Which are your most exciting M lenses?

[DaveB]

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Noctilux

75mm Summilux

35mm Summicron IV series

 

And the CV 12/5.6

Wow.

 

That's precisely my list and in that order.

[Guest joewehry]

My first choice? The lens between my brain and the viewfinder. (...And isn't it wonderful how well each Leica M lens expresses our unique view?)

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[MP3]

As the keywords of your question are 'are' and 'exciting', I will name those lens which will change my heart rate when I mount up to my M camera... and they goes to...

 

 

Noct late e58 or early e60 - Solid Body and Mount, image you know when welled focused... just speechless. Needless to say the earlier f1,2.

 

Summilux 35 v1 chrome with OLLUX - Excellent craftmanship, size, clasical leitz color/tone, the leica glow at f1,4

 

Elmarit 28 v1 - Sexy body, mythical color, excellent distortion control, classic biogon design.

 

 

Others which also give me the exciting feeling are

Summicron 90mm v1 SOOZI

Classic Carl Zeiss Biogon 21 - 1950

Summicron 50 - SN < 1m

Summicron 50 Rigid and DR

Elmar 50 Red Scale

Summaron 35 Gold Coating

Elmar 90 3-ele

 

 

Then comes the modern incarnations,

Summilux 35 asph

Summicron 28, 75

Elmarit 24

 

...... How fortunare we are... to fully exploit their quality, use film.

[junglehs]

So this is the status of the most exciting lenses. The lenses that make us smile are:

 

1. 75mm 1.4 (5 votes)

24mm 2.8 (5 votes)

 

2. Noctilux (4 votes)

28mm 2.0 (4 votes)

 

3. 75mm 2.0 (3 votes)

 

 

This is fun. Keep it coming...

[eckart]

For me,

everyday and always 28 Cron Asph,

second row but not far away,

40 C-Cron and 35 Lux Asph,

but in long lens,

the one and only 75 Lux

 

Cheers,

Eckart

[Eoin]

Oh well here goes,

 

In order of preference used on an M8,

1, The Summicron 28 Asph, I'm just amazed at this lens ability to hold the highlights while not blocking in the shadows. There must be some magical glass formula inside which never seems to produce a hot (burnt out highlights) image.

2, Summarex 85 f:/1.5, It's quirky in it's operation, lower contrast and focal length are perfect for portraits. Heavy and long but a joy to behold and marvel the engineering from the early 50's.

3, 50 Summilux Asph. Runs a touch hot, but I won't hold that against it's otherwise perfect performance.

 

I've tried many others, with no faults other than the focal length didn't match my style. It's hard to fault any Leica lens other than the price one must pay for the pleasure.

[junglehs]

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Summilux 35/1.4 pre-aspherical - makes me smile every time I use it! That lens might not be cutting edge, but there's just something about it...!

 

You are right , Rich.

I love it too. its so nice and mushy wide open and stopped down it just pops!

[Pointcolville]

Zeiss 18mm. I recently bought a new chair, but my Zeiss is so exciting, I only need the edge.

[j. white]

I am surprised by how much I enjoy the combination of the 28mm Summicron ASPH and 50mm Summilux ASPH. Partly due to the look that each lens imparts, but also to the setup of the framelines.

 

I would have thought that one of my 35's would be my favorite, but these two represent the bulk of my shooting by far.

[geoffreyg]

Here's a rather dull notion:

 

Having shot for years with a 35 'cron, I find the 28 Elmarit (small) to be just kind of the right lens. No surprise there.

 

But the 50 'cron has come out to be a big favorite. Has enough bokeh, and yet a bit of DOF, so focus isn't that touchy. Small, not super expensive....has become just a lovely lens on the camera. The 15 CV and the 75 CV are the others of choice, but clearly a step behind those two.

[Paul_S]

first: Elmarit 24mm

next: Noctilux

followed by: Summilux 75mm

[itso_dimitrov]

First: Noctilux 50 f/1

Second: Summicron 28 f/2

[leicatwins]

First, Elmarit 24

Second, 35 UC Hex

[manolo]

50/1

35/1.4asph

28/2asph

24/2.8asph

[junglehs]

Here's the score so far:

 

1. 28mm 2.0 (9 votes)

 

2. 24mm 2.8 (8 votes)

 

3. 75mm 1.4 (7 votes)

50mm 1.0 (7 votes)

 

 

Keep it coming...

[Guru]

1. 24mm f/2.8 asph. (the only pictures I actually framed and put on the wall have been from this one)

2. 90mm f/2.0 apo asph.

3. 50mm f/1.0

[j. borger]

1. Very early 50mm rigid summicron

2. 28mm Summicron

[graeme_hutton]

40mm 'cron f2 on the M8. Bargain basement price and great results.

 

Graeme

[Tony C.]

The only one which I would truly characterize as "exciting" is the Noctilux.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[elviskennedy]

The price (relative), size and unparalleled image quality delivered by the 35 'cron ASPH is pretty exciting.