Which Lens??

T

Thea

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I have just made the step I have been longing to do, bought a Leica M6 TTL second hand. ( I dont actually have it to hand yet) I have a few Voigtlander M lenses, and plan to buy a Leica lens, but on a limited budget, can only afford ONE second hand, in the near future. Could you recomend to me which is the best ,in your wise opinions, all rounder? I have read SOO much information, but no personal user information. Also would love to see any pictures taken with them. Thanks alot.:)
 
Leica lenses are great, but not necessarily better than CV or Zeiss or older options. That said, Leica glass on a Leica body is nice. On a budget, look into the 50mm lenses. They are the lowest priced and a good all around starting point for RF photography. I would recommend that you build your kit around the one or two lenses you will use most. Get the best lenses that appeal to your taste in those focal lengths, and work from there based on your budget. For example, I have a CV 21 Skopar. It is slower and perhaps as not critically perfect as the Leica and Zeiss 21mm lenses, but for as infrequent as I use it, it is not worth spending the $$ for the others.

Remember, this is a matter of taste, what you like others may not prefer, and what others laud, may not appeal to you. Good luck hunting.
 
Thanks for the advice, I have afew CV lenses, a 25mm snapshot, 35mm Skopar and 90mm APO Lenthar plus a 50mm on my Bessa, of all of them I perfer the 35mm. I have not been able to get on very well with the 90mm so far, as the Bessas viewfinder is quite small. I am planning to use these ones at the moment, but to expand within a month or two and would like a lens specifically for the M6.
 
Thea, welcome !

I recommend looking for a lens that allows you to take photos,
that you couldn't take before. If you like moderate wide angle,
a CV 28/1.9 would add to your set, and it is very usable with an M6.
Or a CV 40/1.4 or 35/1.7, both excellent.

A 35/2 Summicron, if you absolutely want a Leica lens. For the
Summicron, the best bang for the buck is v3, IMO; it will run you
around US 600-700, depending on condition. The Summicron-C 40/2
is just as good optically, cheaper, but has a slightly different FOV.

Best,

Roland.
 
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If there's already so much information, what do you think you can get by posting? It'll be even more information.
 
Thanks for the advice. Re information, yes there is a bewildering amount of information about Leica lenses, but the reason (if I need to have one?) I asked the question, is because I wanted to hear the opinions of people who use and know the system, rather than a review or advert, where the emphasis is on sales, and there is no true or real experience of using the kit.

Thanks for your help everyone, I gather the consensus is that a CV lens is as good a choice as any of the Leica's.

Best wishes:)
 
Thea your question is perfectly reasonable and there is a bewildering array of choice out there. Strictly Leica, and since you already have a 35 mm you can use on your new M6TTL (congrats! :)) I would suggest a current or recent 50mm/f2.8 M-Elmar. They are sharp but not too sharp, have contrast but not too much, and are comparatively inexpensive for a modern Leica lens. Check out the pictures this lens takes on Flickr and in the gallery here. Below are two of mine taken somewhere around f4-f5.6 and not the greatest photographs but you can see how the lens renders.


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I would place a WTB (want to buy) in the Classifieds both here and over on photo.net for whatever lens you decide to purchase. Most all members are very reliable and you can often find very good prices.

Welcome to the forum BTW! :)
 
While there may be bad examples of a particular lens (fungus, scratches, haze, etc.), very few bad lenses have been produced in the last 50 years.

Canon produced very good rangefinder lenses. They are relatively easy to find. The Canon 50/1.4 and 35/2.0 are both good lenses.

Konica produced a range of VERY good lenses in M and LTM mounts a few years back. They are worth looking for.

The 28/1.9 Ultron mentioned above is a very nice lens.

A very clean 50mm Dual Range Summicron is a good lens to have.

So many lens choices. So little time.
 
Peter,

Hush! Those are lovely photographs.

Thea,

Use the search feature here. You will find more information on every lens ever made than you can read in a week. The Gallery can be searched by lens name also.
 
