Re: [Leica] M and R "standard" lens

[Alan Ball <AlanBall@csi.com>]

James,

Historically, the opinion you state is not true. The first focal length
for the Leica was the 50mm, for the screw mount and for the M bayonet.
It was not until the M2 appeared that it became 'natural' to think that
the 35mm lens could also be a 'standard' focal length on the Leica.
Previously, the user needed a special viewfinder or a special goggled
lens to use 35mm lenses on Leicas.

From the M2 onwards, the 35mm became a favourite for M users because of
its ultracompact size and very easy management, particularly for the
precision of focusing at that focal length (and wider), which, even
today, is much easier to obtain with the M than with any manual focus
SLR. The 35mm Summicron + M are a 'natural' couple.

On a manual focus SLR, and the R is such a system, the 50mm is easier to
use with precision, especially when light gets scarce, while wider
lenses in low light are sometimes frustrating to focus. That might
explain why a lot of users, and I am one of those, consider the 50mm
more of a 'standard' focal length than the 35mm on such SLRs.

Also, the Leica M has for various reasons become very successful with
photo journalists and their type of photography: pictures of people and
their environment. The 35mm (or 28mm) focal length is easier to use for
that type of photography than longer lenses. It is more flexible, gives
larger depth of field and allows the photographer to shoot from within a
group. 

Nowadays, the 21-35mm zooms + fill-in flash on AF SLRs are dominant for
those applications. The M system with w/a from 21 to 35mm can sometimes
compete in that environment for obvious reasons (size, silence, etc).
The R system, deprived from any such zoom, is a bit out of that niche.

It seems obvious to me that the M is at its best between 21 and 50mm,
while manual focus SLRs are easier to use from 50mm on. For people with
mixed equipment, it seems reasonable to devote the M to the wider angles
of view, and devote the SLR to zooms and narrower angles of view. The
50mm is where the systems really overlap.

Alan.




Dr James Harper wrote:
> 
> A recent message (I cannot now find it) said something on the lines that
> the 35mm lens tended to be standard for an M camera, but it was the 50mm
> for the R.
> 
> This was very interesting, if generally true.  Can anyone suggest why this
> might be so?  Might it be because you can work closer with an M?
> 
> Regards.
> 
> JH