Good things come in pairs . What's your favourite duo ?

[Dennis]

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Interesting topic! It made me think that I usually don't carry two lenses. I often pick only one for the daily pleasure of shooting, and it constantly changes according to my need and desire. But when I choose more than one, it's a minimum of three (or four). Seriously, I don't recall picking 'only' two lenses. I don't have a favorite duo. But if you ask me to pick only two lenses today, I would probably choose 35 Cron Asph I and the 90 Elmarit-M.

 

 

[Robert Blanko]

The 90 Macro Elmar and the CV Color Skopar 21/4 form a nice pair - as they fit into a small camera / lens belt bag which serves as a small and light emergency kit when I usually would only take one camera with a lens attached (typically 50 APO or Lux):

 

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[rcusick]

Current duo of choice: 35mm summicron apsh and 90mm macro elmar. 

[grahamc]

Interesting answers

For my uses at the moment, I like using 28 to 50 range with M and my favourite all round FL is the 35mm .  When I take a partner it's 50 simply because I find it more useful in delivering something the 35 doesn't (lets say a little more compression for a street portrait - which is usually the only time I switch).   So this is why I've been thinking of my lenses as pairs especially as I realised I have 2 'sets' that render extremely closely in terms of colours and contrast:

35:1.4 v2 + 50:1.4 v3, as mentioned

& 

35:2 v4 + 50:2 v4. Really really nice also. Smaller and lighter also of course.  If anything I find these a bit gentler at mid apertures than the lux's, which is interesting (maybe this what "organic" means ? 🤔).  My luxes seem a little sharper and have more contrast than my crons (so the converse to what I've read about them actually) but overall take the prize I think.

If I had to take 3 lens kit on a trip the head would say 28-50-90 but then I'd still need to take a 35 to mount on the camera 😂

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by grahamc

[Guest]

I don't have a single favourite pair, but some lenses that I have used in combination include

• 1:1.4/35mm ASPH + 1:4.0/28-35-50mm ASPH (travel)
• 1:1.4/35mm ASPH + 1:2.8/90mm (general purpose)
• 1:2.8/24mm ASPH + 1:1.4/50mm ASPH (general purpose)
• 1:2.8/24mm ASPH + 1:2.0/50mm (with CL)
• 1:2.8/24mm ASPH + 1:1.4/35mm ASPH (wide angle)
• 1:2.8/50mm + 1:4.0/90mm Macro (compact)

Most of the time, however, I leave home with.just a single lens.

Edited April 12, 2022 by Studienkamera

[ktmrider2]

The Zeiss 35f2.8 C Biogon lives on my black M4.  When I travel I add the 90f2.8 Elmarit M so in a very compact kit I get maximum versatility. 

[Gregm61]

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35mm f1.4 FLE and 21mm f3.4 Super Elmar.

[kivis]

This is a tough call. I always have 2 lenses with me.

Either the:

1. CV 21/3.5 and 'Cron 50/2 ver 5

or

2. CV 35/2 and CV 90/2.8

Depends on what I plan to shoot that day.

[Fedro]

usually 28 - 50, although I have also gone out with 21 - 50 or WATE - 50

i lens only it usually one of 28, 35, 50

[michaelcole]

On 4/11/2022 at 8:22 AM, Dennis said:

Interesting topic! It made me think that I usually don't carry two lenses. I often pick only one for the daily pleasure of shooting, and it constantly changes according to my need and desire. But when I choose more than one, it's a minimum of three (or four). Seriously, I don't recall picking 'only' two lenses. I don't have a favorite duo. But if you ask me to pick only two lenses today, I would probably choose 35 Cron Asph I and the 90 Elmarit-M.

 

 

I use the same two, but I pair them with the 50 Lux ASPH and the 21 Super Elmar.  Everything fits great in a small Billingham Hadley.

[Dennis]

1 hour ago, michaelcole said:

I use the same two, but I pair them with the 50 Lux ASPH and the 21 Super Elmar.  Everything fits great in a small Billingham Hadley.

21+35+50+90 is w/o doubt a powerful kit for a bag. 🏆

[jdlaing]

That’s more than two.

