colonel Posted July 12, 2011 Share #1 Posted July 12, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Why is 28m apparently less popular then either 24mm or 35mm ? Now I don't know for sure. Its just intuition based on the "new" & "nearly new" 28mm Leica lenses available for sale in the UK compared to say 24mm and 35mm. Also based on the fact that Leica does not make a Lux version which indicates a lessened demand. This can't be anything to do with rating as both the elmarit and the CRON are rated superbly. I kind of get the 35mm, as alot of folk use this as a walk-about, but surely the 24mm is a big hassle based on needing an external viewfinder (talking M9) or taking a risk on framing The 28mm probably doesn't make sense as a partner to the 35mm, but many folk use 50mm as their main lens and in this case the 28mm seems a great partner, avoiding the external viewfinder. I am a 50mm main shooter, but am looking for a 28mm (probably ASPH CRON second hand) and a 90mm of some kind at some point. Am I alone here ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 12, 2011 Posted July 12, 2011 Hi colonel, Take a look here Is (and why) is 28mm the less popular wide ?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
UliWer Posted July 12, 2011 Share #2 Posted July 12, 2011 I don't think we have valid data about which focal length of the present Leica lens catalogue is less popular than others. My personal impression is, that 24mm is the least popular: in Germany you find new 24mm lenses on the shelves of dealers at times when you have to wait for months until any other type is delivered. Prices for second hand lenses - also for 28mm - are extremely high at the moment, often more than you had to pay for them, when they were new. The only exception (besides 135mm) is 24 mm, where offers at reasonable prices seem to wait for somebody who shows interest in them. There is another thread about the "28mm lux", where adan named some sound reasons for this "gap" in the list: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/customer-forum/190472-why-no-28mm-summilux.html#post1763719 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted July 12, 2011 Share #3 Posted July 12, 2011 The reason that you never, or nearly never, see a 2nd-hand (if that is the right term) 28/2 summicron is that if you have one you hang on to it for dear life. IIRC there was a poll a few years ago about "the best" Leica lens and it came 2nd after the 50/1.4 summilux ASPH. Presumably this also means that new ones are hard to come by. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenPatterson Posted July 12, 2011 Share #4 Posted July 12, 2011 This is just a personal observation, but as a young teenager when I got my first SLR (a Canon AT-1) in the late 70s a 50mm lens was standard, and if you wanted a wide angle it was usually a 28mm. I remember being so excited to get a "real" camera, as I had been using a Yashica Electro 35 but yearning for zoom lenses (yeah, I know...stupid kid). Now with my Leica I have found 35mm to be my FL of choice, so when I want to go wide I go with a 21mm or 24mm. For me a 28 is just too close to the 35. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted July 12, 2011 Share #5 Posted July 12, 2011 You aren't alone in finding a 28mm an attractive lens, my standard three lens kit is a 28mm, 50mm and 90mm. And the current Summicron is one of Leica's very best lenses bar none. 28mm lenses have made a big impact on photographic history, yet the 35mm has been touted as the natural lens for documentary work probably because its a more neutral focal length for a wide with less distortion etc. You can't be accused of being overly dramatic and biased with your framing if you aren't getting converging lines and distortion which is the bane of the strictly neutral observer. But a 28mm used sensibly can do the same thing as a 35mm, and used with abandon add drama and an exciting dynamic to an image. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted July 12, 2011 Share #6 Posted July 12, 2011 Uhm... the only evidence of your hipotesis could come from looking at the figures of worldwide new lenses' sales in the, say, last 12 months... difficult to have... an analisys based on the used market can be misleading for it is an uncontrolled market with "gray" factors (no pun intended) : 1) Are there few 28s for sale, compared to 24/35 ? This could mean that people like to USE their 28s and don't sell, OR that dealers know that is "unpopular" and don't like to acquire them from users 2) Are there many 28s for sale, compared to 24/35 ? This could mean that users are bored of their old 28s and want to exchange for other focals, OR that dealers know that 28 is always an appealing focal and is better to have always some to offer... 28 is the historical companion of a 50... if 50 is losing popularity towards 35, is natural that the WA choice tends towards 24 rather than 28... but I haven't idea if THIS is the trend... I think also it's someway different between Leica world and "the others" , who have zooms as a serious alternative and haven't the "hard setting" given by RF / frames / external VF... we have had also the "M8 phase" (still enduring, for me), which brought some "oscillations" in our typical Leica mindsetting... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share #7 Posted July 12, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) The reason that you never, or nearly never, see a 2nd-hand (if that is the right term) 28/2 summicron is that if you have one you hang on to it for dear life. IIRC there was a poll a few years ago about "the best" Leica lens and it came 2nd after the 50/1.4 summilux ASPH. Presumably this also means that new ones are hard to come by. actually I see a number of "nearly new" 28mm ASPH f2 Crons in the UK for sale. maybe its just coincidence at the moment Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share #8 Posted July 12, 2011 2) Are there many 28s for sale, compared to 24/35 ? This could mean that users are bored of their old 28s and want to exchange for other focals, OR that dealers know that 28 is always an appealing focal and is better to have always some to offer... also the "M8 phase" (still enduring, for me) My experience is that