SBLOO Recommend a LTM to match

I purchased an SBLOO viewfinder for my Leica IIIF RD ST but do not have a lens to match. What lens would you recommend & that would also be good on an M6?

Steve are you looking for a classic drawing or more modern (crazy sharp) image across the film plane, and what is your budget? I really like the classic 50/3.5 Elmar red scale (modified Tessar design), but also use several others including a 50/1.5 Asph. Cosina Voigtlander (1st version) and a Nikkor 50/2.0 HC (Sonnar design). These 3 are LTM lenses and work fine on my M body as well with an LTM->M adapter.

The SBLOO is for a 35mm lens. I do have the Elmar with a viewfinder

The Nikkor 3.5cm F2.5 in LTM is small, the same basic formula as the Summaron- but higher contrast. I kept the Nikkor and sold my 3.5cm F2.8 Summaron.

 

The 35/1.7 Ultron in LTM is also very good, and not too expensive.

 

The Canon 35/2.8 is lower contrast, also small. The Canon lenses tend to have haze build up internally- usually require cleaning.

The one lens I regret ever having sold, years ago I picked up a great Canon VT deLux body with a 35mm f1.8 Nikkor in thread mount. That'd be a great classic optic for any Leica screw mount but they are expensive these days.

 

Even more so would be really going whole-hog and nabbing one of the few Leica 35mm f2 ASPH lenses they produced in the classic screw mount in 1999, like this one...

 

Leica Summicron 35mm F2 ASPH LTM - Silver / Japan Limited | eBay

 

Just add the 35mm screw to M adapters for use on an M6.

Also, the the Cosina Voigtlander 35 color/skopar is a nice, compact screw mount lens. Not expensive and a decent lens. The Ultron is a bigger but faster lens. I think 1.7 compared to 2.5 and a couple of hundred dollars less. A good resource for rangefinder lenses is Cameraquest.com. He sells a lot of stuff, but also is an enthusiast and has a lot of information about Leica cameras, lenses and all kinds of classic cameras etc. (I'm not affiliated).

Probably worthwhile if you gibe a budget-

 

[Excellent++] Voigtlander Ultron Aspherical ASPH 35mm f/1.7 Screw From Japan 773 | eBay

 

"Random Ebay Example"- but this is what I paid for my Ultron 35/1.7 several years ago.I had the chrome version before this one, sold it as a favor to a photographer and then replaced it.

 

Another Random Example-

 

Voigtlander 35mm 2.5 MC | eBay

 

The 35/2.5 mentioned above, even less than I paid for the vintage Nikkor 3.5cm F2.5. I also have the 3.5cm F1.8 in S-Mount, it's a stop faster than the F2.5, and a ridiculous amount of money on LTM. The F2.5 is just as sharp with both lenses at F2.8.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Brian

Probably worthwhile if you gibe a budget-

 

[Excellent++] Voigtlander Ultron Aspherical ASPH 35mm f/1.7 Screw From Japan 773 | eBay

 

"Random Ebay Example"- but this is what I paid for my Ultron 35/1.7 several years ago.I had the chrome version before this one, sold it as a favor to a photographer and then replaced it.

 

Another Random Example-

 

Voigtlander 35mm 2.5 MC | eBay

 

The 35/2.5 mentioned above, even less than I paid for the vintage Nikkor 3.5cm F2.5. I also have the 3.5cm F1.8 in S-Mount, it's a stop faster than the F2.5, and a ridiculous amount of money on LTM. The F2.5 is just as sharp with both lenses at F2.8.

 

 

I believe the Ultron 35mm/1.7 had some build quality issues which could a necessitate an expensive repair to secure a loose lens element. Some users report disappointing softness at the larger apertures.

 

The 35mm/2.5 is a popular lens and a good performer; I use it myself. I find it also makes a good WA enlarging lens for printing cropped 35mm negatives on the larger baseboard.

Ah, my bad...I was thinking it was the 50 mm finder SBOOI. On the 35 side, above recommendations are pretty good. I'd comment that the VC 35/2.5 color-skopar does a good job with a modern rendering. Hard to find, but worth it if you can get a good price on it is the 35/2.8 summaron in LTM, which in later production came with a factory mounted LTM->M adapter screwed on. It had a very classic rendering...lower contrast and less sharp at the periphery of the film edges. I used one for almost 20 years and was very pleased with the shots it produced.

35/1.7 Ultron - IT'S FIXED!!!!!~

 

There was a description of the problem and a DIY fix back in 2003. I've owned my current 35/1.7 Ultron for years- not a problem with it. The Ultron was introduced in 2000. I'm thinking that a problem would show itself by now.