M8 Beginner advice

[jrichie]

Hi Guys

I have been viewing this forum for probably a year now, and have been wanting to get an M8 from the minute I first saw one.

Long story short, I have some inheritance money from my dad which had been tied up until now, and I would like to spend it on something I know he would approve of, and a Leica camera is a good choice I think. It is just enough to buy the camera so I need to be wise!!!!

So, the main question I have is, what lens is an ideal starter lens to do street photography and travel. Nothing too big and is easy to carry around.

I thought about a Summarit - M 35 or 50mm..... which of these do you think I would get more use out of, or would there be a better choice to start off?

I don't mind spending a bit extra if you think that it is worthwhile!

Many thanks in advance🙂

 

[Cindy Flood]

The reviews of the summarit lenses have been very good, but if I were you, I would start with a CV lens and see how it works out for you. If you buy a used lens here on the buy/sell, you will be able to sell it later and get most of your money back.

I like the 28mm focal length best on my M8 because of the crop factor. I also have the 35mm CV f/2.5 and it is a great option for you, too, if you are set on 35mm (it will be like 50mm on full frame). Another lens to consider is the CV 50mm Nokton f/1.5.

You can get a subscription to ReidReviews.com for a small annual fee. Sean Reid has reviews of M lenses, including the new summarits and the CV options.

I just feel that you will probably eventually want to try other focal lengths, and for the price of a summarit, you could buy several used CV lenses. Take it slow and get used to one lens at a time.

Good luck with your new M8.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I'd go for the 35 Summarit. Remember the 1.33x magnification factor which transforms 35>47, 50>67 etc.

The Summarit is a much sweeter-handling lens than either the 35/1.7 Ultron or 35/2.5 Color-Skopar -- in fact, the only other 35s that handle as nicely are the pre-aspheric Summilux and Summicron. (I have or have had all of them). Finger-spar focusing is worth a lot to me but the spar on the Color-Skopar 35/2.5 is pretty basic.

If as you say you're willing to spend more, consider either a 24/2.8 from Leica (which I have to admit I haven't tried) or a 25/2.8 from Zeiss (which I have, and where the nub on the focusing ring stands in well for a finger-spar). With the magnification factor these focal lengths are closest to 35mm, for my money the best 'universal' focal length, followed by 50mm.

Current Leica lenses are of course all bar-coded for the M8, which other manufacturers' lenses aren't, and the Summarit with UV/IR filter will give detectably better quality than a non-bar-coded lenses, even if you do put a UV/IR filter on them.

Or if you want speed, I love the 50/1.5 Sonnar on my M8. The relatively low speed of the Summarit is however offset by the option of ISO equivalent 2,500. Sure, the Summarit is 1-2/3 stops slower than a Summilux, 1 stop slower than an Ultron, 2/3 stop slower than a Summicron. But 2,500 is 2-2/3 stops faster than Tri-X or a good stop faster than the maximum realistic push with Tri-X.

Plenty will argue with the last statement and plenty will say that the M8 is 'no good' at 2500. Well, that's all a matter of opinion, but after over 40 years' film photography, about a tenth as many years' digital photography, and 13 months with an M8, those are my opinions. You can see what sort of pics I take from my books and web-site.

Cheers,

Roger

 

[Andy Aitken]

If I were you I wouldn't go spending big bucks until you've figured out which focal lengths work best for you on the M8 (for me it ended up being 25mm and 35/40mm)

35mm is definitely a good place to start though. The 35mm Summarit makes a lot of sense but if cash is tight - as you suggest - you could go for a CV35mm f2.5 which is a great little lens at a fraction of the price. If you find 35mm is for you, you could later trade up to one of the clutch of superb faster 35mm's (Summicron, Summilux, Biogon).

BTW I think the CV75mm is a must-have on the M8 too, as no doubt, the 75mm Summarit will be also.

 

[jrichie]

Cheers guys and thanks for the good advice.

I understand the obvious benefits of buying cheaper lenses, so that I can get used to the various lengths before investing large amounts of money. Thanks for the options there - there is a lot to know really before buying [too much for me really]

Maybe the 28mm is the way to go over 35mm, however I think I would be quite comfortable buying the Summarit 35 knowing that it is good for all round use? I am not entirely sure where to get non-leica lenses here in New Zealand and will do a bit of investigating.

For me the M8 is all about compact quality. I have a Canon 20d, and hardly use it apart from "photography trips" as it is so big [when the lens are attached]. I am not the guy who loves lugging around big bags of stuff and will be quite happy with one compact good lens for a while.

