[Leica] The Neica Leikon system expands

[drodgers at casefarms.com (David Rodgers)]

I just received a new used 50 Summicron R. I don't have another Leitax F
bayonet for R lens yet, but I will soon. 

I now have  28, 50 and 90 Leica primes for my D700. I'm returning to my
focal roots.  (That was my first focal length setup 30 years ago when I
first discovered photography, although back then I couldn't afford
Nikon, much less Leica.) Perhaps I'm regressing to a kinder, gentler
approach to photography! :-)

I bought the 50/2 because I found I'm using two R primes almost
exclusively, and I really like them. Ergonomically they feel nice on a
D700. They focus smoothly. Exposures are always right on. The fact that
there's no diaphragm linkage doesn't bother me. It's like shooting
manual focus in A mode. 

There are a couple of negatives. First, the viewfinder darkens as you
stop down. It's not dramatic, but it's there. When an f2 or f2.8 lens is
stopped down to f5.6 it's not any darker than using a variable aperture
zoom; it's practical to use, IOW. 

Secondly, focus assist doesn't work if I stop down beyond f5.6. OTOH,
95% of my images are taken at f5.6 and wider. (Throw in f8 and it's
99%). If I'm at f8 to f16 I'm shooting hyperfocal, or I'm photographing
something that offers time to stop down, focus, and then open up. Both
of these issues are very minor; for me they're non issues. Others MMV.
FWIW, I didn't buy Leica glass for stopped down photography. :-) 

I had planned to get a 50/1.4 instead of a Summicron. I had a 50/2 back
when I had an R system and it was more prone to flare than I liked. But
frugality and weight won out. The 50/2 is lighter. Those same 2 reasons
are also why I went with the 90/2.8 rather than an 85/1.4 R.  

The D700 and 3 R lens kit fits nicely into the small Billingham bag I
used with my M6 (though I had 2 M bodies). I often wonder whether or not
I might have been better off going the M8 route, but I really like the
D700 R system. Maybe I'm regressing again, but I like TTL composing. 

On the 50/2 the words "FOR LEICA R ONLY" are emphatically inscribed. I
hope I'm not breaking any rules putting it on a Nikon body! 

Two lenses I may get in the future are the 180/3.4 APO and the 20/3.5
Voightlander SL-II, although I'm quite content for now.  

Dave R