[michaelcole]

3 hours ago, jdlaing said:

That’s more than two.

Two pairs!

[Ccoppola82]

28/50 or 35/90 depending where I’m going. 

[Ouroboros]

I spent the whole of February in Sri Lanka and took my M10-R with the 28mm summicron safari and 75mm apo-summicron. These two focal lengths work well as a pair for me as I prefer the extra reach of a 75mm over a 50mm but I also have 8 other M  lenses to mix and match to give me other options.
 

The smallest Leica M lenses I have are the 28mm summaron-m and 50mm elmar-m f2.8 and these also make a nice pair, as do my 35mm summicron asph and 90mm apo-summicron safari.

 

[grahamc]

2 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

 

The smallest Leica M lenses I have are the 28mm summaron-m and 50mm elmar-m f2.8 and these also make a nice pair

 

That's a really interesting idea.   Do you find they have a similar look, or is the pairing choice more because of their small size / retro style ?

 

[Ouroboros]

2 hours ago, grahamc said:

That's a really interesting idea.   Do you find they have a similar look, or is the pairing choice more because of their small size / retro style ?

 

Mainly size, both lenses are small and light (the 50mm elmar-m is only small when collapsed, when extended it is a comparable size to a 50mm summicron, albeit one stop slower, which I also have in safari edition).  You don't even need a bag with these two lenses, a spare pocket is adequate! 

The 28mm summaron-m has a unique signature which the 50mm elmar-m does not share, but that is not something that is important to me.   I think Leica would need to reintroduce something like the old ltm 50mm f2 summitar in M mount to maintain a reasonably common 'look' between the 28mm summaron-m and a 50mm lens. 

I also regularly pair my 28mm summaron-m with the Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 Heliar Classic, which I think is one of the more interesting 50mm lenses currently available new in M mount. 

(A 75mm f1.5 Heliar Classic  with similar properties to the 50mm would be ideal, should anyone at CV be reading this thread!).  

   

[tommonego@gmail.com]

If just a pair, a 35 Summilux (I have a pre asph) and a 90mm Elmarit. 

For my CL the 23 Summicron and a 50 Summicron, could be the 11-23 Super Vario Elmar instead of the 23. 

[Dennis]

33 minutes ago, Ouroboros said:

I also regularly pair my 28mm summaron-m with the Voigtlander 50mm f1.5 Heliar Classic, which I think is one of the more interesting 50mm lenses currently available new in M mount.

Interesting. Why do you think so about the Heliar? I'm curious... My only 50 is the Summicron v5, which I like as a modern lens. But it would be great to add a different 50 to match the 'vintage' softer look of the LLL 35/2. Ideally, smaller than the Summicron. Not sure the Heliar is relatively small. But FWIS, I like its character.

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[Ouroboros]

1 hour ago, Dennis said:

Interesting. Why do you think so about the Heliar? I'm curious... My only 50 is the Summicron v5, which I like as a modern lens. But it would be great to add a different 50 to match the 'vintage' softer look of the LLL 35/2. Ideally, smaller than the Summicron. Not sure the Heliar is relatively small. But FWIS, I like its character.

The Heliar Classic is slightly larger than a 50mm summicron but is not heavy and has a very different rendering.  At maximum aperture, although 'soft' and glowy, images have good detail with gentle contrast.  The background blur can be extremely variable, depending on what the background is; ie, specular highlights or contrasting tones produce an unusual 'doughnut' bokeh.  Stop down to f2.8-3.5-4, central details become progressively well-defined and the roll-off is quite pleasant.  At mid range apertures (f5.6 & f8)  images are sharp.

It handles well and is nicely balanced, the aperture ring is positive and the focus action has just the right feel.  Less importantly, it looks nice on my black paint MP and M10-R and the black paint finish on the lens is a good match. 

It's not a lens for everyone and I would not have it as my only 50mm lens because is a lens that was purposely designed with inherent aberrations.  You should buy into it with that knowledge, as you would with a Lensbaby Velvet, and spend time getting to know how it works best for you.  At the price and individuality, there's nothing to not like about the Voigtlander 50mm Heliar Classic.  

Edited April 14, 2022 by Ouroboros