normal lens for monochrom

[sebastel]

I'm a lot more puzzled by the original question. Why has the OP (apparently arbitrarily) listed these three lenses?

because i own them?

Why not a 50/2 Taylor, Taylor Hobson? Or a 50/1.2 Canon? Or a 50/1.8 Yashinon? Or an (original 1950s) 50/1.5 Nokton, with a suitable adapter unless you can find the super-rare LTM version? Or a Jupiter-8?

because i do not own them?

How can any of us say what will work best for his style of photography?

_that_ exactly was not the question. i asked for "spontaneous comments", albeit using some diffuse language - sorry for that.

To say nothing of answering the to me impenetrable question of why anyone would use digital instead of film for B+W?

interesting comment. why do you assume "instead"?
but to tell the exact answer to this very question: yes.

Cheers,

R.

kind regards,
sebastian

 

[sebastel]

Normal for a Leica, to me, covers the range from about 35mm to 60mm focal lengths. I tend to like using a 40mm, a wide-normal, as my 'to go' lens quite a lot.

(But on the M9, to my amusement, I tend to choose the Nokton 50mm f/1.5 most of the time.... so much for consistency. ;-)

G

i loved the 40mm on my rollei 35LED (while it worked), and the 28mm on the R-D1. it was simply out of my mind. extra thanks for reminding me! currently, the M9 mostly has a v2 summilux E43 on.

 

[sebastel]

Canon 1.8/50 LTmM or 2.8/35 LTM. I bought them by accident, but they sing on the MM

some more i did not think of until now. thanks for the suggestion.
;-)

 

[sebastel]

Can someone enlighten me why I should buy a camera that gives superb sharpness and put a vintage-lens or vintage-style lens (C Sonnar) in front of it?

sure.
M monochrom to me means: better grey tones than M9 in B&W, higher sensitivity (night!), easier use of the 21mm c-biogon, and a LOT quicker processing than film (no need to develop and scan).

that said - i won't give up film. it's just not convenient at times.

sharpness - what is sharpness?
if i was into sharpness, i'd go MF or LF.


thanks a lot to everyone for your inspiring comments.
cheers,
sebastian

 

[Roger Hicks]

because i own them?. . .

Dear Sebastian,

Then why not try all three? What are you expecting us to say?

Cheers,

R.

 

[Godfrey]

Dear Sebastian,

Then why not try all three? What are you expecting us to say?

Cheers,

R.

Chew the fat, give an opinion, etc I presume. 🙂

 

[awslee]

Sebastian, congrats on the MM!!!

Do you already have the summitar?

 

[Roger Hicks]

Chew the fat, give an opinion, etc I presume. 🙂

Dear Godfrey,

Which of us who does not own a Monochrom and those exact three lenses, no more, no fewer, has much fat to chew on this subject?

And, even if we were about to chew it, which of us has the faintest idea which might be best for him?

Cheers,

R.

 

[derwanderer]

Hi Godfrey- how do you use skink pinhole kit to use with interchangeable lenses? What do you mean by that?
Isn't that you just use the skink pinhole with M mount directly?
Thanks.

. ....Or even a pin hole or zone plate: I have a Skink pinhole kit to use with all of my interchangeable lens cameras now.

G

 

[sebastel]

Sebastian, congrats on the MM!!!

Do you already have the summitar?

thanks, andrew - and, yes, certainly i got them already. the summitar(s) were my very first leica lenses, about 20 years ago. one coated, one uncoated.

remember these pics?


m9_summitar2 by sebastel23, on Flickr


m9_summitar1 by sebastel23, on Flickr

 

[sebastel]

Dear Godfrey,

Which of us who does not own a Monochrom and those exact three lenses, no more, no fewer, has much fat to chew on this subject?

And, even if we were about to chew it, which of us has the faintest idea which might be best for him?

Cheers,

R.

dear roger,

you seem to insist on misunderstanding my intention. i never asked "what is the best combination for me?"
instead, i asked for spontaneous comments -- and i guess i got yours by now.

cheerio.
s.

