Lens recommendations for M8

[xyz3450]

Hello all,
I'm looking for lens recommendations for a Leica M8. Normal focal length.... I was thinking perhaps a Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4 Lens or the Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 (approx. 47mm given the crop factor, 35*1.33) or Voigtlander Nokton Classic SC 40mm f/1.4 Lens (FL equivalent about 53mm). Has anyone had any experience of these? Or are there other lenses you might recommend to get me started? Maybe a Leica 35mm cron be a better choice? -- thanks in advance, martin

 

[s.giannuzzi]

Better options, for me:

- Zeiss Biogon-C 35/2.8 ZM,

- Leica Summicron-C 40/2.

Have a good light!

Stefano

 

[Eric T]

I like the Voigtlander 35mm Ultron f/1.7.
Take a look at the Voigtlander 25mm f/4. I also used the 28mm f/1.9 (no longer available) and 15mm f/4.5. All great and all purchased from our Head Bartender.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

M8 or not, I like the lens which matches M framelines.

Cron 35 what? ASPH or old one? I went with Summarit-M 35 2.5 instead of old and overpriced Cron with M8 in mind. Didn't get M8, yet, but M-E and this lens is very sharp and colors are very nice. I haven't seen sharpness like this and colors since I've used modern Cosina Zeiss DSLR lens.
My other option was CV Nokton 35 1.4, I might still get it... Very good build and handling.

 

[Doug]

I have both the 35 & 40 Nokton, and they are usable choices on the M8 except that there are no 40mm framelines. Agree that 35 is a useful "normal", while 50mm is handy as longish (~66mm) normal.

I find 75mm "too long" for me, so 50 is the longest I go. A 28mm is a nice "wide normal" at around 37mm equivalent, then 24/25 is very useful if you like the 32/33mm equivalent. Both the 24 and 28 make for good walk-around street lenses. And 24 is as wide as the framelines go... So while 21mm is a great choice for the 28mm equivalent, it calls for an external 28mm viewfinder. That's fine with me but some object.

One nice thing about the M8 "crop sensor" is that it makes these very wide lenses (15, 18, 21, 24) more useful, and further, we don't get the edge/corner effects that make these lenses troublesome on the M9, 240 etc.

One other thing to consider is that the M8 may have differently "optimistic" framelines depending on whether it's the original, or if it's an M8.2 or M8 with the frameline "upgrade". Original framelines are most accurate at something less than 1m distance, with a goodly bit outside the framelines captured at infinity. The frameline upgrade and M8.2 moved that accuracy point out to 2m for a bit of compromise.

The 40mm lenses typically bring up the 50mm framelines unless they've been filed down, as some users do, resulting in the 35mm frames showing instead. Some say the original M8 frames are good with the 40mm lens at moderate distances. I have not tried that, because... with other focal lengths one needs to remember the "overage" so usage becomes inconsistent among lenses.

Have fun shopping! 🙂 And, I'd suggest choosing a focal length first, then shop for a specific lens of that focal length.

 

[richard_l]

For me, it definitely would be the Zeiss Biogon C 35mm f/2.8 ZM. All Zeiss ZM lenses are good, but this may be the best of the best.

 

[Lss]

Hello all,
I'm looking for lens recommendations for a Leica M8. Normal focal length....

I don't think you can go wrong with any modern alternative. And by modern I basically mean something that has a filter thread you can easily find an IR cut filter for. Six-bit coding, or ability to add it easily, is also useful for 35mm lenses, but it's not a must in my opinion. It does save the occasional extra step in post processing.

I currently have three 35mm lenses in LTM or M mount. The 35/1.4 Nokton is the one I use by far the most. The 35/2.8 Biogon-C is optically a better lens (and it's clearly visible in some pictures), but it's obviously two stops slower and I prefer the handling of the Nokton. The Zeiss also handles well, it's not at all bad in this sense. The third lens I have is the 35/1.8 Canon in LTM mount. It's also a good lens, but the two above are overall better.

Sometimes I think about replacing the lenses I have (or at least two of them) with a Summicron. It might work out quite fine financially and it would simplify things. On the other hand, I do like the Nokton so much I have also many times thought about getting a second one to avoid the need to switch it between bodies. As I shoot less and less 135 film, I will probably skip the second Nokton.

Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f/1.4 Lens or the Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 (approx. 47mm given the crop factor, 35*1.33)

These are the same lens, one is multi-coated the other single-coated. The differences appear tiny in any comparison I have seen, although many prefer one or the other given their typical use. I have the single-coated classic version, as that's what my seller had at the time.

Many people seem to prefer the 40/1.4 over the 35/1.4. I have never tested the lens, but I like the slightly wider view from the 35 and I like having a good match to the framelines (my M8 has the upgrade to M8.2 spec).

 

[mcfingon]

Don't forget the 35/2 Zeiss Biogon if you want more speed. Even better lens than the f2.8 C-Biogon according to some testers (like Diglloyd). I use it on an M2.

 

[presspass]

Don't forget the 35 1.4 pre-asph Summilux. It's as small as the Summicrons, has the extra stop when you need it, and is a bit less contrasty than more modern lenses. That seems to help with the colors.

 

[B-9]

Don't forget!

This is a redundant thread,

You literally have thousands of options with the help of a cheap screw mount adapter...

The M8 requires no special set of lenses, go buy something and start shooting.

35/40 Noktons are cheap and swell performers, what more is there to consider?

 

[Rob-F]

I used any of several 35mm Leica lenses as the normal on my M8.2. I used them in preference to my 40mm CV and 40mm Minolta lenses, because I preferred a slightly wider view to a slightly longer one. However, I preferred, most of the time, to use the 28mm Summicron, for its 37mm effective view.

Eventually I changed to an M9, when I got tired of the equivalent focal length game, and of not being able to enter the focal length into the camera from the controls.

 

[xyz3450]

These are the same lens, one is multi-coated the other single-coated.

Thank-you for your help here, appreciated ...