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Third Lens


Maksarti

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Hello dear forum members!

I would like to start this thread with "thank you" word to everyone, because of your advice and help I was able to switch to Leica and I am in love with photography again! Thank you!

 

The same day I bought Leica I have decided to sell my canon gear, and finally it is all sold. I am now looking in to third lens from Leica. Currently I own 35 Cron and 50 Lux, and the problem I love them equally! So i can't decide to go with APO-SUMMICRON-M 90mm f/2 ASPH., SUPER-ELMAR-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH. or TRI-ELMAR-M 16-18-21 mm f/4 ASPH.. I have tested them all in Leica store and I love mostly I guess 21 SE, but I know from my experience with canon that I shoot more with 70-200 then anything else. From other side Leica is not a canon and form-factor of the camera pushes me towards small but beautiful 21 SE. Also I am a bit afraid of f3.4, isn't it a bit too slow? I am confused again and ask for your help dear forum, although I can not describe the question for myself.

 

Thank you,

 

AM

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Hi AM,

 

well you really answered your own question. You use 70-200 the most so you really should get a 90 Summicron first. If you think that the 90 Summicron is too big (form-factor) you should seriously consider the 90 Macro-Elmar or the 90 Summarit.

 

The 21 SEM is a great lens and for most purposes f3.4 is fine.

 

Have you considered that for an extra $1500 US over the price of the WATE you could have both the 21 SEM and 90 Macro-Elmar or Summicron!

 

If you need/want a Leica optical VF remember to factor in an extra $600 to $900 for the wide angle lenses.

 

Regards,

Mark

Edited by MarkP
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Everyone has a different preference depending on what and how they are shooting pictures. My personal experience is that for travel I take the 21mm, 35mm, and 50mm, with the 35mm used the most. The 21mm SE is a great lens, a little slow but with the M's higher ISO ability not too big a problem. My other favorite lens is the 75mm Summilux. I don't take it for travel usually but if I use it for certain occasions where it has its unique qualities. That's just my preference.

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Hi AM,

 

well you really answered your own question. You use 70-200 the most so you really should get a 90 Summicron first. If you think that the 90 Summicron is too big (form-factor) you should seriously consider the 90 Macro-Elmar or the 90 Summarit.

 

The 21 SEM is a great lens and for most purposes f3.4 is fine.

 

Have you considered that for an extra $1500 US over the price of the WATE you could have both the 21 SEM and 90 Macro-Elmar or Summicron!

 

If you need/want a Leica optical VF remember to factor in an extra $600 to $900 for the wide angle lenses.

 

Regards,

Mark

 

I thought so too, i did not even consider 21 SE when i came to Leica, i knew i want 90 cron, so i hooked it up to my camera and test shoot it, then because i had some time i looked at 21 se and was blown away by IQ comparing to what i got from 90 cron. I am sure it is just

Because the store is small and i am limited with 90 inside but impression was made.

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I have both the 21 SE and the APO 90 they're both super lenses and I love them equally. I wouldn't worry about the speed of the 21 I find for practical purposes it's not an issue and I certainly wouldn't swap it for the far bigger, heavier and very expensive 21 Lux.

 

Making a choice between the two really comes down to which you're likely to use most. Personally, I'd choose the 21 for landscapes and architecture but I have a 75 Lux to fill the gap for portraits etc. If had nothing longer than a 50 and given I have a 35 I probably choose the 90 but it'd be a very, very close call and in the event my decision could go either way.

Edited by Jennifer
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AM, what camera body are you using? If one of the later M-bodies (M9 onwards), you need not worry about a slower starting lens aperture. Higher ISOs negate that concern.

 

Don't regard the 90mm Summarit as a lower quality lens; it isn't. It is only about half a stop slower than the Summicron. As you are missing your long zoom lens, a 90 or 135 would make sense, more so than going wider. I guess most of your work will be with the two lenses you possess.

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First what Jaap said, depends on how you shoot.

 

Agree 24 is enough different from 35 so a possibility. If you do buy a 21, believe you will stop down for depth of field so 3.4 plus higher ISO doesn't make that a problem.

 

My kit includes 18, 24, 35, 50 (and MATE), 75, 90 and 135. All my children get used over time although usually bring five at a time.

 

Used to have 21 in old days and while loved it there are times only the 18 will do-hence perhaps making a case for the WATE. Other possibility is 90 Elmarit, mine is so sharp and lighter than 90 APO even if many say 90 APO one of Leica's best lenses.

 

Fortunately Leica gives you many choices. The forum isn't shooting your images, only you are which brings us back to Jaap's point. The answer is always within us and us alone. Know thyself and enjoy the journey.

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Personally I would advise against the Summicron 90 AA. I had it for a while and it was indeed an excellent lens. But in practice I found it too heavy. It unbalanced the camera and I tended to leave it at home. So I replaced it by an Elmarit-M, which is nearly as good optically a lot more handy and only one stop slower. Lens speed is rather irrelevant with longer lenses, your DOF will be narrow anyway and high ISO just fine nowadays.

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Maybe you are a bit too much thinking in old habits (as I am also sometimes). At Nikon or Canon slower lenses are cheaper and lower quality. Also you have darker viewfinder as you look through the lens.

At Leica the aperture really and only indicates, how much light can be captured. Slower lenses are incredibly sharp and mostly better so than faster ones. At the same time they are lighter and cheaper. You have no disadvantages like a darker viewfinder or lower quality.

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The 90 AA is a breathtakingly sharp lens, which can be an advantage in portraiture I believe. If sharp eyes are desirable (as they usually are) then the 90 AA will offer that better than other 90's and the rest of the portrait can be softened to taste with a Gaussian or Surface blur etc. But an inherently softer lens can't be used to 'make' the eyes as sharp with the variety of sharpening tools that are available without leaving a fingerprint that looks unnatural imho.:o

 

Pete.

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With Lumix G5, I tend to go tele more than super wide, but with M9, I tend to go the other direction. I can't explain why. By super wide, I mean Zeiss ZM 25mm, and now I feel I should have got the Zeiss ZM 21mm f2.8 instead of 25mm.

 

On the other hand, Zeiss ZM 25mm gave me the coverage of what 21mm in Voigtlander's zoom viewfinder. If I have 21mm instead, I could have problem with the viewfinder. Don't*know what external view finder will fit 21mm.

 

Have you tried Zeiss ZM 21mm or 25mm? The price is much cheaper than Leica. If the image quality matches your expectation, you can get both Leica 90mm f2.8 and Zeiss ZM 25 or 21mm f2.8 with the price of Leica 21mm.

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In my opinion, a 90mm is the last lens to buy for your M, after you have all other focal lengths that you need, in place.

 

3.4 is just half a stop "worse" than 2.8 which is the other alternative (unless you want to shell out for, and haul around the 21/1.4), and you are much less dependent on the aperture on such extreme wide angles. besides you already have a lux for low light shots.

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