm.

Going for 21 on the M8 would mean I really need to be more confident and go real close to my subjects.

OK now I see what you mean. I use the 28mm Summicron most of the time, as the 28mm M8 framelines are easy to see, and the field of view is very useful. And I also have the 28/3.5 CV lens, which I use on the M8 with an adapter. That makes for a much more compact outfit, which is why I use it from time to time. I can't recall how I coded it last time I used it. You know, I think there is a coded CV adapter ring for it. I'll put that on my list of things to research!

 

[Tom Niblick]

Yours would have been the Biogon 21mm f/4.5? the Biogon 21mm f/2.8 is free of the red edges, from what I've heard. The f/4.5 lens is very nice on the M8 (impossible on M9), and I use an external viewfinder intended for 28mm, giving me a nice view of the surroundings. A good viewfinder is worth the money...

I like the 25mm Biogon a lot on both M8 and M9, extremely fine lens, and on the M8 it's handy to have internal framelines for it. I'd say 25 would be a good companion for a 35...

No, it was the 2.8. But my experience was when the M9 was just out and with an early firmware. Sometimes my shots were perfect and other times they were unusable due to the red edges. I fussed with cornerfix but was not completely happy with the results. The latest firmware is supposed to have fixed this problem.

Yes, I'm also considering the 25 Biogon. The internal 24/25 frame lines on the M8 sound tempting but, as a glasses wearer, I never could see them comfortably. And I kept my 28 mm CV finder. So 21 vs 25 mm... I'll be kicking this one around for the next month or two as my M8 fund builds.

 

[tbarker13]

I've always been a fan of the 28 hexanon. Fairly compact. Very smooth. They can be found in the $500 range.

 

[Snowbuzz]

Huh, I guess I'm going to be the Biogon 21mm f4.5 guinea pig then as I ordered one by mistake instead of the 2.8 version. Reviews for the f4.5 one are very sparse and I hope I won't have a red cast with the M8. 'DigiLloyd' says it's a great lens but we'll see. Slow, though.

 

[Doug]

Huh, I guess I'm going to be the Biogon 21mm f4.5 guinea pig then as I ordered one by mistake instead of the 2.8 version. Reviews for the f4.5 one are very sparse and I hope I won't have a red cast with the M8. 'DigiLloyd' says it's a great lens but we'll see. Slow, though.

Ooops! But I think you'll come to admire the C-Biogon; it's a classic. I also have the 21 Elmarit ASPH but (at least on the m8), I prefer the 4.5/21mm for its compact size and outstanding optics. I often just leave it wide open...

 

[Snowbuzz]

I feel better already, thanks! Now I have to figure out how to hold the M8 steady at 1/4 sec / ISO 640 / f4.5 for those London back-streets at night. 🙁

 

[taffy]

Question 25 vs 28

Question 25 vs 28

I own the M8 and I'm considering a 35mm FOV lens and I'm choosing between 24/25 and a 28mm lenses. I'd like to ask, since there's no exact equivalent to a 35mm FOV, if the M8 framelines are better suited for one option over the other.

I know that the M8 framelines are a little quirky. That said, which of the lens options match better with the reality of the M8 framelines? Meaning, if I compose based on the framelines, which of these options would render closer / more accurately to what I saw in the viewfinder? 24/25 or the 28?

Thanks so much. I hope I explained that clearly enough 🙂

 

[LCT]

M8 framelines are generally inaccurate when you don't shoot closeups. Less so with M8.2 and M8u bodies though. As for the equivalent to 35mm FoV it is a matter of tastes more so than calculation. To me, 28 is closer than 24 which DoF is too wide compared to full frame 35. YMMV.

 

[Lss]

I don't quite understand what you mean by quirky. There are framelines for 24 and 28, so framing is in principle the least accurate for a 25. But in reality, this will depend on the exact focal length of the lens you use. A 28 is probably not exactly a 28, it's just marketed as one. In my opinion, there is no point in worrying about the accuracy of certain framelines. This is something you can and must learn. Rather consider which framelines are comfortable for you to see in the viewfinder and correspond to your framing preference/need.

 

[taffy]

Thanks for the help guys. Admittedly I think I'm a little confused. But yes I guess the best way is to commit to a lens and learn in on the M8 until you get the photo exactly as you saw it in the VF.