Bought a M4-2, now I need lenses

[biglouis]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Having got bitten by the photography bug after many years of abstinence I figured I should go the whole hog and try film photography again.

 

I just bought a M4-2 off of e-bay and I need to get a metering solution and some lenses.

 

I'm planning on buying a clip-on Voigtlander II lightmeter as recommended by the seller. I've also heard good things about Gossen.

 

The next item(s) is at least one prime lens and possibly a second longer focal length lens. Bear in mind that buying a cheap M4-2 I am not about to spend 000s on lenses.

 

I was thinking of a s/h f2.8 35mm Sumicron and a f4.0 90mm Elmar. There are quite a few 90mm to choose from on e-Bay at present starting at pretty good prices. Is it worth paying the premium and going for the faster 2.8 lens?

 

Any advice for a lapsed film photographer who can barely recall what an f-stop is, would be much appreciated.

 

LouisB

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[MSmelik]

On a budget, get a 40mm of some brand, CV, Rollei, Minolta, the are bang on between 35 and 50 and produce excellent results and can be had for little money. They will also get you use to you're manner of shooting, maybe instead of a semi tele you prefer to go wider .... I think a 40mm is a good starting point.

 

As for tele's a 75 CV is cheap and good, so is a 90 CV, buy it, try it and if it doesn't work out sell them at minimum loss.

 

I would only go for leica lenses once you are dead sure that the lenght is the actual lenght you want and need. Then the signature of the lens is to be decided upon. Using CV's or equivalent is such a good way to find out what you like and don't like. And at the image quality is very good, you mustn't judge it according to the price, a 5x more expensive Leica lens of equivalent length is definitely not 5x better.

 

As for lightmeters, I would go for a spot-meter, but this is really a personal choice. I spot-meter everything it brings out what you want to be brought out. For speed shooting however I would always make use of a handheld, measure before shooting, take the average value, perhaps add or deduct a stop due to the circumstances and measure every other hour. This works very well. I do understand however that with slides measurement is more important, in which case I would still go for a handheld meter. the VC meter is around 200$ this is expensive for the sort of meter you will be getting.

 

Personally wouldn't buy lenses at Ebay ever .....

[cardinal]

Buy a black current 50 2.8 Elmar, I think you would be happy with that.

[earleygallery]

I think that M4-2 was on my e bay watch list!

 

Summicrons are F2, a 35mm Summicron would be my first choice. A Summaron 2.8 is an older lens but I'm told almost as good as the Summicron (prob not the latest asph Summicrons though!).

 

The 40mm won't tie in with the frame lines so isn't as convenient to use, but an interesting option.

 

I'd also recommend a 5cm or 50mm Elmar. You can fit any screw lenses to the M with an adaptor so you have lots of choices.

 

The VC lenses are another way to go, and good performers. As for meters, if you are going to use the camera outside (i.e. don't need low level metering) then any working order handheld meter will do. An old Weston, one of the Gossen meters, or a Vivitar meter like mine bought off e bay for £5. I take a couple of readings, average them and then adjust a stop +/- as I go on, depending on the situation.

 

If you're working with slides then either get a spot meter or bracket.

[wda]

Louis,

 

Lens selection is such a personal choice. You seem to have narrowed down your inclination without declaring what you would use the lenses for.

 

Re the meter. I have an M3 and bought the early Voigtlander meter (not sure which version). It is good but has its drawbacks. As does any clip-on meter. I now prefer a handheld meter, Weston or Gossen, because I am less inclined to forget to transfer the settings to the camera. That is easily done with a clip-on because you tend to think it is transferred automatically!

 

David

[R.Morrison]

I acquired an M4-P which is a later version of the M4-2 and what has worked for me is a Leica MR meter purchsed from georgeury.com, a reputable dealer of used Leica gear. I also have a hand-held Pentax spot meter. Voightlaender lenses of 28, 35, and 50 mm. lengths were purchased and now, having experimented, I'm ready to graduate to Leica lenses and an MP body. I believe you are charting a very sensible course.

 

Robert Morrison, M4-P etc.

[lars_bergquist]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I returned to the Leica M with the purchase of a good M4-P a few years ago. This is of course the same camera as a M4-2, plus 28 and 75 mm frames. With the camera came one 4th generation (last pre-aspheric) 35 mm Summicron, and a 90 mm Tele-Elmarit, last version. And frankly, much time passed before I increased this classic lens combo with faster, longer or shorter lenses. I could still do ninety percent of my photography with these two lenses.

