My finances force me to look for alternatives to Leica 28mm lenses. There's the 28/2.8 M-Rokkor from the CL/CLE, and I have heard that Cambridge Camera Exchange sells a Russian-made 28/3.5 that's supposed to be pretty good.

What's a good alternative? I apperciate any and all responses.

Thanks

Jon

-- Jon Leatherwood (jk_lwood@yahoo.com), May 29, 2001

Answers

With the recent release of the 28/2, I think that the 28/2.8 will soon be selling for what the 35/2 non-asph sells for. It is a spectacular lens and well worth waiting for.

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), May 29, 2001.

the voigtlander(cosina) 28mm f1.7 ultron is now available and early feedback is it's excellent.........

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), May 29, 2001.

28/2.8 Canon lenses surface regularly on Ebay--there are two right now. Also, the Voigtlander 25/4 is a wonderful lens, close to 28mm, and not pricey at all. And of course there's Voigtlander's own 28/1.9, which seems to be picking up a fine reputation at a fraction of Leica price. Check the entire cameraquest.com site for information and reviews of all the possibilities, as well as for purchasing Voigtlander stuff.

-- Michael Darnton (mdarnton@hotmail.com), May 29, 2001.

Oops! as Michael wrote, the Voigtlander Ultron is 1.9, not 1.7

-- david kelly (dmkedit@aol.com), May 29, 2001.

I wouldn't buy a roll of film from Cambridge camera--the worst mail order business on planet earth. I tried the tiny 28mm f3.5 lens Adorama sells called a Kobalux, and it was very good quality for the money. Comes with a nice finder, and it is range finder coupled. I didn't like that it only focused to 1 meter, however, as I like to move in closer than that with a 28mm some times. The new Voigtlander fast 28 is going to be a great lens for the money, but it is not compact. I'm sure from the pictures it would block a good portion of the finder on my CLE. The Minolta 28 from the CLE is over priced. They all seem to have an edge seperation problem as well, and the stuff I saw from one didn't look any better than the Kobalux. Ricoh had a small 28 that shows up from time to time on ebay, but again the collectors bid them up to where they are not worth it. I also will put a nod in for the tiny Voigtlander 25. That is what I use for a wide, and the scale focus doesn't hamper me one bit with it.

-- Andrew schank (aschank@flash.net), May 29, 2001.

Konica's M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8 is extremely good, and the slides it takes seems to be more constrasty and have richer in colour than the Nikkor equivalent. I don't know how it compares with the Leica equivalent, but friends who have used both lenses think that the Konica is optically better (that's their opinion, so don't flame me for that!). It's perfect for the CLE's 0.58 finder (the whole 28mm frameline can be seen when I'm wearing glasses--that's not the case with the M4-P, unfortunately), but the lens hood can't be used as it'll obstruct the focusing window.

-- Hoyin Lee (leehoyin@hutchcity.com), May 29, 2001.

I am constantly impressed with the 25/4 Voitlander Skoper. Very sharp even to the edges, good contrast and excellent color saturation. It's a little slow and the non-coupled focusing takes a little getting used too but that is why it is so small and light. Great on my IIIc.

-- Gerald Widen (gerald@sfa1.com), May 29, 2001.

Neither the old Canon (LST)nor Rokkor (CLE)is up to Elmarit sharpness and contrast, although the Rokkor comes close when it's stopped down a little. They are both pocketable.

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), May 30, 2001.

Jon

I just ordered a Voigtländer Ultron 1.9/28 black new from Germany at a very reasonable price ($ 500 including original M adapter and shipping) because it has very positive reviews and is FAST. The Konica Hexar has tremendous reviews, is more compact but a little more expensive and opens at 2.8 only. I have considered the M-Rokkor, too, but you have to watch out for its "white-point-disease"... Absolutely check out Stephen Gandy's most informative site at www.cameraquest about it if you haven't already done so.

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), May 30, 2001.

Sorry, I paid $ 550 not $ 500... Here's the link: http://www.foto- diestel.de

-- Lutz Konermann (lutz@konermann.net), May 30, 2001.