Strapped for cash, needing some help.

[KallumR]

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So, as quite obvious by the title, money is a fairly large issue for me as a student and I need some help on deciding a lens.

I have recently acquired an M8 and am yet to buy a lens for it. I am looking at the Summicron-C 40/2.0 and the 35mm f:3.5 Summaron. So, obviously my price range is $400-$650.

If anyone knows any good Leica lenses around that price range please post them here and I'll check them out.

I know about the crop factor on the M8 and am aware that a 35mm approximately becomes a 50mm and a 40mm is around 55mm-60mm. I see a lot of people saying that owning at least 1 original Leica lens is the best experience. But, I know that Zeiss makes amazing lenses and I've heard good things about Minolta as I come from a DSLR background.

So is a 3rd party lens like Zeiss, Minolta, Konica or Voigtländer really not as good as a Leica lens?

And, although its a hard question, which 3rd party lens company is the best?

Is Voigtländer a total throw-away?

Is Zeiss the front-runner?

If I can't afford an original Leica lens I'll have to fall back to cheaper 3rd parties and I'd love to know which is better so I don't get cheated.

Thanks guys!

[madNbad]

If you're just starting out a 40 mm Voigtlander would be a fine choice. Don't feel you need to spend a lot of money on glass to start with. When you do find a lens you like, work with just the one for several months to get the feel of using a rangefinder camera. There are a lot of great lenses out there. Check the listings here and on some of the other forums, read about what other people like and dislike about a particular lens and most of all don't feel locked into any particular decision. If you don't like it, there is someone out there who would love to have it. There are stunning performers from all of the manufactures and there are plenty with their own foibles. With an M8 you will also need an IR filter so keep filter size in mind. Don't be locked into whatever the name is on the front ring. Welcome to the forum.

Edited January 10, 2015 by madNbad

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[FrozenInTime]

^ +1

 

Voigtländer, Zeiss and MS optical making M mount lenses is one of the best thing that has happened in the camera world in the last 20 years.

 

These 3rd party lenses are outstanding value and quality - equalling or bettering many Leica classics or offer something characterful.

 

I'm quite happy using a f/0.95 Noctilux one day and a Voitgländer 40mm f/1.4 the next.

[2wk]

I have a Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 S.C and I think it is a great little, fast lens with a classic rendering. It is built very well. I have actually had less reliability issues than I have had with my 50 Summilux ASPH so go figure. It is small and it handles great. The focus throw on mine is well damped and smooth. Aperture stops are solid. People complain about the "busy" bokeh but it has never been an issue for me.

 

Here's a couple very recent shots.

 

 

 

 

[Lenshacker]

The Voigtlander 35/1.7 Ultron in Leica Thread Mount with an M-Adapter is one of the best bargains available. It has a minimum focus of 0.9m as opposed to 0.7, the only drawback. I also have the 40/2 Summicron, a fine lens. I end up using the Ultron much more. For a vintage lens- the Nikkor 3.5cm F2.5 is also a good choice. But for about the same price, he Ultron is better.

[pico]

Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 without question. They are typically $550 BIN on 'Bay.

The Ultron is hard to find and more expensive. At least I've found that.

.

Edited January 10, 2015 by pico

[spydrxx]

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There are 2 stickys at the top of this forum with lots of shots and comments regarding the use of older glass, Leica, Voigtlander, Nikon, Canon and others. You won't know what is really best for your style until you have some experience with the camera and a reasonable lens (and you have a lot to choose from) and can begin to see some of the nuances...what works and what doesn't. All of the above suggestions are good, and one could offer lots more to fit within your budget. IMHO first decide what focal length you want to begin with and go from there...don't confuse the issue by having 2 focal lengths in mind at this juncture.

[Mr. Thompson]

The Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar retails at $419. It's sharp and tiny with better flare resistance than the 35 Chron. It also has the best ergonomics of any of my M mount lenses.

[bocaburger]

Three lenses I used extensively when I had an M8 were the C/V 15mm, 28/1.9 and 75/2.5, all in LTM with M adapters. These offer the nearest possible approximations of a 21, 35 and 90 FOV on full-frame. You should be able to fit the 28 (not to be confused with the f/2 M-mount version) and 15 within your budget. And with a little stretch, add the 75 next. That will give you a good range, and the advantages of why you paid for an interchangeable lensed camera.

 

I found I used the 28 about 80% of the time, with about 10% each for the others. The IQ of the 28/1.9 and M8 are such that you can get away with cropping for the longer focal length until you can save up for one.

[KallumR]

Bloody nice images!

Thanks so much for the Voigtlander suggestions, awesome lenses.