Is it easy to sell the cheaper lens's 2nd hand? I don't want to be left with a similar cheaper lens when I want to get a leica one.

Thanks

 

[Digital Dude]

I recently picked up a new M8 and I opted for the 28-cron’. It’s heavy yet outstanding in image quality. Still, if I had it to over again I would have opted for the less intrusive 28-Elmarit with a lower weight and less blocking of the viewfinder. Ok, it’s also 1500 less! I would be well on my way to the 50-Lux’ as my second lens.
Regards,😱

 

[Cindy Flood]

Is it easy to sell the cheaper lens's 2nd hand? I don't want to be left with a similar cheaper lens when I want to get a leica one.

jrichie,
Watch the buy/sell board on this forum for a while and you will see lots of used Leica, CV, Zeiss, Canon and Konica (others, too) M-lenses changing hands. Get to know the regular posters and post some so that they will get to know you. It seems to work really well. I have sold my gear here to members in US, Canada, France, Japan and have bought from members in England, Australia and Japan. If you want to try new CV lenses, you can't go wrong purchasing from Stephen Gandy (who owns this forum). Click on the cameraquest icon to the left. Don't forget that with the CV lenses you will need to buy the type II LTM adapter so that you can code it with a marker. If you want more info on this, please PM me. You will get 2 free IR filters from Leica with your M8 purchase, so you might want to figure out what lens you are buying before you buy the M8.

 

[jrichie]

ok, looking at vatious websites and getting a good idea on pricing etc, and what is probably best, I think I will look at the following :

either a Summarit 35 or 28-Elmarit as my main lens to start, for street, general photography.

Then I think for lenses that will not be used as much in the future I will look at the CV / Zeiss lenses as they are more affordable and I won't be crying too much if they remain in the bags for a while!!

Cheers🙂

 

[dacaccia]

just try to get a used Cron 35 ... this lens is marvellous (as is the lux asph.), and it is really small. It should be much better than the new Summarit (as written in the newest LFI). Another possibility is the Lux 40 which once came with the Leica CL; you sometimes get it solo. When in good condition it comes with a rubber lens hood, and it is very small too. A bit annoying is the frame ... the M8 frames a 50, but if you choose the framing of 35 it shows exactly the full format. - The 40 is great, and many M8 photographers use it.

Cheers,
dacaccia

 

[baycrest]

If you're thinking 35, then give the Zeiss 35 f/2.0 Biogon a try, its less expensive than the Summarit which is f/2.5. You'll need to have it coded, so send the flange off to j milich for milling. The down-side is that you'll void the Zeiss warranty. The unside is you won't need to constantly refresh any manual coding.

I just picked up the CV 35f/1.2 Nokton. Its big and heavy, but fast. Is super sharp and extremely easy to focus. I like it a lot more than the Zeiss. I don't mind the extra bulk or weight, but then I'm used to lugging around a 5D and the heavy SLR lenses...

Good luck

 

[MikeL]

jrichie, have you used a rangefinder before?

 

[jrichie]

Nope, never used a rangefinder before, but soon will! I understand all the principals and issues with lens size etc though.

All this advise is interesting, but one thing I think is why spend a fortune on an expensive body like the M8 then go cheap on the lens, which is the thing I am most likely to keep for a lifetime? For me it does not make sense - but as some people have said, the quality is good in some of these cheaper lenses.

I am a bit dubious over getting expensive 2nd hand lenses over the internet that I can't see before I buy. Here in NZ it is virtually impossible to get a 2nd hand lens as not many people have any real money here, hence small market. So that route is probably closed for me.

decisions, decisions........... what a nightmare [nice nightmare though🙂]

 

[RF-Addict]

Wow - never used a rangefinder before and jumping in with both feet to get the M8 - how do you know that rangefinder cameras are for you? There are probably more folks amongst photographers who would NOT use a rangefinder than the other way around.

I think it would be very wise on your part to buy a used Bessa and see if you like the rangefinder feel or not. It seems silly to spend all that money on an M8 without EVER having handled a rangefinder before - and I don't mean having it handled at a dealer.

Run some film through a Bessa and see if you like it.

 

[ferider]

Like he said. A Bessa or an M2 ... Then you can play with some lenses, too, in particular
to see which focal length(s) you like.

Note that in contrast to other film rangefinders, the M8 is not very popular
on the used market.

Roland.

 

[palker]

If you want to play and you have fully gone to digital you might also try an Epson RD-1/ RD-1s, any investment in lenses can be carried forward to the M8 on another day. And there is a strong following for the camera too. Check the link for their forum.