Hi.

I'm still doing my sums over a possible Leica M6 purchase in a few months time (I need to sell a mint Bronica ETRSi, 75/2.8PE, twin back, WLF and Prism finders) first - as I don't use it as much as I planned and my Mamiya 7 gives me bigger negs anyway.

I'm thinking along the lines of a 35 and 50mm lens purchase, although the 75 or 90mm lenses appeal also. I'm wondering if someone can point me to an objective comparison of the different lenses in terms of both sharpness, 'bokeh', tonal balance and so on, plus in terms of on-camera balance, viewfinder intrusion and also simple aesthetics.

I also really like the idea of the Noctilux; how does it shape up against the regular 1.4 and 2.0 50mm lenses (at f1.4+/f2.0+ respectively)?

Lastly, is there anyone in the central Scotland area with an M6 setup that I could take a look at? I'm especially interested in seeing some slides and decent B&W prints first-hand (i.e. not scanned)...

John

-- John Clark (john@callcentredatabase.com), July 07, 2001

Answers

Have you read what Erwin Puts has to say?

The Noctilux (a speciality lens)

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/mseries/testm/M10-50.html

The three 35's (the new Aspherics along with the legendary pre-ASPH Summicron)

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/mseries/testm/m2-35.html

The Tri-Elmar (an option for you).

http://www.imx.nl/photosite/leica/mseries/testm/trielmar.html

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), July 07, 2001.

John:

I suggest you carefully stroll through the archives on this site. This question, or iterations of it, have come up about a dozen times in the past six months and you should be able to glean a lot of subjective opinions of all of the lenses mentioned in your query. The good news is that you will learn that while the newer versions of the lenses are generally considered "better" optically than the previous versions, some of the older lenses exhibit optical or mechanical charachteristics that make them more desireable. Also the older versions are still capable of assisting you in creating great - make that outstanding - images. After all, art is made by the artist, not the equipment.

Cheers,

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), July 07, 2001.

John, you are using medium format so you are a very fastidious person especially in print quality. It is certain that all Leica lenses will give you this desired quality. Instead of hearing personal opinions it is better to try yourself! Get a M6 with and a Summicron-M 50/2 first, check the quality and then go for other lenses. The Summicron- M 50/2 is the cheapest and perhaps one of the best Leica lenses. By the way I believe that 35mm lenses feet better to a M camera (personal opinion!!)

Street Photography by Dimitris Kioseoglou

-- Dimitris Kioseoglou (kosefoto@otenet.gr), July 11, 2001.