21/35/75 or 28/50/90

[a.noctilux]

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Noise recording can be done with M (type 240), if required.

Competent stereo microphone can be used with it also by adding some accessories.

[onasj]

I feel people are discussion two non-mutual exclusive issues here.

 

1) Artistry, composition, and their profound importance on photograph quality and impact.  Yes, more lenses won't help here.

 

2) The flexibility afforded by having different focal length (and even different rendering style) options.  Flexibility really can help.  Having photographed Beijing recently, I brought five lenses and used all five pretty extensively.  The least frequently used of the five was the 21 lux, but even that lens ended up taking several keepers.  

 

Saying people should focus on (1) not (2) is a false choice-- you can consider both principles.

[lame]

I feel people are discussion two non-mutual exclusive issues here.

 

1) Artistry, composition, and their profound importance on photograph quality and impact.  Yes, more lenses won't help here.

 

2) The flexibility afforded by having different focal length (and even different rendering style) options.  Flexibility really can help.  Having photographed Beijing recently, I brought five lenses and used all five pretty extensively.  The least frequently used of the five was the 21 lux, but even that lens ended up taking several keepers.  

 

Saying people should focus on (1) not (2) is a false choice-- you can consider both principles.

I totally agree with that  !

 

I suggest you are not suited to the visual arts at all. Get yourself a digital recorder and a competent microphone and start recording the noises which underline our decline as the dominant species.

I don't understand why you said that  ... You don't know me... 

Edited March 7, 2018 by lame

[ianman]

 

I don't understand why you said that  ... You don't know me... 

That, I think, is his point. Nobody here knows you and hence cannot offer a solution that suits you, but only make suggestions based on our own experiences and tastes. Exodies has his own special way of communicating :-)  

[Peter Kilmister]

@Exodies can appear sharp, but is always poignant. I don't think he would wish to upset you.

BTW, welcome to the Forum. We are generally a pleasant group who try to help. Stick with us and you will always learn things.

I learn from the forum because there is always someone who knows better than you. Occasionally the odd troll appears but the moderators are good at removing them. Exodies is not a troll.

[pico]

Here ya go. Be happy. View here.

[rsolomon]

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Hello,

 

I'm wondering wich three lens kit is the best for my Leica M240 :

 

- 21mm f3.4 Asph Super-Elmar,

- 35mm f2 Asph Summicron, <- would be my main lens.

- 75mm f1.4 Summilux.

or

- 28mm f2.8 Asph Elmarit, <- would be my main lens.

- 50mm f1.4 Asph Summilux,

- 90mm f2 Summicron / f2.4 Summarit.

 

 

I'm doing : Street Photography & Travel photography (80%), Landscape(15%), Portrait (5%).

 

 

I think you're asking the right question prior to buying.  I know others disagree with this approach but for me this is very logical.  

 

For me I look at POV to make sure each lens is significantly different, each bringing a different value point to your kit. I don't have the funds to just buy everything, so my choices are thoughtful from different perspectives: size, weight, angle of view. rendering. I shoot similar to you, mostly street , landscape, travel.

 

I knew two things from my expereince as I was deciding:  first: I liked the 35 perspective.    Second: I decided I would go with the 75 cron for size and weight over the 90 cron, walking around all day with the 90 was a bit more than I was willing to do and I liked the 35 / 75 combo - they both had what a wanted in a lens kit: compact, light, fast (enough) and significantly different POV.

 

I really like the 18 it brings something completely different to 35 & 75, but I think for me the 21 is a better choice - the 18 is a bit to wide and aggressive for me.  

 

I don't go for the summilux 1.4 set of lens - I just feel cost verse need doesn't  justify it for me, additionally the weight is a turn off to me. The 240 or M10 has plenty of ISO.

 

bottom line  21 super elmar / 35 cron / 75 cron.  rethink that 75 1.4 if your planning on walking around the street all day carrying that bad boy. 

 

good luck and have a blast !

