best lenses for a leica CL [Archive]

Santafecino

02-15-2007, 11:57

Hi--
I have 2 CLs and recommend the 40mm Summicron and 90mm Elmar-C, which were specially made for the CL. It has built in frame lines for these lenses. You can also use a 35mm, which I do, with an accessory finder (or just guess the area outside the 40mm frame). The Cosina Voigtlander 35mm f/2.5 is cheap and very good. The CL also has a 50mm frame, and I use a 50mm Summicron and find it a good combination, but that 's a $600 lens. You may be just as happy with a Jupiter 8 ($40) and a screwmount adapter ($35 or so), but I encourage you to get a 50mm. The CL is, in its way, one of the best Leicas: light and with a great spot meter.
Regards,
--Santafecino

Xmas

02-15-2007, 11:58

The cv 35mm is £155 at Robert Whites an adopter £29, a lot more then a J12 +adopter but you will have to disable the meter with a j12.

Noel

mullerthurgau

02-15-2007, 12:02

that cv 35mm is nice: i've seen many pics taken with it, and it's also very small...

do you think that a price of 300€ for a cl in good conditions (working meter) is fair? i've seen many cl+40/2 at 400€, on ebay...

RML

02-15-2007, 12:08

mullerthurgau

02-15-2007, 12:42

The M-Rokkor 40/2 is about $100 cheaper than the Summi.

Both the 40/2 and the J8 are my favourite lenses on my CL. And together (these 2 lenses + the CL) they make a great travelling package. Add a J9 85/2 and/or the CV 25/4 and you can't go wrong. :)

talking about prices (sad argument...)
can you or someone else tell me the right price for:
-a cl body in good working order, but not esthetically perfect
a 40/2, sold alone
a cl in the same conditions as the one mentioned before, with a 40/2

thanks!

RML

02-15-2007, 13:04

talking about prices (sad argument...)
can you or someone else tell me the right price for:
-a cl body in good working order, but not esthetically perfect
a 40/2, sold alone
a cl in the same conditions as the one mentioned before, with a 40/2

In total I paid some 500 euro for my CL and my 40/2, IIRC. But that was from private dealers ($450 for the CL, and 250 euro for the 40/2).

To see what things are now worth, check current and past bids on eBay. Also, check the camera shops in your area. Prices vary widely worldwide, and you may want to buy local instead of from abroad. In Europe, prices in the UK and Germany tend to be lower than in (for instance) Holland. Buying from the US (through eBay or from one of the sponsors or members here) might be cheaper but reckon with shipping and customs duties.

colyn

02-15-2007, 13:09

The cv 35mm is £155 at Robert Whites an adopter £29, a lot more then a J12 +adopter but you will have to disable the meter with a j12.

Noel

You will have to have the meter stalk completely removed in order to use the J-12. If you can find someone who will do it..but then you lose metering with other lens..

Brian Sweeney

02-15-2007, 13:46

Canon 35mm F2.8 in LTM. That and an M-Adapter. It is a tiny lens, no trouble fitting the CL in its case. Nor will it foul the meter mechanism. It is smaller and sharper than the J-12.

vrgard

02-15-2007, 14:04

Yep, I second Brian's suggestion of the Canon 35/2.8 ltm lens. In fact, if anyone has one that they'd be willing to sell, I myself would be interested in it.

-Randy

wlewisiii

02-15-2007, 14:54

Another great option for the CL is the Canon 28/3.5 - a nice look and the whole of the CL finder approximates the FOV of the lens just fine. I used the combination quite happily till I sold my CL recently. I still use the lens on my Bessa R.

William

vrgard

02-15-2007, 15:03

Thanks, William, for pointing out the Canon 28/3.5 lens. Guess I was hit with a bit of dyslexia above in that I was thinking of the 28/3.5 lens when commenting that I would be interested in acquiring a 35/2.8 lens if anyone has one to sell. The 35/2.8 that Brian mentions is also a nice lens, so I still second his recommendation there, but don't feel the need to add a 35 to my kit that already has a 40 in it. But it seems to me the 28/3.5 would nicely round out my CL kit that already has a 40 and a 90 in it. So, if anyone has a Canon 28/3.5 they'd be willing to let go, I'm interested.

