Survey: Third-party Lenses for Leica M-mount

[nilca]

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3 hours ago, LUF Admin said:

As far as I can see, the

Voigtlander 12mm f/5.6 Ultra Wide Heliar is not listed anymore…

https://www.voigtlaender.de/objektive/vm/

Andreas

It sure is: https://www.voigtlaender.de/lenses/vm/12-mm-15-6-ultra-wide-heliar-asphaerisch-iii/?lang=en

 

[willeica]

Very basic survey. It is hard to see where this leads. The market is flooded with many different M mount lenses and more could be produced at any time, particularly by sources in China. Most of the lenses I use were produced by Leica, but I'm not really in the market for buying new lenses with very high prices and marginal improvements over the ones which I have. The ones I have are more than just 'good enough'. I only have two non Leica M mount lenses, a Voigtlander 21mm and a Zeiss 25mm. Both are very good, but I only use them occasionally. People have encouraged me to buy some cheap M lenses for fun, but my 'camera purchase cash' is reserved by buying vintage items, mainly LTM items.

William 

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[augustwest100]

The survey misses the opportunity to collect some other key information: whether someone has owned a lens in the past, or is looking to own one. For instance, I purchased the Voigtlander 21mm M mount and did not like the way it played with either my M or my SL2S and upgraded to the Leica 21 SEM. I also owned the Voigtlander 1.2 and sold to get the Voigtlander f1. I currently have the 35 LUX FLE V1 and would be curious about the Voigtlander equivalent in the future (35mm f.1.5?)

My biggest ask for voigtlander lenses is that they build in a "detent" at the minimum rangefinder close focus distance before moving to the "live view" close focus distances.

And keep those less than .7 min focus distances coming!!!

[hmzimelka]

4 hours ago, Leitz. said:

What I miss from Voigtlander is an Ultron 50f2 small and awesome like the 28. 

Exactly!

[lct]

I don't miss a compact CV 50/2 since my Nokton 50/1.5 SC v2 is shorter than my shortest 50/2 yet (Leica 50/2 v4) but i could be tempted by a little gem like that:

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[robert_parker]

5 hours ago, Cobram said:

I'm personally very happy with Leica lenses and currently don't own any other manufacturer's products, but use to own Cosina and Zeiss in the past.

What I really miss is a camera like Ricoh GR. Light, small, with sharp (Elmarit) lens... for my hiking and cycling trips.

I'd agree with that - there would be a huge demand for a small high quality Leica camera that was easy to carry in a pocket - an updated Leica C being an example.

Even though there is a lot of interest in what mobile phones can do, it's not the same as having a small high performance Leica camera that you can carry around easily.

[robert_parker]

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3 hours ago, Anbaric said:

My 'Which lens do you miss?' is perhaps off-topic for this M-mount survey, but it would be a modern 50mm in LTM. Leica have occasionally made limited runs in the modern era, and VC used to before the M patents expired, but are there any current ones? I don't think either of the 'Artisans' are doing them. A VC APO-Lanthar might be nice, though it's a little on the large side. 50mm is the obvious focal length because of the Barnack viewfinder, but others would be welcome. We see the same lens being made in several different versions (e.g. different finishes/metals or glass coatings), so it wouldn't be a huge stretch to run some off in LTM (and of course they'd still be usable on mirrorless).

I think Light Lens Labs are doing something in that line at the moment

[Olaf_ZG]

6 hours ago, LUF Admin said:

Just to be clear: This survey is my own project and is not affiliated with Leica in any way.

Andreas

So, in that case I can maybe add sth to the answers I gave. I do own two VL lenses, both with a classic or soft rendering as well as a sonnar, all great for portraits. I have one Leica.

The first three are significant cheaper than the latter and therefore I could make me a great setup. If I only bought Leica, even second hand, I couldn’t do this.

To me, nothing misses, all is there. I would rather see some lenses for the SL.

One thing is important: w/o the VL lenses I might not have bought into the m-system as I needed to buy from scratch.

