RE: [Leica] Buying R8,need advice on lenses

[Deniz Saylan <Photojournalist@gmx.net>]

Steve,

You ask weather to buy a airplane, or a bicycle.
First you have to ask what do you want to make with your camera and lenses.
35mm and 50 mm are quite close together and you can take both as a normal lens, one a little bit closer toward telelens, one
towards wide-angle. If you need wide-angle, take better the 28 mm or (but be careful) the 24 or 21 mm (which is a stand alone lens
because of its extreme view). If you make more portraits, take the 90 mm. A good combination which is used a lot by M photographers
(like me i.e.) is 35 and 90 mm. If you really think about that combination, you wont find anything you can not do with these two
lenses. To complete the group, you can ad a 21 mm or a telelens (135,180) later, when you have any spending money left.

The good thing about it is, that you will have a light, but strong equipment.

One word to used photo gear:
1. Buy from dealers, they are known for Leica Equipment and for good service. Serious Dealers always provide warranty on used
photo  gear. The Leicalenses are all good. Soo if you buy a ten years old, but in nice shape lense, you donīt do anything wrong. I
have lenses, they are 42 years old and lenses Iīve bought last year new. You wonīt tell me the difference in quality (not with your
eyes).

2. Leica is (in my opinion) the best Camera system to buy second hand. If I only think on all that rich doctors and layers, they
buy a Leica because of its good name and sell it again half year later because they canīt take pictures with it because they have
no idea of photography....its a paradise!!!  ;-))


Cheers,

Deniz