Well, after many many decades of wanting, dreaming and bothering Leica Store staff around the world, I finally went down the rabbit hole

[AllenB]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

and bought a Leica M11-P.  I played with my first Leica when I was about 19 years old (late 1970s), and watched as my grandfather explained the ins and outs of the camera (he was a professional photographer), but I've never actually owned a Leica.  I've owned Nikon, Olympus, some Canon, and currently a Sony a7rv, but never a Leica.   My wife and I traveled through Asia and Europe recently and every chance I had I'd stop by the Leica Store to pacify my G.A.S.  I had a preorder deposit on a Q3, but that damn M kept calling me.  I added and deleted items from my B&H cart probably a hundred times, each time thinking, 'I must be crazy to spend this much on a camera', delete delete delete.  In the end I figured you only live once, do what make you happy, and get what helps drive your passion.  On top of this I was able to get a MINT open-box m11-P with a two year warranty for a good price (relatively speaking), so it was meant to be.  So now I'm finally part of the Leica family.

I was going to add a Leica Elmarit 28mm f2.8 lens that I saw on the Leica site for a really good price but someone snatched it up before I could get to it.  So now I'm in the market for a nice 28mm for street photography and for learning all about this new tool of my passion, the Leica m11-P.   Any 28mm suggestions that are good quality but won't break the bank would be greatly appreciated? 

I've been lurking in this group for a little bit and everyone has been so helpful and I've learned a lot, but now I'm happy that I'll finally be official as a Leica owner.

Please excuse my enthusiasm, I'm on the verge of being like a kid in a candy store.

  

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[LocalHero1953]

Well, welcome to the M11, and I hope you have many years of enjoyment with it. 

Meanwhile you might have some pity on those of us skim-reading the list of recent posts, and shorten your thread titles a bit, rather than starting your post in the title. A title helps us poor, time-limited, slow-witted readers quickly decide if we want to read the rest. 

Edited May 16, 2024 by LocalHero1953

[AllenB]

39 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

Well, welcome to the M11, and I hope you have many years of enjoyment with it. 

Meanwhile you might have some pity on those of us skim-reading the list of recent posts, and shorten your thread titles a bit, rather than starting your post in the title. A title helps us poor, time-limited, slow-witted readers quickly decide if we want to read the rest. 

So sorry, I thought it did a txt wrap like other sites, but I'll do better.  It was the excitement that got hole of me.  

[AllenB]

Without starting another thread, does anyone know if Match Technical makes a thumb grip for the M11, I see if for the M10, or would it work on the M11 as well?

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1338060-REG/match_technical_tu_ep_mx_s_thumbs_up_ep_mx_grip.html/reviews

[lct]

Elaborating a bit would help. What do you mean by break the bank? What aperture do you prefer? What size do you prefer? Do you prefer high or low contrast pictures? Also i would start another thread about the grip question. Sorry to be that grumpy.

[Siriusone59]

1 hour ago, AllenB said:

Without starting another thread, does anyone know if Match Technical makes a thumb grip for the M11, I see if for the M10, or would it work on the M11 as well?

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1338060-REG/match_technical_tu_ep_mx_s_thumbs_up_ep_mx_grip.html/reviews

First, welcome to the forum.  Lots of good info here to help you get the most from your new camera.

To answer your question I suggest you check out popflash.com, they seem to have quite a collection of the match technical thumbs up, even those that seem hard to find elsewhere. 

[AllenB]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

6 minutes ago, Siriusone59 said:

First, welcome to the forum.  Lots of good info here to help you get the most from your new camera.

To answer your question I suggest you check out popflash.com, they seem to have quite a collection of the match technical thumbs up, even those that seem hard to find elsewhere. 

Thanks for the popflash suggestion, looks like a great site and they appear to have many of the things I'm looking for.

[Sandokan]

Not sure which country you are in. The Konica 28mm  mount lens is good but that will be 2nd hand. For new, Voigtländer have a few options for 28mm and they are always of high quality for build and design. There are a number of Chinese manufacturers who offer low cost lenses. 

[AllenB]

Thanks everyone, I ordered a Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 II MC for now so I'll have something affordable and with good IQ that I can practice with.  I have the Leica Store folks on the lookout for a used Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH which will be one of my main street and travel lens down the road.    

[Jeff S]

The 28 Summicron ASPH v.1 has served me very well for decades.  Pairs nicely with 50 Summilux ASPH v.1.  Both priced well, given second versions of each, but never a need for me to upgrade.  Both classic Leica lenses. (Note: there are various options to replace the needlessly large hood original to the 28.)

Jeff

[RexGig0]

19 minutes ago, AllenB said:

Thanks everyone, I ordered a Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 II MC for now so I'll have something affordable and with good IQ that I can practice with.  I have the Leica Store folks on the lookout for a used Leica Elmarit-M 28mm f/2.8 ASPH which will be one of my main street and travel lens down the road.    

Welcome to the Leica M system! You have chosen a quite good lens. A local friend has one like it, and I have test-shot his, during a meet-up at a coffee shop. His Nokton Classic II MC made a good first impression. I know little about the M11, so, will just say “congratulations,” on that matter. 

[costa43]

Congrats!

Some good value options off the top of my head, some I've experienced, some not but many have good things to say about them.

Voigtlander 28mm f2 Ultron, Voigtlander 28mm f2.8 color skopar, TTartisan 28mm f5.6, Thypoch simera 28mm f1.4, Zeiss 28mm f2.8, Elmarit 28mm (any version used is good value for a Leica)

[evikne]

Welcome to the forum! I like the way you write, so honest and sincere. If 28mm is the focal length for you, I think you made the right choice; see if you can get your hands on another nicely used 28mm Elmarit. But be prepared that you will probably get so many other suggestions here that you'll feel completely dizzy.