Thanks,
Randy

ray_g

02-15-2007, 15:40

recommend the 40mm Summicron and 90mm Elmar-C, which were specially made for the CL.
I like the 40/90 too, Leica or Rokkor - whichever you can get cheaper. Also, the Rokkors take 40.5mm filters and hoods. With the Leica lenses, you need series 5.5 filters. These are drop-in filters and you need the corresponding rubber hoods which also act as filter rings.

I also like the 28/3.5 CV for a tiny 28/40/90 kit. The entire CL VF approximates the 28mm frame, as William mentioned.

borismach

02-15-2007, 15:53

40/2 summicron-C is a must. 90/4 only if you want some tele shot and don't mind its slow speed. Did anyone mention VC 21/4? It is a good lens and yes it requires a external viewfinder, but you will need one anyway, for lens wider than 35. The short is the CL cannot meter with this lens. But who would rely on the build-in meter of this old camera?

If I were you, I'd definitelyget the 40/2 and 21/4.

Have fun...cheerz

:-) bm

JNewell

02-15-2007, 16:14

I will echo the comments on the 40mm Summicron. It is an outstanding lens. I have a 35mm Asph Summicron and in practical use you generally can't tell the difference. I have a couple of 90mm lenses - but for light weight, cost-effectiveness and because you have DoF issues below f/4 anyway, I would recommend (and have been happy with) the 90mm Elmar-C.

clintock

02-15-2007, 16:46

The 2.5/50 color skopar is perfect on the cl. Harder to find, but sweet also is the rollei 40/2.8 but that usually winds up costing more than the summicron c 40.

Spending hundreds to remove the meter arm of a classic Leica camera in order to use a 50 dollar russian boigon copy lens is not something I'd do. The color skopar 35/2.5 fits and does not destroy the camera.

Biggles

02-15-2007, 17:23

A 35 and a 90? You'd be a fool to buy a CL to use with those.

That body and its framelines were made for 40mm and 50mm. Especially the forty. I find the 90 an unacceptable stretch on the CL. It's framed for it, yes, but it's a tiny little patch, a contingency patch at best. I sold my 90 and don't miss it a bit, and I'm an old school portraitist who thinks that life starts at one hundred millimeters. But, I walk around on the street with a CL and the forty, and I am satisfied.

The Leitz 40mm produces negatives of stupefying clarity. It almost doesn't know it's a wide-angle, either. You can't lose. You can't have mine.

Try either the Leitz or the Rokkor 40, and some kind of lightweight, black, 50mm Summicron or Elmar. That's a usable, high-performance CL outfit. Anything else is like trying to ram a 350 V8 into a Volkswagen. It'll work, it'll probably even fit, but the balance, the controllability... eeesh.

Build small fire, sit close.

wlewisiii

02-15-2007, 19:43

I would suggest that, though the CL was really designed around the 40/2 lens, the OP might want to consider if he's used that FL before? I found, quite quickly all three times (!) I have tried the lens, that the quality of the image is exquisite, but the focal length for me is neither fish nor fowl. In the end I settled on a carry combination of the Canon 28/3.5, Collapsible Summicron 50/2 & a prewar uncoated 90/4 Elmar. And I occasionally used a Canon 135/3.5 with it using an external finder (& yeah, especially with the hood on, it really looked funny on the end of a CL... )

There are lots of ways to use any camera. He simply needs to decide how he wants to use it, then answers to questions about lenses will fall into place.

William

vrgard

02-15-2007, 20:03

Sounds like good advice to me, William. My only push back would be that I find the 40 to work very well as a nice in-between lens rather than having to carry both a 35 and a 50. Not to challenge your experience but just to express that others, including me, find the 40 to be a nice focal length.

And I would love to see a shot of that Canon 135/3.5 on your CL. Talk about the tail wagging the dog! (smile)

-Randy

mullerthurgau

02-16-2007, 01:53

maybe I reasoned in the wrong way. And, Biggles, I didn't consider the dimensions of the framelines...

but I would like to use this camera as I would use a reflex, having the possibility to change lenses as I want. so maybe the cl is not the right camera for me, because if i should have to use it as a single lens camera, than it would be better to buy a canonet or a 7s.

