Which film leica to use with 28mm

[gzisis69]

Hi, last week i bought from a friend who was selling some lenses of his collection a leica 28mm 2.8 asph lens at a really good price that i couldnt say no. The problem is i dont have a leica camera and ill have to sell almost all others i have to get one. Which leicas are the best options to use with 28mm?

 

[skopar steve]

M4-P would be the most affordable Leica body. It has 28mm frame lines and is a basic no frills body.

 

[Freakscene]

Hi, last week i bought from a friend who was selling some lenses of his collection a leica 28mm 2.8 asph lens at a really good price that i couldnt say no. The problem is i dont have a leica camera and ill have to sell almost all others i have to get one. Which leicas are the best options to use with 28mm?

Do you want a film or digital Leica M camera?

 

[Coldkennels]

Also... do you wear glasses?

I can't see the 28mm framelines in a standard .72x M body because of my glasses, so I prefer an LTM + external 28mm finder setup - it's smaller and I'm losing nothing. If you've already got an M mount 28mm and wear glasses, you'd probably be better off tracking down a .58x finder... or a Bessa R4.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Also... do you wear glasses?

I can't see the 28mm framelines in a standard .72x M body because of my glasses, so I prefer an LTM + external 28mm finder setup - it's smaller and I'm losing nothing. If you've already got an M mount 28mm and wear glasses, you'd probably be better off tracking down a .58x finder... or a Bessa R4.

a .58x M is hard to find and likely pricey. I'm happier with using an external finder. I prefer the M2/M4 to the later M4 variants...

 

[Freakscene]

Do you want a film or digital Leica M camera?

Duh, film.

The newest Leica you can afford with a 28mm frameline. If you can afford a 0.58 finder, they are fantastic, but if you decide later to get a lens longer than 50mm they are hard to use with a 0.58 finder. They are all good.

 

[Talus]

Also... do you wear glasses?

I can't see the 28mm framelines in a standard .72x M body because of my glasses, so I prefer an LTM + external 28mm finder setup - it's smaller and I'm losing nothing. If you've already got an M mount 28mm and wear glasses, you'd probably be better off tracking down a .58x finder... or a Bessa R4.

I was running this conversation over in my head today. I hit the frameline selector on my MP, .72x finder, and thought that 28mm frame lines would work on this body, but it’d be a lot easier on a .58x, especially because I wear glasses most of the time.

To the OP, if you really love the 28mm focal length, I would look for a .58x finder on a M6 or MP. Or perhaps see if a guy like Youxin or DAG have a workaround to convert a M4 to that viewfinder.

 

[x-ray]

The frame lines aren’t that accurate so just consider the full VF is 28mm or get a view finder. At best the frame lines are approximate.

 

[Evergreen States]

I hear the Hexar RF and Zeiss Ikon ZM have really nice 28mm frameline viewfinder experiences. The Voigtlander Bessa R4 is also supposed to be nice for a shooting 28s. Otherwise, I'd try to get an external viewfinder for any other Leica. 28mm frame lines on Leicas with .72x finders suck. I'd never do it.

 

[JohnGellings]

When it comes to Leica, you always have to provide your budget.

 

[besk]

The outside edges of the Leica CL are pretty good for the 28mm lenses.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Russian anecdote:

Dear, I want rouge gloves.
Ok.
Dear, I need rouge purse to match rouge gloves.
Ook..
Dear, I need Mercedes SLK rouge to match rouge, purse and rouge gloves.
Oook...

I went through many as-is film cameras. Restored and sold with small or not so margin.
But those weren't Leica.
I accumulated enough money to smuggle Canadian M4-2 back to Canada from Japan.
It was 2015, before every kid between NYC and Tokyo decided to wear film M to be cool.
This is why I paid 650 USD for it. It was slightly bellow average price.

First, I was fascinated by HCB. Everyone knows if it is Leica it is HCB. And (false) rumor is how HCB is 50.
M4-2 is great with 50. This what frame-lines are for. To give you enough space to see after frame-lines and make framing quick and comfy. No SLR, EVF could do this.
Goggled Summaron 35 3.5 was great because it used same old 50 frame-lines.

But I switched to Winogrand (it is less false what he used just 28mm) and I needed rouge gloves.
So I went M4-P sold at RFF for very good price. And all kind of 28mm lenses.

I sold M4-2 very quick. Well, I got M-E 220 as BDG and it has typical frame-lines with 28mm.

So, buy whatever you could to have 28 frame-lines. Just don't buy anything from M4-2 and earlier.
Winogrand never went for M4-P. Perhaps is was too late for him or it was too expensive. Or he didn't like cheap zinc build (M4-P, M6) comparing to his two M4.
But sometimes, I think it was same as me. Every time I look after M4-2 frame-lines to where 28mm frame-line was squished... I'm sorry, but it is such a crap.

Hint, rouge purse is 28mm bright-lines viewfinder.

 

[Deleted member 65559]

"Every time I look after M4-2 frame-lines to where 28mm frame-line was squished... I'm sorry, but it is such a crap."

