Which 3 lenses?

[Graafber]

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28 - 50 - 90

[ola.fiske]

If I need 3 lenses; I take a 28, a 28 as backup and a 50 just in case

[sdk]

Say you can have 3 Leica M Lenses for the next 5 years. Which 3 would you go with? 

 

 

The 24mm/3.8 ASPH, 28mm/2.8 ASPH (the new one), and 75mm/2 Apo ASPH. And because you only specified Leica M lenses I would also pick the Zeiss 35mm/1.4 ZM lens. 

[bencoyote]

My3 lens system is:

28 Summicon ASPH

50 Summilux ASPH

90 APO Summicron ASPH

 

If I were ultralight like I was backpacking or trekking all the time the 90 cron would get replaced with a 90 Macro Elmar.

If I only had 2 lenses it would be the 35 Summilux and the 90 ME.

 

The 28 cron vs lux was purely economic decision and I may upgrade this year. I do a lot in low light. I've felt justified going for 28 vs 35 because it is a bit wider but not ultra wide needing a finder and if needed I can crop in. Seeing how much people really like 35 I question that logic a bit. Is there really that much of a difference between 35 an 28? When I upgrade would it be better to go with the 35 Summilux FLE vs the 28 Summilux? If so why?

 

PS My goal is to have a 5 lens system:

15mm CV or 16mm Leica

And keep the 135mm Elmarit because I have it. It just doesn't travel.

[Herr Barnack]

My three would be:

 

21mm Super Elmar ASPH (#11145)

28mm Summicron ASPH (#11672)

50mm Noctilux f/1.0 (#11822)

[Ecaton]

5-8 years ago I would have listed the fastest and allegedly "the best" 28, 50 and 90. But I have rediscovered what M shooting is all about: small, compact, excellent. My travel combo: 28 Elmarit asph, 50 Summarit (2.4) or ZM50 Sonnar, 90 Macro Elmar. Summiluxes and 90 Apo stay mostly in the closet.

[MarkP]

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there's a lot to be said for this:

I too often take like a 'lite' combination of 28 Elmarit-M, 2.8/50 Elmarit-M, and 4.0/90 Macro-Elmar.

I particularly like this for film where I obsess less about the ultimate resolution or interesting rendering of my faster or esoteric lenses on digital.

 

 

However, if I based my decision solely on my most used lenses it would be 2.0/28 Summicron and 2.0/50 APO-Summicron (which I now use more than the Summilux).

After that I'd really have trouble deciding between the 21 SEM, 35 Summilux FLE, or 90 Macro-Elmar.

[BBHewee]

5-8 years ago I would have listed the fastest and allegedly "the best" 28, 50 and 90. But I have rediscovered what M shooting is all about: small, compact, excellent. My travel combo: 28 Elmarit asph, 50 Summarit (2.4) or ZM50 Sonnar, 90 Macro Elmar. Summiluxes and 90 Apo stay mostly in the closet.

 

 

I recently got a Summicron 35 v4 again after using a 35 Lux FLE, 50 Lux for a while and remembered why I got into Leica... So nice to carry that around. 

[Tom B.]

My thre lens combo actually is a two lens set paired with a one lens kit. :-)

 

21 & 50 Lux if I am in the mood for swaping lenses

35 Lux if I only want to bring one lens

[forestlander]

I prefer always fast lenses so I have got:

21mm Voigtlander Ultron f/1.8

35mm Summilux FLE

75mm Summilux

 

I used them on M9 and MP, and I am very pleased with my kit.

[pippy]

I, too, much prefer small and light.

35mm Summaron (1953 M2 version); 50 Summicron (1985 series IV) and 90 Tele-Elmarit (1980 Leitz Canada).

 

Weighing in at 180g, 199g and 227g = very easy on the shoulder...

 

 

Pip.

 

EDIT : Just out of curiosity I did some checking....

The three lenses listed above along with my M9-P weigh 150g less than does the body of my Canon DSLR..........

[lct]

You remind me my youth . M3, M4 or M4-2 + 50/2 v4 + 35/2 v4 + "thin" 90/2.8. All this stuffed in a tiny Leica combination case that i cannot use anymore due to digital Ms growing fatter and fatter. Give us smaller and lighter digital bodies Mr Leica please! Same for for the SL if you want me to buy it someday, make is as small as my good old R4s or better still as my little Sony A7s.

[ramosa]

Over the years, I've become much more of a minimalist in terms of lenses. I can't even think of three I'd want. Along with my current Cron 50mm v5, I'd like a Cron 35mm (order of preference for versions: 1, 4, and 2/3). And that's it

[pippy]

You remind me my youth ...

