Long Lens for M240

[Jskywalker]

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After getting my M240 which came with a 35mm, I had since added a 50mm. Am now thinking of adding a 90mm F2.8 or a 135mm F4. I understand focusing is a challenge for these longer lenses, and will have to rely on EVF or LV to focus. Which do you think is a better choice? 90mm or 135mm ?

[rpsawin]

FWIW...I personally use my 90mm far more often than I use my 135mm. I find the 135mm difficult to focus accurately.

 

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[catacore]

For rangefinder aid in focusing you can buy a 1.25x or 1.4x magnifier (part numbers 12004 and 12006, respectively). It will work with FL of 50mm and longer in respect to framelines.

I am quite new to the M system and rangefinder focusing, but I manage to focus pretty easily and accuratelly my Tele-Elmar 135mm f/4 lens.

[dpitt]

1 hour ago, catacore said:

For rangefinder aid in focusing you can buy a 1.25x or 1.4x magnifier (part numbers 12004 and 12006, respectively). It will work with FL of 50mm and longer in respect to framelines.

I am quite new to the M system and rangefinder focusing, but I manage to focus pretty easily and accuratelly my Tele-Elmar 135mm f/4 lens.

Exactly. 135mm is fine with a RF, certainly if you choose an appropriate F stop depending on the subject, and if you do not have to use the widest stop all the time.

[sometimesmaybe]

On 4/24/2023 at 1:49 AM, Jskywalker said:

After getting my M240 which came with a 35mm, I had since added a 50mm. Am now thinking of adding a 90mm F2.8 or a 135mm F4. I understand focusing is a challenge for these longer lenses, and will have to rely on EVF or LV to focus. Which do you think is a better choice? 90mm or 135mm ?

if this is mainly for portraits and you dont actually need the reach, give the 75mm some thought. it's easier to focus, it can be more compact/light (see the new CV 75mm f1.9 Ultron) and it will pair nicely with your 35mm. if you mainly use your 50mm, go with the 90mm

 

[alfisti71]

I find no problem focsuing with my Tele-Elmarit 90mm 2.8. It's tiny, inexpensive, and I'm very happy with the image quality. I also have a Canon 85mm f2, which is definitely harder nail focus when wide open. It's also a lot bigger and heavier. I think overall a 90mm 2.8 is a good compromise between speed and size, especially given the focusing challenges.

I do have a "Bresson" magnifier, which helps a lot. But I do not like taking it on and off. It's an "appendage" that feels like it's in the way.

Edited April 27 by alfisti71

[rsolomon]

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I have 21. 35. 75.  I was looking for longer and wanted a 135 BUT decided to go with 180 3.4 APO…. For certain larger but I felt it had what I was looking for and ofcourse I can get a 2x extender. The jump to 180 adds a completely new dynamic opening new venue for me to grow 

[jmahto]

On 4/29/2023 at 9:12 AM, rsolomon said:

I have 21. 35. 75.  I was looking for longer and wanted a 135 BUT decided to go with 180 3.4 APO…. For certain larger but I felt it had what I was looking for and ofcourse I can get a 2x extender. The jump to 180 adds a completely new dynamic opening new venue for me to grow 

+1 for 180 3.4 APO with EVF. I also like it with 2xAPO extender. Surprisingly compact setup.

Without EVF 90mm Elmar is fine. But if go with faster 90mm then RF focusing may struggle.

BTW, this is pushing M240’s comfort zone. Any mirrorless camera will provide ann easier shooting experience with long lens. 

[jmahto]

I also like 80-200 f4 with EVF. Beautiful rendering throughout. It is just that it is too heavy. This is why I grab 180 APO more often. 

[jmahto]

And my avatar has Konica 135mm f3.2 with EVF. my favorite for shooting flowers etc. Under appreciated cheap lens. 

[northernlights]

These are M240 with Nikon AFS 300mm f4 IF-ED. Nikon F-Leica M adaptor and shot using LV and EVF (VF-2). 

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[Ernstk]

I see very little point in going beyond 75mm on a rangefinder. It's not what they were designed for.

Ernst

[jdlaing]

2 hours ago, Ernstk said:

I see very little point in going beyond 75mm on a rangefinder. It's not what they were designed for.

Ernst

Or 135.

