davidcmishawaka Posted October 4, 2009 Share #1 Posted October 4, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi everyone. At the moment I am camera less. I had sold all of my Leica and Canon gear and have a camera budget of around $14,000 to use for the new system. I used Leica Rf's for 20 years before I sold it all. Here is my thoughts: I LOVE the handling of Leica rangefinders, and they come very natural to me. I especially like wide angle lenses, and usually use a 35mm as my walk around lens. I do not care if I use a Leica lens or Zeiss or Voigtlander as long as it does what it is designed to do. What would you suggest would be a good set of lenses to go with the M9? I was thinking a grey M9 with a Zeiss 18 f4 and it's finder, the Leica Summarit 35mm, and a Leica 90mm Summarit. That leaves around $3000 for the rest of the lenses. I value compactness over lens speed for my carry around kit, but I always have 1 35 or 50mm lens of around f1.4 or so for low light work. And I do use the 135mm focal length and wondered what you think of the Canidian made 135 elmarit with the goggles that mag. the image(for times that I need the speed - I don't usually carry the big lenses in my kit bag)? The lens that concerns me the most is the 18 zeiss - a lot of reviewers say that it is not very sharp off center, while others claim it is around as sharp as the Leica 18mm. I really hate to put so much money into one focal length, but better that than not have the sharpness that I want. Anyhow, enough rambling, what do you all suggest? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 4, 2009 Posted October 4, 2009 Hi davidcmishawaka, Take a look here Help deciding if the M9 is for me.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wilfredo Posted October 4, 2009 Share #2 Posted October 4, 2009 Sounds like you are in a good financial place to make this purchase. I have an 18mm Carl Zeiss which I use on my M8 (Im' not going for the M9). I just took this shot and focused the lens on the center of the image @ f/5.6. I cropped it so you can see the center better on the second image. I have no complaints about it's sharpness. I'm very happy with it. Of course this is not a scientific test, but I am very pleased with the overall sharpness of this lens and the other Zeiss glass I use on my Canon 5D Mark II. I have every reason to believe you will be pleased with this lens on the M9 and given the price of the M9, it makes perfect sense to purchase other than Leica glass. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidcmishawaka Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share #3 Posted October 4, 2009 Wow! That looks really nice. Thanks for the pics! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted October 4, 2009 Share #4 Posted October 4, 2009 Your are welcome :-) I hope this helped. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidcmishawaka Posted October 4, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted October 4, 2009 It does. I used the Zeiss 21mm f2.8 and the 25mm f2.8 on my MP and they were just super on my trips to Germany. This time I really want to use an 18mm, and then go to 28mm - but for starters the 18/35/90 kit as I stated. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted October 5, 2009 Share #6 Posted October 5, 2009 BTW, I've only owned one Canadian lens, an older version 90mm Summicron which I sold to get a newer version Elmarit. I did not like that the aperture ring opened and closed in the opposite direction, some people like that. The Canadian made lenses are Leica through and through, so the quality of the glass and workmanship will be the same as a German made Leica lens. PS Don't forget to post pictures when you get your M9. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted October 5, 2009 Share #7 Posted October 5, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Looking at the lenses you have it feels that the 50 lux asph is seriously missing - but it might take you over budget. If too expensive, the 50 summarit seems to come out very well in reviews... but it's not the lux... The other lens that sings on the M9 is the 28 cron asph. If I was going for a basic lineup I'd be looking at the classic 28/50/90 - no extra finders to worry about. You can then drop down to 18 budget permitting - and the 135 with googles makes a lot of sense (though I have and love the Apo Telyt - focuses fine for me! Have fun whatever... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danyves Posted October 5, 2009 Share #8 Posted October 5, 2009 I would suggest 28/35/50. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted October 5, 2009 Share #9 Posted October 5, 2009 You speak of 135 too.. and I agree: with FF is a lens to have & use, even if a bit "at the limit" for M9; but I wouldn't suggest the goggled Elmarit : it's not easy to store & carry, it's not so nice to focus, 2,8 would be anyway risky to use in practice, and MINT examples are even not cheap. Tele Elmar f4 is the lens to look for... and the goggles of the 2,8 are not so better than a decent enlarger for the VF (1,35x from HK, 1,4x from Leica) which is really a tiny thing (but not cheap - the Leica, of course.. I have the HK). 90 and 135 aren't so far.. Summarit 75 instead of the 90 you have in mind could be a good alternative. P.S. the title you chose for the thread is someway misleading...... it's OBVIOUS that M9 is for you... , and this (welcome to the forum !) isn't exactly the right place to have a different advice... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted October 5, 2009 Share #10 Posted October 5, 2009 Looking at the lenses you have it feels that the 50 lux asph is seriously missing - but it might take you over budget. If too expensive, the 50 summarit seems to come out very well in reviews... but it's not the lux... The other lens that sings on the M9 is the 28 cron asph. If I was going for a basic lineup I'd be looking at the classic 28/50/90 - no extra finders to worry about. You can then drop down to 18 budget permitting - and the 135 with googles makes a lot of sense (though I have and love the Apo Telyt - focuses fine for me! Have fun whatever... David, I'm not familiar with your shooting style but the focal length suggestions by Chris are probably what I would go with if I were starting from scratch with an M9 system. I love the 18mm Zeiss on the M8 but there is a crop factor involved which turns it almost into a 24mm lens. I would go with his suggestions and add the 18mm later. If you look for other than Leica glass you will find great deals. The 85mm f/2 Zeiss looks like something to consider. http://www.zeiss.com/zeissikon This lens bought new is pricey however, perhaps because it is manufactured in Germany. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidcmishawaka Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share #11 Posted October 6, 2009 You are all right, and are giving me a lot to think about, thank you all! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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