New 35mm lens for leica cl

[gzisis69]

Hello to the forum members, i bought yesterday a film leica cl for a very good price that i couldnt say no. I am looking for a small and nice 35mm lens, since thats my favorite focal length, at least the last 6 months. I cant afford a leica lens at the time but would like something small with good quality and a focus tab would be a plus. What would you suggest ?

 

[santino]

Maybe a bit off topic but why not the 40mm Summicron or M Rokkor? You already have the framelines, the lens is small, renders beautifully and should tick all your boxes.

 

[Rikard]

Have heard good things about the Voigtlander 35 1.4 Nokton. But like @santino I do think the 40mm summicron or Rokkor are great options.

 

[kram]

Zeiss ZM 35mm f2.8. Great flare resistance, no bad reports. Solid construction.

 

[gzisis69]

I dont know why but 40mm doesnt fit me so much, its too tight and if i am going tight then id go 50mm.

 

[shawn]

The Voigtlander 35mm f2.5P pancake lens fits well on the CL.

 

[gzisis69]

The Voightländer seems a really small lens and i googled has a tab too. Is the version ii worth the extra money or is the first one just fine ?

 

[Bingley]

The Voightländer seems a really small lens and i googled has a tab too. Is the version ii worth the extra money or is the first one just fine ?

Agree on the Voigtlander Skopar 35. The pancake version I is excellent, as are the non-pancake versions. AFAIK, all of the Skopar 35s are identical optically. I f you get a good sample, Version I should be fine on your CL.

 

[das]

I agree that as far as "modern" and "small," the 35mm f/2.5 VC is a great choice. The VC 35mm f/2 and f/1.4 models are fairly compact as well. Or even the ZM Biogon. Lots of choices out there!

 

[gzisis69]

I found some time and checked all these lenses. I must say i light the character of the zeiss 28 2.8 most of all them. Is the lack of a focus tab a huge problem given that i mostly like to zone focus ? Is this small tab it has usable ?

 

[Rikard]

I found some time and checked all these lenses. I must say i light the character of the zeiss 28 2.8 most of all them. Is the lack of a focus tab a huge problem given that i mostly like to zone focus ? Is this small tab it has usable ?

Personally I tend to get used to whatever. My first lens for the m6 was the Summicron 40 it has a tab. Got the Zeiss Sonnar 50 which has that small hump instead of a proper tab. And I find it rather comfortable.
You can always get a separate tab and use double sided tape to attach it to the lens if you feel you miss a tab. I bought a used summicron 50 which had one of those attached, but actually removed it and use the lens tabless.

 

[Rob-F]

Have heard good things about the Voigtlander 35 1.4 Nokton. But like @santino I do think the 40mm summicron or Rokkor are great options.

I wouldn't use an f/1.4 on th CL because the rangefinder lacks an adequate base length for focusing accuracy. The CV 35/2.5 will be within specs for focusing. It's also within specs for the OP, who wrote he doesn't have funds for Leica (read expensive) lenses right now. Perhaps the Zeiss Biogon's price suggested above might also be within budget.

 

[splitimageview]

The RF baselength of the CL is actually plenty good enough for even a 35/1.2 (assuming that large of a lens doesn't obscure the viewfinder.)

RF Accuracy chart here