A cheap 35 for my Leica M2

[jseffel]

So, my first Leica will arrive soon and I am in need of a 35mm lens. I hade my eyes on either the voigtländer 35/1.4 or the 35/2.5. Any thoughts?

 

[BradS]

I've no experience with the Nokton but the 35mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar is fantastic. It is very small and light but produces excellent result and has no bad manners (the Nokton has some issues). All that said, I prefer the Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 Biogon ZM. I had the Color-Skopar and sold it to buy the Biogon. The Voigtlander ergonomics annoy me.

 

[Nitroplait]

The look produced by the 35/1.4 is more contemporary with the camera. The results produced by the 35/2.5 is more modern.

 

[Horatio]

I have the 40mm Nokton for my CL. Love it. Don't know much about the 35mm version, but Voigtlanders are great lenses. Take the Nokton if you think you could use the extra stop.

(edited for clarification.)

 

[Ko.Fe.]

35 1.4 has two versions. First is known for terrible focus shifts. Some are just behind repair on this defect. Second version was corrected. With f 1.4 you really have to watch it to not keep it open under the sun. Curtain replacement is very pricey.
35 2.5 is nothing wrong lens. Just totally flat on BW, fine on color.
Canon 35/2 is cute lens as well.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I have the 40mm Nokton for my CL. Love it.

It has absolutely nothing to do with 35mm lens and perfectly accurate M2 35 frame-lines.

 

[Horatio]

It has absolutely nothing to do with 35mm lens and perfectly accurate M2 35 frame-lines.

It's still a Nokton, for what that's worth.

 

[gone]

40 Rokkor, 35 Elmar. Not sure how cheap they are, but I used to own those. No complaints.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

The Voigtlander f/2.5 Color-Skopar and the Voigtlander f/1.4 Nokton Classic are both excellent lenses and about the least expensive 35mm lenses you'll find.

The Nokton is slightly more expensive, but you get the extra speed plus the possibility of having it single-coated or multi-coated. I had the Color-Skopar a while ago and like it, but am now shooting with the singled-coated Nokton for my black & white photos. If your budget can allow the extra 200$, go with the Nokton. If not, you won't regret the Color-Skopar.

If you want to stick to Leica, you can find a used LTM Summaron for a little bit more than the new Nokton, but you'll have to also get an adapter for the M mount. All this quickly becomes pricy.

 

[madNbad]

Check out the closeout sales on the V1 Voigtlander 35 2.0 Ultron ASPH. Since the introduction of the V2 there are deals to be had. It's performance is close to the Summicron ASPH at a fraction of the price.

 

[Huss]

Selling my boxed 7Artisans 35mm f2. Super condition, no issues. $200.
The one thing with 7 lenses is they all focus past infinity, but if you use the camera's RF patch to focus, no issue nailing it.

Taken with the 7A 35mm on my Leica M4-2 w/ Kodak ProImage 100:





Replaced it with a Kipon Iberit just to mix things up.

 

[Laurent]

I made many mistakes with my Leica "kit" (selling, then buying again a 15mm, 21mm, 90... (the 15 I even sold, buy again, sell again, then buy again!), but there is one lens that's stayed with me and will not go (otherwise I'd have to buy again) it's the Nokton 35/1.4 (MC in my case).

This lens is a sleeper and my default "go to" for the M4.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

It's still a Nokton, for what that's worth.

So f@=%# what? Where are all kind of different Noktons. OP asked for 35mm on M2.

 

[BradS]

You really can't go wrong with any of the current 35mm Leica M mount lens offerings from Zeiss, Voigtlander or Leica. They're all extremely good.

 

[Steve@f8]

https://shop.lomography.com/en/lens...estock&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

 

[Huss]

https://shop.lomography.com/en/lens...estock&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

I have that lens and it is super smeary from middle third outwards on film.
Fine if you want that look, but not exactly a versatile, sharp all-rounder.

Also the aperture lever just fell off on mine, never to be found again... Luckily it was not the focus lever, as the aperture ring itself can be turned.

 

[Steve@f8]

I have that lens and it is super smeary from middle third outwards on film.
Fine if you want that look, but not exactly a versatile, sharp all-rounder.

Also the aperture lever just fell off on mine, never to be found again... Luckily it was not the focus lever, as the aperture ring itself can be turned.

