M9...which lens?

[Coldrunner]

Hi folks.

I'm buying a Leica M9...but I can only afford one lens to go with it at the moment.

What do you recommend as a good allrounder?

[Zou]

What do you shoot?

Personally, I'd think along the lines of a normal lens (as fast as I could afford) and supplement that with a couple of Voigtlander/Cosina Zeiss lenses, say an ultrawide and a short tele.

[Coldrunner]

I shoot mainly nature/landscape...but I have been trying my hand at a bit of street photography at the minute...

[Clive]

The original ASPH Tri-Elmar (no longer manufactured) is a really good quality lens which gives you 28-35-50 and which brings up the field of view markings on the viewfinder (well, at least it did on my M6). I still have my ASPH 35 Summicron and a 50 Summicron for my M6; both are superlative lenses, but I sold my Tri-E on ebay (at much more than I paid for it) about 18 months ago to fund my D3

If you like a 35, I could recommend no better than the ASPH f/2 Summicron (but as yet I have seen no report of it with the M9)

[Zou]

When I win the AP 125 M9 + 35mm 'cron I'll let you know Clive.

[TimF]

I shoot mainly nature/landscape...but I have been trying my hand at a bit of street photography at the minute...

Unless you need extra speed, I'd recommend you look at either the 35mm or 50mm Summarit (both f/2.5). I've not tried the 35mm, but the 50mm (at least the one I played with on the M9 when playing with that) was excellent I thought; compact, fast focusing, and very good IQ. This line is reasonably priced too, by Leica standards!

For a faster 35mm I'd agree with Clive on the Asph Summicron; for a 50mm the f/1.4 Asph Summilux is a wondrous piece of glass, and better than the Summicron, which is a quite old design now.

[Barney]

I'm buying a Leica M9...but I can only afford one lens to go with it at the moment.

What do you recommend as a good allrounder?

What you do with your money is obviously your choice but I am intrigued to know why you're spending >£5k on a camera when you don't know enough about it to know what lens would suit your purposes best.

[Coldrunner]

I think I'll ask Santa for the Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 ASPH-M...in chrome.

[Coldrunner]

I know the difference between a 35mm & a 50mm...
I'm just curious about what folks would recommend...
I'm bored on night shift so I thought I would start a thread!

[mark_jacobs]

Welcome Coldrunner. So you've gone off the idea of trading in your D3 for a D3s then? Or is the M9 in addition to…?

[Coldrunner]

The M9 is in addition to my D3.
I'll be traveling quite abit soon and don't want to have to lug my D3 plus lenses.

[Barney]

I know the difference between a 35mm & a 50mm...
I'm just curious about what folks would recommend...
I'm bored on night shift so I thought I would start a thread!

Nope, still don't get it.

[Coldrunner]

I'm travelling to Morocco and then on into the Sahara carrying all my kit for the trip including food...
I don't want my rucksack weighing any more than 15kg.

A Nikon D3 weighs in at 2.7lbs without a battery.
My Nikon 14-24mm lens weighs 2.2lbs.

A Leica M9 weighs 1.3lbs and 335grams for a lens...

I'm a bit of a gadget nerd and would still like to document my once in a life time trip with a good camera.

I hope this helps you 'get it'

[TimF]

I know the difference between a 35mm & a 50mm...
I'm just curious about what folks would recommend...
I'm bored on night shift so I thought I would start a thread!

Nope, still don't get it.

That's fine! Being more nerd-tastic I could say that if Coldrunner wants the modern sharp across the frame 'look' then stick with the current lenses mentioned previously. If a more 'classic' Leica look is desired then the older lenses would do you nicely. All are pretty sharp, but residual aberrations in the older lenses might induce the oft-talked of "Leica glow". There's 78 years worth of optics to choose from out there.

[Barney]

I'm travelling to Morocco and then on into the Sahara carrying all my kit for the trip including food...
I don't want my rucksack weighing any more than 15kg.

A Nikon D3 weighs in at 2.7lbs without a battery.
My Nikon 14-24mm lens weighs 2.2lbs.

A Leica M9 weighs 1.3lbs and 335grams for a lens...

I'm a bit of a gadget nerd and would still like to document my once in a life time trip with a good camera.

I hope this helps you 'get it'

Actually, I 'get it' even less now. I can see why you'd want to document a trip with a good camera, but any enthusiast DSLR will allow you to do that. Limiting yourself to one prime lens though will have a far greater affect on your ability to record your trip than the quality of image on your sensor. You already shoot full frame so you should have an idea of what focal length you would be looking for rather than asking a general 'what's a good walkabout lens' question.

The Leica M9 is an undoubtedly a lovely bit of kit, and one capable of recording any trip superbly, but if you have to ask which lens to stick on it, I strongly suspect that the body won't be the limitng factor here. I'd be happy to be proven wrong though so please come back and post your results in the galleries here.

[Coldrunner]

Thanks a lot NorthernNikon...

My mates are having a right laugh...

I'm being 'CYBERBULLIED'!

[parisian]

No, Coldrunner, we don't 'do' bullying on here of any description!
Barney is simply asking the questions that many of us have considered.
If you have a DSLR and want a rangefinder for your trip that is your choice and no choice could be better than an M9. (apart from an XPan of course which has to be the ultimate travel rangefinder)
What confused us was that while you have obviously a great knowledge of photography you were actually asking us to suggest what lens you should stick on your new £4.5K body?
As Tim said, you have the best part of 80 years worth of innovation to choose from. Clive suggested the Tri-Elmar which gives you three lenses in one - what are your thoughts?
Have you used rangefinders before? They are an aquired taste (although once you have it it will never leave you)and it does take a while to get used to. I would certainly recommend using the M9 for a month or so before setting out in as many situations as you can to be absolutely sure that it will fit your needs on your trip. The extra weight of your DSLR may well be offset by the satisfaction of great images so unless you are absolutely sure that the rangefinder is the way for you to go I would be tempted to stay with what you have.

[TimF]

Re: the Tri-Elmar. Although I'm sure it's excellent (even bearing in mind that Slimey's copy disintegrated!) I wouldn't choose it as a one only lens; at f/4 it's just too slow IMHO.

[Clive]

Really the Tri-E is the perfect travel lens where restricted depth of field is not a priority.

[Learning]

Well I do get it. I have never used a rangefinder but see the appeal. I have used an SLR with only three primes (35,50,and 105)and would have preferred 28,50, and 90. On the SLR speed mattered for focussing but I rarely shot above f4 except indoors. I would suggest an f1.4 50mm and more modest 28 and 90s. If in the millions to one against chance of winning the AP competion I would sell the 35mm and spend a fortune on the lenses that I really wanted. I would also keep my Nikon DSLRs and lenses. If you have set your mind on a Leica then go for it.