(really bad english, isn't it?)

mullerthurgau

02-16-2007, 01:57

so...

a setup made of:
-28mm
-50mm (or 40)
-90mm

would be right for this camera? or is a 90 really that bad together with the cl?

Andy Aitken

02-16-2007, 02:50

Good lenses to use on a CL? My favourites are CV21mm f4, CV 25mm f4, Kobalux 28mm f3.5 (especially that one as it is sooooo small it makes the combo so pocketable) 40mm Summicron C and 90mm Elmar C. I think the CV40mm f1.4 would be interesting too and the Jupiter 8 is a nice light 50mm.

I do have a CL and 40mm Summicron for sale but they are in new condition boxed papers etc and I'm looking for the right price for them and I'll only ship them where I can insure them (not the US for some reason). Let me know if you are interested.

clintock

02-16-2007, 02:56

Sounds like you may like the contax G system too- you just described the typical contax kit, 28, 45, 90.

mullerthurgau

02-16-2007, 07:24

maybe. but I don't like the fact that it is AF, and the fact that the g2 is really expensive. and it can take only its own lenses...

clintock

02-16-2007, 07:47

True the g2 can be expensive, but the g1 with 45 planar can be had for less than the cl body alone, and the g models are only af when the focus wheel is in the af position.
It takes its own lenses, but Zeiss optics are thought by many to be quite good.

I mean if you're starting from zero anyway, it's something to compare to the cl with three lenses-- I do like the CL finder better, and the body is a little smaller..

Look- a contax G1 kit with lens!
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost-classifieds/showproduct.php?product=3653 (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/../photopost-classifieds/showproduct.php?product=3653)

mullerthurgau

02-17-2007, 05:07

the price is good... but the problem is that i live in europe, so i should pay duties...

JohnM

02-17-2007, 06:14

I have a CL and use it essentially a dedicated wide-angle camera. I've rarely used it for anything longer than the 40mm.

It's the only camera I own with a meter and that's a nice change of pace at times - the match needle metering is easy and after a proper CLA, it's very accurate (spot). Someone above implies that it does not meter with the CV 21/4 - that has not been my experience. My camera meters just fine with it.

As for the 40/35 debate - I am very fond of the Rokkor 40, but tend to use the Canon 35/2 more often. The 40mm lenses designed for this camera are some of the great rangefinder bargains given cost vs performance, but I am more inclined to the 35mm focal length. Personal choice.

My recommendations - Any smallish 50mm lens. The current Summicron is about as heavy a lens as I would ever want to use with the CL. Rokkor/Summicron 40/2, any of the Canon 35 screw mounts, CV 35/2.5, any of the CV wide-angles with viewfinder.

A very small 90 might be okay, but I'm not a fan of squinting into that tiny little frame line.

Way

02-17-2007, 06:16

I have a CL and 40 rokkor that I bought Sherry Krauter. Reall a great combo. I have used my 50 lux and even a 90 cron but that needs to be stopped down to f4 to get correct focus. I would say get the 28 with the 40 (or 50). 90 Rokkor if you REALLy need ther reach.

Al Patterson

02-17-2007, 06:42

I have the Summicron-C 40, a Hexanon 50, and the Elmar 90. The 90 takes a bit of getting used to with the small frame lines, so I usually stick to the 40 or the 50.

I'll have to try a 28 or 35 at some point. Got to get ready for that new Bessa R4.

Bailey

02-18-2007, 13:12

I love my CL and think it's great choice for an affordable RF system. The 3 lens combo I like is the summicron 40, the elmar 90, and the CV 21. The CV 25 is nice as well, but I like the wider 21. With those 3 you're pretty set for any situation.

I was thinking about getting myself a 28, though...

BTW- I paid $700 US for working (including the meter) CL body with the 40mm and the 90mm lenses.

Good luck, and enjoy whatever you get.