Which lens for new leica M9

[photo4]

I have been shooting landscape on H2 with P45 for many years and wanting to find a smaller unit which I can carry around.  I am about to take the plunge with the Leica M9, though it will be my first time using a rangefinder.  my question is: if I am only going to purchase one lens for the M9, which one would you recommend? I am am thinking either Wide Angle Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 Aspherical or 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical.

I hope to hear from you all.

[roanjohn]

I have been shooting landscape on H2 with P45 for many years and wanting to find a smaller unit which I can carry around.  I am about to take the plunge with the Leica M9, though it will be my first time using a rangefinder.  my question is: if I am only going to purchase one lens for the M9, which one would you recommend? I am am thinking either Wide Angle Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 Aspherical or 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical.

I hope to hear from you all.

Those are 2 completely different lenses!!    

Would the M9 compliment your landscape MF set-up or would it replace it?  If shooting mostly landscapes, I would recommend the WATE as it gives you 3 different focal lengths to work with.  OR, for almost the price of the WATE, maybe the 50 lux and a 28 elmarit ASPH, more versatile with better low-light capabilities.

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

Why not consider Zeiss lenses for the M system?
Cheaper and excellent quality.
Only drawback AFAIK is they are not color coded - which can be fixed by oneself.
I don't get money from Zeiss or own an M system, but was considering one and stumbled over this solution during my researches.
Good luck with your decision - maybe I once get an M system too ... (Most likely film and a Zeiss Ikon then ....)
ADDENDUM: There is even a 15 mm lens from Zeiss for the M system (quite expensive though ...)

[Rob C]

Only Leica lens I remember anything about was the 21mm on an M3 at my last place of employment in '65! Which 21mm I do not remember. What I do remember well is printing TV studio sets from b/w negs made with that combination and the 'look' of the prints was not in my imagination - it was really different (better) than from stuff with the Nikon used for other 35mm work.

However, I think a RF camera is a difficult beast to adjust to if you have spent your life with slr types. I don't know if the digi Leicas respond in the same way to their lenses as did film versions, but if I were going for an M9 I think I'd pick a prime lens. I think small bodies need all the help they can get.

Rob C

[photo4]

Those are 2 completely different lenses!!    

Would the M9 compliment your landscape MF set-up or would it replace it?  If shooting mostly landscapes, I would recommend the WATE as it gives you 3 different focal lengths to work with.  OR, for almost the price of the WATE, maybe the 50 lux and a 28 elmarit ASPH, more versatile with better low-light capabilities.

thanks.  The M9 will compliment my MF setup, which is simply too bulky to travel around.  In addition, I intend to do some street photography with the M9, which my MF was not able to realistically.

[photo4]

thanks.  The M9 will compliment my MF setup, which is simply too bulky to travel around.  In addition, I intend to do some street photography with the M9, which my MF was not able to realistically.

Is there an alternative viewfinder when using the Tri-Elamr lens than the “frankenfinder”?  This makes the complete unit way to bulky.

[luxferous]

Is there an alternative viewfinder when using the Tri-Elamr lens than the “frankenfinder”?  This makes the complete unit way to bulky.

Check this zoom finder out from Voigtlander;

http://www.cameraquest.com/voigtacc.htm

[250swb]

I have been shooting landscape on H2 with P45 for many years and wanting to find a smaller unit which I can carry around.  I am about to take the plunge with the Leica M9, though it will be my first time using a rangefinder.  my question is: if I am only going to purchase one lens for the M9, which one would you recommend? I am am thinking either Wide Angle Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 Aspherical or 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical.

I hope to hear from you all.

I think you should keep it simple and keep it Leica. That way you avoid any 'characteristics' of other manufacturers lenses that are best learned about gradually and learned well before deciding to buy them.

For the focal length the WATE is going to be very limited for landscape work, everything will look like a pea on a plate, and even the tallest mountain will look like an anthill. So I'd recommend either the 28mm Summicron, or 35mm Summicron, and if forced would say the 35mm. They are both do-it-all lenses that are good for most things except portraits. But whatever you start with consider the spread you could end up with. The logical ones to go with the 35mm are a 21mm and a 75mm, that gives a great universal spread. The logical spread with the 28mm would be a 50mm, and a 90mm, another great universal spread. Avoid getting 'the next lens along' like buying a 28 and then a 35 etc, these can be added much later.

As soon as you get used to what a good Leica lens does (sharpness, contrast, bokeh, colour etc) its possible to judge other manufacturers offerings, some of which are terrific, some not so terrific.

Steve

[dseelig]

If you do any low light work then for me the first lens is a 35 lux. After that a 50 lux or crom,  then a wide either a 21mm or a wate. My low light kit is 24 35 50 and 75 luxes. My walking around daylight kit is wate 35 50 and a 90.  

[stever]

before making this investment, i think you'd find a subscription to diglloyd.com worthwhile - he has a frank discussion of the downside of rangefinder focusing and lens evaluations and recommendations

[Paul Roark]

Here are some URLs you'll find useful:

http://en.leica-camera.com/service/downloa...finder_cameras/ -- Leica publishes MTF curves for it's lenses.  I think they are far better than the subjective opinions.

http://www.zeiss.com/photo -- Zeiss also publishes MTFs.  Follow the Zeiss Ikon (ZM) link.

Sadly, Cosina does not publish MTFs.  

The "Leica Pocket Book" (7th Ed.) has MTFs for the older Leica lenses.  (Hint -- most old ones are not close to what is being made today.  I suspect the good ones are snapped up quickly and for a healthy price.)