[rsolomon]

I suggest you are not suited to the visual arts at all. Get yourself a digital recorder and a competent microphone and start recording the noises which underline our decline as the dominant species.

 

 

thumbs down 

[Herr Barnack]

Here ya go. Be happy. View here.

 

Next Gordian knot to unravel:  In what camera bag would one carry this featherweight masterpiece of portability?

Edited March 8, 2018 by Herr Barnack

[michaelwj]

If you assume the photos you took with a 35/2 would have been taken with the 35/1.4 if that had been on your camera then you can group them by focal length and not individual lenses. It’s now obvious that you use a 35, then 50, then 28, in that order. The wides (18 and 21) get more love (almost as much as the 28) than the lenses past 50, so you could probably substitute out the 28 for a 21 or 18 on occasion.

So based on your plot, your 3 lens kit should be a 35-50-28(21). Using logic and all that.

But, life is not always so logical, so go with your guts and your heart, not your head.

[coupdefoudre]

I am not sure that buying both a 28 and a 35 as your first two lenses is the wisest choice. They are different, true, but pretty close in focal length.

 

I, too, would offer the advice about the 75 Lux: it creates gorgeous photographs. I love what it does. BUT! it is a big and heavy lens for travel. I leave it home (sadly) and travel with the 75 APO which is a great travel lens.

 

So, for my suggestions on the three you asked about in the beginning:

- 28 Elmarit ASPH. Small and fantastic for environmental portraits if you get close. More difficult to use than a 35 but once mastered you might love it!

- 50 Lux. Comes in handy as the daylight begins to fade

- a 90 of some sort. I favor the f2.8 Elmarit-M. It is not made today but there are lots of used ones about.

 

I am in India right now, traveling for a month, with the M10 and an M246 Monochrom. After much thought I brought: 21 SEM, 28 Elmarit-M, 50 Lux, 75 APO and 90 Elmarit-M f2.8. I have used all these lenses on this trip with the 75 spending the least time on a body. I could have left it out but have a car & driver so weight is not an issue. Each of these lenses have a place in the stuff I shoot.

 

When out and about walking, however, I take one lens on one body. Sometimes I add a second lens in a fanny pack or my pocket. You can never get all the shots so, yes, you will miss 'important' pics - just tell yourself that not having all your lenses with you is simply an extension of this idea.

 

I have 5 other Leica lenses to choose from, too, but that might just confuse this entry!

[albertknappmd]

21/50/90...

Albert     

[Ko.Fe.]

Last thing I would do is to have my choice based on some cliche and statistics.

If you are really taking pictures and doing it for sometime you would know it already.

 

I did travel and street. And by how it worked for me, I see no use for 90 or 75. Even for portraits.

Barely for 50. Once I started to use 35. I had several attempts to use 28, before I finally get into it. I settled with 28 1.9 aspherical lens. Why pay five times more for f2.8 lens? And now I'm thinking about 21. And it is not going to be Leica lens.

But it is just me as individual. Each and own case is different. Yet, it should based on personal trial and error only, IMO. And it might change.

HCB was using 90mm lens more on the street, it seems, once he get older.

Edited March 8, 2018 by Ko.Fe.

[ianman]

90mm for landscape can be wonderful !

Edited March 8, 2018 by ianman

[01af]

90 mm for landscape is wonderful !

 

So is 75 mm.

 

Or 135 mm, for that matter.

 

If the declared main lens will be either 28 mm or 35 mm (but not 50 mm) then I'd prefer 21+35+75 over 28+50+90—simply because the main lens should be in the middle of the three-lens range. On the othe hand, 21 mm requires an accessory finder which is inconvenient while 28 mm does not. Ugh ...

 

[ianman]

So is 75 mm.

 

Or 135 mm, for that matter.

Again, precisely my point! 

[Narsuitus]

"21/35/75 or 28/50/90"

 

"What would be your choice ?"