 

On a good day I sometimes even remind myself of my youth...

 

Pip.

[RavenWest]

21 Super-Elmar

35 Summilux

APO 50 Summicron

[indergaard]

After trying out a variety of lenses and focal lengths (21, 24/25, 28, 35, 50, 90, 135), and a variety of high-speed lenses (Noctilux 0.95, Summilux 1.4 50mm ASPH, Ultron 21mm f/1.8, etc) I've decided to rebuild my kit around my favorite focal length and lens: The 35mm Summilux FLE.

 

My 3 lens kit is based on low weight and compactness. I also want each lens to deliver something different than the others. That's why I decided to ditch the 50mm focal length recently, and stay with 35mm. They're too close, and I never know exactly which one to grab... But in 80% of the situations, I always landed on the 35mm.. So the 50 was sold. I also wanted reach, and tried a 90mm Summarit for a while. It was a good lens, especially for the cost, but I don't need the reach that often, so the lens was too big and heavy for travel based on the small amount of use it would see.

 

I also needed something wider than my 35 FLE. 28 isn't that different. Neither is 24. So I decided on a 21mm, which I also want to be compact and light weight for travel.

 

So my kit will consist of the following in the near future:

 

1. Summilux 35mm FLE - for low-light, every day use. This is my main lens and focal length.

2. Super-Elmar 21mm - My wide-angle. Not my most used focal length, but I do travel and hike mountains a lot, so this lens is a must-have for those situations. It's compact and light-weight.

3. Macro-Elmar 90mm f/4 - my tele. This lens is perfect for the use. I won't use it often, but the times I need the reach, it is the perfect lens for the job. It's also very compact and very light-weight. At f/4 it also provides enough subject separation for portraits for my use.

 

The M240 + all these three lenses weighs in at 1.5 kilos. That's the same as an M240 and a Noctilux alone.

 

I also tried duplicating the same setup with a Fujifilm X-T1 as a base camera, with the XF14mm f/2.8, XF23mm f/1.4 and XF56mm f/1.2 lenses, which provide the same equivalent focal lengths. And that, combined, ended up weighing about 1.4 kilos. Granted, the 56mm is a 1.2 lens and provides far more subject isolation than the Macro-Elmar, but at the same time, I don't want the reach for portraits, I want it mostly for landscapes or to just get closer. The Fujifilm kit was also significantly bigger, since the lenses are far larger in size even though the weight isn't much different.

[Xavier]

The M240 + all these three lenses weighs in at 1.5 kilos. That's the same as an M240 and a Noctilux alone.

 

I also tried duplicating the same setup with a Fujifilm X-T1 as a base camera, with the XF14mm f/2.8, XF23mm f/1.4 and XF56mm f/1.2 lenses, which provide the same equivalent focal lengths. And that, combined, ended up weighing about 1.4 kilos. Granted, the 56mm is a 1.2 lens and provides far more subject isolation than the Macro-Elmar, but at the same time, I don't want the reach for portraits, I want it mostly for landscapes or to just get closer. The Fujifilm kit was also significantly bigger, since the lenses are far larger in size even though the weight isn't much different.

 

This is exactly how I am building my three lenses kit. I was searching for compactness and lower weight coming from a DSLR. I started with an M9 and 35/2.8 Biogon, and have a 75 Summarit 2.5 on order (yes, that sale...). A 21 SEM is probably next. The total weight is the same as that of the Fuji system I would have bought, and it is much smaller too (about 30% less space needed)...

[rramesh]

These are my lenses and my usage of them over the last 12 months. Note that I've only had the 15 for about 9 months.

 

15 Voigtlander - 5%

21 Super-Elmar - 10%

28 Summicron - 40%

50 Summilux - 40%

90 Elmarit-M - 5%

[Jennifer]

Currently my three most used lenses are in this order:

 

APO 50

Elmarit 28

SEM 21

 

If I was restricted to just three lenses I probably switch the Elmarit 28 for a Summicron or just possibly a Summilux (??) of the same FL, though I'd do so with a heavy heart, given the excellent size/performance ratio of the Elmarit.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[Peter H]

 

.......... Granted, the 56mm is a 1.2 lens and provides far more subject isolation than the Macro-Elmar, but at the same time, I don't want the reach for portraits, I want it mostly for landscapes or to just get closer. .........

 

Just a small point:, one of the nice things about the 56 is that it has very good AF on the XT1 so the f1.2 is a very useable feature in hand-held low light use, concerts, events and the like. 

 

Although when the distance to subject allows, which I work hard to ensure it does, the 35 FLE is still my favourite for that type of thing: it seems to be impervious to everything!