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Looking for Help - Monochrom M and Lenses

jlm

Workshop Member
bad eyes are the bane of the rangefinder; many have given it up for that reason, my self included.

then i followed fotografz lead and had cataract surgery, now i'm goood to go.
 

asiafish

Member
Sorry to hear that you need the EVF as the Monochrom is a treat to use.

I've run the gauntlet of lenses and discovered that my tastes changed over the last few years. I went from loving 35mm to loving 75mm! I have two 35mm and 3 50mm lenses at the moment and really enjoy each of them. I found that I'm using the 35mm at f/8 for street work. The MS Optical 35mm therefore gets a fair amount of use as its minimum aperture is 3.5 and it's barely larger than a lens cap! The lens cost 5 times less than the Summilux... I also have the 50mm Summilux and the 50mm Summarit. I took the Summarit on a trip over the holidays and it did not disappoint. I like its size and weight. And how it renders.

I've also owned the 75mm Summarit but sold it in favor of the Summicron, solely due to the Summicron's closer focusing distance. I love the way the Summarit rendered, and that it was spot on with focusing. But it barely provided a tighter crop the 50mm Summilux due to its longer minimum focusing distance.

I can't imagine finding a lens that I wouldn't like on the Monochrom though.

Here are some shots from the holidays with the Summarit 50mm.



I agree on the Summarits, beautiful rendering. I have the 35 and 90 and wouldn't trade either of them.
 

MCTuomey

New member
bad eyes are the bane of the rangefinder; many have given it up for that reason, my self included.

then i followed fotografz lead and had cataract surgery, now i'm goood to go.
hmm, how does one obtain elective cataract surgery:D?
 

jaapv

Subscriber Member
If the condition imposes a limitation on one’s life it is not elective imo. Although an insurer might disagree.:mad:
 

Robert Campbell

Well-known member
Many, many years ago a dealer suggested that a useful rule of thumb was to (roughly) double the focal length for a series of lenses. This doesn't work so well for wide angles.

Are the 35mm and the 28mm a bit too close? Would a 24mm (or even a 21mm) be more appropriate than the 28mm? Or, is 35mm too close to 50mm?

I don't have a firm view on this, it's just a few thoughts.
 

FrozenInTime

New member
Are the 35mm and the 28mm a bit too close? Would a 24mm (or even a 21mm) be more appropriate than the 28mm? Or, is 35mm too close to 50mm?
Standing in a field and flicking through the frame lines, I hope the preview lever is restored on the M.240-P ;) , and the differences between lenses does not seem much; but walk around for a week with a 28mm then switch to a 35mm: then you will be backing into walls trying to get the perspective you pre-visualized based on the 28mm experience.

Similarly with the 35/50 , 50/75 etc.

For travel 28/50 35/75 etc. 2x focal length pairs make sense but also perhaps a 35/50 pair, where one is fast and the other compact ; there is no right or wrong answer.
 

asiafish

Member
I used to go 28/50, but lately its 24/50 or 24/35/50. 50 remains by far my favorite focal length, with 35 a significant change in field of view and then 24 an even bigger jump from 35 than 35 was from 50. 28 for me always seems to stay in the pocket.
 

Geoff

Well-known member
Lens choices change over time. Having shot for 20+ years with an M2 and 35 'cron, now its a 50 'cron and 21 SEM. With the monochrome, the 21 allows a whole host of new possibilities. Like above, start with 1 or 2, and then see where it takes you. The high ISO and high quality levels allow a very different kind of photog experience.
 

airfrogusmc

Well-known member
My only lens now for my MM is the 35 lux FLE. I have been shooting with only that for over a year now. Love how freeing it can be. Heres a portfolio of street and stranger portraits the I've done and most were shot with the MM and 3 lux. Some weren't. The photograph of the nurse that been on the job for 50 years was shot wide open and vignette was added in post to help bring down the edges of the background.

A portfolio of street & stranger portraits.














O.R.Nurse with 50 years on the job . Wide open and vignette added in post.
 

jlm

Workshop Member
air frog:

you definitely make that 35 work. looks like you are pretty close in on some of those face shots. i like a bit more personal space myself
 

airfrogusmc

Well-known member
Up close and personal is the way I really like to work. When shooting for the moment I usually don't engage the people, especially before I take the photograph but when doing more of a portrait type image I always ask and talk to the folks. If they have an address I usually will send a print.
 

Jim Trunck

New member
AIRFROGUSMC,

Really like the image in the third row from the bottom, left side - man carrying child over shoulder. It is a fabulously strong image, with great contradictions in the subjects. Color would have made the image less appealing to me. Thanks for sharing it.

And thanks to all the responders to date.

Jim
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
I also find the 35mm to be the most useful lens on the M cameras, but everyone has their favorites. I do think, however, that more time should be spent on thinking what kinds of perspectives one wants to photograph from, rather than on what particular models to buy. This is doubly true if you are a black and white only shooter -- things like chromatic aberration and APO performance become less important (though not totally unimportant!). It is also important to realize that a lot of the most expensive lenses are often highly specialized (21 and 24 summiliuxes, 50/.95 for example) and you may actually not find yourself in situations where you need or want their capabilities very often. I would highly recommend putting the most of your money into the more standard focal lengths (35-75mm) and fill in the gaps if you find yourself wanting more extreme perspectives.

It's too bad that you will not be able to focus the MM, but if you do decide to go for another camera like the A7, I would say give the manufacturer's lenses a chance first. Lens design has come a long way, and the differences between a Leica lens on a body it is not designed for versus a non-Leica lens specifically designed to be used on a given camera might not be as large as you think. I am not talking about bad lenses, of course, but the best Sony or Zeiss lenses on an A7 will be much nicer to use on the body (AF, built-in lens corrections, auto aperture, and not to mention cheaper).

If you are dead set on Leica lenses, a used S2 and 70mm are within your budget, and will significantly out-perform both the MM and the A7 in most image quality areas outside high ISO. The S lenses are even better than the M lenses, which is saying a lot! Obviously, it is a very different camera, so it may not suit your needs (it is much larger and heavier, for example).

But, if you do get a A7, find the best native lenses for it and give them a chance. You may be surprised. Lenses are extremely important, but there is a lot to be said for ergonomics and ease of use -- if you are always fiddling around in magnified view or dealing with focus peaking, you might not be as successful and/or might not get as much enjoyment out of the process. Fighting your equipment is never fun.
 

250swb

Member
Here is my thoughts:
Leica Monochrom M camera and spare battery
Leica Summicron-M 28mm f/2.0 Lens
Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux-M ASPH
Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux-M
.
If you've used B&W before and enjoyed the qualities of grain and tone then I don't think you need a super fast lens, the MM is fine with the ISO turned up to 5000, it looks like film. You should go with the lenses that match the pictures in your head, the style of image you want to make. But if super narrow DOF isn't it (and which presents its own problems of focusing in dark places with people moving about), then slower lenses are both smaller and cheaper.

Steve
 
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