Choice for a third lens

[Gobert]

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I don’t know if I agree with you. Talking from own experience and about talking street photography, the 50mm has won the battle with the 35.

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[IkarusJohn]

None of this really matters as there are no really bad choices.

The OP has 28/50 - if the criteria is purely focal length, then 90 is the logical choice.  I’ve had a 90 and two 75 lenses, and it is true that the 75 is close to the 50.  But that is only part of the picture.  At this point, the OP should stop reading now … 

The other, more relevant criteria to consider are the age and style of those existing lenses.  If they are modern lenses - 28 Summilux & 50 APO Summicron, then the attraction might be a similar style of lens - 75 Noctilux/90 Summilux.  All have similar modern rendering.  But then things get even more confusing - a modern 50, paired with the classic Mandler 75 Summilux … and a 28 Summicron v2 or 28 Summaron?  Different choices.

Other considerations are size - if small is a driver, then the 90 Macro-Elmar might be just the ticket.

Looking ahead, the OP might decide that a better one lens option is a 35mm (Summilux pre-ASPH or the new APO 35 Summicron), which pairs nicely with a 75 for a two lens set, or 28/50 …. Then there’s wides ..

Before long, you are on the road to pleasure in your lovely Leica lenses … and poverty.

Alternatively, you just buy the 90mm lens you like (macro-Elmar, APO Summicron or Summilux), and move on taking photos; never look back; and don’t come to this forum again.  In the pre-internet days, that’s what I certainly did - bought what I thought I needed and kept what I liked, and moved on.

[logan2z]

You've received plenty of good (and sometimes conflicting!) advice already.  One thing I'll add that may or many not be useful...

You don't mention which camera(s) you're currently shooting with, but one practical reason for choosing one focal length over the other might be which framelines are available to you.  I shoot film exclusively and own an M-A and an M4.  The M-A has 75mm framelines (frame corners, might be more accurate) but the M4 does not.  Sure, I could guess when using a 75mm on the M4 but I prefer not to.  In my case, the 90mm was more practical because both of my bodies have 90mm framelines (I do have a 75mm Summarit too, but it gets little use). 

If you use cameras with both 75 and 90mm framelines then this post has just wasted 15 seconds of your life 

Edited December 26, 2021 by logan2z

[RayD28]

5 hours ago, stephan54 said:

I have a 28 and a 50 lens and added a Telyt 135. The 135 is a bit harder to focus, but I find the difference in focal length very useful. The way it compresses some subjects (buildings in a long street) makes it worth the effort. In an unfamiliar place I usually start with the 28 or 50, but take out the 135 if I stay a few days longer.

What camera do you use with the Telyt?  

[Vinver66]

“You don't mention which camera(s) you're currently shooting with, but one practical reason for choosing one focal lengthover the other might be which framelines are available to you.”

 

the lens would be for an M10Mono.

[stephan54]

vor 34 Minuten schrieb RayD28:

What camera do you use with the Telyt?  

M10 - the only one I have 😃

[cboy]

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Horses for courses but imo anything over 75mm pushes the limits of using a RF comfortably, so I'd use something else than a M. Just to make life easier. There's just better evf/lcd options out there and I don't understand why others think an M can be a all in one tool.

But with a mono there no other options 🤪

Edited December 26, 2021 by cboy

[lct]

90mm lenses have been used on rangefinders since the thirties. 

[Danner]

IMHO, the third lens should be a 35mm focal length.

[rsolomon]

I have similar interests: street, travel, documentary and natural light portrait photography. My kit contains 3 lenses, 21 SEM, 35 Cron, 75 Cron. I feel confident and comfortable in my choices.  

My advice…… , with what you have you can make just about anything work, when you CAN’T  that will be the lens you want. 

[darylgo]

Reading this thread and the varying views is a dizzying experience. The current offerings of the 75 and 90 apo Summicrons are both excellent lenses. The 90 is a bitingly sharp lens, the 75 is also resolves well but has less bite. The 75 is smaller and balances well on the M, whereas the 90 feels front heavy.   Regarding the framelines of the 75mm, they barely exist but that’s easily overcome in the first 30 seconds of use.   If we want accurate framing we wouldn’t be shooting an M.  
 

There’s a few other current offerings, the huge 75 Noctilux and 90 Summilux.  Balance isn’t even a question with these lenses, they’re horrible on the M.  They have their own tripod attachments so we don’t bend the mount on the body or rip the screws away.  They’re good for wrist exercise or strength training and the 75 rendering wide open is beautiful.  The Thambar is also in a league of its own and is limited to a 90mm only.   

[T25UFO]

As you probably have seen, there will be almost as many suggestions as there are contributors to this thread 🙂

If you can afford it, buy the 75mm Noctilux, but not for street photography.  It will open up lots of other photo opportunities and be absolutely wonderful on the M10M, provided you hit the focus point!  Maybe wait for the new (hopefully backward compatible) Visoflex to help with focus.

