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Help Me Buy a Leica lens - not too many $$

jonoslack

Active member
interesting advice from Cam, Godfrey and others. with respect to the Contax lenses, the Contac/yeshiva mount lenses are really good and reasonably priced. they work well on the A7. here is a link to the UK Contax website for manual focus lenses: Contx Manual focus lenses
Ebay in Getmany can be a good source. FFords also have a good selection (some unused).
Lots of gems which often mirror the Leica R range for much less money.
 

Viramati

Member
interesting advice from Cam, Godfrey and others. with respect to the Contax lenses, the Contac/yeshiva mount lenses are really good and reasonably priced. they work well on the A7. here is a link to the UK Contax website for manual focus lenses: Contx Manual focus lenses
Ebay in Getmany can be a good source. FFords also have a good selection (some unused).
Lots of gems which often mirror the Leica R range for much less money.
Thanks for that Jono. Any idea how the con tax 28 performs on the A7?
 

Jonas

Active member
(...)
The one lens I a super pleased about (on an A7r) is the AA Summicron 75/2. If you can, highly worthwhile to have it in your arsenal.
Hi Vivek,
If you have the time: I would appreciate if you elaborated a little about the M 75/2 AA. How much APO is it? Is there any field curvature to worry about? How is background and foreground bokeh if compared (I'm interested in background bokeh only.)
I ask as I like the focal length and the Voigtländer 75mm is anything but APO... and I'm contemplating looking for the AA75 or the Lux-R 80mm. Any comments are appreciated.
 

jfirneno

Member
Hi Jim,

The Contax G lenses can be modified to Leica M mount and focusing is then quite easy and smooth.

Here is a modified Contax G 45mm f/2 Planar mounted to a Sony A7II via a Phigment M to E adapter.
Carl:
Is the modification to M mount commercially available or was this a DIY effort? I recall a website for a fellow in Japan who did this type of thing for fairly hefty dollar amounts.

Regards,
John
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
Thanks for that Jono. Any idea how the con tax 28 performs on the A7?
I have 4 Contax Yashica lenses and like most SLR lenses they perform great. I'm selling 3 of them to make room for some native gear but in longer focal lengths 85, 135, and 180.

They all have the Zeiss look and can be a very contrasty to some.
 

iiiNelson

Well-known member
I bought one here as a set (with Metabones adapter). I do not find it (focusing) particularly bothersome but it is too contrasty to my taste even in soft light. With flash use, it will be even worse than the FE 55/1.8 but may be sharper as well.

The focus ring is slightly wider than the E mount while the aperture ring diameter is quite narrow unlike a M-Rokkor or an Elmar 90mm.

I will snap a pic if you like.
The 55FE is actually pretty awesome for flash work even with softer light.
 

scho

Well-known member
Carl:
Is the modification to M mount commercially available or was this a DIY effort? I recall a website for a fellow in Japan who did this type of thing for fairly hefty dollar amounts.

Regards,
John
Hi John,

Here is the eBay link for the dealer in Calif that converted my lenses. He seems to have a new business name now and also newer parts with engraved distance scale and knurled focus ring. Note that this conversion does not use the original screw drive, but adds a smooth turning helicoid.
 

jfirneno

Member
Hi John,

Here is the eBay link for the dealer in Calif that converted my lenses. He seems to have a new business name now and also newer parts with engraved distance scale and knurled focus ring. Note that this conversion does not use the original screw drive, but adds a smooth turning helicoid.
Thanks for the link.

Regards,
John
 
V

Vivek

Guest
The 55FE is actually pretty awesome for flash work even with softer light.
I thought so and I was saying that it would be a bit too contrasty without proper modification (to soften the light).
 

JMaher

New member
I really like the 55 with strobes but then again I am fond of larger modifiers to soften the light.
 

JMaher

New member
I will look into the Contax c/y lens options as well. I tried one of these on m4/3 but it was a number of years ago and it was a 50.

Jim
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I really like the 55 with strobes but then again I am fond of larger modifiers to soften the light.

In that case you would like the Contax G 90/2.8! :)

I have shown this >1 year ago. Taken with a M Rokkor 90/4 (made in Japan and made by Minolta for those who care) and an amateur flash set up.

 

JMaher

New member
A Summary (and thanks to all).
Excellent information for someone looking at manual focus option for the Sony A series.