 

[dmc]

I think Roger is getting cranky in his old age😉

 

[awslee]

thanks, andrew - and, yes, certainly i got them already. the summitar(s) were my very first leica lenses, about 20 years ago. one coated, one uncoated.

remember these pics?


m9_summitar2 by sebastel23, on Flickr


m9_summitar1 by sebastel23, on Flickr

no, do not remember

 

[Roger Hicks]

dear roger,

you seem to insist on misunderstanding my intention. i never asked "what is the best combination for me?"
instead, i asked for spontaneous comments -- and i guess i got yours by now.

cheerio.
s.

Dear Sebastel,

My apologies. It is just that I am genuinely unsure what a 'spontaneous comment' might be in this context,

Cheers,

R.

 

[johannielscom]

Tom,

Vintage glass can provide softer (less) contrast and a retro look; soft corners wide open for portraits; to display lens signature/character. Some vintage glass have very sharp center sharpness BTW, but not in the corners like a modern lens. Example: 50 Rigid.

I use a 35/1.8 Nikkor in LTM on my Monochrom, it's a very sharp lens, but modern ASPH glass perhaps has an edge, especially in the corners.

Cal

Not owning a Monochrom, I bought a Ricoh GXR (well, two already in fact😱) for their absence of an AA filter, and use my newly-acquired vintage Nikkor 1.8/35mm LTM on the one and a modern Voigtlander Heliar 2.0/50mm LTM nickel on the other.

One for the more classic look, one for tack sharpness. Some of my GXR-Monochrom shots are in the GXR forum and to my eye they could be considered competition to the Monochrom images...

 

[Calzone]

Not owning a Monochrom, I bought a Ricoh GXR (well, two already in fact😱) for their absence of an AA filter, and use my newly-acquired vintage Nikkor 1.8/35mm LTM on the one and a modern Voigtlander Heliar 2.0/50mm LTM nickel on the other.

One for the more classic look, one for tack sharpness. Some of my GXR-Monochrom shots are in the GXR forum and to my eye they could be considered competition to the Monochrom images...

I owned both the 50/3.5 and 50/2.0 Nickel Heliars. Very nice rendering. I thought CV did a great job of merging the old and new. I lost these lenses in a trade with an art dealer, and I miss them. For sharpness, although slow speed, the 50/3.5 was very sharp.

Cal

 

[johannielscom]

I owned both the 50/3.5 and 50/2.0 Nickel Heliars. Very nice rendering. I thought CV did a great job of merging the old and new. I lost these lenses in a trade with an art dealer, and I miss them. For sharpness, although slow speed, the 50/3.5 was very sharp.

Cal

The Head Bartender still sells them, Cal! They're on his website!😀

Although there indeed is no saying what the OP would like most, if it comes to sharpness you can hardly go wrong with either of those Heliars on the Monochrom 😎

 

[Calzone]

The Head Bartender still sells them, Cal! They're on his website!😀

Although there indeed is no saying what the OP would like most, if it comes to sharpness you can hardly go wrong with either of those Heliars on the Monochrom 😎

Thanks for the reminder, but I already have mucho gear. Still those lenses were awesome.

Cal

 

[Godfrey]

Hi Godfrey- how do you use skink pinhole kit to use with interchangeable lenses? What do you mean by that?
Isn't that you just use the skink pinhole with M mount directly?
Thanks.

I said:

... I have a Skink pinhole kit to use with all of my interchangeable lens cameras now. ...

I have Skink pinholes with Olympus FourThirds SLR mount (adapted to Micro-FourThirds) and M-bayonet mount. I see that Skink is now offering an extension kit for dedicated Micro-FourThirds (essentially, a set of pinholes and extension rings allowing you more versatility in focal length) ... sigh, I'll have to pick one of those up too.

The Skink pinhole assembly replaces the glass lens, yes.

G