Thea

I would have to second peter_n on his suggestion of the 50 elmar-M. I bought my TTL with the current 50 'cron and later bought the elmar-M on a whim figuring it would be good on the points of compactness and a little lower contrast (important in the direct NZ sun). What I've found is the elmar-M is now, by far, my favoured lens. I can't remember the last time the summicron made it into my bag. As he Peter points out it has a beautiful level of contrast and sharpness. The out of focus rendering is also wonderful (at least to my eyes). I'm now considering selling the 'cron, but can't quite manage to make myself list it for sale. I doubt it will ever be used much again, but I've had it as long as I've had my M6:(

Ian
 
If you ask me - you have all the lenses you need already. CV 25, 35, 50 and 90mm lenses are more than enough. If you don't have it yet - get an LTM-M adapter, so you can use your screw mount lenses on M6. If you still find them limiting, I'd get a good fast lens, - as was already suggested, since it sounds that most of what you have is a bit slow. Something 1.5-2.0 range. While Elmar 50/2.8 may be a good lens (never use it), it's a bit slow, which is what you already have. If you itching to get a Leica lens - try finding a good Summitar - it has that vintage look to it's photos. And it's 2.0. And collapses. But there are many Canon and Nikon lenses that fit the bill, as well as some russian ones - cheap and if a good one can be very good, like a Jupiter 3 - 50/1.5 - a Sonnar copy with great bokeh - trick is to find a good one. See this thread for example of photos taken with J-3, Summitar and some other lenses: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39361
Good luck with your selection.
 
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Just Like to say, thanks for all the info. I will bare in mind what you have all said, and when I have the finances, will look out and see what Elmar 50/2.8's are about, and Peter your pictures are great along with your advice.
Cheers
Thea
 
I have a 50 Summilux, 50 Cron, and 50 Elmar-M.

My most used lens besides my 35mm Summicron is my ...chrome 50 Elmar-M f/2.8. Its history made anew, with modern coating and tolerances. Compact, sharp enough, outstanding boke. AND great price. Very much an overlooked lens because of its f/2.8 but add HP-5 and its kicks a--.

I've had dozens of lenses and the ones I've really come to like: 21mmVC, 35mm Summicron IV, 50mm Elmar-M, 90mm Elmarit-M. All fairly compact, sharp, and above all else outstanding BOKE!

Best -
 
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Peter--Honestly, those pictures of young women are gorgeous, and the lens can only take a little of the credit. Very nice.
--Lindsay
 
Thea,

Put another vote in for a different lens than you have now. I would strongly recomend the CV 40/1.4. Have it modified to bring up the 35mm frame lines, about $25 more at most. You say you like the 35mm focal lenght, this replaced my 35/1.7 in my main carry kit. I'm a bit warped, my kit is a CV 15, 40 and Nikkor 105 for my M6 and a CV 25 on a Bessa L. I own a 35/2 'Cron and while I love the lens, I love speed. That extra stop is handy at times. The build of the 40 is very much better than the previous generation CV lenses.

Pricewise it will not break the bank and while it different from what you have today, it's not that different from the 35 you prefer.

B2 (;->
 
Personally I would'nt put my money in an older leica lens or even the new Elmar. For the money of a used Elmar (new version) you can own a new with warranty 50 Planar that will run circles around the Elmar and even tops the Summicron. I purchased mine new for $461 US warranty/ box and everything from Calumet. I have a great deal of experience with Leica glass and when I started shooting with the Planar I immediately sold my tabbed summicron. It's just that good! I even like it as well or slightly better than my 50 asph summilux. Yes it's that good! I also purchsed a 35 Biogon and 25 Biogon. The 35 is definately ahead of the v 1-4 Summicron 35's and slightly better than my asph 35 summicron. Yes it is that good! It will cost you new around $700 or less. The 25 is unequaled in my book. It's the finest ultra wide I've ever had or shot and the prices are very reasonable. If you want to add another lens i would suggest a different focal length. What you have are excellent and whether you see a difference between different makers glass or not it will be slight. Your current glass is excellent. I would however suggest the CV 75mm. It fills a gap and is a darn fine lens. I would stack it up against my 75 summilux in image quality. Just because the CV lenses are less expensive has nothing to do with their quality. I have the 35 1.2 and 28 1.9 plus a 25 in Nikon S mount for the RF. All are top notch with my favorite being the 28 Ultron. I also had a Nokton 50 and found it to be a very fine performer.
 
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