For someone just trying to branch out (me) it looks like the following are good options:

Relatively inexpensive but lightweight and good quality but f/4:
M-Rokkor 90/4
LEICA 90MM F/4 ELMAR C WETZLAR


Contax C/Y - sacrifice size and weight in return for excellent optics at a good price

A little more Expensive:
Leica R Options - sacrifice size and weight in return for excellent optics at a reasonable price
Contax G - it looks like the conversion to M mount makes these easy to use but adds to the expense.

A little More Once Again:
Tele-Elmarit 90/2.8 - small size and weight

Jim
 

biglouis

Well-known member
Interesting thread.

Imho, the best bang for the buck lens on the A7/r is the last generation Elmar 50/2.8.

Good for portraits as at 2.8 the bokeh is creamy. Stopped down it is as sharp as any good Leica lenses. I can't believe how cheap these are. Great for landscape which is how I use it the most.

An equally good performer is the C-40 Summicron (which was produced for the CLE). I owned one of these and only sold it recently to fund a v3 Summicron 35/2 which also works very well on the A7/r.

Both the 50 Elmar and C-40 Summicron seem to be much unloved and available for ridiculously low prices compared to the more exotic Leica glass.

I had the C-90 Elmar and was not as enthralled with it on the A7/r as I should have been. I thought it a bit weak and soft. I sold it and plumped for an Elmarit 90/2.8 last version which is a bit of an expensive lens (relatively) but still a whole helluva lot cheaper and underrated than most Leica glass. I believe that Erwin Puts rates this version very highly indeed. BTW, not sure what people mean by the 'Tele' Elmarit but the last version Elmarit 90/2.8 is a bit weighty.

There is a lot of superb Leica glass which is not at silly prices because it does not appeal to fondlers... er, I mean posers... er, I mean collectors.

Just my two cents.

LouisB
 

JMaher

New member
If I go for the Tele Elmarit how do I recognize the latest version?

Obviously I an unschooled in the art of Leica :)

Jim
 

monza

Active member
There are plenty of under $500 Leica lenses, if you are looking at older 50s like the Summitar, early Summicron collapsibles, the aforementioned 40/2 Summicron, the older 50/2.8 Elmar.

Most of these lenses will give a vintage, low contrast look.

In exchange for the small size and light weight of M lenses, you'll give up close-focusing ability (as compared to SLR lenses), unless you opt for one of the M adapters with a close-focusing helical.

Or you could look for lenses that have so-called 'cleaning marks' or slight haze, which can lower the price into your target range, but generally speaking have little to no affect on the image. Moderate haze can lower contrast but this can be fixed in post.

As far as 28s and 90s, the only Leica branded lens in that range is the 90/4. It wasn't that long ago that 90/2.8 Tele-Elmarits were cheap (I remember selling several for $350ish) but the market has changed.

I find adapting SLR lenses to be a much better option, if price is a major factor. I also find them to be ergonomically superior to adapted M lenses, generally speaking.

The Contax C/Y are a great choice, with the typical Zeiss look, with a lot less weight and price than the Leica R options. The Leica R are very-well made, over-engineered, but this adds a lot of weight. I once compared the Leica 60mm Macro Elmarit vs. the equivalent 60mm Contax C/Y Makro Planar-C, and the Contax weighed 30% less, with no real sacrifice in build quality. Plus I prefer the Planar 'look' to the Elmarit. :)

The Contax G lenses are great, probably better than the equivalent C/Y, but do require a quality adapter as they don't have focusing helicals. Yes, they can be converted to M, but that's another $330 for each lens, and they still won't focus as close as SLR lenses unless you spring for the close-focusing M adapter. These adapters work, but can be tricky and sometimes confusing as this means two focusing helicals...


For unconverted G lenses, the Metabones G adapter is probably the best overall. There is also an auto-focus adapter available from Tech Art, about $275. Chad (Show Performance) uses one of these on his Sony.

Lastly, if you really want vintage rangefinder lenses, don't overlook the 1950's era (heavy) 85/2 and 105/2.5 Nikkors in Leica thread, or the 28/3.5 Nikkor. The latter is ergonomically challenging but quite good. :) There are also some excellent Canon options in Leica thread.
 
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Don Libby

Well-known member
Maybe I'm completely off base here however I haven't seen anyone mention (at least I don't think so) Voigtlander as a possible choice; I had a 50mm from them while had the M9 and was impressed. They do have a nice lineup of lenses.

Just a thought
 
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