[Leica] wide R

[Alastair Firkin <firkin@netconnect.com.au>]

Your wisdom please re......... a single wide angle lens purchase  for the R
system....in   range  21- 35mm   ( I have a 50mm  and above)... what would
be...

1.best lens ..any price....
2.best choice quality/price considered....       ?
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G'day Steve,
Well my first comment is that my way of thinking is always "the wider 
the better", and so the first wide I bought for the R was the 15, and 
I have never regretted it. When all other options fail, the 15 can 
make an image. It focuses down to within cms of the front element, 
and the quality of the images is simply fantastic.

The decision should reflect your other equipment and also your 
intended use. I owned the 21 for the M, so I skipped that and picked 
up a cheap 24mm secondhand (I would buy all my lenes secondhand, 
unless you are absolutely sure that you are going to use it daily). 
Though it is badmouthed for being "minolta", the images it produces 
are Leica in amongst the other ones, so I would not hesitate to 
recommend it.

I then skipped to the 35 summicron, and again there are fantastic 
secondhand bargains to be had. This is a lens that gets left on the R 
when I'm travelling more often than the others. Its quality is 
legendary.

So in summary:
The 15 if you can afford it and want a lens that makes a statement 
(ie you are not after one you use all the time)
The 24 if you feel you want a pretty wide lens and want to save money 
- - it would fit well as a single wide in a bag in my opinion, the 21 
being a bit too ultrawide. The 28 would also fit this criteria, but 
I've never used the Leica versions and
the 35 if you want a lens you are going to use all the time -- it is a classic.

Cheers