I need a lens for a Leica M3

IANUS · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 276 Location: Germany

As said in the topic description I do need a M-mount lens for a Leica M3.

The camera has framelines for 50mm, 90mm and 135mm. I allready have a Screwmount Bessa with 4 VC lenses (15mm, 25mm, 35mm and 75mm). I have one adapter M39-M as well. Unfortunately I don't have the right framelines on the M3.

Is someone using a 75mm lens on the M3? Which framelines do you use - 75mm or 50mm?

Second question. I am about to add a 50mm lens but which one to get. I allready tried some russian 50mm lenses with my Bessa and found build quality mediocre. I know that some show great results with those lenses but I will exclude them from my search.

Which lenses can you recommend. I haven't settled about the price I want to spend but a new Summicron or Summilux is definitely out of my range.

I suppose sharpness isn't an issue with M-lenses from the last 50years and I won't use the M3 on a tripod for landscape shots. I am looking more for a pleasing Bokeh and flare resistance.

It seems that the VC 50mm lenses are quiete rare but I spotted a 2/50 Heliar any recommendation for this lens.

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

If you want to get a great performer and still do not want to spend too much money, try to find an older version of a Leica Summicron-M 2/50.

Another idea would be a Voigtländer Color Skopar 2.5/50 if that is fast enough for you. Don't worry if you only find screwmount ones. The adapters work well.

I use a collapsible Summitar 2/5cm on my M8. Fantastic little lens. But the collapsibles ones are not everybody's taste.

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

Are u using it with B/W or color or slide film?

I have an collapsible Summicron 50/2 on my M3 - it's very good (much better than any Russian M39 lens I tried so far, It's even better than the 50/1.1 Nokton @F2 and has the famous "Leica Glow") but not as good as most modern 50mm RF-lenses. You can get it between 400-500€

Other 50mm lenses which are better and not insanly expensive are:
Carl Zeiss ZM Planar 50/2 T* (~480-550€ used, if you find one)
Carl Zeiss ZM Sonnar 50/1.5 T* (hard to find a used one)
(Cosina) Voigtländer Nokton 50/1.5 (modern one, also hard to find a used one but you might get it below 400€ used)

The optically best M39 USSR lenses are Industar-50 and Industar-22 as far as I know bye the way - if you're looking for something as snack until you find a really good one.

IANUS · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 276 Location: Germany

Thanks for your comments.

When I look in the bay you find several Summicron and Elmar lenses. All other seem to be really rare.

Is there a reference where I can see the differences between the Summicron lenses. How many Versions are out there?

IANUS · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 276 Location: Germany

LucisPictor · Expire: 2013-12-03

The problem (and my problem as well Wink

) is that at the moment M-lenses are very expensive.

I would love to add a 75mm M-mount lens to my set, but those are way out of reach for my budget left-overs. Wink

And although I love that classic character of my Summitar, I would like to have a modern 50mm as well.
But again, too expensive if I really want to see an improvement.

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

Just put of curiosity, since I know nothing about Leica, and surely won't be able to find out myself, how do you rate Japanese lenses such as minolta m rokkors or komuras in LTM? Would it make any sense using them?

Orio · Expire: 2012-12-04

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

IANUS · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 276 Location: Germany

IANUS · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 276 Location: Germany

iangreenhalgh1 · Expire: 2014-01-07

For reference, this is what a 1966 Industar-50 can do on a Zorki 6 loaded with Fujicolor 200, supermarket development, scanned at 3200dpi on a Plustek 8200i.

I think this is good enough until you can find something more modern at a good price.

scsambrook · Expire: 2011-11-18

Russian 50mm lenses don't always couple correctly on Leica bodies. I have a 50mm f2 and a 52mm f2.8 and neither is good at distances under 3 metres, the focusing is most certainly not right. However, the f2 does indeed produce sharp images on my Lumix G1, although the f2.8 Industar seems to struggle . . .

Ianus mentioned using a 75mm on his M3 - a bit tricky, but I think the 90mm frame is the one to use. The 50mm frame will show far too much. Just be sure to buy the appropriate screw-to-bayonet adapter. I've tried a Voigtlander one (cost about £25 secondhand) and also the cheapest Chinese one I could find on eBay (about £4 including postage from China to UK). Both let my 75mm Voigtlander lens couple perfectly on my M2 and M8, but the Voigtlander one is a bit smoother to fit on the Leica bodies.

There are now no reasonably priced "dependably good" Leica screw or bayonet 50s, largely because the ever rising price of new Leica ones and the upswing in demand has dragged used prices up. Today, a used 50mm f1.5 Summarit in excellent condition at £329 seems almost cheap (I can tell you where to find it if you want!). On the other hand, there are no bad Leitz lenses, so maybe that Summarit IS cheap . . . I have a chrome 50mm rigid Summicron from the early 1960s (the 7-element one) which is a magnificent lens. The 'close focus' version with the add-on viewfinder is exactly the same optically and can now sometimes be bought for the same price as the 'regular' version because you can't use it on the M8 and M9.

If you want to take photos rather than indulge in nostalgia, I'd agree with LucisPictor and suggest a Voigtlander 50mm f2.5. You already know the Voigtlander lens range is good. The Heliar seems to be an intriguing lens from what I've read, but they seem to be thin on the ground. The Canon 50mm f1.4 is also a splendid optic (wish I'd kept mine) but prices are climbing. the Canon 50mm f1.8 may be the nearest thing to a bargain, if you can find one in clean condition. Although it looks out of proportion on an M3, being such a small lens Smile

sonyrokkor · Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 11:17 pm Post subject:

Used Summiluxes should be a nice option. The old 1,4/35 used prefocus at F/5,6 is a great lens. And a good 1,4/75 well used is very good too. Second option for the tele, the elmarit 2,8/90 (one of the cheapest lenses in Leica M mount and very good one).

In the 50 mm range, the old summicron with 7 elements is good.

If you look for a tele a bit large, the 4/135 elmar is another good lens.

If the littleness is your business, the old elmar 4/90 collapsible should be your goal.

Hari · Expire: 2015-05-27

i have some nice old lenses and modern lenses in LTM and M mount but the collapsible summitar is one of my personal fav's

I'm not too good with long speeches in technical theory so here's a recent picture taken with the collapsible summitar 50 f2

minimal post processing done in Aperture (or maybe LightRoom)

IANUS · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 276 Location: Germany

Thanks for your further comments.

I just found a Planar ZM 2/50 for a very reasonable price so I think this lens will be the one. Has someone used this lens here. I read some test and all say it is sharp and there is not much to complain about.

@Hari
Nice shot. How is the condition of your summitar. Some time ago I had either a summar or summitar in my hands (attached to a Leica III) and the lens had a lot of little scratches on the front element and also some dust within. From what I have read it is hard to find a good copy nowadays.

ForenSeil · Joined: 15 Apr 2011 Posts: 2726 Location: Kiel, Germany.

IANUS · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 276 Location: Germany