wide angle lenses on M8-24-21

[photolady]

I love my M8 camera with the 28mm lens but want to try a wider lens and am thinking of either a 21 or an 18mm. I am a novice when it comes to this and am wondering if I will need to use a finder with either of these? thanks

 

[kbg32]

Yes, you will. The 21 is effectively a 28mm and the 18 is effectively a 24mm. External viewfinders will help composing your images. I highly recommend the Zeiss 18 for the M8
and the pre - Asph 21/2.8 Elmarit.

 

[Bobfrance]

You may already know, but the correct 6-bit coding on the wider lenses is important.
I get a lot of cyan vignetting on my 15mm Heliar without coding.

It can be done easily with an m-coder kit, but the marker pen can rub off.
Leica will do it for around £70 a lens, last I heard.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

If you're thinking of an 18mm you only have a few options and they can cost a ton. Something fun to try might be a 15mm CV Heliar. They run about 10% of the price of a Leica lens and I always loved mine on my M8. FOV becomes a 21mm and the camera makes an excellent point & shoot for some urban street photography (that's what I used it for...)

Aside from that, I run a 21mm f/2.8 ZM lens on my M8 with no problems of cyan vignetting. At least, none that are noticeable. (On my M9, it's plain as day) The 21mm ZM is a great lens with almost no distortion. I've never noticed any myself.

As for the viewfinder, you can cheat a little with the 21mm and use the whole VF for a reasonably accurate field of view. If you go to the 18, you'll have to use a 24mm finder.

Have fun!
Phil Forrest

 

[kbg32]

I strongly recommend the Milich 18mm brass M replacement mount for 18 to get rid of the cyan vignetting.

 

[bob338]

Save up and buy the Wide Angle Tri-Elmar, it's an amazing lens! I have a 15mm voigtlander that hasn't been used once since I bought the WATE.


bob

 

[kbg32]

I was never happy with the results of the 15 Heliar on my M8. I found it to vignette heavily and the images were marginally sharp. I know there are people here that love the lens on the M8. I found it to be excellent for film.

 

[hamomas]

I love my M8 camera with the 28 mm lens but want to try a wider lens and am thinking of either a 21 mm or an 18 mm. I am a novice when it comes to this and am wondering if I will need to use a finder with either of these?

Yes, the M8 (and M8.2, too) needs an accessory finder for any lens that is shorter than 24 mm. So maybe you want to try a 24 mm lens first. The gain in field-of-view would be moderate only, compared to your existing 28 mm, but you'd get away with no accessory finder.

21 mm and 18 mm lenses are always pretty expensive, as they can cover a wide angle of view which you'd have to pay for even though you would fully exploit it with the M8's smaller sensor. Anyway, you'll need an accessory finder for those. The ideal (but expensive) super-wide-angle lens for the M8 is the Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21 mm Asph plus the Universal-Weitwinkelsucher-M (a.k.a. 'Frankenfinder').

 

[drjho]

21 lux

21 lux

I use the 21 lux for more than half of my photography. I have also used a 21 elmarit which is also a fabulous lens. I really like the speed of the lux, the sharpness and the ability to get short DOF if I want it. I tried out a Tri-Elmar for a day but it didn't resonate with me. I do use an external viewfinder for framing, which can be a pain but after a few weeks you get used to it.

 

[Luke_Miller]

I just picked up a used six bit coded 24mm Elmarit for my M8.2. It performs beautifully and is one of Leica's more highly regarded lenses. Apparantly it has been discontinued so I am glad I was able to get one. With the hood mounted it cuts off maybe 20% of the viewfinder frame. I can deal with that, but a faster (larger) lens might well drive me to an external finder for composition.

 

[Johnny_Johnson]

As for the viewfinder, you can cheat a little with the 21mm and use the whole VF for a reasonably accurate field of view. If you go to the 18, you'll have to use a 24mm finder.

Have fun!
Phil Forrest

Just a caution - what works for Phil may or may not work for you. I wear glasses and have to peek into the corners just to see the 28mm frame lines. Trying to use a 21mm lens without an auxiliary finder is hopeless for me.

Later,
Johnny