non-expensive 28mm options for an M

[jonasv]

I'm looking for a 28mm for my M4-P. Can't afford to pay premium prices for Leica lenses or a top-notch Hexanon-M. I'm looking for f/2.8 or faster (f/3.5 only if no other option), not interested in the 'vintage' look. Options that I know of:

- CV 28 Skopar; not very interested in this one: I thought the 35/2.5 was too small and too contrasty already and this one is even smaller and more contrasty, plus f/3.5 is a bit slow.

- CV 28 Ultron: the only thing that's putting me off is the size. I like the rendering, speed, and price is ok. I don't know if I really need the extra stop, so the size is a bit of an issue...

- Hexanon-M 28: a bit above my budget I'm afraid, otherwise it looks great.

- Rokkor 28: how about the white spots? To what degree do they affect picture quality? Should I risk it and buy a cheap one with spots or would that be a waste of money...?


That's the options that I know of. Would like to hear some input on those and possible some alternatives that I don't know of yet, maybe Nikon and Canon offerings in LTM?


Thanks in advance,
Jonas

 

[ferider]

I'm looking for a 28mm for my M4-P. Can't afford to pay premium prices for Leica lenses or a top-notch Hexanon-M. I'm looking for f/2.8 or faster (f/3.5 only if no other option), not interested in the 'vintage' look. Options that I know of:

- CV 28 Skopar; not very interested in this one: I thought the 35/2.5 was too small and too contrasty already and this one is even smaller and more contrasty, plus f/3.5 is a bit slow.

- CV 28 Ultron: the only thing that's putting me off is the size. I like the rendering, speed, and price is ok. I don't know if I really need the extra stop, so the size is a bit of an issue...

- Hexanon-M 28: a bit above my budget I'm afraid, otherwise it looks great.

- Rokkor 28: how about the white spots? To what degree do they affect picture quality? Should I risk it and buy a cheap one with spots or would that be a waste of money...?

That's the options that I know of. Would like to hear some input on those and possible some alternatives that I don't know of yet, maybe Nikon and Canon offerings in LTM?

Thanks in advance,
Jonas

Hi Jonas,

28 is my favorite FL and I have gone through the same thoughts several times.
If you consider the Hexanon, you should also consider the Elmarit and the ZM lens,
both are not much more expensive. Also, even though
I usually don't care about cosmetic front element issues so much,
what put me off about the Rokkor is that (a) it's usually expensive,
not much cheaper than Hexanon, Elmarit, and ZM, (b) I don't know
what the spots will do over the next, say 10 years or so.

So I ended up with both CV 28/3.5 and 28/1.9. You are right, color rendition
and contrast of the color skopar are very similar to the 35/2.5. I had the PII for a while to compare.

Sounds like the 28/1.9 is the right choice for you. Its size is not so bad, really.
It is about as large as the 50/1.5. And often, you can take the hood off, the lens
is well coated and quite flare resistant. Here is an example shot of my
younger daughter. If you ever decide to get a Nikkor LTM portrait lens,
the 28/1.9 and the Nikkor teles work very well together, IMO.

There are Canon (28/3.5 and 2.8 - the last the "Winograd lens") and Nikkor lenses (28/3.5),
but they are usually not much cheaper than the CV lenses.

Best,

Roland.

 

[x-ray]

I owned the 1st and 2nd versions of the Elmarit and never fell in love with them. Last year I felt the attraction to the 28mm FL again and my wife gave me a CV Ultron for my birthday. I have absolutely fallen in love with this lens. Size is not an issue with the Ultron. I don't know if you've handled one but it's mot particularly large. It's about the same size as my 50 asph summilux. The performance stomps my earlier Elmarits and it's smaller in diameter and very slightly longer. Mechanically it's tops and optically it's superb even wide open. A friend brought his 28 summicron over one rainy day. I shot adox KB25 wide open on a totally flat overcast day. I stopped down a couple of stops and shot more. When I received the U;tron I did the same test. Hardly scientific but it illustrated the Ultron is darn near equal to the summicron asph even wide open. The summicron has the f2 edge but not by much. I don't think you would dee any difference with most subjects and most likely no with prints under 20 inches. By 2.8-4 they were equal in all respects. It's sharp with a gereat balance of contrast and tonality is stunning. It's one of my favorites now. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being top dog I would put the summicron as a 10 and the Ultron as a 9.5.

 

[StuartR]

The 28/1.9 is a great lens. It really is not that large. It balances quite well on an M camera.