Luckily the lens was out of stock, preventing me placing an order, as I’ve gone right off the idea having read your account.

 

[Down Under]

As the proud (and very keen) owner of a new, to me, Leica iif, I too am looking for a 'compatible' 35mm to use as an everyday lens. The Summitar 50/2 the camera came with and a hazy Summicron 50/2 I was given, don't quite reflect what my eye sees (or should I say what it prefers to see) when I'm out shooting.

Sadly, I'm on a tight budget and I have to look carefully into this.

The problem with buying lenses (or for that matter anything photographic) here in Australia, is every seller wants at least a kidney for any gear they want to sell. I can order from overseas, but for many reasons I'm not quite ready to do this yet. Maybe later.

A friend has a Voigtlander Ultron 35 for his iiig. He tells me it produces great contrasty images with good color. He bought the lens used from a retail dealer in Melbourne but then paid as much again for a viewfinder.

The same dealer had a Color Skopar 35 (with no viewfinder) for sale, also at a kidney replacement price. It lasted about four days and has now been snapped up.

There was also an old but good Ultron 28mm 1.9 at a price I could barely afford. 28mm is a bit too wide for me on a Leica. And again the 'finder for this lens is priced astronomically high.

Dealers in Japan and the USA have Canon 35s on offer at not quite as high prices but again, too much for me.

I could bite the bullet and pick up a 1950s Leitz Summaron 35/3.5 LTM for a price I can afford, barely just, if I put it on a credit card and pay it off in instalments. Alas, no lens hood or viewfinder are available even at extra cost. The lens alone would cost me more than I paid for my iif. I had a Summaron in the 1980s for my Leica M2 (long ago sold off when my then-new architectural practice ran short of funds and I had to bite the bullet and flog my 'luxury' items for some fast cash). Back then I thought it was rather soft at settings wider than 5.6 and my image colors were more, well, 'pastel' than I prefer.

Off-brand lenses like Artisan and Lomo I prefer to avoid. I want a lens I can respect and not be laughed at by other photographers when I take it out.

I may hold out for a Color Skopar 35 and try to find a 'generic' viewfinder. Or go the way of the Canon 35. Whatever I decide, it surely will not be cheap and I have to reconcile myself to this.

One of our prime ministers back then became quite famous for saying "life wasn't meant to be easy". He had a Leica M6 which was gifted to him on an official visit to the then West Germany, so I reckon he sure did know a lot about anything "easy".

 

[madNbad]

Not quite a 35 but I once owned a 45 2.8 Chiyoko Super-Rokkor. It was a LTM lens but I used it both on a IIIc and M mount cameras. It's small, a little fiddly to use, doesn't have click stops but the copy I had produced fairly sharp images with good contrast. I paid about $200 usd. After a quick look at the inter-web it doesn't look like the prices have increased dramatically.

 

[Huss]

..

Off-brand lenses like Artisan and Lomo I prefer to avoid. I want a lens I can respect and not be laughed at by other photographers when I take it out....

Good grief...

 

[film_man]

So far I'm pretty happy with my 35/2.5 Skopar. Image quality is great. The size is excellent. The only thing that annoys me is the aperture ring, I don't like those little "ears" it has and it is not stiff enough (at least not as stiff as my Zeiss lenses). But in any case, for the size and price and image quality it is fantastic. I can see me keeping it even if I get another 35, just for the size.

 

[narsuitus]

My 35mm f/1.4 Zeiss Distagon ZM cost less than the $6,000 35mm f/1.4 Leitz Summilux.

For less than $500, the 35mm f/1.4 M-mount 7Artisans is a bargain.

 

[bernard_L]

Jupiter 12 ? (with LTM -> M adapter)

 

[Laurent]

Jupiter 12 ? (with LTM -> M adapter)

This is also a very good suggestion. I had such a lens as the first one for my M4 (and stupidly sold it, to buy one again). Also very nice on a LTM body

 

[jseffel]

The CV 35/1.4 and 2.5 were out of stock but the TTArtisan 35/1.4 was available so I picked it up. Im not a fan of the size, probobly going to develop a roll I shot with it today... maybe the photos will justify the weight. I have come to the conclusion that I want a 1.4 lens...