Help me with my lens line up for my M8!

[martinb]

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I currently have four lenses for my M8. 28mm Ultron, 35mm cron ASPH, Canon 50mm f1.4 screw mount and 90mm elmarit.

I'm thinking of selling my 28mm, 50mm and 90mm and get a 21mm and 75mm instead.What do you think of this?

The 35mm cron ASPH is my most used lens and will stay. I prefer to have as few lenses as possible.

I've also been thinking of getting a film Leica as backup and for 28mm shots. Getting a good 28mm equivalent lens for the M8 isn't cheap and I need backup for my M8 and a second M8 isn't an alternative.

Another option is to get a DSLR as backup and for use for longer or wider shots.

So there's three alternatives at the moment..

 

A: Sell 28mm ultron, Canon 50mm and 90mm elmarit and get a 21mm and 75mm

B: Get a film Leica as backup and for some wide shots and keep the lenses I have

C: Get a DSLR as backup and for use on long and wide shots

 

Alternative A would give 28, 47 and 100mm equivalent lenses and seems like a good alternative, allthough very expensive. Alternative B would give me backup and could be used for 28mm shots. Alternative C would force me to use a DSLR again which would give me lots of lens options and versatility but Leica lenses and cameras are more fun.

 

Does anyone have experience with any of three options? I'm very interested!

 

Cheers,

 

Martin

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[Gilles L.]

Hi Martin,

 

If your most used lens is the 35mm then 21/35/75 makes good sens. My favorite lens with the M8 is still the 50mm, although I did buy a 35mm when I got the M8. However, I think the 50 and 35 are too close. I also like the 90 for close portraits. I am now thinking about getting a 28mm wihch would give me a 28/50/90. How do you like the ultron? I have been debating between getting the ultron or the new 28/2.8...

 

Good luck, Gilles

[martinb]

Gilles,

Thanks for your input! The 50mm is both slightly too long and slightly too short for my taste.

I love the 28mm Ultron. It's an amazing lens, especially considering the price! It's also very fast at f/1.9. If you don't need the compactness of the 28mm elmarit and don't want to go out and spend big on the 28mm summicron I would definetely get the 28mm Ultron.

However, as my favourite is the 35mm at the moment, I think it's too close. 37mm and 47mm isn't that far apart.

[gilles_lorin]

Thanks for the advice, Martin. I am really tempted by the ultron, especially for the extra stop. I also like the retro design of the lens. Sean Reid has it well rated in his review of the 28mm and M8. And indeed... it is quite a nice saving... which will be mostlikely spent on more gear

[jlancasterd]

Thanks for the advice, Martin. I am really tempted by the ultron, especially for the extra stop. I also like the retro design of the lens. Sean Reid has it well rated in his review of the 28mm and M8. And indeed... it is quite a nice saving... which will be mostlikely spent on more gear

 

I've only had my M8 a week, and have only taken about 170 photos with it, but 90% of those have been with my 28mm Ultron. Most of the rest have been with my 15mm Heliar and only 5 or 6 with my 50mm Nokton. The 28 is by far the best all-round lens for the M8 IMHO.

 

However, having said that, I've just jumped on a S/H 40mm f1.4 Nokton which appeared on one of the dealer websites... It will be interesting to see how that lens works with the M8 - I'd been thinking of trying a 35mm Ultron.

[sean_reid]

Thanks for the advice, Martin. I am really tempted by the ultron, especially for the extra stop. I also like the retro design of the lens. Sean Reid has it well rated in his review of the 28mm and M8. And indeed... it is quite a nice saving... which will be mostlikely spent on more gear

 

Its an excellent lens. I've used one professionally since 2004.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

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I've only had my M8 a week, and have only taken about 170 photos with it, but 90% of those have been with my 28mm Ultron. Most of the rest have been with my 15mm Heliar and only 5 or 6 with my 50mm Nokton. The 28 is by far the best all-round lens for the M8 IMHO.

 

However, having said that, I've just jumped on a S/H 40mm f1.4 Nokton which appeared on one of the dealer websites... It will be interesting to see how that lens works with the M8 - I'd been thinking of trying a 35mm Ultron.

 

I'll have a review of the 40 coming up in the next few weeks. The biggest challenge is framing .

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[jlancasterd]

I'll have a review of the 40 coming up in the next few weeks. The biggest challenge is framing .

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

I'll be very interested to see that.

 

The framing challenge is one of the things I want to look at - I suspect that the 50mm frame will be pretty close for medium and long distance work. However I do have a Voigtlander R3A which is designed with the 40mm in mind, so It won't matter too much if the 40mm doesn't work with the M8.

[Ecaton]

I'll have a review of the 40 coming up in the next few weeks. The biggest challenge is framing .

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Does the Nokton 40mm bring up the 50 framelines with the M8 (I understand it is an M mount lens and no adpater is needed)?

[sean_reid]

I'll be very interested to see that.

 

The framing challenge is one of the things I want to look at - I suspect that the 50mm frame will be pretty close for medium and long distance work. However I do have a Voigtlander R3A which is designed with the 40mm in mind, so It won't matter too much if the 40mm doesn't work with the M8.

