Which 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 90mm to go with M body?

<p>Of the focal lenghts 24, 35, 50, and 90mm, which specific lenses for a Leica M body are the following (be specific: leica, zeiss, voigtlander, asph, non-asph, 'lux, 'cron, f/stop etc etc):<br>

1. The best 24 (money is no concern)<br>

2. The best 35 (money is no conern)<br>

3. The best 50 (money is no conern)<br>

4. The best 90 (money is no conern)</p>

<p>And how about if money WERE a concern. Which of each focal length is the best buy? Or should I say, which is the must-have model for each focal length?</p>

<p>Sorry if this question is too open-ended. I know I'd get better answers if I stated my photographic intentions, but I am more interested in your opinions about your own needs and wants.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Best<br>

24 1/4 ASPH (or 2.8/3.8 if size is important)<br>

35 1.4 APSH<br>

50 1.4 ASPH<br>

90 2 APO-ASPH<br>

That was easy<br>

Best Value<br>

25mm ZM<br>

35mm f1.7 VC<br>

50mm f2 ZM/ 50mm VC Nokton<br>

90mm VC Apo Lanthar/90 mm Elmarit</p>

<p>Totally agree with what Robin said.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>What a loaded question! I don't know what may be best for you, but having owned or used almost everything offered in these focal lengths over the years I will share with you my favorites:<br>

24mm f/2.8 Elmarit ASPH</p>

<p>35mm f/2.8 Summaron (although these days I'm using a 2.0 ASPH Summicron)</p>

<p>50mm f/2.0 Summicron (VI)</p>

<p>90mm f2.8 Elmarit (1959)<br>

For me the faster lenses are too big/heavy or too shallow DOF. I like the rendition of the 35mm Summaron, sorry I ever sold it. The 1.4 Summilux just didn't feel comfortable to me, but the Summicron works just fine. At the 90 end, the newest APO ASPH is razor sharp, but the one I indicated as my favorite has great rendition, works well with extension tubes, and the lens head is removable so I can use it on my Visoflex, SLRs and DSLRs. Well, my friend, there you have it.....favorites, though not necessarily the best.</p>

<p>Define "best buy" first.<br>

Or even easier: think about what you want to shoot, what your approach is, what is important in your pictures and then you can decide what THE BEST is. And it is usually a function of all these:</p>

<p>size and feel, build quality, image quality, image rendition aesthetics, price, speed.</p>

 

<p>Stephen, I'm with you on the 35mm 2.8 Summaron</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure the Zeiss 25 ZM lens pulls up the wrong frame line on M cameras (though Popflash sells one already modified so that it brings up the right frame line) -- so that is a consideration. And I have the 1st gen Cosina/Voigtlander 25/4 (not rangefinder coupled) and though the lack of rangefinder coupling is irritating, it's quite a good lens and light as a feather (and cheap even in the current version). Of course I'd prefer the leica 24 ASPH.</p>

<p>I like a combination of the responses for value, plus a slightly different 90. <br>

25 ZM<br>

35 Summaron<br>

50 CV Nokton<br>

90 Elmarit (latest)--or a great copy of the 85/2 Nikkor</p>

<p>David, the 25 ZM frameline is only an issue with the M8. Otherwise, an external finder would be used. Popflash has been selling one with the 24/35 flange for the M8. The 25/4 LTM lens would work on the M8 with a 35/135 LTM-M adapter and with any adapter on any M if an external finder is used.</p>

<p>Question for Asim. What if, acting on advice here you spend your money on optics suggested here, and then find out you don't like the one or more of the lenses? Even a general consensus on a lens does not always mean it will satisfy your needs.</p>

<p>Just a thought.</p>

<p>It's very difficult to go wrong with any lens which is labeled "Summicron."</p>

<p>It's very difficult to go wrong with any lens which is labeled "Summicron."</p>

<p>My Voigtlander 25/4 (non RFC) <strong>does</strong> have a 35/135 adapter and it does bring up the 24 frame line so no need for an external viewfinder (on the M8). And I did mention Popflash myself. Don't have any experience buying from them though. </p>

<p>To answer the question in the post though, when I was using my M2s, My lenses were the non RFC 25/4, the Leica 35/2 ASPH, the 50/2 summicron (latest), the 90/4 Elmar (old one with the detachable head with an M adapter), and the 135/2.8 with spectacles. With the M8, all those lenses are usable, though the 135 and the 90 are pretty small in the viewfinder. I'll probably use the 50 as my telephoto, the 35 as my normal and the 25 as my wideangle for a while and eventually either buy the 24 ASPH or the Zeiss ZM 25 modified to bring up the 24 frame (probably by buying from Popflash). Haven't decided. Just went out with the M8 taking my first pictures with it with the 35/2 ASPH attached).</p><div></div>

<p>I have a different set of responses:<br>

I own both the 24mm Elmarit and the 25 Biogon, and I find the Biogon to be a bit contrastier than the Elmarit. Both have virtually the same resolution. So my list would be as follows:<br>

25mm Zeiss ZM Biogon<br>

35mm Leica M Summilux-M ASPH (But I prefer the 35mm Zeiss ZM Biogon for most of my images now.)<br>

50mm Zeiss ZM Planar (Better than the Summicron IMHO; have not used the latest Summilux -M ASPH)<br>

90mm Leica M Elmarit-M (Recently discontinued version, which I found sharper and contrastier than the 90mm Leica M Summicron-M ASPH, especially at focusing distances less than two meters.)<br>

You didn't mention any 28mm lenses, but I would give an enthusiastic thumbs up to the 28mm Summicron-M ASPH lens.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>These are exactly the focal lengths I use, but "Best" is so subjective! I use the 24mm Elmarit, 35mm Summicron ASPH, 50mm Summicron, 90mm Macro-Elmar (no adapter). The 90 ME in particular wouldn't be everyone's choice, but I don't need wider apertures than these, so I'm glad to enjoy the more moderate sizes and prices. There are more choices now than when I got most of these, and many are optically excellent, so it all comes down to your aperture requirements and handling preferences. For example, I like the focusing tab on my older 50mm, it's handy that three of these share the E39 cap/filter size, and the two spares carry very nicely on that back-to-back lens adapter. Any shortcomings in my results are not due to the lenses. :)</p>

 

<p>thanks for the responses everyone.<br>

actually i was just curious as to what everyone else prefers. the thing about buying lenses is that you often end up with a lens that you don't use that much or don't like that much. i think most people buy off the recommendations and reviews of others. but if i think about it realistically, i don't think i could afford any leica lens that was very fast.</p>

<p>i have yet to buy a leica body. when that happens, i believe i would first buy the Leica 35mm f/2. Next I might go with the VC 50... something fast... perhaps even the f/1 or something longer such as the 75 or 90. haven't come that far yet.</p>

<p>we'll see when the time comes.<br>

again, thanks for the responses.</p>

<p>I've been using the new 24mm 3.8 for the past few months. It's resolving powers are astonishing, well beyond any other 21 to 28mm lens in Leica's line-up. Probably why Erwin Puts now seems to use it (along with the 75mm Asph and 90mm Asph lenses) as his choice for the most demanding evaluations.</p>