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Big problem: camera, no lens


DKbRS

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Pico, maybe a little slack is in order. Not a well researched question, but maybe just buyer's "excitement." Kevinma, maybe a little "search function" and reading will garner a large amount of immediate knowledge. Striving for a 50 lux, a difficult to obtain lens, may appear to be a little precocious- I have both a lux and a cron, and cron would be wonderful for a first lens, and much easier to obtain- many have been available on this forum used- and far smaller and cheaper.

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Pico, maybe a little slack is in order. Not a well researched question, but maybe just buyer's "excitement." Kevinma, maybe a little "search function" and reading will garner a large amount of immediate knowledge. Striving for a 50 lux, a difficult to obtain lens, may appear to be a little precocious- I have both a lux and a cron, and cron would be wonderful for a first lens, and much easier to obtain- many have been available on this forum used- and far smaller and cheaper.

 

Thanks. I've read a lot on this forum and in one week have had questions answered by some very helpful people. If only questions that had never been asked before, were permitted in this forum, it would be a rather inactive place to visit.

 

Not quite sure why I am justifying this but... The question was designed to request information on alternatives to a 50 lux as the "first lens" in a one-lens system. It was worded with a touch of humor, which I am certain that some, at least, realized.

 

And it had provided useful information, for which I am grateful, albeit with a touch of recent irritation, for which I am not.

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kevinma,

 

All good Leica lenses are in very,very short supply. I have a 50 lux- took about 5 months to fill through a reputable dealer. Two options- call, call, call, or put your name in with a good dealer and wait. In the interim, there are many fine lenses which I am sure would satisfy your needs- the 50 cron comes to mind. Maybe not the absolute latest and greatest, but a lens many feel is superior to the lux- smaller, almost as sharp, maybe not so sharp due to many new lens' ASPH elements, fabulous rendering, etc.

 

You'll find many on the Forum lust after the way a lens renders, not necessarily how new it is. I would take the time to research the Forums, try to understand what you are looking for in a lens, and try one out. It may not be the latest and greatest- it may be a 5cm fixed, a 50mm pre-ASPH, or it may end up being the latest 50 lux ASPh, which will mean a wait.

 

My point is, haste make waste and a little patience, which many are badly conveying, may go a long ways to understanding why you are using a Leica. I love my cron and lux for very different reasons, and am also considering adding a earlier lens for it's different attributes. This isn't like buying a Nikon or Canon, which most of us also own and can understand.

 

Good luck on your journey.

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kevinma,

 

All good Leica lenses are in very,very short supply.

 

Good luck on your journey.

 

:eek: Really? New and/or used market? Short supply=good Leica lenses? Availability = not good Leica lenses? :rolleyes:

There are plenty of excellent used Leica lenses listed in different market places.

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:eek: Really? New and/or used market? Short supply=good Leica lenses? Availability = not good Leica lenses? :rolleyes:

There are plenty of excellent used Leica lenses listed in different market places.

 

Thank you for the correction. More precisely, new, sought after lenses are typically in short supply, like the 50 lux ASPH, 35 lux ASPH FLE, etc. ;).

 

kevinma- As Eaton mentioned, good lenses are available. A quick search here, fm and a few other sites shows a number of different used 50 crons available.

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Thank you for the correction. More precisely, new, sought after lenses are typically in short supply, like the 50 lux ASPH, 35 lux ASPH FLE, etc. ;).

 

kevinma- As Eaton mentioned, good lenses are available. A quick search here, fm and a few other sites shows a number of different used 50 crons available.

 

Hi

 

More exactly the fash (fashionable) lenses are in short supply.

 

i) the new M9 owners have bought them as kit lenses, in some quantity

ii) leica have diverted production...

 

But any of a summarit f/2.5 in 5cm or 3.5cm and the /2.8 Elmarit should be new & on the shelf and are usable as one lens kit lenses.

 

Each is a peerless performer and light and manageable. Only the people who need limited planes of focus need the faster lenses. They are high contrast if you cant avoid fast shooting.

 

Noel

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50 2.8 last version recently discontinued. Small collapsible with same image quality of `Lux 4 to 11 without the bulk and weight.

 

The 50 Lux is the best 50 1.4 I ever used, but it is a very heavy lens. Unless you need the 1.4, right now, buy something smaller that perhaps you will keep as a second 50 in the long run.

 

A 50 Summarit is also worth considering, but I really like my 2.8 as an everyday lens.

 

A nice Summicron is also worth considering, or a Zeiss 50 2.0. The Zeiss 1.5 is a reissue of an old optical formula that some like, but it is not what you want in place of a modern Lux.

 

If you still want a 50 Lux as an only 50 mm long term lens, then get something used and sell it later.

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Not quite sure why I am justifying this but... The question was designed to request information on alternatives to a 50 lux as the "first lens" in a one-lens system. It was worded with a touch of humor, which I am certain that some, at least, realized.

 

Hi,

 

Your OP was worded "I've decided that the lens must be a 50 and the lux. I can get the camera but I can't get the lens. WHAT ON EARTH DO I DO NOW?:mad:"

 

It sounded like the kind of unreasonable rants that we see all too often on here, so apologies if I failed to get the humour.

 

You said you MUST have a 50 Lux, if you'd asked for suggestions for alternatives then you'd have received a very different set of responses.

 

I can't really add to the advice already given, apart from I think I'd look for a (later style) 50 2.8 Elmar, which will be a useful compact 'travel' lens to have even when you do track down that Lux.

 

Also, whatever s/h lens you buy now as a stop-gap, you can easily sell it on again later probably for the same or more.

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There is a 50 Elmar in the B&S section now. I have handled the lens in question and it's in excellent condition and very well looked after (and no, it isn't mine)

 

If I had the spare cash, I'd have been tempted myself.

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............I'm also currently considering a second-hand 50mm Summicron that I can get from a reputable dealer here............

 

Go for the 50mm Summicron and don't look back!

___________

FrankR

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So I'm done reading and I've decided to go for it and to begin with the M9 and one lens, so that I can learn the camera and system with minimal distraction. I've decided that the lens must be a 50 and the lux.

 

My apologies to you for misreading your post and over-reacting. I do sympathize. New lenses are very difficult to find.

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Luka has a good idea. Get a 35 and I would like to add: Make it a 35 pre-ASPH lux. You can get it for about $1700 USD and it will make a great partner for your 50 ASPH lux.

Pete

 

PS: I started out with one lens, then two, then three, then...

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Small problem, no lens no patience.

 

Ask yourself why you want the Summilux.

 

Is shooting brick walls and rulers your thing?

Must you have the newest shiniest and "best" at all times?

Do you like sterility in your images?

Do you want to take pictures that have some character?

Do you want to take pictures right now or moan on internet forums?

 

There are plenty of choices from Leica, Zeiss, Cosina and others, new and secondhand.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

 

Bill, you read the "Ken Rockwell Book on Testing Lenses - Leicaman Chapter" too! :D

 

(THAT WAS A JOKE).

 

In all seriousness though, to the OP, an M9 and a Summicron or even the f/2.5 Summitar, will do great, be all-leica, and cost several thousand less than a 'lux. Unless you're doing severe DOF studies where every iota of millimeter counts, f/2 is just as good a spot to start and with the extra $$ you can save up for more lenses that will serve you better as you expand your photographic work.

 

Jason

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