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Good starter M lens

G

Guest

Hello all,

I'm planning to buy a M6 in the near future. I am only in highschool, so my budget is limited. For now, I plan on buying one lens, if you bought one lens, what will it be? Both discontinued and current models, since i'll most likely buy used.

Thanks,

Daniel
 
Hi Daniel,

i think, the 35mm lenses are the best for a M6, but everyone is looking for 35mm, so they are very expensive. The only 35mm lens that´s affordable is the 2,8 35mm Summaron. It is as good as the last (7-element Summicron) but is is not so fast as the other lenses. It costs about 150 to 300 Euro in Germany in good condition. If you were glasses, then you also could buy a summaron with glasses for the M3, this lens works on all Leica-M´s.

Greetings Thomas
 
Daniel, If this Leica you are planning to purchase, is not your first camera, a 35mm lens wold be a very good choice. If, it is your first camera, I would recommend a 50mm Summicron. In any event, you want a focal length you do not already have.
Good Luck.
 
Daniel,

Depends upon what you want to shoot. 35mm F2 was my first, then a 90, also F2, then a 21 F2.8. I have added a 90 f4, 35 f3.5 and 135 f4.5, not quite sure why.

If I were starting out, I might look at CV lenses (www.cameraquest.com here in USA), their quality is good and prices are great. They might allow you to get a working system (two or three lenses) quicker. Their 15mm looks so fun I am saving up for one. If I had to replace everything today, I would go with a 15mm CV, 35mm F1.2 CV (out this coming summer) and a 90mm F2 Leica.

If you can live in the slower speed lens world well (I need F2 for the environmental stuff I like), look to CV lenses. They are inexpensive and very sharp, most are better than the older Leica stuff, but I am not sure they are built quite as well.

Best of luck, let us know how you make out and keep asking questions.

B2 (;->
(old High School yearbook and newspaper photographer)
 
I would start with a 35/2 if you can afford that. I don't like the 35/1.4 because it's too big. If I could only have one focal length it would be the 35.

My next lens for the M would be a 28 or a 50. You have to be careful with a 21. The ultra wide angle of this lens can be a crutch. You want to use it all the time even when it's not appropriate.
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Instead of starting with an M6 you might also consider an M2, M4, M4-P or M4-2. You can save several hundred dollars and use a hand-held light meter. Then down the road you can pick up an M6. By that time you'll have three lenses and want/need 2 bodies.

HTH,
Jim
 
I recently acquired a Konica Hexanon 50mm f/2 lens that came with an M2 I bought privately. I didn't really want the lens but it was a good deal and the vendor didn't want to sell the body and lens separately.

Anyway, having now had a chance to try the Hexanon with the M2 and with an M6TTL, I must say I'm very pleased with the results. They're at least as good, in my estimation, as the results I've been getting with my 50mm Summilux and Tri-Elmar.

This Hexanon lens is very well built and is reputed to be as good, optically, as a Leica 50mm Summicron. Although I have never tried a 50 'cron, I can easily believe it. The Hexanon is also much cheaper then a Summicron and, though it's rather rare on the used market, one can be had in mint condition for about $250 to $300. The new price is around $500, I think. If I were starting off with a Leice M on a limited budget, this is the lens I'd buy, no question!
 
Hi,
I just purchased a M7 with a Elmar 50 2.8 and have caught the Leica bug so heavily that I've decided to get a wide angle.

Any suggestions?

I'm thinking of the 28mm F2 but I've read some much about the dramatic 24mm as well as the 35mm.

Thanks in advance for you inputs!
 
Dear Mr. Cheuk,

I would suggest you head in the other direction and first buy the 11807 1:2,8/90 Elmarit-M. If you insist on wide-angle, start with the pre-ASPH 11310 1:2,0/35 Summicron-M or otherwise one of the last two pre-ASPH 1:2,8/28 Elmarits. To do otherwise is jumping in at the deep end, unless you have had experience with the 24mm focal length before.

Best wishes and welcome to the "family".

Justin
 
Do you wear glasses? Are the wider angle frame lines visible to you? The 35 lens is quite close to the 50mm in terms of the angle of view, and therefore the lenses are almost an overlap, so as much as I like the 35 Summicron, both the pre ASPH as well as the ASPH, I would recommend you skip that lens. The 28 or the 24 is probably a better choice. The other big difference is that the 24 will require an external VF. Did you get the M7 with its 50 Elmar because if its uptimately small size? The 24 is a large lens ( so is the 28) but more so the 13 requires the external VF thus increasing the size of your "kit".

Have fun and good luck..... Frank
 
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