[UCProf48]

If your budget is really 300 pounds then consider a clean vintage 135 2.8 Elmarit with the viewfinder goggles. The lens was designed by Walter Mandler and produced into the 1970's in three versions. The goggles converted the 90mm frame to fill the viewfinder, aiding greatly in focusing. These lenses were not apochromatic, but were faster and sharper than the Elmar and Hector precursors, and are quite usable even today.

[RexGig0]

My 75mm, 85mm, and 90mm M-mount lenses do require that I exercise more care when rangefinder-focusing. (My 85mm is the Zeiss Tele Tessar ZM.) I bought the 85mm and 90mm M lenses mostly for landscapes*, so, careful focusing, while using the lens stopped-down, has been feasible, with the rangefinder. Only every now and then have I occasionally used Live View. I bought pre-owned Visoflex EVFs, to my fit my M Type 246 and M10 cameras, but rarely bother to bring them, after intital testing. (This may change, sooner or later.)

My latest telephoto acquisition is an APO Summicron 75mm ASPH, acquired pre-owned last year, and because Peter Karbe designed it, based upon the Summilux-M 50mm ASPH, as his labor of love, it is “modern,” but with some noticeable “character,” so, I would like to use it for portraits, with a more-open aperture. I recently took delivery of a Leica Viewfinder Magnifier M 1.4x, 12 006, to see if it helps. (I also recently had an eye examination, and received up-to-date prescription eyewear.)

I have used my telephoto M lenses for I like 135mm, when using an SLR camera, but have yet to decide whether to add a 135mm M lens.

I have very nearly bought a Novoflex LEM/NIK, the adapter than allows using Nikon F-mount lenses on Leica M cameras. I would prefer the earlier version, with no moving parts, but, may have to settle for the newer LEM/NIK-NT, which has the lever for adjusting the aperture of Nikon’s AF-S “G” lenses. The F-mount lenses that I wish to adapt are not “G” lenses. I especially want to try some of the Micro-Nikkor lenses, for macro and close-range shooting. Of course, there is the Macro-Elmar 90mm option, but, using the Macro-Adapter M decouples the lens from the rangefinder, anyway, requiring the shooter to use a Visoflex, EVF, or Live View. (Another factor, in my case, is that I bought a Steel Rim “Re-Issue” 35mm lens, this year, so, will not be able to fund a Tele-Elmar within the foreseeable future.

In addition to the excellent Micro-Nikkors, Nikon has made some delightfully compact manual-focus 105mm and 135mm AI and AI-S lenses. (In this case, “AI” mean Auto-Indexing.) Some of these lenses had “pre-AI” ancestors, that were also good, but I know less about them. Steve McCurry’s “Afghan Girl” image, of National Geographic cover fame, was shot with the 105mm f/2.5, which was made in pre-AI, AI, and AI-S versions. I have one of the later ones, with better coating, which I would love to try on an M camera.

Having said all of this, there are times that I wish that I had confined myself to 21mm to 50mm M lenses, all of which I can quickly and effectively rangefinder-focus. One of my recently-acquired 50mm lenses, the Cosina Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO Lanthar VM, is so very sharp, and has such a flat field, that it produces nicely croppable images. I have not, until now, liked to magnify and crop, but, perhaps I should open my mind, on that matter. (A “flat field” refers to minimal to no “field curvature.”)

Please do see my post as participation in the conversation, rather than dispensing advice. 🙂

*Where I live, in southeast Texas, near the coast, finding broad vistas, that are interesting, is no easy task, so, it is generally more successful to find an interesting piece of a broad view, and capture it with a telephoto lens. When I do occasionally travel to hilly terrain, a telephoto lens is useful for its compression effect.

Edited to add: Forgive me for intruding into this section of the forums. Mechanically, my 246 is 240-series, and my M10 has the same 24MP as the 240-series, so, I do read this forum. This topic seemed to be applicable enough, to all M cameras. 🙂

Edited August 12 by RexGig0

[Jskywalker]

I just bought a used 7 Artisans 75mm f1.25 for less than US$230 just to try.

 I’m still getting used to it. Using EVF. I’m pretty impressed with this cheap lens.

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[sometimesmaybe]

On 8/27/2023 at 1:57 AM, Jskywalker said:

I’m pretty impressed with this cheap lens

the 7A is seriously underrated. like you, i got this lens just to try out the 75mm focal length. 

it's comically heavy and there is too much glow wide open for my tastes, but at around f2.8, the 7A is just brilliant for portraits