what would be or was the first lens you bought for your M8

[JLV]

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Hi to all.

 

I am the happy owner of a Digilux 2 and a D Lux4 but I am lusting more and more about the M8.

I don't have right now the capacity to buy both the body and a lens but I want to be commited with this project and I chose (maybe it is crazy) to buy one M lens. ( actually in France you get 15 % rebate on M models.)

Long time ago I had a M6 wich I sold and 50/2 and 35/2.

What lens would you choose to buy first?

 

Don't answer anyone because without a body the only thing that you will do with it is using it as a paper press!

 

I will buy the body soon.

 

All the best

JLV

[stunsworth]

If you preferred the 35mm on your M6 get a 28mm, if you preferred the 50mm get the 35mm.

 

I recently bought a 28mm Elmarit and am very happy with it. I have used a 35mm ASPH Summicron for around 8 years and have been very pleased with it on both an M6 and M8.

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[Olsen]

Due to the crop factor it is smart to buy something wide. I bought my M8 together with the WATE (16-18-21 mm 4,0). Now Leica has released a 18 mm 3,8 and a 21 mm 1,4 which must be among the best in their class, if the MTF charts are right.

[nugat]

Summilux asph 35mm/1.4. Great overall worker, not too big, very fast.

[Ecar]

Indeed, you must think in terms of crop factor vs. the traditional 35mm view.

The very first one I bought was the Elmarit 28. This is still my "lens cap".

The second one was the Cron 35. Gets used very often too.

I added several others (including CV) since, but you can't go wrong with these in terms of quality and they are "reasonably" priced - in Leica terms, of course:p

Another option, if you are unsure about what focal length to choose, is to try one (or both) by purchasing the much cheaper CV alternatives. You could always keep or resell these when you buy a Leica lens. Btw, depending on your needs and if you get a good copy of some of these CV lenses, you may find that trading up to Leica glass is not worth the money;)

Hope it helps.

[sclamb]

Purely due to budget (and because from a quality perspective you lose very little if anything other than 2/3 stop), I settled for the Summarit-M 35mm f/2.5 over the Summicron-M 35mm f/2.

 

What I did save was £640, which went a long way towards the next lens.

 

Simon

[andit]

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If I were to start over again to day, I would tend to go for a 28mm Elmarit-M f/2.8. Excellent focal length on the M8 for general photography.

 

Andreas

 

PS: JLV, the Leica bug has infected you and that's a bad one. It really trashes you (especially your bank account or credit card...)

[richam]

I also bought the 28mm Elmarit with my M8. Nice package, nice handling. I was used to the 35mm in my film Ms, and the 28mm Elmarit has a similar field of view.

 

Not being up to paying for a Noctilux, my second lens for the M8 was the 35mm CV f1.2 Nokton. A bit bulky, but smooth handling. Can take advantage of that 1/8000 shutter speed outdoors and get a very small depth of field without fiddling with an ND filter.

 

If you do a lot of general shooting, the 28mm Elmarit is great. If low light and/or narrow dof shots are your forte, you might consider the Nokton.

[freusen]

My vote goes to the 28mm Summicron & 50mm Summilux Asph lens combination and I should start with the f2.0/28mm Summicron-M Asph. As a consequence of the M8 sensor’s crop factor of 1.33 they act more or less as a 35-75mm lens combination. With this combination you'll have the best Leica has to offer, both lenses are razor sharp and the Summilux is perfect for available light situations. As with other lens-combination's you can expand later with a more extreme wide-angle and/or a more extreme tele-lens.

 

 

FrankR

[stevem7]

I would go with a 28 for the first lens. Either the 28 Elmarit. 28 Summicron or even a Zeiss 28. It is the most used focal length for me. I have a 50 Lux ASPH but it rarely gets used as its a little long on the M8.

[cbayon]

I would also buy the 28 Elmarit Asph, very usefull multipurpose, and so sharp you can crop reasonable part of the image without damaging the quality when printed.

[Marty]

My first (by 2 days) was the 50mm Summilux simply because it was there and I didn't want to miss the opportunity and wait for a backorder: it is pretty scarce at the moment. Then came the 28mm Elmarit and I agree with many here it is hard to beat.

[delander †]

I bought the 28 elmarit with my M8. Gives you a very small and discreet outfit. If you would like a longer focal length and money is tight dont forget the summarit lenses, for example the 35mm summarit which has had excellent reviews, but they are all good.

 

Jeff

[steamboat]

I haven't bought any lenses for the M8.2. However, I've collected a few lenses over the years so I'm okay. That said, I think the 28mm f2.0 Summicron would be the ideal lens. IF not that then the 28mm f2.8 Elmarit-asph. I was sent that lens along with the M8 I tried out. It's a swell little lens. It comes with the 6-bit coding so it's ready to go and it's (relatively) affordable. I have a 2nd generation 28mm that I use occasionally however it cannot be 6-bit coded. I find f2.8 to be a bit slow so I mostly shoot with my 35mm f1.4 Summilux-asph. I'm sort of from that "run what you brung" school of lenses. That is - whatever's on the camera's okay. Do remember that you'll keep your lenses alot longer than the body. That's true even back in film days. Every Leica lens I've ever bought (with the exception of one collector's lens) I've kept. (Actually, I still have all the bodies, too. LOL) They're all keepers. You won't make a bad choice.

[elviskennedy]

They're all keepers. You won't make a bad choice.

 

And there's the rub.

[tom0511]

first lens I would go for the 28/2.0asph if you can afford it. if not, I would probably go for the 28/2.8asph or the Voigtländer 28/1.9

 

 

Second I would go for a 50/1.4

 

Third lens the WATE.

[Guest kirkmingle]

Get the Summicron-M 28 2.0 Asph for the M8!

 

Or choose the new Elmarit 28 2.8 ASPH if you want a cheaper and more compact version. It is still a fantastic lens.

[fotografr]

The 35/2.0 ASPH is a spectacular lens on the M8. It doesn't have the focus shift problems of the lux and is tack sharp, small and light. They can also be found at very reasonable prices. If you liked the look of images shot with your 35 on the M6, you'll also like that focal length on the M8. Another benefit to using a somewhat longer focal length is that it encourages one to shoot tighter, which is almost always a good thing.

Edited March 6, 2009 by fotografr

[vla]

i got my m8 with the following lenses -

 

1) 35 mm summicron as all-pupose lens. compared it extensively with summarit and found reproducable advantages in contrast and color rendition, difference is small though.

 

2) 75 mm summarit for portraits, landscape and - yes - pseudo macro - you can get pretty good close-ups after cropping. also compared it with apo-summicron, got the impression that the likelihood of mis-focusing is bigger than the performance advantage of the 'cron.

 

next might be 24mm elmar - i really miss a wide-angle lens ...

 

markus

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[epand56]

My first one was a Summarit 35mm f/2,5, but is gone now. My 35 is now a Summilux 1,4 Aspherical.

Should I buy the M8 now, having the money, I would go for a Summilux 50mm f/1,4 Aspherical, no doubt. In my stable It sure is my preferred horse.

Edited March 6, 2009 by epand56