techpan Posted September 29, 2007 Share #1 Posted September 29, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've been looking for a compact travel lens that I can use with my M8 and have narrowed it down to 2 choices. Both the Elmarit 28mm F2.8 ASPH and the Summicron 35mm F2 Version 4 are one of the smallest lenses that I have come accross. I wanted to ask if anyone knows which lens is the smaller one and also if there is another lens out there that I missed that might be more compact. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted September 29, 2007 Posted September 29, 2007 Hi techpan, Take a look here Most compact leica lens made.... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
grober Posted September 29, 2007 Share #2 Posted September 29, 2007 If you'll allow optics manufactured by other than Leica itself, you can't find a thinner one than the old Canon 25mm 3.5 screwmount made in the fifties. Yes, a bit slow, but still very usable. -g Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thai.charlie Posted September 29, 2007 Share #3 Posted September 29, 2007 Canon 28mm 2.8 (Winogrand lens), CV 28mm 3.5, CV 21mm 4 -- all very compact (and all need LTM adaptors save for the new version CV 21mm f4 M mount) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkie Posted September 29, 2007 Share #4 Posted September 29, 2007 The smaller of the two in your Q is the Leica 35/2.0 IV. At infinity its protruding length is only 26mm excl. hood and filter. Weighing in at only 150g in black The 28/2.8 ASPH is 30mm in length at infinity sans hood and filter. Weighing in at 180g Other compact Leica lenses are: 1. 35/1.4 Pre-ASPH. This is probably the fastest most compact lense that Leica ever made. 28mm in length and only 195g Black late series. Titanium versions weigh more. 7 series filter. This is probably the best for shooting. But not as flare resistent as the ASPH lux's and night time shooting of lights produces swirling type effects. This lens is a venerable Leitz/leica classic. Produced for close to 34 years with a couple of optical adjustments along the way. This should tell you how good this lens is before it was replaced by the Aspherics. Nothing can touch this lens for its combination of speed, compactness and light weight. Get a late serial number, just prior to the release of the 35/1.4 ASPHERICAL 2. 40/2.0 Summicron C. This is a VERY compact lens. I don't have it to hand to measure the length. It weighs only 130g. It is probably the lightest f2.0 lens in the entire leica M line up. The hood is rubber and collapses in with snap on flat cap. This lens as a unit is the most compact of any Leica lens setup with the hood on collapsed (except the Leica 15/8 Hologon!) 3. 50/2.8 & 3.5 Elmar - In its vintage and new variants. When collapsed its pretty compact but not to everyones taste and style when you have to pull the lens out and lock it ready for shooting. 4. 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarit FAT - most compact non-retractible 90mm lens. 5. 90/4.0 Macro - 41mm collapsed 240g black 6. 21/4.0 SA - Most compact Leica 21mm. Slow at f4.0 and not meterable 7. 15/8.0 Hologon - This is definitely THE Most Compact & lightest lens ever made, bar none. It is practically flat, 12-15mm at the most from memory and weighs in at just 110g. Non-meterable Non-Leica: Are the CV lenses: CV15/4.5 - very compact and good wide angle though a bit slow CV 35/2.5 Pancake II - VERY compact at just 22mm in length & just 134g. Moderate speed CV 40/1.4 - fast lens, moderately compact for a semi standard FL Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
techpan Posted September 29, 2007 Author Share #5 Posted September 29, 2007 Thanks for the all the helpful information... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted September 29, 2007 Share #6 Posted September 29, 2007 ...Both the Elmarit 28mm F2.8 ASPH and the Summicron 35mm F2 Version 4 are one of the smallest lenses that I have come accross. I wanted to ask if anyone knows which lens is the smaller one and also if there is another lens out there that I missed that might be more compact. The 35/2 IV (middle) is smaller than the 28/2.8A (left). Both are bigger than the Summicron-C 40/2 (right). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted September 29, 2007 Share #7 Posted September 29, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Elmarit-C 40/2.8 is even smaller but it is very rare. There is one on eBay right now: http://cgi.ebay.fr/Leica-M-CL-Lens-2-8-40mm-Elmarit-C_W0QQitemZ280154144772QQihZ018QQcategoryZ30063QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdarter Posted September 29, 2007 Share #8 Posted September 29, 2007 Hi, The CV 35mm 2.5 Colour Skopar is also very tiny, I would say, certainly no bigger than the Elmarit 40mm. The CV 35 is a so called 'pancake' lens, but nevertheless, very short. