Revisit options for 20 or 21mm for Leica M2

[Kodachromeguy]

Hi everyone, I may take my Leica M2 with Tri-X to Cuba. I currently have a 50mm Summicron and 35 (pre-asph) Summicron. I would like a wide lens, possibly 20 or 21mm because I like architecture and urban photography. Of course I'd love the new Leica 21 f/3.4, but at about $2800 (USA price), I'll sadly pass. And the 21mm T1.4 is $35,700. Hmmm.... Now, for practical options. The Zeiss Biogon 21 f/4.5? It's just recently been discontinued. How about the Skopar 21 f/4.0? It's pretty reasonable price. Have any of you used a Olympus OM 21, Nikkor 21, or the Pentax DA 21 f/3.2 with adapter? At that focal length, zone focus would be fine, but the lens and adapter would be a bit bulky. Thanks for advice.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I looked at Russar 20 pictures; maybe it will work for buildings at some distance. To me 25 Skopar was already too wide after 28 and 35...

 

[jimjm]

I've got the VC 21/4 Color-Skopar and the 25/4 Color-Skopar and they're both great performers, especially at the price. Really small and lightweight with good contrast and sharpness. Compared to many wide SLR lenses, these have very little distortion. I use the VC 21/25 chrome finder, which looks great on my M2.

I use the 25 more, as the 21 is sometimes "too wide" for my needs, but it'll all come down to your personal preference. Voigtlander also makes a 21/1.8 Ultron, which would be great for low-light and interiors when you really need the speed, but it's a lot bigger.

Here's one with the 25/4:

 

[02Pilot]

I have the same two lenses jimjim mentions above. Neither sees a lot of use (28 is my preference for wide angle), but I use the 21 more than the 25, simply because 25 and 28 are close enough to be somewhat redundant. That said, 21 is really quite wide - it takes a good bit of practice to get used to it if you aren't already familiar.

 

[ic-racer]

I think the 21mm Skopar is great. In the corners I think it is better than my 18mm Zeiss Distagon retrofocus and 21mm Yashica ML retrofocus.

 

[NJH]

I use the skopar a lot, matches up perfectly with the little round CV metal and glass viewfinder for mounting on the Leica's hotshoe. Only points to note IMHE, it can be flare prone and the stock hood they come with is useless. There is a bespoke CV hood for the lens but they seem hard to find. I also found mine was a touch soft outside the central 1/2 wide open but honestly good everywhere from f5.6 on. I bought mine secondhand for £170 and haven't felt the need for another 21. Makes a great lens set with a 35 and a 75.

 

[John Koehrer]

The 25mm color Skopar and Snapshot Skopar are Pretty much the same, the snapshot uses zone focus and has three
detents for focus, the color uses a helical. As wide as they are there's not a great need for helical focus*.

*That's an opinion BTW.

 

[Kodachromeguy]

Have any of you owned or used the Zeiss 25mm f/2.8? It looks like a nice lens, and about 1/2 or 1/3 the price of Leica's 24 mm options. Thanks!

 

[summicron1]

One of my go-to lenses is a Leica 21mm F4 super angulon ... superb construction (By Schneider, as it turns out) and a great lens to use. It is also very compact, not quite a "pancake" lens, but close. Infinite depth of field even at f-4.

 

[nosmok]

I can give thumbs-up to the Russar; make sure you get one with the VF, as it's the best vf I've ever seen. Even if you don't like the lens you will keep the vf.

 

[jazz]

Voigtlander 21/4 Skopar is awesome lens, probably best buy wide lens. Cheap, sharp..working well in my M8 and M4-P
I know Zeiss ZM 21/4.5 (not the f2.8) do better, but with 2-3 time price.

You can't go wrong with 21/4 Skopar...

~ron~