Kostya, the M4-2 has no 28mm framelines..... just 35/50/90/135 like the M4.
Lots of people like & use many of the Leica (and Canon,& Voightlander, & Zeiss) accessory viewfinders...
A personal choice, just like everything else photographic

 

[Godfrey]

Hi, last week i bought from a friend who was selling some lenses of his collection a leica 28mm 2.8 asph lens at a really good price that i couldnt say no. The problem is i dont have a leica camera and ill have to sell almost all others i have to get one. Which leicas are the best options to use with 28mm?

Any that you like.

I've used the same 28mm lens on M2, M6, M3, M4-2, M4-P, M9, M-P 240, M-D 262, M10-M, and M10-R. The frame lines for *any* focal length is an approximation in *all* of them. Same goes for the accessory finders, although some are a bit more accurate than others. This is the case with ALL RF cameras ... the frame lines and viewfinders are all just approximations since they are separate optical systems from the lens.

The way you work successfully with a rangefinder camera is to understand that its framing system is an approximation, its focusing system is very accurate. So you use the rangefinder to focus accurately, and you learn what the lens sees as to how it differs from the frame lines, and frame accordingly. To restate: you have to learn your lenses intimately and use the camera to help you point it where it should be pointed with knowledge of its approximation.

That old Voigtländer Color-Skopar 28mm f/3.5 is a wonderful lens in its own right. Still have it, still use it, still makes lovely photos. I bought a Summicron-M 28mm f/2 ASPH recently: it is even more lovely, and it sees differently from the Color-Skopar. I've learned it now, and I love using it on M10-M, M10-R, and M4-2, the three M bodies I have now.

My early-series M4-2 is my favorite Leica M film body. It does exactly what I want and feels wonderful in my hands. I love its M4 viewfinder, like it more than the later series M4-2 and M4-P where they made the frame lines try to be brighter and stand out more. The delicate, thin, light M4 viewfinder frame line setup was the best, to my eye. I wish I could have the M10-M and M10-R with that viewfinder, but no one will take on that customization job (it's not simple).

In sum: Buy any M body that you like, fit whatever 28mm lens to it you like, learn the lens and the body, and a make wonderful photos. That's all that matters. The rest is just equipment nerding... 🙂

G

 

[wlewisiii]

The outside edges of the Leica CL are pretty good for the 28mm lenses.

I was about to suggest this. I used a CL for years with a Canon Serenar 28/3.5. Worked a treat.

Now I use my M 240 with my Kobalux 28/3.5 and have no trouble with my glasses. It's digital though so ...

 

[Richard G]

Always love Kostya’s posts. Rouge gloves in themselves. A new Leica user spending on 0.58 unlikely to happen. And he doesn’t want to wait. MP also not so easy to find. M6 ideal, if you don’t wear glasses. M4-2 is a great camera and either wing the framing or get external finder. On digital I used my 28 finder once. Now I just know. The Summaron M is nearly always on my M9-P. And I wear glasses.

 

[gzisis69]

Thanx for the helpful posts, i wear glasses and i just realised that it can be a serious problem. I dont want to spend 3000 euros ot more for a camera that i dont know ill surely use. I want something in the range 1000-1500 euros to start and enjoy photography. Im not a gear guy and if the set fits me well i wont need something else for a very long time.

 

[wlewisiii]

Thanx for the helpful posts, i wear glasses and i just realised that it can be a serious problem. I dont want to spend 3000 euros ot more for a camera that i dont know ill surely use. I want something in the range 1000-1500 euros to start and enjoy photography. Im not a gear guy and if the set fits me well i wont need something else for a very long time.

Given your budget and your comments, if you want a film camera, I'd seriously suggest this:

[ MINT+++ ] Leitz Minolta CL Rangefinder Film Camera M ROKKOR 40mm f2 From JAPAN | eBay

Cap, Lens Filter. No problem in the shooting. Optics ~Finder~. There is no scratches.

www.ebay.com

Just use the whole of the finder for the 28, that's what I did. You'll get used to what is slightly outside of it but no rangefinder is as accurate as an SLR.

Had one like that and used it for years. Get a 90/4 to go with it and you'll have everything you need in an rangefinder. Heck, that price tempts me 😉 If I wasn't a Nikon film boy these days I probably would LOL!

 

[raydm6]

It was 2015, before every kid between NYC and Tokyo decided to wear film M to be cool.

@Ko.Fe., your perception and timing is impeccable! I just came across an ad this morning to this website :

 

[Freakscene]

Thanx for the helpful posts, i wear glasses and i just realised that it can be a serious problem. I dont want to spend 3000 euros ot more for a camera that i dont know I’ll surely use. I want something in the range 1000-1500 euros to start and enjoy photography. Im not a gear guy and if the set fits me well i wont need something else for a very long time.

Consider a Voigtländer R4A or R4M. They are generally agreed to be overpriced on the used market but the 0.5x finder is very nice with a 28mm lens. About $US1500-2000 on eBay. Or a Minolta CLE. They have very nice 28mm frame lines but are also overpriced, are old and can be unreliable. They also don’t meter in manual mode.

Options, anyway.