New M user and next lens doubt

[carellic]

Just to say hallo to the community from a new member, as I just aquired a new M7 entry set! ( that is M7 with 50mm f/2 Summicron)

I work semi-pro with a quite extensive Nikon digital SLR set, and the results are on par wit my target, but on the experience made with my father Leicaflex SL and his 28-60(macro)-250 lens set I thought I could appreciate a camera to really enjoy, and what better of an M?

Hard blow on my bank account I have to say, but now that I am almost at the end of my first HP5 canister, I agree with those who say that shooting with an M compares to a near religious experience! Can't wait to see the results!

This camera really helps me with street/people photography, as is much stealthier and more easily accepted than a big DSLR with huge lenses and flash on (like a weapon of war to people's eye). More, it stimulates my shooting discipline, even if it is an AE camera, and this can only be good for me.

I'm very happy with the 50mm, as it nearly obliges me to search for really significant and thought-after shoots, but I am sure that in the future I will be eager to expand my possibilities, so I'm thinking of a 35 mm and a 75 or 90mm.

I really care for size, as I want my set to be the less cumbersome possible, so I'd like to ask if, in your experience, a non-aspheric 35mm Summicron would deliver a quality near enough to my 50 or should I yeld to the aspheric model?

Thank you all and excuse me for the longish post, but I'm still very euphorical 😀

Claudio

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[Avotius]

I would go for a 35 asph cron. A month or so ago I met a person using an m6 classic and a 4th v. cron and its was magic. After about 10 minutes using the camera I felt that my canon slr stuff felt infantile. The photos from the 35 4 v cron are great, but I understand that the asph are even better, and even though it is larger everything seems tiny in rangefinder land compared to my canon 17-40 L lens or the 50 1.4 with a hood.

 

[telenous]

Welcome Claudio, great story, there's a familiar ring to it as I have gone through rather similar motions before I discovered the rangefinder world.

The quick answer to your question is that the preaspheric Summicron 35 is on a par with the Summicron 50. I have tried in the past two versions (type II and type IV preasph) and their performance was very similar. The later preasph version was much more ergonomic though, the oval aperture ring is much faster to use. They are quite small, although not quite 'pancakes'. The earlier Summilux is not big either. It has a special look wide open and when stopped down it emulates the Summicron preasph. The latest Leica aspherical offerings are an improvement of the original recipies. I have my doubts whether this improvement is detectable when the lenses are stopped down. But I think when used wide open the difference is there to see. Presumably the 'Lux asph. offers the uncompromising performance of the Summicron AND the extra stop. The aspericals are bigger and heavier but not by much. The 'Lux asph. is about the size of a smallish SLR lens. They are also staggeringly expensive and hard to come by in the second hand market.

I myself have had great difficulty choosing. In the end I compromised. Lets put it this way: I like the Summicron but ultimately need the extra stop of the Summilux.

 

[carellic]

Thanx all for the lovely welcome and the enlightening suggestions!

I think that, given the time for wallet recovering, considering the very low WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) for such elite tools, and having found online the MTF graphs of the various considered lenses, the way heads to a new 35 Summicron Asph.

It will take a while, but time will give me chance to improve my shooting discipline with the 50 to unprecedented (for me!) levels.

By the way, I thought there was no comparable forum to Nikonians.org, but the atmosphere here is the same and, believe me, very healthy!

Hoping to contribute in the future!

Claudio

 

[Magus]

Post deleted by posters request

 

[sspeed]

As a 50 user, I found the 35 frameline to be a little too wide, and yet not wide enough to cover landscape or group shots in confined spaces. I also wanted something compact for a 'walk about' lense. I got the 40 'cron. Its not expensive compared to the ASPH lenses and its closer to the 50 perspective that you are used to. 35 can be a shock to the system for the 50 user initially.

A dealer has also recommended heliopan lense shade, which adds about 1 cm to the overall height.

 

[existrandom]

hello carellic,

welcome!

another vote for the 40 summicron! very natural colour rendition with a slight touch on the warm side, plenty sharp yet not clinical, i bought the little cutie from a member here and i learnt that he bought another one back not long after he sold it :bang:

and from what i've learnt, the angle of view of 40s (on 35mm film) is very close to the perspective of human eyes, my experience confirms it (...but i am rather displeased about me using the classic 50 not often enough)

i know it's heresy....... i am only talking to myself....... the Canon 35/1.8 is one of the most underated, grab one, just so in order to try the 35mm perspective, it might very well turn out to be part of your everyday kit. it 's smallish if not very much so like th 40 cron, excellent from f2 on with a smoothy look and the handling is great...... handles easier than the 40 cron on my average hands, but i am only talking to myself 😀 ...... and it took awhile for me to get 40mm filters

cheers

lee

 

[Fred]

Welcome Claudio,

Following many a month of pondering what to go for in the RF line I too bought the M7 starter over a year ago following SLRs. Love it! I still remember shooting the first film, developing it and printing the results in the darkroom (er... kitchen) and seeing things that totally astonished me. That cron is a cracking lens. Due to the demise of a bank balance I picked up two CV lenses, a 28 Skopar f3.5 and the lovely 90 Lanthar 3.5 to get me by whilst I saved up for some Leica kit. To be honest the CV lenses are very good indeed at any price. Sometimes compared to the pre ASPH Leicas.

My suggestions in the short term would be a new or used CV 35 Ultron f1.7 then take time saving for the ASPH 35 cron. I'm lucky enough to have the cron and can say that it is worth saving for but the differences between that and the CV lens are a lot less than you may think given the price. The ASPH 90 cron is also worth saving for.

My main user lens in the 35 followed by the 90 and 50 for a three lens kit.

Look forward to seeing some shots. Theres stuff in my gallery shot with both CV lenses and Leica.