Sonnar C and 25mm Biogon Zeiss lenses on CL

[Peter_S]

Hi!
I have been shooting an M8 and Ikon for a while now, and really like RF photography. OK, so now I would like to have a small RF body that is not 100% battery depedent. Leica CL comes to mind.

I mostly use a Contax T3 when small and light is needed. I would combine the CL with a 50mm Sonnar C and 25mm Biogon, and I am wondering:
- RF accuracy of the CL with a 1.5 lens...very problematic? I can shoot the Sonnar at f2 max, should be OK?

- any conflict of the 25mm lens with the lightmeter of the CL to be expected?


Thanks,
Peter

[kbg32]

Agree with Thomas. I would use a longer base length rangefinder for a 1.5 lens.

[Peter_S]

OK, thanks Thomas and Keith! That is what I thought....
Is the M4 or M2 smaller than M6/7/MP?

Money is less an issue, more the size. A tad smaller than the Ikon would be nice.

[jsrockit]

Originally Posted by Peter_S

OK, thanks! That is what I thought....
Is the M4 or M2 smaller than M6/7/MP?

Not really.

[f16sunshine]

I think you could get around focus and framing issues ok through use and practice. Theses two zeiss lenses are large for the little cl/cle cameras. The combo would be cumbersome IMO.

[Peter_S]

Thanks for the help!
Will consider M4 or M6 instead...but perhaps try a CL if I find one decently priced.

[Peter_S]

Picked up an M6. Had a look at the M6, M7, M4 and M4 in a store...the M6 felt just plain right and perfect.

Thanks again,
Peter

[JamesFromSydney]

Agree on the lens size issue. The CL doesn't feel right to me with a lens larger than the 40 f/2 -- it's a small camera an needs a compact lens. There may be some compact CV lenses which would work well.

[sparrow6224]

I use on my CL the Elmar 90, designed for it; the 40 Summicron, ditto; the 50mm Summicron rigid, and the CV Color Skopar 21/4 and 35/2.5. These last two fit beautifully. For 35mm I use the whole viewfinder window, generally good enough; for the 21 I have a viewfinder. I have 2 relatively new 50mm f/1.5's: the CV Nokton, which is quite big, and a Jupiter 3 which is not. I agree the Nokton would be a mess -- it already blocks the viewfinder of my M2 -- but I'll soon try the Jupiter 3 and expect few problems.

Can someone explain what this focusing problem is, opened up to f/1.5 and f/2?

Best
Vince