RE: [Leica] 28mm M Lens recommendation

["Dan Honemann" <ddh@home.com>]

Steve,

> I am a fan of the 28 also but because it is so close to the
> viewing angle of the 35 I honestly have trouble when looking
> at negs telling which lens took which picture. So with that
> in mind the 24 seems appealiing. But then since I have a 28
> it seems to make sense that my next wide should be a 21.

Tough choices.  If someone held a gun to my head and said I could only have
four lense in M mount (maybe someone should do me this favor!), I'd probably
choose the following:

1. 15 heliar -- don't have it yet, but I trust Ted, and the equiv. in SLR
costs a fortune.  I choose it over the 21 because my gut tells me if I'm
going to want wide, I'm going to want W I D E.

2. 28 -- but which one, I don't know yet.  Money's no object?  The asph
(same size and filter as the elmarit but an extra stop, so why not?).  I
choose 28 here over 35 because I prefer the wider coverage--the 35 is close
enough to 50 that I can get by with that should I need a narrower field.
I'm choosing it over the 24 on the other end because with the Hexar RF or
.58x M6, the 28 frames are quite visible in the finder, and I prefer to do
without the ext. finder (if I'm going to suffer it, make it worth it by
going down to 15!).

3. 50 -- could make a compelling case for the noctilux here, but my
summicron gives me nothing to complain about--consistently wonderful images
with great color, contrast, sharp to the corners--and is so light and
compact that I can't imagine giving it up.

4. 75/1.4 -- here's the surprise.  Most folks would jump to a 90 for the
fourth (if they went above 50 at all), and I have no love affair with this
focal length, but the images rendered by the 75 stand in a class all their
own.  I consider it the best Leica lens of these four, maybe the best
period.

What's odd about my foursome is that it _doesn't_ contain the usual
favorite: the 35.  I do own the 35 summilux asph, but I bet once I get a 28
I'll reach for the 35 less and less, and will probably consider selling it.
I guess I'm just more of a 28 - 50 guy (I've never shot a 24, so I might
really be a 24-50 guy and not know it yet :)).  Having shot just the 50 for
so long, I tend to "see" 50, so that's my starting point.  I can see how
others who get along best with 35 would skip the 50 and choose a 15-24-35-75
foursome.

Dan