ramarren Posted November 2, 2018 Share #1 Posted November 2, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) I tend to use a fast normal lens most of the time. And for the R and M I have 50mm f/1.4 or 50mm f/2 choices … more than one of them. I was planning on buying the APO-Summilux-TL 35mm f/1.4 ASPH to use with the CL, the dedicated normal for the format. But. It's kind of a bulky lens. And I could only use it on the CL since it's Leica L-mount and a fully dedicated, electronic lens. I was thinking of all this and looking through some photos I'd made in the distant past. And some of my favorite photos made with the Pentax APS-C bodies were made with the SMC-Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited. And I remember looking for one of the special versions of this lens made for Leica an eon ago—essentially the exact same lens in an RF focusing mount—and being a little put off by the price (over $1100 at that time with the dedicated 43mm optical finder). And it's that very nice 'long-normal' equivalent focal length around 65mm on APS-C. So I looked for a LTM mount SMC-Pentax-L 43m f/1.9 Limited again and several popped up. Prices are not much different than they were for the complete set in EXC++ to near-MINT examples. But again. I found a couple without the finder down in the $650-700 range. And one looked very clean and pretty, with original caps. And I thought to myself, "That's a lot less than $2500, and I can use it on both my CL and my M-D." The 40mm optical finder is irrelevant for the CL (EVF body), and I've got an LTM to M-mount adapter for 35mm which I feel fits the 43mm FoV well enough for the M-D (and I can flip to the 50mm framelines easily enough with the M-D's frameline preview selector). And for close focusing on the CL, I have the Leica ELPRO VIIa+b close-up lenses that will work very very nicely. Should arrive next week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 2, 2018 Posted November 2, 2018 Hi ramarren, Take a look here A lens decision .... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
pico Posted November 2, 2018 Share #2 Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) I respect ramarren's opinion. My mere twenty-five years of following his posts across diverse interests has been helpful. Love him. BUT! Isn't there always a but? It might be significant when one fosters above all technical excellence but many choose to transcend, indeed ignore, late technology to appreciate rendering of former tech. In that spirit I use old, passe lenses and I encourage others to try the same. Peace. Edited November 2, 2018 by pico Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted November 3, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted November 3, 2018 Sounds like we're right in line on this one, Pico! The SMC-Pentax-FA 43mm f/1.9 Limited was first released in 1997, definitely a somewhat old fashioned design, and was made in LTM mount for the Japanese market only for a couple of years right about a year afterwards. It will be interesting to compare its rendering and performance against my 1972 Summilux 35mm f/1.4 v2 (which I can also use as a 'normal' on the CL, but don't usually). Love these older lenses! Modern lenses are spectacular performers too, but there's something about the uncorrected aberrations in these old lenses that endears them to me. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share #4 Posted November 6, 2018 The SMC-Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Limited arrived today. It's everything I'd hoped it would be: small, light, fast, and with superb imaging qualities. I have it set as a Leica Summicron-M 35mm in the lens profiles. Works well as a "long normal" on APS-C. The ELPRO VIIa and VIIb also work very well with it for close up work. Very pleased. Photos soon... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramarren Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share #5 Posted November 6, 2018 I took the lens on my bicycle ride, fitted to the Leica CL. It's every bit as lovely a lens on this camera as it was on my APS-C Pentax cameras in the FA series SLR version... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Leica CL + Pentax-L 43mm Limited ISO 100 @ f/5.6 @ 1/100 (A full rez image: https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1970/45750566191_b23e802c8c_o.jpg) Just a magnificent lens. I've coded it as a Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 for EXIF and lens profile, it seems to work well. 2 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Leica CL + Pentax-L 43mm Limited ISO 100 @ f/5.6 @ 1/100 (A full rez image: https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1970/45750566191_b23e802c8c_o.jpg) Just a magnificent lens. I've coded it as a Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 for EXIF and lens profile, it seems to work well. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/291122-a-lens-decision/?do=findComment&comment=3626584'>More sharing options...
ramarren Posted November 6, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted November 6, 2018 Because it's likely that few people have even seen an SMC-Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Limited, here is quick shot of the lens on my CL taken this morning: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Click on the image for the gallery of five photos on flickr.com. Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Click on the image for the gallery of five photos on flickr.com. ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/291122-a-lens-decision/?do=findComment&comment=3626845'>More sharing options...
ramarren Posted November 7, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted November 7, 2018 (edited) Advertisement (gone after registration) The beautiful rendering of this lens is just so apparent in photos like this ... a selfie of me and another bicyclist I met today who happens to share the same name ... Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Two Godfreys - San Jose 2018 :: Leica CL + Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Ltd (ISO 250 @ f/4 @ 1/60) Edited November 7, 2018 by ramarren 3 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Two Godfreys - San Jose 2018 :: Leica CL + Pentax-L 43mm f/1.9 Ltd (ISO 250 @ f/4 @ 1/60) ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/291122-a-lens-decision/?do=findComment&comment=3626960'>More sharing options...
Bill W Posted November 8, 2018 Share #8 Posted November 8, 2018 Love the Fatboy...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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