New review at ReidReviews of M8 and 28mm lenses

[nickmeertens]

Sean posted one of his very informative reviews, testing seven 28mm lenses on the Leica M8. Besides the quality of the different lenses the issue of Cyan cast with wide angle lenses and IR-cut filters is looked at and he concludes with some thoughts about the affordability and flexibility of an M8 system knowing what we know now about the M8.

All in all a great article!

I am at a point right now that I'm starting to think that trading in my R-D1s for an M8 is not that good an idea. The Epson might just be all the rangefinder I need; it's a joy to use, it works flawless, is well calibrated and produces very decent files indeed. With the money I save I can buy a Canon 5D with a decent lens for goodness sake! That Leica is beautiful though... Food for thought.

 

[back alley]

i wish he would work on the tests that he stated would be coming, namely all those same lenses already tested but with a film camera.

joe

 

[ZeissFan]

Seriously, most of the Cosina Voigtlander, Leica and Zeiss lenses are excellent for film. Should there be any doubt that they will be excellent for digital?

 

[Grober]

Sean's 28mm review is appreciated around our campfire since I've used the Canon 2.8 LTM lens with pleasure for about three years. The little beauty could use a CLA 'cause it's focusing is a bit stiff but I sure do love the compactness of the lens and its overall optical performance.

All this glowing praise for my 50 year old 28mm instantly flips into sales promotion once I verify that Leica will grant a 30% discount towards the purchase of one new lens for all "early wave M8 sufferers." I pant for that new, small Elmarit-M. (On the point of a potential 30% discount, my Leica dealer is completely mum to date.)

The CV Ultron would be my second choice -- what a great value! -- but it's considerable bulk lose it some points in my book.

-g

 

[waterlenz]

focal length is not the sole determinant of the cyan shft.

focal length is not the sole determinant of the cyan shft.

An important result is that focal length is not the sole determinant of the cyan shft. One might find a better match with a different FL lens when hacking. One needs a 'correction database' for all coded Leica lenses in order to do this - to pick the best match for any given lens.
Tom

 

[waterlenz]

According to his review, seems like the VC Ultron is a good choice for the M8... I just have to hack-code the screwmount-to-M adaptor to be read as a 28 summicron.

There may not be much of a need, very little cyan shift!
Tom

 

[jlw]

Seriously, most of the Cosina Voigtlander, Leica and Zeiss lenses are excellent for film. Should there be any doubt that they will be excellent for digital?

Actually, yes. Many of us already have learned the hard way that some lenses that are excellent for film don't "translate" well in digital. The C-V 15/4.5 Super-Wide Heliar seems to be one example, judging from what I've seen in Sean's other writeups.

Leica's "purple cow" fiasco should be a reminder to us all that a digital imager isn't just a different kind of film!

 

[J. Borger]

Actually, yes. Many of us already have learned the hard way that some lenses that are excellent for film don't "translate" well in digital. The C-V 15/4.5 Super-Wide Heliar seems to be one example, judging from what I've seen in Sean's other writeups.

Only true on the R-D1 ...... it is an outstanding performer on the M8 ...... largely due to the IR sensitivity trade-off!