Summicron-C 40mm

[Goldorak]

Summicron-C 40mm f2.0, the most under-rated lens in the world.
By itself, this lens is the cheap ticket to the exclusice Leica M-system. And between me and you, this one is among the sharpest M lens I've tried. Excellent contrast, excellent color, has lots of character, is small. And dead cheap.

And like Bob pointed, it shines when used with Kodachrome.

 

[Graybeard]

A futher advantage of the lens is that it is quite compact. An M-Leica with a 40mm Summicron easily fits into a coat pocket.

 

[FPjohn]

Amen.

yours
FPJ

 

[Vickko]

Yes, absolutely. It has the fingerprint of a modern Summicron, i.e. stellar imaging qualities, it is dirt cheap, it is close to the magical 35mm focal length without having to pay for Leica 35mm lenses (none of which are cheap).

I have one from a CL, but when I had an RD1 and M8, it was the perfect "normal lens" with the crop factor.

...Vick

 

[paachi]

Second third and fourth that..The Summicron 40 is a main stay on my R-D1..very compact and the focus ring seems to be very well suited to the tribulations of street photography 🙂

Here's an example (apologize if you have already seen this pic in another forum it is one of my favorites..)

 

[dof]

I agree that the combination of the 40mm lens and the crop factor on the M8 (can't comment on the RD-1), along with the size and weight make for something of an ideal camera.

The 40mm field of view is also a better match for the frame lines on an original M8 compared to how Leica envisioned a 35 mounted on the body.

 

[cnguyen]

The 40mm cron on my M8 is an exact 50mm focal length. This lens has 35mm pre-asph cron signature with similar bokeh.

 

[DwF]

Second third and fourth that..The Summicron 40 is a main stay on my R-D1..very compact and the focus ring seems to be very well suited to the tribulations of street photography 🙂

Here's an example (apologize if you have already seen this pic in another forum it is one of my favorites..)

Nothing like a nice picture to make a point!
david

 

[Al Kaplan]

The 90mm Elmar-C is a great lens also, and the 90mm Minolta Rokkor-C has optics that were made by Leitz in Wetzlar. The Rokkors are really cheap! The Minolta made 40mm C lens is the same formula as the Leitz.

 

[Ken Ford]

Al's comment is right on. I have both of the CL lenses, and the images they provide have a wonderful seventies look to them.