However with the Summicron 40-C what does the C mean. Will it fit on an M8 and what about the frame lines? Same deal with the Voigtlander 40mm that was suggested. I dig the Bokeh on the NOKTON lenses but am not too sure about the vinaigrette that appears when the lens is wide open, and would love some Zeiss and Leica suggestions to get a similar effect minus the vinaigrette.

The 40mm Summicron and the 40mm Voigtlander are a similar price so is the authentic leica a better choice?

[madNbad]

The "C" is the lens was originally designed for the Minolta/Leica CL which was released in the mid 1970's. They are great lenses and fill a sweet spot between 35 and 50. Grab one if you can find it. The 50 frame line will come up with either the Leitz/Rokkor 40 or the Voigtlander. If you find a nice condition 40 Summicron (which is still about forty years old) or a current Voigtlander either one will be about equivalent to a 55 on an M8. Both are f2.0 and should give you a decent bokah.

[lct]

My CV 35/1.4 SC has too much focus shift for me to recommend it.

The Summicron-C 40/2 and M-Rokkor 40/2 do shine on the M8 but may feel a bit long. Matter of tastes as usual.

If you like contrasty lenses, the ZM Biogon-C is (to me) the best 35/2.8 available.

[CalArts 99]

The Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar retails at $419. It's sharp and tiny with better flare resistance than the 35 Chron. It also has the best ergonomics of any of my M mount lenses.

 

I agree. An excellent (and often underrated) lens and a super deal at the under $500USD price. Extremely compact (even with the CV vented metal hood) and with a Leica style focusing tab, too. It also has just the right contrast (at least for my tastes; not too strong and yet not too flat) with excellent sharpness and good OOF rendering (kind of similar to some older Leica lenses, at least on film...)

 

M4 with the 35mm Color Skopar and Plus-X @ISO400 in Diafine:

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[Lenshacker]

Voigtlander 35mm 1.4 without question. They are typically $550 BIN on 'Bay.

The Ultron is hard to find and more expensive. At least I've found that.

.

 

The Ultron, I would not buy at "Ebay Prices". I found mine at "Camera Forum Prices", keep an eye open here, on RFF, and on Getdpi.com. Mine was under $350 with the adapter.

[mca]

If money is an issue I would go with a 28mm Voigtlander, which gives a field of view that is close to 35mm on your M8, which is great as a 1 lens set up.

[billo101]

40CV S.C. magic for BW purpose.

[skinnfell]

I have never used a non-leica lens on leicas. But i did do a lot of shooting on M8 and still print them alongside my shots from M9 and MM. So no doubt it produces wonderful results, particularly in b/w. For color shots id say that 6bit is pretty much mandatory since you cannot manually select lens code. Of course there are DIY solutions to this end.

 

My advice: get a 35mm, but stay away from leica (cost). Without seeing your work its hard to recommend which to go for, but in your situation i would not hesitate to get a voightlander or even zeiss if budget permits. Personally id stay away from wide aperture lenses, but i would also admit that m8 is not really a low light camera so this might be a tough call.

 

Either way: get out, shoot and show us your work

[pfhrased]

Just FYI the M8 is not an APS-C (1.5x/1.6x) crop, it's more like an APS-H (1.3x) crop - so 40mm = ~52mm, and 35mm = ~46mm (and 28mm becomes ~36mm), which is why the 40mm lenses are such a popular choice for it.

[KM-25]

Sell the M8 and get an X100T....I had the M8, the 100T blows the doors off of it in every way. I use the X100T alongside my M3 with a 50 lux ASPH loaded with Tmax 400....I could travel the world with that combo and be utterly satisfied.

Edited January 11, 2015 by KM-25

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[adan]

The M8 does not have framelines for a 40mm lens. Stick with 35, 50, or 28 as your basic set of choices. Unless you really like having distractions in the edges of your pictures that you thought you had carefully composed out.

 

The Voigtlanders are perfectly competent optically. But IF you are planning to use an infrared-blocking filter for decent color:

 

a. some C/V lenses have odd filter sizes - be sure you can get the correct filters. The same applies if you WANT to use the M8's IR capability - you'll still need an IR pass filter of the right size to get the most dramatic infrared effects.

 

b. you'll need to code a 28mm to avoid green corners from the IR-block filter. Coding not required for a 35 or 50 and the M8 cropping.

 

The Zeisses are optically fine - but you are paying a premium for "man-jewelry" cosmetics.

 

I'd recommend Voigtlander 35s in any of the aperture types, as budget allows - f/1.4, f/1.7, f/2.5.

 

A 50 on the M8 crop is a bit long as a single lens, although it is a nice semi-portrait lens. But usable.

 

If you really want "Leica" - the 35 Summarons are a very good option.