For street photography you already have a great (I would say perfect) combination of 28mm and 50mm.  And if the 50mm is the APO you can easily crop to 75mm (maybe even 90mm) on the M10M without loss of quality.

[BradS]

The fact that you're asking what lens to buy indicates that you do not need another lens.

Why do you want to buy a third lens?  and, for that matter,  why did you buy a Leica? 

There are a variety of perfectly valid answers to these two questions. 

You might spend some time really thinking about this as, I think it may guide you.

 

[grahamc]

As much as a 90mm seems the ‘missing’ focal length, considering the uses (if I understand it correctly - street photography), then I’d add a 35mm which you might find is the one you take when you only want one lens. For street, you would soon work out whether you prefer the 28mm or 35mm. 
 

“If” you like the 35mm for that application then it may become your do it all lens on the street as it has for me.  Then you may find you take the 28mm and 50mm as a nice kit when you want more flexibility. 

Generally I take 35mm and 50mm with me, with the 50mm being for street portraits and 35mm for everything else  

28mm and 90mm I tend to take only for specific uses eg if there will be wider landscape scenes or head/shoulders portraiture.

Like others mentioned I do feel that 28-35-50 is a bit all bunched up in similar FL’s. But as I see the 35mm as the best (for me) standalone, it kinda overcomes that point and is usually mounted on the camera  

 

 

[Ouroboros]

On 12/26/2021 at 2:24 PM, Ko.Fe. said:

 

.......I had 90 two or three times. It was just totally useless. You have to be close at the street and for documentary. Travel doesn't need 90 at all with M.

 

Absolute unadulterated nonsense.  Why do some people make ridiculous statements like this?  All the current Leica 90mm lenses are excellent as are most of the discontinued ones.

The weakest link in photography is the person with the camera, it's rarely the lens and anyone who dismisses 90mm as 'useless' for travel, street or documentary displays a laughable degree of ignorance in their opinion.

Back to the OP:  As you already have a 28mm & 50mm, I would add a 90mm as your 3rd lens to give you a comprehensive spread of focal lengths.  I have 5 summicron lenses from 28-90mm and I prefer taking the 90mm apo-summicron asph to the 75mm apo-summicron asph as a 3rd lens. 

If I want to take two lenses, it's usually the 35mm & 75mm.  If only one lens, it's either the 28mm summicron or the 50mm summicron.

You'll find that you will use some lenses more often than others, but it certainly doesn't mean the least used are 'useless'!

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Ouroboros

[lct]

On 12/26/2021 at 3:24 PM, Ko.Fe. said:

Travel doesn't need 90 at all with M.

You mean 75 perhaps? Not that i dislike 75 but for travels i often need more reach so it can only be 90 for me. YMMV

[otto.f]

On 12/26/2021 at 3:24 PM, Ko.Fe. said:

Travel doesn't need 90 at all with M.

(Big) travel without a 90 doesn't feel easy either. My 90 has little use on travels, but if and when it's used, it's always bingo.

Edited December 28, 2021 by otto.f

[fotografr]

Don't overlook the 90 Elmarit. It's small, so easy to pack and carry, tack sharp and exceedingly reasonable in price. Mint copies can generally be found for around $1000. There's a thread here for images taken with 90mm lenses. Check out the ones taken with the Elmarit and you might be surprised.

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[insideline]

I am in agreement with Grahamc that adding a 35 may well provide you with a more used and enjoyed 3rd lens over adding a 75 or 90 focal length as a 35mm lens on a Leica rangefinder is about as useful a lens as exists in this format, whereas I rarely ever seem to take my 90 out with me, its a really great lens but its just that a small rangefinder feels more at home, for me anyways, with a 35mm lens attached. Then the even bigger challenge starts with "which" 35 to choose, oh my: 35 APO (possibly sets the new standard for this focal length), 35 Summilux Pre Asph Steel Rim, 35 pre-asph V1 or V2, 35 Summicron V1, 2, 3 or 4, Summicron APSH V1 or V2, 35 Summilux Asph Pre FLE, 35 Summilux FLE, 35 Summaron, 35 8 element, the the myraid of special edition versions, black paint iterations etc! I own five of these different Leica 35mm lenses as they all render differently and in some cases take quite different photographs of the same subject, so jumping into the 35mm focal length can be a long journey on its own. 

If however you do really yearn for a longer focal length the 90mm is nice for the added compression over the 75, and Brent aka fotografr above suggestion for the 90 Elmarit is is a great choice, but personally I really like the size and sharpness of the little 90 f4 macro, its a beauty.

Most of all have a great deal of fun discovering which focal length and which specific lens works best for you as trying (or owning) as many of them as is possible will teach you a ton and in the meantime you will capture many of life's wonderful moments along the way. 

[laowai_]

The 75 mm summicron has a minimum focus distance of 70 cm vs 1 m for the 90 mm summicron. Depending on this style and how much you want to crop this can be a very useful feature.