Anyway, welcome to the Leica world and congratulations on your new camera! I hope it will bring you a lot of joy.

Edited May 17, 2024 by evikne

[harmen]

The elmarit 28mm asph is superb.  Excellent image quality and a wonderfully small and light lens, making the camera so easy and comfortable for travel and full day use.  (Of course a bigger aperture, like a summilux, adds an additional dimension to the image making, but the elmarit otherwise does it all.)

I’m also curious how you will find the 35mm that you bought in the meantime.  The frame lines will be a bit easier to see.  Both 35mm and 50mm are great for getting comfortable with the rangefinder.

Another lens on the affordable side of the scale for Leica is the 21mm SEM.  It is also wonderful, but not an only lens or a first lens.  You can only roughly frame through the viewfinder.

Congratulations.

[cj3209]

Here's a nice 28mm Elmarit froma reputable seller (I've purchased from him before):

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1858413/

Good luck!

JL

[Besprosvet]

23 hours ago, AllenB said:

and bought a Leica M11-P.  I played with my first Leica when I was about 19 years old (late 1970s), and watched as my grandfather explained the ins and outs of the camera (he was a professional photographer), but I've never actually owned a Leica.  I've owned Nikon, Olympus, some Canon, and currently a Sony a7rv, but never a Leica.   My wife and I traveled through Asia and Europe recently and every chance I had I'd stop by the Leica Store to pacify my G.A.S.  I had a preorder deposit on a Q3, but that damn M kept calling me.  I added and deleted items from my B&H cart probably a hundred times, each time thinking, 'I must be crazy to spend this much on a camera', delete delete delete.  In the end I figured you only live once, do what make you happy, and get what helps drive your passion.  On top of this I was able to get a MINT open-box m11-P with a two year warranty for a good price (relatively speaking), so it was meant to be.  So now I'm finally part of the Leica family.

I was going to add a Leica Elmarit 28mm f2.8 lens that I saw on the Leica site for a really good price but someone snatched it up before I could get to it.  So now I'm in the market for a nice 28mm for street photography and for learning all about this new tool of my passion, the Leica m11-P.   Any 28mm suggestions that are good quality but won't break the bank would be greatly appreciated? 

I've been lurking in this group for a little bit and everyone has been so helpful and I've learned a lot, but now I'm happy that I'll finally be official as a Leica owner.

Please excuse my enthusiasm, I'm on the verge of being like a kid in a candy store.

  

I have the 28 Summicron ASPH (version I) and I love it for its smooth 3D feel wide open and its colors. I got it last year for a bit less than 2K in excellent conditions.

Voigts are very good too, they have a slightly different color footprint and generally speaking, to me, they look a bit more "flat" and "crunchy".

But man, for the price of one used Cron you can get two Voigtlander and spend the rest at the bar for a whole weekend. So it's up to you to understand if that small extra performance from Leica shines through your style or not.

All in all if you shoot around the street at 5.6-8-11... I'd just get the smallest and lightest Voigtlander available: the new color skopar 28mm 2.8

I wouldn't downplay also the Orion-15 28mm f6, it's a bit of a headache finding one in good shape, but for street it rocks.

Then, the beauty of Leica M is having decades of lenses available to build your set: each lens has its own purpose and helps you to enter the in the right mindset.

When I used Canon EF they had ONE 35 L, and that's it. Like it or not, you get just one kind of aesthetic. The biggest benefit of Leica, to me, is having the opportunity of using natively lenses that range from the latest 50 ASPH to lenses built when my dad was still a kid.

[Herr Barnack]

@AllenB  Welcome to the forum and welcome to the rabbit hole! 

As for lens choice based on IQ and build quality - if Leica is out of reach, take a look at the Zeiss 28mm f/2.8:   https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/361545-REG/Zeiss_1365_657_28mm_f_2_8_ZM_Lens.html

Edited May 18, 2024 by Herr Barnack

[S Maclean]

Congratulations on your purchase, and welcome!

 

Check out Voigtlander (CV) as an option for your 28.  Depending on your needs regarding the aperture, both the Nokton and the Ultron are great.

 

In fact, all the Nokton line is a great performer, with the 35 and the 75 being my favorites

 

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[High_n_Dry]

On 5/16/2024 at 5:21 PM, AllenB said:

Without starting another thread, does anyone know if Match Technical makes a thumb grip for the M11, I see if for the M10, or would it work on the M11 as well?

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1338060-REG/match_technical_tu_ep_mx_s_thumbs_up_ep_mx_grip.html/reviews

The Match Tactical for the M10 works on the M11. I had one, but switched to the Thumbie (a stick on found on eBay). The reason I switched was that any thumb grip inserted into the hotshoe will eventually loosen the hotshoe connector. In my case, the hotshoe stopped working with flash. It's an easy fix to bend up the connectors, but the Thumbie is great.

[Knightspirit]

Welcome Allen! I spent decades wanting to get back to Leica after selling my M3 kit that I bought used in the 80's and sold after everything went digital. I finally got an M11 this year as well - and my first lens was a refurbished 28mm Elmarit for under $2K. As everyone has said above - it's a great lens in a nice small package. I later bought a Voigtlander 40mm Nokton and it has been a real winner as well - so you can't go wrong there either if you decide to get one their 28mm lenses.

The next firmware update should relieve some of the freeze issues. I have had hardly any with my M11 - although it has done it a few times. A quick unlatching of the battery, letting it fall out about 1/2", and then pushing it back in is all it takes to reset the camera. You can be shooting again in 10 seconds...