I was going to go with Zeiss at first, but then decided to have at least one Leica wide angle to see how well their coding and firmware did with the colored edge problems.  It didn't want to blame Leica for a problem that was caused by a non-Leica lens.

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/leica-m9-forum/ -- There is a large group of people who know Leica very well here.  (Of course, for some of them it's a religion, but there is less of that on the forum than I expected.)

If you don't have yours already, plan on a few months of waiting for the M9 to arrive.  Mine comes next week -- ordered in January.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[schrodingerscat]

I have been shooting landscape on H2 with P45 for many years and wanting to find a smaller unit which I can carry around.  I am about to take the plunge with the Leica M9, though it will be my first time using a rangefinder.  my question is: if I am only going to purchase one lens for the M9, which one would you recommend? I am am thinking either Wide Angle Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 Aspherical or 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M Aspherical.

I hope to hear from you all.

My vote goes to the 35 Summilux(1.4). Wonderful for landscape, low light interiors, and everything in between. Except maybe head shots, unless you happen to like that sort of thing.

[photo4]

does anyone know whether the Leica Viewfinder --Variable for 21mm, 24mm and 28mm Lenses-- works with the Wide Angle Tri-Elmar-M 16-18-21mm f/4 Aspherical Manual Focus Lens?  I personally think the "Frank" is way too big.

[JohnBrew]

Since I've owned many Leica M's (but they finally did me in with the price of the M9!), I'd recommend a 50 Summicron ASPH for a all around general purpose lens.

[roanjohn]

Nothing beats the 35 summilux asph for street photography.  That would be my first lens to recommend for anybody getting into RF.

[douglasf13]

Since I've owned many Leica M's (but they finally did me in with the price of the M9!), I'd recommend a 50 Summicron ASPH for a all around general purpose lens.

There is no 50mm Summicron Asph.  Did you mean Summilux Asph?

[Rob C]

This is one of the nice things about this forum: I can help people spend money on cameras that I can't afford! A vicarious pleasure, perhaps.

;- (

Rob C

[Peter_Gulbinat]

photo4

as you plan to use the M9 IN ADDITION to your current gear, you may as well exploit the UNIQUE featues of the M9, which are the Leica lenses and the fact that it is small and can be handheld for 80% of your shots

Therefore I would recommend the 21mm 1.4, the 90mm cron asph and the 50mm 1.4 asph or the noctilux

I found no advantage of the WATE over the 21mm 1.4 I ended up buying. You get the totally unique and creamy bokeh of aperture 1.4, very sharp landscapes even handheld and the addtional viewfinder is very small. Something you simply don't get in the DSLR world or with the WATE. In addtion, the difference in focal length between the three WATE settings were too small for me to outweigh the benefits of the 21mm 1.4

Then I would go for the 50mm 1.4 Lux and the 90mm cron asph and you have nearly all focal lengths covered. The 90 mm is phantastic for tight landscapes as well as for portraits and the 50mm asph a great allrounder lens. (Get the Noctilux if you can afford it, the look it creates is very unique - if you like zero depth of field)

I also would recommend the 1.4 viewfinder magnifier to ensure that you get the sharpness right (ideal for me as I came from a AF DSLR world) especially for the 50 and the 90 since they become more difficult to focus right than the 21mm (except at 1.4)

The 28, 35 or other are great for unique street shooting look

and of course try them out before you buy if you can, because all those recomendations tend to be a lot about personal preference ...

Have fun!
cheers
Peter

[photo4]

photo4

as you plan to use the M9 IN ADDITION to your current gear, you may as well exploit the UNIQUE featues of the M9, which are the Leica lenses and the fact that it is small and can be handheld for 80% of your shots

Therefore I would recommend the 21mm 1.4, the 90mm cron asph and the 50mm 1.4 asph or the noctilux

I found no advantage of the WATE over the 21mm 1.4 I ended up buying. You get the totally unique and creamy bokeh of aperture 1.4, very sharp landscapes even handheld and the addtional viewfinder is very small. Something you simply don't get in the DSLR world or with the WATE. In addtion, the difference in focal length between the three WATE settings were too small for me to outweigh the benefits of the 21mm 1.4

Then I would go for the 50mm 1.4 Lux and the 90mm cron asph and you have nearly all focal lengths covered. The 90 mm is phantastic for tight landscapes as well as for portraits and the 50mm asph a great allrounder lens. (Get the Noctilux if you can afford it, the look it creates is very unique - if you like zero depth of field)

I also would recommend the 1.4 viewfinder magnifier to ensure that you get the sharpness right (ideal for me as I came from a AF DSLR world) especially for the 50 and the 90 since they become more difficult to focus right than the 21mm (except at 1.4)

The 28, 35 or other are great for unique street shooting look

and of course try them out before you buy if you can, because all those recomendations tend to be a lot about personal preference ...

Have fun!
cheers
Peter

Thank you everyone for your input.  I greatly appreciate it.

I have essentially written off the WATE and have narrowed it down to either 35mm or 50mm lux.  If I am to choose one, which one would you recommend?  Also, any advantage or disadvantage for chrome vs black lens?

THank you all in advance.

[jbaxendell]

I am not sure why you would want a 1.4 lens for landscapes. The F1.4 Summilux lenses are larger, heavier and nearly twice the price of the price of the F2 Summicrons.

For inspiration you might want to look at this thread http://forum.getdpi.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13523

Cheers, john