Either a 50, 75, or 90mm to go with my current lenses

ndwgolf

ndwgolf

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Neil Williams
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Guys,
I am going on a Photo trip to Vietnam in October and I will have with me my;
· Leica M9-P
· Super Elmar 21mm f3.4
· Summicron 35mm f2
I need something longer to take with me and was first of all thinking about a Summicron 75 or 90mm, but read reviews that these were both difficult to focus fully open. So I was thinking I would go for a Summilux 50mm f1.4 instead and hope that this will be long enough.
My wife will be with me so I can always use her Nikon with a 110mm on it if I need to go long.
Anyway any help advice would be much appreciated
 
Usually a 3 lens kit would be 21mm, 35mm, 75mm which gives a nice spread or a 24mm, 50mm and 90mm. You have 3 choices:

75mm f/1.4 Summilux - £2,000 used
75mm f/2 Summicron ASPH - £2,499 new (£2082.50 excl VAT)
75mm f/2.5 Summarit - £1,269 new (£1,057.50 excl VAT)

The Summilux is an older Mandler design, but has a very revered status in the Leica world. It has the older classic 'Leica glow' to the images as opposed to the newer Summicron ASPH which is sharp and clinical like a 50 Lux ASPH.

A little gem that is overlooked is the 75mm f/2.5 Summarit. Sharp as the Summicron, half the price and lovely and compact. Aperture in the UK have used ones for £890 for that price you can't go wrong, even if you didn't like it you could punt it for what you paid. The 75mm frame lines are a bit queer for Leica though, a 90mm is more what is known and trusted.

If you want a 90mm the king of the 90s is the 90mm f/2 Summicron ASPH. The often overlooked older 90mm f/2 (non-ASPH) is also a lovely performer as well as the 90mm f/2.8 Tele-Elmarit. There is the 90mm f/4 Macro lens which has its fan club and the 90mm f/2.5 Summarit, but if it was me the 90mm f/2 Summicron ASPH would be my pick of the 90s.

The 50 Lux ASPH is a great lens, but a bit close to the 35mm so if it was me I'd look at a 75mm or 90mm. You made a wise choice on the 21mm f/3.4 SEM.
 
Laudrup said:
Usually a 3 lens kit would be 21mm, 35mm, 75mm which gives a nice spread or a 24mm, 50mm and 90mm. You have 3 choices:

75mm f/1.4 Summilux - £2,000 used
75mm f/2 Summicron ASPH - £2,499 new (£2082.50 excl VAT)
75mm f/2.5 Summarit - £1,269 new (£1,057.50 excl VAT)

The Summilux is an older Mandler design, but has a very revered status in the Leica world. It has the older classic 'Leica glow' to the images as opposed to the newer Summicron ASPH which is sharp and clinical like a 50 Lux ASPH.

A little gem that is overlooked is the 75mm f/2.5 Summarit. Sharp as the Summicron, half the price and lovely and compact. Aperture in the UK have used ones for £890 for that price you can't go wrong, even if you didn't like it you could punt it for what you paid. The 75mm frame lines are a bit queer for Leica though, a 90mm is more what is known and trusted.

If you want a 90mm the king of the 90s is the 90mm f/2 Summicron ASPH. The often overlooked older 90mm f/2 (non-ASPH) is also a lovely performer as well as the 90mm f/2.8 Tele-Elmarit. There is the 90mm f/4 Macro lens which has its fan club and the 90mm f/2.5 Summarit, but if it was me the 90mm f/2 Summicron ASPH would be my pick of the 90s.

The 50 Lux ASPH is a great lens, but a bit close to the 35mm so if it was me I'd look at a 75mm or 90mm. You made a wise choice on the 21mm f/3.4 SEM.
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Have you ever tried a Leica Tele elmar M 135mm f4 Lens bben looking at one on feebay for ~800 quid??
 
I've tried the newer 135mm f/3.4 APO Telyt and it's not easy to focus at first, but the 135mm f/4 is another sleeper of a lens, very sharp and can be picked up for a good price. If you were looking for something longer it's a nice lens to have in your bag.
 
ndwgolf said:
Sorry not used to this terminology, what is a sleeper lens
Click to expand...

Sorry should have been clearer, it's a lens that doesn't get a lot of attention or is as glitzy and well known as say the Summilux etc but its performance is excellent.

Usually a term reserved for cars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_(car)

If you can pick the 135mm for a fair price it's a worthy buy although from 35mm to 135mm is quite a big gap.
 
Laudrup said:
Sorry should have been clearer, it's a lens that doesn't get a lot of attention or is as glitzy and well known as say the Summilux etc but its performance is excellent.

Usually a term reserved for cars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_(car)

If you can pick the 135mm for a fair price it's a worthy buy although from 35mm to 135mm is quite a big gap.
Click to expand...
I was thinking of trying to pick up a 135mm f4 for 5-600 pounds and then get a new 50mm 1.4 or even the 75mm f2.
When I get home I will take my D3s out with the 50mm and also the 70/200mm and play around with the 3 focal lenghts (50, 75, 135)to try and get a feel of what will be best suited to follow the 35mm that I already have.
 
The 135mm & 75mm would be nice to fill the gap. The 75 Summicron is designed from the same specs as the 50 Lux ASPH (but it's not f/1.4 it's f/2) so is a great lens, which it should be for the price. Play around with the focal lengths, you might not like 75mm and prefer 90mm or prefer 50mm to the 75mm etc.
 
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