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted September 29, 2007 Share #9 Posted September 29, 2007 Elmar M 50/2.8 collapsible... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted September 29, 2007 Share #10 Posted September 29, 2007 LCT, you habe the 50/2.8 don't you? How does it compare with the others? I hadn't realised that the 28/2.8 ASPH is bigger than the 35/2 IV. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted September 29, 2007 Share #11 Posted September 29, 2007 How good is the CV35/2.5, centre and corner sharpness, colour and bokeh? That is really compact, and I might add one to my 35/1.4A. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdarter Posted September 29, 2007 Share #12 Posted September 29, 2007 How good is the CV35/2.5, centre and corner sharpness, colour and bokeh? That is really compact, and I might add one to my 35/1.4A. Hi, These were taken with my 35mm 2.5 Colour - Skopar. They were shot on my M8 without filter, or lenshood. Unmolested DNG's converted to .Jpeg in CS3. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdarter Posted September 29, 2007 Share #13 Posted September 29, 2007 Here's another, shot the same day, this was at maximum aperture. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted September 29, 2007 Share #14 Posted September 29, 2007 The first three look great, but the last two, especially the second-last, look very over-sharpened. Halos around edges and so on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdarter Posted September 29, 2007 Share #15 Posted September 29, 2007 The first three look great, but the last two, especially the second-last, look very over-sharpened. Halos around edges and so on. I don't think they were oversharpened, just quite heavily cropped. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean_reid Posted September 29, 2007 Share #16 Posted September 29, 2007 How good is the CV35/2.5, centre and corner sharpness, colour and bokeh? That is really compact, and I might add one to my 35/1.4A. Hi Carsten, It's an outstanding lens. Go look at the 35 mm lens review again. The Skopar version is also very compact and you can code it with an LT-M8. I've owned both versions and kept the latter, for that reason. I happen to love very compact lenses myself. The Leica lenses have been covered pretty well above but here are some others (pardon the overlap of my list with previous posts). Canon 28/2.8 LTM Canon 35/2.8 LTM CV 12 CV 15 CV 21 (LTM or M) CV 15 (LTM or M) CV 28/3.5 (the great sleeper lens) CV 35/2.5 (LTM or M) Zeiss 21/4.5 Cheers, Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted September 29, 2007 Share #17 Posted September 29, 2007 I don't think they were oversharpened, just quite heavily cropped. Look at the guy with the small accordion: his shirt's edge has a dark halo, and his black pants have a white halo. This doesn't come from cropping. Sean, I didn't realise that this was that lens in your review. I will go back and re-check, thanks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lct Posted September 29, 2007 Share #18 Posted September 29, 2007 LCT, you habe the 50/2.8 don't you? How does it compare with the others?... Looks a bit shorter than the 40/2. Without hood & cap i mean, otherwise the 40/2 is the winner due to its collapsible rubber hood and snap-on cap. (28/2.8A - 35/2 IV - 40/2 - 50/2.8) Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted September 29, 2007 Share #19 Posted September 29, 2007 Whoa, what anti-gravity device are you using? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkie Posted September 29, 2007 Share #20 Posted September 29, 2007 Hi Carsten, It's an outstanding lens. Go look at the 35 mm lens review again. The Skopar version is also very compact and you can code it with an LT-M8. I've owned both versions and kept the latter, for that reason. I happen to love very compact lenses myself. The Leica lenses have been covered pretty well above but here are some others (pardon the overlap of my list with previous posts). Canon 28/2.8 LTM Canon 35/2.8 LTM CV 12 CV 15 CV 21 (LTM or M) CV 15 (LTM or M) CV 28/3.5 (the great sleeper lens) CV 35/2.5 (LTM or M) Zeiss 21/4.5 Cheers, Sean Sean, are you suggesting its better to buy a 35mm Color Skopar in screw mount and buy like say a millich adapter so you can code it easily rather than buying an M mount version? It looks like the 35/2.5 Color Skopar P II is only available in M-mount from robertwhite http://robertwhite.co.uk/voigtlander.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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