 

The 50 frame isn't very close, unfortunately. The 35 frame (if you file the bayonet) is closer but still not as usable as I would like. The best framing comes from using an external 50 mm finder on the M8 but then one needs to focus and frame with two different finders. For that reason alone, I prefer the 35/1.7. The 40 is a great lens, it's just not very M8-friendly.

 

BTW, for those who are following the rolling "Beating the Blues" article, I just updated the 28 Ultron section with new tests and information.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[sean_reid]

Does the Nokton 40mm bring up the 50 framelines with the M8 (I understand it is an M mount lens and no adpater is needed)?

 

Yes, although filing a lug can make it bring up the 35 frame lines.

[martinb]

Sean,

You're a knowledgable guy What lenses do you usually carry around? and what do you think about my options?

[sean_reid]

Hi Martin,

 

I think that your usage so far can tell you something about which focal lengths are most important to you for the future. If haven't had enough time yet to get that sense, spend a couple days using your existing lenses on the camera in succession (at least 1-2 hours for each one). Then trust your gut about which ones feel right for you. It's a very personal thing.

 

My own lens usage is a little strange because I'm usually testing several lenses. Most of my personal work with the M8 (and R-D1) has been done with 28s and 35s. I don't use long lenses very much so 50 is usually as long as I'll go. Hand-held, 21 on the M8 is the widest I'll go and I rarely go even that wide. I am one of those people who prefers to spend the day with just one or two lenses.

 

For weddings, I normally shoot with 2 bodies - one with a 28 and one with a 50. At some point, I sometimes switch one of the bodies to a 21.

 

Right now, 35 has the focal length I use most for my personal work - not only because of the article testing but because 35 was just right for the beach pictures I've been making with the M8. My friend Ben Lifson and I recently did an edit of 2000 of my beach pictures and almost all of the final files were made with a 35.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[gilles_lorin]

Its an excellent lens. I've used one professionally since 2004.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

 

Thank you very much Sean; I will follow your advice and get the ultron. I suscribe to your reviews and I find them very good and very thorough; You have answered many of my questions... and saving me quite a few $, starting with the 28mm Merci!

 

Gilles

[sean_reid]

Thank you very much Sean; I will follow your advice and get the ultron. I suscribe to your reviews and I find them very good and very thorough; You have answered many of my questions... and saving me quite a few $, starting with the 28mm Merci!

 

Gilles

 

My pleasure and I'm glad to hear that.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

[lars_bergquist]

The classical two-lens outfit was of course 35 and 90 mm, the mainstays of photojournalists (remember that breed?) The M8 equivalents are of course 28 and 75 mm. And these two focal lengths would be my choice if I could own or carry only two lenses. I own a 28 Summicron and a C/V 75 so I am obviously not a Leica brand fanatic.

 

An equally classical SLR outfit was 135, 50 and 28 mm. That would be 90 (approc.), 35 and 21 mm. The 21 mm length is a problematical one however. The Elmarit-M is expensive, the WATE too, and slow to boot, and the WATE necessitates the Frankenfinder. The C/V offering is decent (better with the M8 than with film, as the somewhat weak corners are cropped out) and it is just as slow as the WATE. I am not enthusiastic about using it wide open. My three-lens kit is 15, 28 and 75 mm.

 

The 35 mm length has its place. A 4th version Summicron, which is just as compact as the present 28 mm Elmarit, is my 'walkabout lens'. And my Summilux ASPH would certainly be my only lens, if it came to that.

 

The old man from the Age of the Roll-Film Folder

[carstenw]

I am having the same thoughts about my lens lineup, and have also been converging on 21/35/75 as the best daily set. I will keep the CV15 and 50 Lux Asph, since the former is so useful, and the latter is such an awesome lens, but the threesome should cover me pretty well.

[Ecaton]

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A: Sell 28mm ultron, Canon 50mm and 90mm elmarit and get a 21mm and 75mm.Alternative A would give 28, 47 and 100mm equivalent lenses and seems like a good alternative, allthough very expensive. </P>

How about adding the very good CV 75 first, before selling the 90 Elmarit, as a relatively inexpensive way to experiment with the new focal length. An advice I picked up from seasoned Leicaphiles: Never sell Leica gear unless you need the money. And go for a CV lens first to try out a new focal length before potentially selling it and upgrading to a Leica. Some of the CVs seem to be keepers anyway. I am still trying to find my "ideal" lens lineup. To the CV15, Elmarit 28, Cron 50, CV75, MacroElmar 90 I plan to buy the Ultron 35, to find out whether a 35mm would be my preferred walkabout lens (if yes, the 35mm asph Summicron will be added to my wish list). Cheers

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[roccoriley]

I am having the same thoughts about my lens lineup, and have also been converging on 21/35/75 as the best daily set. I will keep the CV15 and 50 Lux Asph, since the former is so useful, and the latter is such an awesome lens, but the threesome should cover me pretty well.

 

The 21/35/75 and WATE/28/75 are two good alternatives; my choice of the two was the WATE/28/75 because I felt the extra 5 degrees was important to the type of photography I do. Sometimes there is simply no substitute for that extra few degrees of vision.

[martinb]

Martin,

Buying a 75 heliar is an option, but I hate buying and selling stuff all the time + I possibly have a good deal on a 75 lux and also on a 21 asph. Allthough good prices, I have to get rid of some of the lenses. I also have a pretty good deal on 90mm cron ASPH but the space gap between 35 and 90 is too large..