grdglass Posted February 26, 2007 Share #1 Â Posted February 26, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I just ordered an M8 and none of the Leica lenses I would want are in stock. I want to order an interim lens so that I can check out how the camera is functioning. The requirements of this lens would be not too expensive but good, in a focal length I rarely use so I don't have to replace it, small, compact, and lightweight. Â I do landscape work and rarely use normal lenses. I think a lens with an effective focal length around 50mm is what I should buy till Leica gets re-stocked. I was looking at the CV 35/2.5-C (nice compact hood), the CV 35/2.5-PII (wide, vented hood), and the CV 40/1.4 Nokton. Â Does anyone have experience with any of those lenses on an M8? Would they have to manually coded? Would the CV 40/1.4 require guessing at the framelines? Â I'm leaning towards the CV 35/2.5 Classic because it is the least expensive and makes the smallest footprint in a camera bag. I would be interested if there were any negatives to that lens on an M8 (chromatic aberration, focus, edge softness, contrast, color, etc.) Â Thanks very much. Â Helene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 26, 2007 Posted February 26, 2007 Hi grdglass, Take a look here M8 interim lens. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
enboe Posted February 27, 2007 Share #2 Â Posted February 27, 2007 Just a thought, but both can be had for a few hundred dollars, and you'd have a keeper assuming it's clean and functional. Â The CV Nokton might be another strategy if you don't mind the weight. Fastest "Normal" you can buy, at the moment, for the M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidmires Posted February 27, 2007 Share #3 Â Posted February 27, 2007 The 40 nokton doesn't take up much room... sweet lens. I filed the mount to bring up the 35mm framelines. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorflow Posted February 27, 2007 Share #4 Â Posted February 27, 2007 Have you considered getting a used Leica lens? Older vintage ones are relatively inexpensive. I have had good luck on eBay. Even mint current versions can be had for much less than new. Â Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted February 27, 2007 Share #5  Posted February 27, 2007 Have you considered getting a used Leica lens? Older vintage ones are relatively inexpensive. I have had good luck on eBay. Even mint current versions can be had for much less than new. Alan  Do try to find a last version (1979 or later) 'spherical' 35 mm Summicron. It is a sweet lens, extremely compact, and performs well on an M8. It is also sellable for a non-calamitous price if you decide later to get, say, a Summilux ASPH, and Leica will code it. But I have kept mine!  The old man from the Age of the M4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grdglass Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share #6  Posted February 27, 2007 Do try to find a last version (1979 or later) 'spherical' 35 mm Summicron. It is a sweet lens, extremely compact, and performs well on an M8. It is also sellable for a non-calamitous price if you decide later to get, say, a Summilux ASPH, and Leica will code it. But I have kept mine! Lars,  Being new to all this, by "spherical," I assume you mean non-ASPH. How is the sharpness wide open?  Helene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
eronald Posted February 27, 2007 Share #7  Posted February 27, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Do try to find a last version (1979 or later) 'spherical' 35 mm Summicron. It is a sweet lens, extremely compact, and performs well on an M8. It is also sellable for a non-calamitous price if you decide later to get, say, a Summilux ASPH, and Leica will code it. But I have kept mine! Lars,  Being new to all this, by "spherical," I assume you mean non-ASPH. How is the sharpness wide open?  Helene I wouldn't recommend that lens to anybody. I owned one for over 10 years, and the best thing it ever did for me was keep a resale value.  Edmund Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwolf Posted February 27, 2007 Share #8 Â Posted February 27, 2007 Helene, Â I went with the Zeiss 35mm 2.0. It's about half the price of a new Summicron and is considered comparable. It is widely available. Â Check out Sean Reid's analysis of "fast lenses for the Epson R-D1" on Luminous Landscape for info on this and other 2.0 and smaller lenses. He also considers CVs in the article. Â John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
grdglass Posted February 27, 2007 Author Share #9  Posted February 27, 2007 I wouldn't recommend that lens to anybody. I owned one for over 10 years, and the best thing it ever did for me was keep a resale value.  Edmund    OK, so let's get back to my original question: has anybody used a CV 35/2.5 Classic or Pancake on the M8?  Helene Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scho Posted February 27, 2007 Share #10 Â Posted February 27, 2007 Â Â Â OK, so let's get back to my original question: has anybody used a CV 35/2.5 Classic or Pancake on the M8? Â Helene Try searching the threads in this forium for "pancake". I seem to recall that Sean has this lens and made some favorable comments about performance on the M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted February 27, 2007 Share #11  Posted February 27, 2007 I wouldn't recommend that lens to anybody. I owned one for over 10 years, and the best thing it ever did for me was keep a resale value.  Edmund  Edmund, are you talking about the 35 Cron or Lux, pre-Asph? I have heard nothing but good things about the Cron, so this surprises me a bit... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem7 Posted February 27, 2007 Share #12 Â Posted February 27, 2007 Ive had one for a month, and it is great on the M8. Im actuallys elling the lens and hood cuz I just picked up a cron ASPH and honestly, its not really any better. The cron just goes to F2 vs the Pancakes F2.5. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem7 Posted February 27, 2007 Share #13 Â Posted February 27, 2007 coupl more. The 35 is a sharp but smooth lens. Plenty of detail, but still a nice, smooth image with a classic look. If you are looking for a lens while you wait, this is one you would probably like to keep after you get the leica lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted February 27, 2007 Share #14 Â Posted February 27, 2007 Steve those first 2 look like the leica stamp was left behind Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lars_bergquist Posted February 28, 2007 Share #15  Posted February 28, 2007 Do try to find a last version (1979 or later) 'spherical' 35 mm Summicron. It is a sweet lens, extremely compact, and performs well on an M8. It is also sellable for a non-calamitous price if you decide later to get, say, a Summilux ASPH, and Leica will code it. But I have kept mine! Lars,  Being new to all this, by "spherical," I assume you mean non-ASPH. How is the sharpness wide open?  Helene  Helene, well, if 'aspherical' means 'not spherical' ... classical (meaning since the 15th century) lens manufacturing methods does produce spherical surfaces. As for definition, i.e resolution + contrast, this is very good in the middle wide open, some fall-off towards the corners, but these are largely cropped out on the M8. Expect excellent performance from f:4. The lens has about the same amount of vignetting as the current 35 mm lenses, but this too is ameliorated in the same way. I must say that I was amazed at how good this lens is in the digital world. It was of course a favourite with pros for about two decades, and famous for nice bokeh (the previous 6 element design was not so good on this point).  The old man from the Age of the Screw Thread Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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