Suggested lens combos

[rwchisholm]

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Hello all!

 

A lot of folks buy an M camera (and I suspect many new users as the M10 is fantastic) but are at a loss for a good set of lenses. I think it is beneficial to list some good setups. Not one les that is good but a combination of lenses to cover most shooting situations and why.

 

I'll start with my most useful setup; I've taken into consideration price and lens character to make this assessment.

 

In my mind, everything Leica M starts with the 50. Now, for the uninitiated, 50mm is the easiest focal length for manufacturers to make great. Tons and tons of choices. After trying about everything, and given cost, my ideal minimum 50 setup is:

 

Zeiss

 

50 f2 Planar AND

50 f1.5 Sonnar. Optimized to 1.5

 

 

Together about 2 grand. The planar is an amazing everyday 50. The Sonnar is incredible wide open.

 

Now it gets tricky....

 

 

Wide: Voigtlander 21mm 1.9. Great lens.

 

Mid range: a combo of lenses: 28 summilux (absolute favorite lens - outstanding optics and bokeh).

 

Plus a 35: would choose Leica 35 summarit OR older Leica 35 pre aspherical Cron (like version IV) OR Voigtlander 35 mm color Skopar OR Zeiss 35mm 2.8

 

You've got wide and midrange. Now you know a zoom.

 

My FAVORITE is 75 LUX

 

However if cost is consideration, the 90 TELE-ELMARIT is inexpensive and fantastic. And small.

 

My preference is going expensive with one lens (in my case the 28 Lux) and moderate on the others. My lenses: the 21 Voigtlander, the 28 Lux, 35 color Skopar, both Zeiss 50s and 90 tele elmarit is relatively inexpensive -- except the 28 lux-- and amazing all around. You could go 28 elmarit and save cash and have an awesome small in size lens setup.

 

Rob

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[stephan54]

I came from a D700 with 21, 50, 100 Zeiss Milvus and wanted to go lighter with a new setup. 50 is my favourite focal length, so my most expensive lens is the Summilux 50 asph to which I added a 28mm Elmarit and a 90 2.5 Summarit.

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[a.noctilux]

Hello,

 

Nice suggestions, Rob .

 

I have no comment on those wider lenses, but only at two of your longer suggested lenses.

 

My three cents on Summilux-M 1.4/75mm and Tele-Elmarit 2.8/90mm:

 

- as long time user of the 75mm on M, the Summilux is nice (I had at one time 2, one for my wife)

she said that it's very large and heavy for M use and this nice lens bother me in viewfinder minus 1/4 and long throw focus (as much as my Noctilux 1.0)

now she has Apo-Summicron-M 2/75 that is very handy and much less VF blockage

 

- over time I have had 3 times Tele-Elmarit 90mm because it's so small and light, but all are prone to flare,

don't you have trouble with flare concerning Tele-Elmarit 90mm ?

[arno_nyhm]

i go for 21/3,4 SEM for the wider angles

35/2 Summicron for anything else.

 

90/2,8 elmarit, if needed. but i dont.

 

 

(...) my ideal minimum 50 setup is:

Zeiss

50 f2 Planar AND
50 f1.5 Sonnar. Optimized to 1.5

 

 

sorry, rob. i rather disagree. it neither is cheaper than a summicron 50/2 nor is it really better. and why would i want  to carry two 50 lenses at a time while not having any other focal length handy?  f 1.5 is not what the M10 needs...

[Wolfgang]

I have the newest 50 Summilux and the 35mm Summicron. This covers everything for me almost, from portraits to landscapes and street photography. Ive never gone longer than a 50mm because the lenses start to get longer. I would suggest only getting lenses you know you'll love and use. They last forever too.

[Printmaker]

I'm experimenting with a new combo on my M10: 75/2 Summicron and my trusty 35/2 Summicron (type 4). So far this combo is working like a charm. I'm using the 75 as a tight 50 and as a portrait lens. Normally I'd pack 35, 50 and 90 but I'm trying to keep the size and weight of my kit to a minimum. The 75 is handling the double duty admirably. One of the nicest features with the M10 is the improved frame lines. These make the 75 mm frame clearly visible.

 

What can I say about the 35 mm Summicron? It is the one lens no Leica user should be without. The 35 Summicron is perfect for landscapes, tight streets and almost every other occasion.

 

For extensive travel I bring along a 21/3.4 SEM and my trusty Monochrom wearing a 50/2 Summicron. In fact, I have two 50/2 Summicrons and will probably trade one in on a 135/4 Tele-Elmar

[Stef63]

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On my M240 the 35 Lux FLE was the standard combo. On the M10 a recently aquired Nikkor 28 f3.5 LTM seems to be glued to the body. Wide open or stopped down to max 5.6 this insane small lens from the 50's is a joy to use and has a very pleasing character while still very sharp where needed. The high iso performance of the M10 helps to make this more than 65 year old design still usable in available light photography.