 

As for metering: Are you going to shoot negative film?. In that case, buy a hand meter, with both reflected and incident metering, learn about light -- and learn to do without it! That's not difficult to do outside. Indoors, and in tricky lighting, do fish that meter out of your pants and use it. This strategy is faster than using any accessory meter.

 

If you want one, however, my recommendation is a Leicameter, which is semi-coupled (to the speed dial). Any other hang-on meter is no faster than a hand meter, and more limited. Get the MR-4, the last model. These meters are CdS meters working on mercury cells, but they can use zinc-air Wein cells too. A competent camera technician can do minor adjustments of the internal trim potentiometers, if necessary.

 

The old man from the Age of Hypo

[biglouis]

Guys

 

Thanks for all the advice - thanks to e-Bay and the internet we are now surrounded by lots of choice.

 

I am swaying towards a 2/50 or 2.8/50 as I think I need to start with a traditional focal length and work outwards (if that makes sense). Paradoxically, there are lots of reasonably priced 50s in my budget but few if any 35s.

 

Advice on meters is also very helpful. If only I hadn't got rid of my weston all those years ago! I also just realised that in a house move I threw out my developing kit and extremely useful lightproof bag. Doh!

 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing as is all your help

 

LouisB

[pvenables]

Dear Louis

 

I bought a v4 35 Summicron almost exactly at this time last year, off ebay from Germany, without even having a body. I was convinced it was the lens I wanted. I then bought an M6 from Germany, again on ebay, followed by a 90mm Elmar-C, a current 50 2.8 Elmar-M, an M2, and finally a 1960 50 Dual Range Summicron. All my purchases have been off ebay, and all have done exactly what they said on the tin. Others may try to put you off ebay - each to their own. I disagree. If you're careful to ask the right questions, ask for decent pictures, and check feedback and return policies of the selller, you can't go wrong in my opinion. If you're not careful you can overbid, but there you go...

 

The v4 Summicron cost me about £400, the M6 about £650, the 50 Elmar £350, the M2 £450, the DR Summicron £200 and the 90 Elmar-C about £130.

 

If you're not going to use the 90 in darkness a lot, get a 90 Elmar-C or Rokkor-C. These were made for the Leica CL/Minolta CLE, are small, nicely-made, sharp and cheap. A no-brainer, in my opinion. But I don't use the 90 a lot. The viewfinder frame is quite small.

 

Try to use a 50 before you buy a 35. I bought a 35 because I'd always liked 35s on SLR. With hindsight I made a mistake. Both my M6 and M2 are .72, and I wear glasses, so the 35 frame is quite hard to see sometimes. The much-trumpeted superiority of r/fs over SLRs whereby you can what's about to appear in the frame is negated with my eyes and a 35. A 50 is far more easier for me.

 

If you use colour film a lot, I'd check out a current lens, whether Leica, Zeiss Ikon, Hexanon, Voigtlander - loads of these lenses are great, whatever name they have on the front. If you really want a great 35, and aren't concerned about the lens being tiny, avoid the v4 Summicron. The hype has driven prices up and I'm sure you could buy a more current lens at half the price which will perform just as well.

 

With black and white, my £200 DR Summicron is the sharpest lens I have, and makes the most beautiful pictures to my eye. With colour the colours are a bit muted. Given it's 46 years old I can forgive it that.

 

I can lend you a Gossen Lunalite incident meter if you want. I have a Voigtlander VCII for my M2 and love it, but it was £130. The Lunalite is bulky but gives perfect exposures every time, and I would imagine that a similar meter would cost a lot less than £130 on the 'bay.

 

So, to sum up, and sorry about the length of this post, given your budget I would say :-

 

Try a 35 and 50 on yr camera and make sure what length you think you really want : don't be afraid to go for a non-Leica or older Leica lens at first, you can always sell it on later if you want something "better" : and consider a cheaper incident light meter if you can put up with the bulk.

 

Good luck and mail me if you want.

 

Paul

[earleygallery]

I recently bought two 50mm Elmar lenses off ebay. Both are in excellent condition and I got them for much less that I would have to pay at a Leica dealers, probably more like the trade-in price.