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Voigtländer 24mm Lens


timo01

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Cosina did make a Voigtländer 25mm f/4.0 in both M and adaptable Leica screw-mount, starting around 1999 (one of the first two they ever made, along with the 15mm f/4.5 v.1). Cosina also builds the 25mm ZM Biogons for Zeiss.

https://shop.cameraquest.com/voigtlander-leica-mount-lenses/voigtlander-25mm-f4-p-leica-m-color-skopar/

https://www.35mmc.com/07/01/2018/voigtlander-25mm-snapshot-skopar-review/

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/361544-REG/Zeiss_1365_653_25mm_f_2_8_ZM_Lens.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIweiiub2m-QIV3iGtBh03Qg7kEAQYAiABEgI-KvD_BwE

The fact that the Voigtländer version is still available for purchase 15 years after production implies it has not been a very popular seller.

Interactions of RF wide-angles with digital sensors may be another factor (since Voigtländer is not allowed to use the patented Leica 6-bit correction coding, and Leica only supports their own lenses).

And/or - 24/25mm was not a part of the "traditional" Leica rangefinder ecosystem. Even Leica never bothered with one for the first 40 years of the M's existence (or for the Barnack screw-mounts before that). Although one can find old Canon and Nikkor LTM 25mms, from around 1960 or just before.

Just not enough different from a 21 or a 28. But still requires an external viewfinder (which C/V also made) - at least for many users.

Cosina may just figure (as Leica eventually did - thanks, pedaes) that there is just not a market for yet more 24/25s in Leica RF mounts.

But Voigtländer could surprise us all tomorrow - they did just start making a 90mm lens for Leicas again, after a 16-year break.

Edited by adan
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5 hours ago, pedaes said:

Be quick if you want a new one ( a excellent lens ) as production of all M mount Zeiss lenses has finished. 

Are you serious? Good to know. I much prefer CV and Leica to Zeiss; so far no interest in any lens, who knows why. Even though the Zeiss IQ is stellar. My ZM 35/2.8 is so good that I don't use it too much  :D

3 hours ago, jaeger said:

The whole drama was because M doesn't have frame lines for 24mm.  A

I never tried a 24mm lens (M-mount) like the Super Elmar. I would love to. I guess it brings 28mm frame lines, so pretty close. I like to frame w/ a 28mm, so I think I would guesstimate decently for compositions.

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1 hour ago, Dennis said:

I never tried a 24mm lens (M-mount) like the Super Elmar. I would love to. I guess it brings 28mm frame lines, so pretty close.

No, the 24mm lens mount flanges (which set the framelines mechanically) are in the same grouping as 35mm and 135mm. So 35/135 are what one sees with a 24 mounted.  The only camera that ever actually showed lines for the 24 was the cropped M8 - on which 24mm was a "32mm equivalent" and 35 was a "47mm equivalent."

I believe the Zeiss ZM 25mm may have been keyed for 28 lines at some point, but have never used one myself.

Leica framelines groupings

Even though they do not actually display frames for some lenses, they have to go into one of the original three hard-wired groups established with the M3. The bold focal lengths set the pattern - all other focal lengths had to go into one of those three groups:

- default setting (no lens mounted, and short keying flange: 18 (I think) - 24 - 35 - 135

- medium-length keying flange: 50 - 75

- long keying flange: 21 - 28 - 90

The 28-35-50 lens has a complex frameline flange that actually moves up and down with zooming to change lens group. Not sure about the 16-18-21 (for which the internal lines are irrelevant in any case). The lonely 40mm Summicron-C was grouped with the 50mm (and later 75mm).

I think I have seen early 28s (pre-1970) and 21s that bring up the 50-75 set - simply because at that time it didn't matter. Sometime between 1970 and 1980 Leitz reorganized how the wider-than-35mm lenses were arranged within the groupings, on the assumption that it might be useful at some point in the future.

Which it was, once the 28 lines were squeezed in for the M4-P, and then for the 24 lines in the M8.

Edited by adan
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1 hour ago, adan said:

No, the 24mm lens mount flanges (which set the framelines mechanically) are in the same grouping as 35mm and 135mm. So 35/135 are what one sees with a 24 mounted.  The only camera that ever actually showed lines for the 24 was the cropped M8 - on which 24mm was a "32mm equivalent" and 35 was a "47mm equivalent."

That's bad... I'm in shock 😱

1 hour ago, adan said:

I believe the Zeiss ZM 25mm may have been keyed for 28 lines at some point

Fantastic, there is hope...

.

Next 28, I would like a brand new Elmarit-M. I had it, and stupidly sold it after a few months. I'll never do it again. But it will come back, soon or later

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28 minutes ago, ocean2059 said:

I would highly recommend the Zeiss zm 25/2.8. It's focal length may be closer to 26mm so the 28mm frame line is useable in most of shooting situation with an add-on optical viewfinder.

When I had my 25mm, I just used the entire viewfinder area. Worked well enough most of the time.

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I have the ZM 25mm, and while it is a very good lens on film, it does struggle somewhat with the digital bodies. It is not bad on the M10, but not as good as it is on film. I found that it was best at f8 or f11 on the M10. On film you could use it at f4 and it would be sharp across the frame. It is a biogon, which is a symmetrical lens which means that it has a lot of off-axis light, so the light hits the sensor at a pretty steep angle. The M has microlenses that help redirect this light directly to the sensor, but non Leica cameras fare pretty badly with this lens. If you are shooting L mount, the extremely inexpensive and very good Sigma 24mm 3.5 is a better alternative, as it is both a lot sharper and a lot cheaper. The 25mm can make beautiful images on an M mount digital camera, but there are lenses that are better suited to digital sensors. If you shoot film, the 25mm is unreservedly a fantastic lens.

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34 minutes ago, pedaes said:

As you would expect, nothing from Zeiss but look at stock availability.

B&H has plenty of stock. Why start unfounded rumors? Say you wonder if they have discontinued them instead of stating it like a fact, which it is not.

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11 minutes ago, hdmesa said:

which it is not.

Are you sure? There are obviously lenses available from current stock. Many of the ZM lenses are not optimized for 'digital', and will struggle with the high mp sensors without a tweek or two.  Voigtlander are clearly developing their VM lenses and expanding the range. Time will tell.

(PS - I am a fan of ZM lenses and have several so will be as sorry as anyone to see them go).

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