 

Along with this lens the 75 Lux is always in the bag, but mostly stays there.

[tonyniev]

I am used to taking landscape at 17 mm, currently only have Summarit 50 and Elamarit 28, looking for inexpensive wide that I can also use on the Sony A7R. Would you recommend  Voigtlander wide for landscape

[a.noctilux]

I am used to taking landscape at 17 mm, currently only have Summarit 50 and Elamarit 28, looking for inexpensive wide that I can also use on the Sony A7R. Would you recommend  Voigtlander wide for landscape

 

Voigtlander wide lenses, I use U-W Heliar 12mm and 15mm (in LTM mount version I) that were not usable ( magenta edges ) in M9/M240.

With M10 they are "almost" nice when I choose Elmarit 2.8/21 profile, only a faint of magenta edges in the sky on some photos.

 

They are cheap, small, light with very good optical quality and usable with my LTM Leica for years.

But they are not for Sony A7R if not "Kolani modified".

 

For A7R...and M10 (why not with adapters !)

In those nice-and-cheap, there are better choices in SLR lenses: I use Tokina and Tamron 17mm (distortions may be a pain), Zuiko OM 18mm and 21mm, Nikkor 15mm and 20mm, etc.

[tonyniev]

For the A7R, I use my Canon EF lenses with with Metabones adapter, I also have M adapter and Canon FD...I am thinking of an M mount wide angle  that I can use in both cameras, I will look at UW Heliar. Thanks.

[bocaburger]

Long time ago I was overcome by Leica Lens Lust and succumbed to several ASPHs.  Fortunately I hadn't sold my earlier versions, because I soon realized I wasn't getting the huge upgrade I had expected, so I sold the ASPHs and repurposed the money (although I wish I had kept them until the prices skyrocketed!).  Haven't bought a new Leica lens in about 15 years and given the current prices, the lust is gone.  Last lens I bought is the CV 15 v3, and I still travel with the dinky little v1.  

 

Travel:  CV 15 v1, CV 21/4 M-mount, Leica 35 Cron v4, 50 Cron 11819 (tabbed), 90 TE thin or 135/4 TE e39.

 

Low-light: Leica 21/2.8 pre-ASPH, 50 Lux v2, 90 Cron pre-ASPH

 

Minimalist kit:  Leica 28/2.8 v4, 90 Cron pre-ASPH

 

One-lens kit:  35 Cron v4

[phongph]

Hi All!

I have got M10 with M Apo 50 and M Lux 75. I need to get one more Wide angle len. Pls advise whether I can get M 28 Lux or M 35 Lux FLE for Environmental portrait, Landscape, Street life?

Have a nice weekend!

Thanks!

[mhicks]

Of the two, and since you already have a 50, I'd go with the wider 28. Still have frame lines in the M10 and results can be cropped to 35 quite nicely, if necessary.

[Tailwagger]

Its not just about what you carry, but how you can carry it effectively. My standard, out and about, don't know what I'll encounter of interest, grouping consists of the 21 SEM, a Zeiss Distagon 35mm and the Summilux 75mm. Mammoth, bloated and overweight by some folks standards, but I never find it the least bit burdensome. The flexibility this setup affords, not just in variety of focal length, but in look and rendering as well, gives me a broad enough set of options to only occasionally come away saying I wish I had brought the...    And to truly horrify the lightness is everything faction, I'll note that an RRS grip and Visoflex are permanently attached as well.   The key, IMO, to this kit's viability is that it all fits snugly in the diminutive Hadley Digital. 

 

I, therefore, unashamedly assert for the record that this setup is the king (verbal and visual puns fully intended ) 

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[Ozytripper]

When I am holidays

16-18-21mm, 28-35-50mm, 35 F1.4 (or 50 F1.4), 80-200mm plus 2x apo extender

 

Out for walk with wifey (which means shooting the wife)

50mm F1.0 and 135mm F3.4 apo

 

Out shooting with photographer friends

50mm F2 apo

28-35-50mm F4

135mm F3,4

 

If i just go for a walk and shooting by myself

28mm F5.6

35mm F2

small and compact

[evikne]

I currently have the 35 and 50mm Summilux together with my M10. It's a great combo, but my dream is to replace the 50 Summilux with a Noctilux, because I can never get enough of bokeh!

 

The Noctilux could be my super versatile everyday lens, while the 35mm is useful when I need a more discrete camera, or a bit more dramatic perspective.

[TX400]

For those of you with the new camera: Do you find yourself using a smaller aperture for greater depth of focus with this camera's cleaner high-ISO results? Have you been using slower lenses? For people who don't need shallow focus depth for artistic concerns, is it practical to use a slower lens all the time?

[mhicks]

In a word, very.

[Printmaker]

F2 rules.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[roger_1987]

I'm using the Elmarit 28/2.8 and Summicron 50/2, both latest version. Cover my shooting needs very well. With M10's iso performance slower lenses are more acceptable than before.