 

[venchka]

Ultron or bust!

Ultron or bust!

I love my 28mm M-Hexanon. Naturally I paid too much for it. That seems to be my gift to equipment vendors. Every photo I see taken with the C/V Ultron 28mm/1.9 lens makes me wonder why I paid more for the Konica 28mm. I suppose some would say that I need both, hey? 😱 😀

I don't own it, but get the C/V Ultron. Then use the heck out of it.

 

[ferider]

To give you a feeling for the size, Jonas, here is a photo with my M3. And, yes, this is a tripod 🙂

Cheers,

Roland.

 

[venchka]

M5+28mm M-hexanon

M5+28mm M-hexanon

For comparison, my 28mm M-Hexanon on the M5...

 

[ferider]

Beautiful, Wayne. I once held Ray's MP with the Hexanon, it sure is a well-built lens, and pictures one sees from it are great.

Roland.

 

[jonasv]

Thank you, everyone! I've always liked the look of pictures taken with the Ultron. I cannot try it out first as I can't find rangefinder lenses anywhere locally, so I didn't have a good idea of the size. That shot helped a lot, Roland, thanks! I only have my summicron 50 to compare to - am I right if I say it's about the same lenght but just a bit thicker? If so, that's smaller than I exspected and probably won't be an issue.

 

[x-ray]

You can always purchase one and if you don't like it you can return it.

 

[ferider]

Cann't compare to the Summicron, Jonas - Sorry. What other lenses do you have (for comparison purposes) ?

And, like Don said: you can return it or sell it used, they are rare on the used market.

Roland.

 

[zuikologist]

Jonas - saw one here the other day. Don't know if the price is right for you.

http://www.mxv.co.uk/voigtlander.asp

 

[jonasv]

Zuikologist, thanks for the link, but I'm looking for a black one.

Roland, don't worry. I don't have any other rangefinder lenses to compare to, but I think I can judge it accurately enough from the pictures.

After selling my Kiev and Ricoh Diacord, I'll have enough funds to shop around and see if I can find any second hand Ultron's... Thanks again for the advice everyone!

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

I love my 28mm M-Hexanon. Naturally I paid too much for it. That seems to be my gift to equipment vendors. Every photo I see taken with the C/V Ultron 28mm/1.9 lens makes me wonder why I paid more for the Konica 28mm. I suppose some would say that I need both, hey? 😱 😀

I don't own it, but get the C/V Ultron. Then use the heck out of it.

Both the ultron and the hexanon-m are wonderful lenses. So you won't lose with either.

The advantage of the hexanon-m is that it is smaller (about the size of a 35/cron/asph). Makes it slightly more pocketable if you have a large jacket pocket.

The ultron is larger (but not as large as you might think, about the size of a 50/lux) and has the advantage of speed and price.

Both have excellent build quality. Make your decision based on the marginal size difference, and/or the 1-stop speed difference.

good luck

 

[hofrench@mac.co]

The Hexanon is a great lens, but so is the Ultron. Hard to imagine you'd be disappointed:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aglimpseoftheworld/353341236/

 

[willie_901]

A fellow RFF member let me take a few shots with his 28 Ultron. I agree with those who say the size is not an issue. In fact I was suprised at how small it was. The lens seemed very well built and easy to use.

I'll buy one late next fall.

willie

 

[ampguy]

I found the Ultron 35/1.7 too large for me, and I'm an SLR user. However, here are some facts on sizes:

hexanon 28:
230g
40mm x 55mm 76 deg 2.8 - f22
10 blades

Ultron 35/1.7:
203g
63 deg
48mm x 55mm

Ultron 28mm/1.9
265g
56mmx63mm
75 deg

28mm Color Skopar 3.5
75 deg
163 g
50mm x 26mm
10 blades

fwiw, all of the above except for 28 CS 3.5 on RD1 are larger in 3 dimensions than my DSLR with 35/1.9, or kit 18-55 lens.

 

[StuartR]

The 28/1.9 is between the size of the 50mm summicron and the 75mm summicron. It is not large, but it is not small. It is similar in size to the Elmarit 28/2.8 third version (not the ASPH). Given that it is at least a stop faster than any of the other 28mm lenses, it is positively svelte. For me it felt to be just the right size. Large enough to easily grab the focus ring and aperture, and too small to be unbalanced or ungainly. If you want a large lens, try the noctilux, 75mm summilux or better yet, the 135/2.8.