dealers will take ANY Leica lens to sell 2nd hand at the moment So the fact that there are a number of 28mm ASPH crons around indicates either they can't sell them so quickly or people are buying them and not liking the focal length so discarding them I agree, the M8 spiked the 24mm popularity as it had a frame line for it. Almost bought the 24mm Elmar when I bought my M8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted July 12, 2011 Share #9 Posted July 12, 2011 My experience is that dealers will take ANY Leica lens to sell 2nd hand at the momentSo the fact that there are a number of 28mm ASPH crons around indicates either they can't sell them so quickly or people are buying them and not liking the focal length so discarding them I agree, the M8 spiked the 24mm popularity as it had a frame line for it. Almost bought the 24mm Elmar when I bought my M8 Yea the M8 distorted the market a lot, lots of 24 and 28 mms. In the CV small lens series both the 24 and 28mm small lenses are lower volume then the 35mm, i.e. more difficult to get 2nd hand, the 28mm f3.5 more so. But the 28mm fast (f1.9 and f/2) seem to be easier to get. Many people seem to use the 35mm as a standard on full frame. The lens market is unbelivable at the moment, I think it may get more inflated. Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falstaff Posted July 12, 2011 Share #10 Posted July 12, 2011 28/2 asph and 35/2 asph - both for the street, both used a lot. I personally don't find them close to each other and would not get rid of either. Falstaff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted July 12, 2011 Share #11 Posted July 12, 2011 28/2 asph and 35/2 asph - both for the street, both used a lot.I personally don't find them close to each other and would not get rid of either. Falstaff Similar experience - 35/2 asph when I'm only working with one lens. 28/50 + 90 when I'm working with two bodies. For me, 28 and 35 are both indispensible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted July 12, 2011 Share #12 Posted July 12, 2011 Some points to consider: The M viewfinder since 1959 (post M3) was designed as a 35mm finder. It took 22 years before Leica decided to shoe-horn in lines for a 28. And many people still try to find an accessory finder for 28mm - the internal lines are just hard to see and not very accurate, because the finder was never (and still isn't) intended for the 28 FoV. And if one has to use an accessory finder anyway, why not get more "bang" for the inconvenience by getting a 24 or 21? When Leica introduce the 28 'cron, they also introduced the .58x finder to allow a better view of the 28 lines. That was so popular that they dropped it within 5 years. It isn't just Leicas, btw. Nikon produced a 28 f/3.5 for the F, but when it came time to upgrade to f/2.8, switched to 24mm. It took Nikon 16 years to get around a 28 f/2.8 (they did introduce a 28 f/2 earlier) - 11 years after Leica and 4 after Canon. By about 1970, 28-50-135 was the "amateur SLR" lens set (the shop where I work has a bin overflowing with old 28mm third-party SLR lenses for $10 each) while the pros were using 24-35 for the extra speed and adding an 85/105 and a 180 at the long end. I have a 28 Elmarit v.4 at the moment. A great little lens - but I will likely sell it soon. It can't handle what I need a 21 for, and is two stops slower than my 35. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
epand56 Posted July 12, 2011 Share #13 Posted July 12, 2011 28mm is a lens I really learnt to love. On the M8 has a wonderful FOV for both landscape and portrait. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wda Posted July 12, 2011 Share #14 Posted July 12, 2011 The 28 was very popular with press photographers when Leica reigned supreme. I used 28-50-90 with my M3 and found it an excellent combination. Even today I tend to use my 28 slightly more than my 35, but not when I travel with my excellent Tri-Elmar 28-35-50. It is the least used of the three focal lengths. Don't rule out the superb current Aspheric Elmarit version of the 28. Unless you demand f/2 much of the time, the Elmarit can more than cope. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted July 12, 2011 Share #15 Posted July 12, 2011 It isn't just Leicas, btw. Nikon produced a 28 f/3.5 for the F, but when it came time to upgrade to f/2.8, switched to 24mm. It took Nikon 16 years to get around a 28 f/2.8 (they did introduce a 28 f/2 earlier) - 11 years after Leica and 4 after Canon. Canon did a f/2.8 28mm in LTM in 57 Leitz did a f/2.8 28mm in M in 65 Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
adan Posted July 12, 2011 Share #16 Posted July 12, 2011 Is that argument or agreement? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Fluff Posted July 12, 2011 Share #17 Posted July 12, 2011 28mm is a lens I really learnt to love. On the M8 has a wonderful FOV for both landscape and portrait. Indeed - corresponding well with 35mm on a full frame camera - so really it's the 35mm view you are loving Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmc Posted July 12, 2011 Share #18 Posted July 12, 2011 28/2 asph and 35/2 asph - both for the street, both used a lot.I personally don't find them close to each other and would not get rid of either. Falstaff this seems to be a very common feeling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmc Posted July 13, 2011 Share #19 Posted July 13, 2011 an even better question is how do you carry all this stuff. i picked up a 28 2.8 a few months back and it lives on my camera. however, i really prefer the bokeh of the 35 2.0 or my 50 2.0. the 28 2.8 is a bit soft so i seem to carry all my gear with me and rarely take the 28 2.8 off the camera. maybe i need a second body! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted July 13, 2011 Share #20 Posted July 13, 2011 Is that argument or agreement? Hi No just factiods That was the rangefinder f/2.8 chronology, Leitz were always conservative. You were quoting the later SLR chronology... Gary Winogrand use the Canon f/2.8 28mm on his M4 suited his style and compact, the Elmarit f/2.8 (type I) much larger, bulky and lower contrast. Noel P.S. Nikon did not do a /2.8 for rangefinders Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.