 

"Which three lens kit better suit me ?"

 

 

I cannot tell you which three-lens kit would better suit you.

 

I can, however, tell you which three-lens kits I have used.

 

I used 35/50/100 with my first 35mm rangefinder (Argus C3).

I used 28/50/135 with my 35mm SLRs (Miranda Sensorex and Pentax Spotmatics)

I used 35/85/180 with my Nikon F and F2 35mm SLRs

I used 24/35/85 with my Nikon F3 and F4 35mm SLRs

I use 21/35/90 with my Leica M6 and M10 rangefinders

 

If given a choice between 21/35/75 or 28/50/90, I would choose the 21/35/75 because I prefer the 35mm rather than the 50mm as my main lens.

 

 

Three-Lens Rangefinder Kit by Narsuitus, on Flickr

[LichtUndDunkelheit]

I dont own Leica M though I'm playing with the thought to get one sometime, but from what I currently know, I'd go for 21mm / 35mm / 75mm.

I'd go for 35mm as first and main lens because thats the focal length thats the most comfortable to use with a Leica, meaning it fills the viewfinder very nicely, but not as tight as 28mm.

I'd go for 21mm because I love that focal length and I know at least two lenses that seem great options.

I'd go for 75mm because I wouldnt want to use the Leica rangefinder for even longer focal lengths; I'd rather get the SLR extension for that.

That combo IMHO also works nicely for the photographic themes given.

For landscape I would prefer a 21mm or 24mm plus some telephoto option plus maybe a 35mm or 50mm, so that fits well.

For street the 35mm seems to me the best option; not as much in the face as the 28mm and not as much a PITA to focus as the 50mm. Advantages for rangefinder is also obvious.

For portraiture I consider myself a 105mm guy but thats not available on Leica, also as I said 75mm is the longest I would want to use anyway with a Leica M style rangefinder.

At 35mm the currently most sympathetic option seems to me the Zeiss Biogon f2; great allrounder with no weakness.

At 75mm I'd go for the Voigtländer Classic Heliar f1.8.

At 21mm I really like the Super Angulon f3.4, unfortunately it apparently has issues on digital ? The other favorite option is Voigtländer Color Skopar f4.

On the other hand a 28mm f2.8 / 50mm f2 / 90mm f4 macro combo is of course kind of THE traditional Leica trinity and doesnt need extra viewfinders (as you would need for 21mm).

[pgk]

On the other hand a 28mm f2.8 / 50mm f2 / 90mm f4 macro combo is of course kind of THE traditional Leica trinity and doesnt need extra viewfinders (as you would need for 21mm).

 

'Traditional' would be 35/50/90 (the M2's viewfinder) or 50/90/135 (the M3's viewfinder) - the 28mm is of more recent acceptance .

 

The 35/50/90/135 combinations reflect the 1950s lens design and availability though so today we have greater choice. The problem is slotting the lenses you can afford and use best into a carriable outfit. No simple solution.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[ktmrider2]

It is a really personal decision and one that certainly can change with time or expected subject.  If I was traveling to the Galapagos Islands and could only take a Leica M, I would certainly take a 135 but it may not be in the kit if I was traveling to Rome etc.

 

My favorite film Leica is the M2 which has a great viewfinder with 35/50/90 frame lines which is the classic 3 lens combo for photojournalists from the 1940-50's.  I don't own a 28mm or 75mm and admit to 35 being my favorite focal length for M cameras.  I do own a 21 and 135 but don't use them much.  For travel, I like 35/90 and have never really found it a limiting kit because taking a few steps forward or back can usually solve the framing issue (assuming you can take a few steps forward or back).  If I do take a third lens it would usually be the 21 as the 135 sees less use then the other focal lengths.  

 

And if I am really lazy, I carry one camera with either 35 or 50 as I am not a fanatic on one or the other focal length.  

 

Off the two combos you ask about, I would go with 21/50/75 except I don't own a 75 and would substitute my 90.