M8 lens suggestions

siracusa

siracusa

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Well, I've done it. I'm now the owner of an M8 for all of about a week or so. I'm not much of a gear head, and would appreciate any thoughts and comments on lens choices.

I had planned to get a CV 21mm to pair with a 50mm. However, while I'm finding my ZM Planar 50mm a great combination with the M8, I find framing just a touch tight with the crop factor, and the focal length is a tad longer than I like. As I'm very much a 50mm person (on film), I thought that instead of getting a 21 at this point, I'd perhaps get a reasonably priced 35 or 40, and pick up a 21 at a later stage.

I'm not much of a gear head and had a couple of questions.

First, I wondered whether other M8 users who like me have a 50mm preference have found themselves getting used to using a 50 with the M8. Does it start to feel more natural, do you adjust - or does it retain that slightly awkward and 'not quite right' feel I've been having.

Second, I wondered what lenses other RFFers would recommend me - I really just want a reasonably priced "go-to" lens that's fairly practical (my lovely but slow and flare-prone Summaron is out then...); a 50mm equivalent. So, we're talking 35-40mm I guess. I used to own a Nokton 40 Classic; getting another one seems an option right now - or are there others that RFFers would recommend as a good combination. In your M8 using experience, would having a 40mm and a 50mm be just overkill - too close a combination of lengths?

Thanks for any comments and suggestions. I'm not a gear head - I just like to keep my kit simple and basic. I therefore appreciate any gear advice you can offer on this.
 
I had no problem getting used to 50s on the M8. A 50 feels slightly tele to me anyway. On an M8 just a bit more so :) I liked a 24 or 28 on the M8 as my wide too. My real wide was a 15 or an 18. Once I settled into the camera, my kit was 18-28-50.
 
When I owned M8's I really loved the Zeiss Biogon 35mm f2 with M8 combo, over time became natural to basically accept the 35 as 50 almost. I always shoot 50 with film, when not it's 40mm.. with the M8's I generally found it annoying at first but warmed up.
I also found using the Elmarit 28mm on the M8 to be superb.

I briefly tried Summicron-C 40 and Nokton 35 and 40, but the Biogon and Elmarit were the true stars for me..

Biogon 35/2




Elmarit 28/2.8 V3
 
+1 on the V3 Elmarit.

It's a bit on the bigger side, but on the m8 it balances VERY well, and it was my go to lens, didn't really change it. Equates to a near 35mm FOV, and it's as crisp as it gets, has good contrast control. I couldn't get it to flare, and the prices seem to have gone down a bit. Get a clean example and you're golden.
 
The most enjoyable lens for me by far was the 28mm biogon. I agree with MCTuomey on that. I have recently bought that 50mm planar and the 28mm biogon is a perfect match for it.
 
My go-to set on my M8 is the VC 35mm Nokton f/1.2 v1 and the VC Heliar 75mm f/1.8. Occasionally I use the 28mm f/2 also, but usually the 35/75 combo works for me.
 
Hi, i used a lot a rollei sonnar 40mm f28 lens, that would give a 53mm FOV...also the nokton 40 has f1.4 if you want to isolate subject it proved very usefull!

Never liked to use wides on the m8u i had...just don´t like the crop factor of wides they look just that, cropped...
 
When I had my M8 I continued to use my 50 pre asph. I really grew to like it on the M8, but I also had the VC 35mm f1.2 Nokton and 28mm f1.9 Ultron. I found I used the 35 the most and while it was larger than most RF lenses, loved the images.
The other lens that was mentioned was the 40mm Rollei. It's a Great little lens.
 
Thank you, all, for your helpful suggestions. lam - that biogon looks super, and it's interesting to read that you adjusted to the 50, MCTuomey. I think I'm going to leave myself a couple of weeks getting used to the 50, and then follow Maggieo down the Nokton 35 Classic route to use while I save for an Elmarit. I wonder, is the difference between the earlier versions and the ASPH that great? It's a lot of money, but I guess it's a lens that will outlast my M8 and serve me on other future bodies so really a long-term investment and worth putting the pennies aside for.
On another note, I've had sensor cleaning fun: I noticed a few dust spots on images taken yesterday, and broke out my newly purchased EZ sensor cleaning visible dust kit. The result was smearing all over the sensor, so I took it in to have it cleaned while I waited. It is now spotless and I'm feeling all the sillier for not having managed this basic task myself!
 
Another fan of the 35/75 combo. I have had both lenses for years and found they make an ideal set with the M8. For a third, the Color Skopar works well and is tiny enough to stick in your pocket.
 
for the m8, i went with a 35/50 equivalent combo. CZ 28f/2 for regular outdoor shooting, and CZ 40mm f/1.4 for indoor. i tend to enjoy loose compositions so i dont need anything tighter than that, just a shame there isnt a cheap 28mm equivalent lens out there for the M8
 
35 Summarit is my main lens. 50 Summicron v4 is on the way, but I plan to use that more on my M6.

Elmarit 28 is next in line when I have the funds.
 