[ramarren]

Hmm. I didn't see either the CV Color-Skopar 28/3.5 or CV Color-Skopar 50/2.5 in the survey. The 28/3.5 works better for film cameras or on the APS-C format sensors, but the 50/2.5 is a fine performer on any of the digital Ms. Both are LTM lenses, used on M bodies with an adapter ring. Both are very compact and light weight.

G

[rramesh]

Besides quality, performance etc. where lenses have many criteria for consideration, a key aspect of any survey comparing current lenses would be price. As we are comparing M lenses, we will need to look at price bands for new lenses within each focal length.

• For 10-15mm lenses, it's a no brainer. Only Voigtlander comes to mind.
• For 21mm lenses, besides Leica (high price band), there are choices from TT Artisan (low price band), Voigtlander and Zeiss (mid price band).
• And so on.

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 2023 by rramesh

[Chris W]

14 hours ago, robert_parker said:

I'd agree with that - there would be a huge demand for a small high quality Leica camera that was easy to carry in a pocket - an updated Leica C being an example.

Even though there is a lot of interest in what mobile phones can do, it's not the same as having a small high performance Leica camera that you can carry around easily.

I couldn't agree more. I started a thread earlier in the 'digital' forum.

I would like it to be a rangefinder and not crop sensor - both reasons due to the use of M mount lenses.

I own a Sigma FP but the lack of integrated viewfinder is it's Achilles heel.

[pgk]

14 hours ago, robert_parker said:

..... there would be a huge demand for a small high quality Leica camera that was easy to carry in a pocket .....

Having just bought a 1932 Standard, I woner whether an M bayonet LTM sized camera might one day be a possibility?

[Anbaric]

55 minutes ago, pgk said:

Having just bought a 1932 Standard, I woner whether an M bayonet LTM sized camera might one day be a possibility?

I think the film CL and the CLE are as close as we'll ever get to this. Leica have no motivation to put any money into changing the current formula for the film or digital M cameras. There were rare prototypes and third party conversions of at least the IIIg to bayonet mount, so I suppose someone with the right expertise could make this happen again, but I can't imagine we'll see a production camera like this from Leica. On the digital side, the CL has already gone and it's pretty clear they see the Q series as filling the small camera niche. Other than that, I suppose it's just the smallest third party mirrorless you can find and use with an M adapter.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Anbaric

[lct]

An entry camera is missing at Leica indeed. A compact L-mount mirrorless camera inspired by the Sigma fpL with a built-in EVF would have my vote. It would be full frame but could fit TL lenses in crop mode too so it could be an elegant way to provide a solution to CL and TL users. Just an idea.

[simoncure]

For what reason would you put a third party lens on your Leica? 

[lct]

42 minutes ago, simoncure said:

For what reason would you put a third party lens on your Leica? 

Because Leica is not the only company selling M-mount, L-mount or LTM lenses. Competitor lenses are generally less expensive and often, but not always, smaller. Welcome to the forum BTW  

[Michael Strain]

Does the D-Lux 109 have that mount?

 

[lct]

1 minute ago, Michael Strain said:

Does the D-Lux 109 have that mount?

No it is a fixed lens camera. Welcome to the forum too

[GVarano]

I've completed the survey, I do own Voigtlander lenses but I own more Zeiss zm series lenses along with leica. I find the Zeiss generally the best. the 21mm 25mm, 35mm Biogons are superb and for the price, outstanding.

It seems the survey is geared to Voigtlander, it sales in the Leica M series is growing with each M series lens released. For me, paying for a lens that is over $2000 is ridiculous. especially when the difference in performance is so small.   Zeiss hasn't released any new M series glass for awhile but Voigtlander (Consia) is coming in with some stellar glass. The 75mm f1.5 in particular is worth noting.

Question; Is Leica feeling the heat?

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[GVarano]

And yes the Zeiss lenses are designed by Zeiss Germany and are then manufactured for Zeiss by Consia Japan.