M3 with wide lenses

[jarski]

Being M3 hobbyist, I though wider lenses than 50 would be out of my reach,
unless I buy another M-body,

then I surprisingly spotted this:
"M3 Lens Choices: An interesting strategy is to have the 3 lenses the M3 is
framed for (50,90,135), and then skip to the super wides, your choices of
the 12, 15, 21, 24/25. Do you really need a 28 or 35 with your M3? Maybe,
maybe not, depending upon what you shoot."

in: http://www.cameraquest.com/mguide.htm#M3's

how does it work in practise? can I fit in e.g. 25mm Voigtlander into my M3,
how frame lines work and focusing, in this combo?

 

[ferider]

Partial answer:

I only use routinely the 28 Ultron on the M3 - but then 28 is as wide as I go these days.
I like the fact that the external
finder overlooks the (big) lens - no problem with frameline intrusion like on
the M6. If you have used the Ultron on the Bessa T you know what I mean ...
It's a similar feeling.

Plus I always liked a 28/50 combo.

Roland.

 

[rogerchristian]

The 28/1.7 Ultron chrome is one of the best looking lenses I have ever seen.

 

[richard_l]

The 28/1.7 Ultron chrome is one of the best looking lenses I have ever seen.

That's true. It looks and feels a lot like the Leitz Summarit or rigid Summicron. Just mount the 28mm Ultron, slip the 28mm CV finder in the accessory shoe, and you're all set. Use the built-in finder for focussing, and frame with the accessory finder.

For 28mm and wider lenses, it is often unnecessary to focus. Just set the lens at hyperfocal distance.

 

[colyn]

"M3 Lens Choices: An interesting strategy is to have the 3 lenses the M3 is
framed for (50,90,135), and then skip to the super wides, your choices of
the 12, 15, 21, 24/25. Do you really need a 28 or 35 with your M3? Maybe,
maybe not, depending upon what you shoot."

My personal favorites are the 15mm and 21mm. I've never been a fan of the 28mm focal length. In addition I use the 35mm which I feel is a must have lens..

I use all 3 wides on my M-series cameras.

how does it work in practise? can I fit in e.g. 25mm Voigtlander into my M3,
how frame lines work and focusing, in this combo?

You will need to get the screw to M adapter to fit these lens to the M3. Actual focusing will be done via the rangefinder then composing and viewing will be done via the accy slip-on viewfinder that should be included in the lens kit..

 

[Stephanie Brim]

28/50 seems to fit me as well...I'm buying a 28mm for my Nikon sometime soon. As for rangefinders, though, I'm sticking to the lenses the bodies were designed for...with one exception. I use a J-12 on the Kiev I just got because it's a great lens and I got used to composing with a 1:1 finder and glasses without being able to see quite everything I'd get in the frame.

If you want to go ultrawide on an M3 I'd suggest framing with an external viewfinder. Other than that, I'm not really sure how you'd frame.

 

[tedwhite]

HI, Steph.

I recently borrowed a friend's 28mm Ultron and put it on my Bessa R. I imagined that it covered the entire viewfinder, just beyond the 35mm framelines. Turned out to be pretty close. Close enough, in fact, that I wouldn't spend the extra cash for a clip on viewfinder. All my shots came out framed just as I had framed them in the viewfinder. The attached recent photo is an example. (Naturally, you would need the clip on finder with an M3).

 

[drewbarb]

I love my M3’s, and use them almost to the exclusion of other 35mm cameras. In fact, I sold all my other M mount bodies, and haven’t looked back. Wides are great on the M3. My 21mm CV Skopar lens is often the first one I grab to accompany the 50mm. Sometimes the 21mm finder stays on a body for weeks, even if the lens doesn't. My main three-lens kit is a 21mm, a 50mm and 90mm. This covers a range of a real wide lens, a normal, and a short tele, and is about all I need 95% of the time. I add 35mm (goggled) and 135mm lenses as needed, but the 21mm almost always comes along. I’m tempted by the tiny 28mm f3,5 Skopar, and/or the new coupled 25mm lens, too. Anyway, the 21mm works great on the M3, and is a perfect fit.

A well-adjusted M3 RF will focus any coupled lens more accurately than many other cameras, and of course auxiliary finders work as well here as they do on other cameras. I find that with lenses about 28mm and wider, aux finders are a cinch to use. I scale/zone/hyper-focus much of the time anyway, and with no meter in the M3 there’s no need at all to check the camera’s finder. I just use the top mounted finder, and with pre-set aperture and shutter speeds and a pre-focused lens, the camera is incredibly fast and intuitive to use. You basically just point and shoot. After a while with a given lens, you learn its angle of coverage, and you barely even need that finder. And of course when you need it, the M3’s fine focus is superb. All in all it’s a great way to work.

Even so, I tend not to put the un-coupled lenses on the M3- it seems a waste not to use that great RF if I need it. The uncoupled 25mm and the 15mm lenses see most of their use on a Bessa L, and I’ll leave another lens on the M3 unless I run out of film.

Oh- and BTW, Roland, that’s a nice looking bit of kit. I love that mini-finder.

 

[jarski]

focusing with M3's RF. viewing with external viewfinder.
thanks for explaining this to me.

I never was big fan for external viewfinders, or any extra besides
the camera body and lens. but as feriders picture above shows,
VF dont necessary have to be that big. so, hmm... 🙄

 

[drewbarb]

Like many folks, I was no fan of the external finders early on. But using them is so easy, and the look of them on the camera has grown on me. It feels funky and retro to have one sitting atop my camera. Here's a bad digital shot of an M3 with the 21mm Skopar. (Notice the custom made brass foot for the finder- I broke two of the plastic ones...)