Before getting my m8 i got a Nokton 40mm for my Sony Nex system and got used to the 65mm equivalent focal length (Nokton is actually a tad longer than 40mm). After that i got a 50mm Planar but never could get used on how tight it was on the aps-c crop. Luckily when i got the M8, the 50mm gave me about the same focal length as the 40mm on the Nex. Making it a great long normal for portraits.

With the Planar as a portrait lens and the Nokton as a low-light normal lens, i was still left wanting for a wider lens. I knew i wanted a 35mm equivalent from my experience of using the 24mm Zeiss on the Nex system. Given that the 28mm Zeiss ZM is only f/2.8, i decided to keep the Nex/24mm combo for low light and got a m-rokkor 28mm for its compact size. This gave me an alternative for getting the 35mm FOV without carrying two cameras.

The 28/40/50 combo works great for me on the M8. Although to be honest i'm considering adding a 35mm biogon for the Zeiss look for when i just want to carry one lens for daylight shooting and to get my preferred FOV when upgrading to full frame in the future.
 
My most used lens on M8 is the Voigt 35mm 1,4 I use it with Voigt 50mm 1:1 auxliary finder on top of the body. You learn to focus with the tab "by feel" and shoot both eyes open with the 1:1 finder. a killer combo in street shooting. with 650 ISO in body with 1/3 stop under exposure, aperture 5,6 or 8 in lens, focus distance at 4 metres, all is in focus from 2 to infinity... You just click away, seeing everything in 1:1 frame and outside of it too...
 
I have a few lenses I can comment on. Until recently I owned a V4 Summicron 35mm f2. It is one of the greats- small and sharp with very nice color rendering. I sold it as I am using my M8 a but less due to my eyes struggling to focus well and I thought I could use the money for another projects. As always I regret selling such lenses. I have the 50mm Summicron from the same era. Quite similar rendering. Well worth owning. I also have a Voigtlander 50mm f1.1. it has mixed reviews but I do not understand why. Its an excellent lens - approximately 1/10th the cost of a Leica Noctilux and while not as good its certainly not 1/10th as good. If compared to anything else other than a Noctilux its a damn fine lens. I also recently bought a 40mm Voigtlander f1.4. Loving it. Sharp, good color, soft bokeh. The Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 likewise. Its only disadvantage is its physical length. In addition I own a 90 mm tele elmarit. I am not as happy with it as I should be but I think it needs servicing. Something I will have done soon. Its not quite performing as it should. And a 1960 era Elmarit of the same focal length. Love this one. Truth is these are all fine lenses. I have to say that while I normally prefer short to medium tele lenses, with the M8 the finder is so small that the view given when using such a lens on this camera is tiiiiiiiiny. Idiotically samll in fact. Hence on this particular camera I prefer the 50mm or maybe the 75mm. Nothing longer.
 
peterm1 said:
I have a few lenses I can comment on. Until recently I owned a V4 Summicron 35mm f2. It is one of the greats- small and sharp with very nice color rendering. I sold it as I am using my M8 a but less due to my eyes struggling to focus well and I thought I could use the money for another projects. As always I regret selling such lenses. I have the 50mm Summicron from the same era. Quite similar rendering. Well worth owning. I also have a Voigtlander 50mm f1.1. it has mixed reviews but I do not understand why. Its an excellent lens - approximately 1/10th the cost of a Leica Noctilux and while not as good its certainly not 1/10th as good. If compared to anything else other than a Noctilux its a damn fine lens. I also recently bought a 40mm Voigtlander f1.4. Loving it. Sharp, good color, soft bokeh. The Voigtlander 75mm f1.8 likewise. Its only disadvantage is its physical length. In addition I own a 90 mm tele elmarit. I am not as happy with it as I should be but I think it needs servicing. Something I will have done soon. Its not quite performing as it should. And a 1960 era Elmarit of the same focal length. Love this one. Truth is these are all fine lenses. I have to say that while I normally prefer short to medium tele lenses, with the M8 the finder is so small that the view given when using such a lens on this camera is tiiiiiiiiny. Idiotically samll in fact. Hence on this particular camera I prefer the 50mm or maybe the 75mm. Nothing longer.
Click to expand...
Get a diopter correction lens from leitz... It solved all my problems with focusing even the 135mm 2,8 lens (Googles Elmarit)
 
When I had an M8 28mm summicron was my go to lens, but I seem to use 50mm more on my M9 so if I was to go back to the M8 I would probably go for 40mm summicron and file it so it brings up the 35mm frame lines.
 
I have 21CV, 35CV, 50 Cron Ridgid......but mostly 35CV stay on M8.
Probably, later I will changed the 35/1.4CV with 35/2 Cron

~ron~
 
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