New to Leica - Is building lens with same filter size reasonable?

[LCT]

(…) I noticed that the 28mm/f2.8 Elmarit ASPH, 35mm 'Cron, 50mm 'Cron and 90mm/f2.8 Tele-Elmarit all use 39mm lens filters. The combination of these lenses seems to provide quite a bit of flexibility and allow minimal interference when viewing through the rangefinder. By choosing among these lenses for future purchase it seems that I may be able to minimize the need to add different size filters and simplify my camera bag. Is this a reasonable way to consider future lens additions? (…)

I do it with almost the same kit as yours except that i prefer the Macro-Elmar 90 and i add a CV 21/4 in my bag. But this is for my 'slow' bag only. For faster and/or wider lenses, it becomes more difficult. Even the tiny Summilux 35/1.4 pre-asph does not use ø 39mm filters.

 

[ChrisN]

Explain please? 🙂

"But I'll say this: A year with a single Leica and a single lens, looking at light and ignoring color, will teach you as much about actually seeing photographs as three years in any photo school, and as much as ten or fifteen years (or more) of mucking about buying and selling and shopping for gear like the average hobbyist. "

Mike Johnson - The Online Photographer blog.

The Leica as teacher: Part one. Part two.

Strong medicine, and not for everyone. Very zen. Arguably using an M9 rather than a film Leica negates some of the benefits of this discipline. But the simplicity of the M9 and its boring lack of interesting gadgets and "features" makes it better than most digital cameras for this.

 

[flyalf]

Digital dont do filters, but photographers do 🙂. IMO pola filter is essential . Good quality pola filters are ridiculous expensive, so if you can manage with one pola 39mm for several lenses + one for wides you will have savings in cost and stuff to carry around. And yes, pola for wides works well.

 

[CaptZoom]

I agree color filters on digital sensors (excepting the Monochrom) are not useful unless the goal is to cut down on post processing time. ND and polarizing filters on the other hand still have an essential place in any serious photographers bag. The effects of these two kinds of filters cannot be reproduced post capture. For this reason consideration of filter size is essential criteria for planing a lens acquisition route. The lenses the OP presented are all fine tools especially considering the financial costs involved. A suggestion I would make is to add one (50mm or 35mm) f1.4/f1.5 lens to the list for those times when the situation calls for a narrow depth of field or the available light is simply not adequate. This should be probably a purchase made later than earlier, ensuring enough time has passed and the needs and desires of the photographer are better understood to herself.